Yungblud took on the Live Lounge
Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month continued with Yungblud.
The show enjoyed his performance and the scale of the reaction from his fans.
September’s Live Lounge format was already becoming part performance and part review, with Scott and Chris inviting artists to hear or discuss what had just happened rather than moving immediately to ordinary promotional questions.
Benny Blanco arrived by boat
Producer and songwriter Benny Blanco joined Scott and Chris while travelling in Britain.
The show described him as arriving or travelling by boat, which immediately led to a much stranger companion.
Benny had apparently spent time with Alan Titchmarsh.
The pairing fascinated Scott.
International hitmaker Benny Blanco and Britain’s most reassuring gardener did not sound like an obvious double act.
Benny said Alan did not really use a mobile phone in the normal way.
Arrangements were made through email and pre-agreed timings.
Scott pictured the pair travelling around like characters from a completely different decade.
At one stage *Titanic* was even part of the boat conversation, despite Benny not enjoying flying and the obvious risk of watching that particular film while on water.
Radio 1 listeners became Benny’s travel agents
Benny wanted recommendations for what to do while in the UK.
Scott and Chris opened the phones.
Listeners responded with exactly the kind of local attractions a conventional tourist board might not choose.
A large Wetherspoons.
A club.
A staircase or bannister shop presented as though it were a landmark.
And then came Daniel from near Manchester.
The paprika special was enormous
Daniel recommended a kebab known as a paprika special from near his area around Heywood and Rochdale.
The dish involved large amounts of meat cooked together in a spicy sauce.
The defining detail was the size.
Daniel said it looked like a tiny baby.
Benny immediately became obsessed with both the kebab and Daniel’s accent.
He repeatedly asked Daniel to say words including “baby” and even his own name.
Scott pointed out that Benny spent his professional life surrounded by major recording artists and had somehow become most excited by one northern caller describing a giant kebab.
Daniel considered that a successful travel recommendation.
Dumfries needed rediscovering
Listener Chelsea then requested a Stark Guide to her hometown of Dumfries.
She had spent four years away at university in Dundee.
Whenever she returned home she mostly saw family and then left again.
Now she was back permanently and people kept talking about events, arts and music she did not remember from growing up.
Chris’s job was to make her fall back in love with the town.
Chris declared Dumfries tropical
The guide began aggressively.
Chris described Dumfries as enjoying a surprisingly tropical climate because of the Gulf Stream.
He told Chelsea to admire the palm trees.
Chelsea said she had never really seen any.
It was also raining.
The guide moved on.
Robert Burns, haggis, neeps and tatties
Dumfries had a much stronger claim through Robert Burns, who lived there.
That allowed Chris to move into Burns Night, haggis, neeps and tatties and Scottish cultural history.
Another local legend was Billy Marshall, described in the source as a smuggler and traveller community figure who was reputed to have lived until around 120.
Chris also found witchcraft trials, abbey stories and ghostly material.
By the end, Dumfries sounded considerably more dramatic than Chelsea had expected.
Was September already Christmas?
A listener then found an old Facebook memory claiming Scott and Chris had previously played Mariah Carey in September.
The question returned immediately.
Was it time for Christmas music?
Scott hesitated.
September still felt too early.
He did not want to annoy half the audience for no reason.
The decision was postponed until after the show’s next break.
Mariah could wait.
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