Chappers — or Chopper, as he’s sometimes known — spoke to Unofficial Mills about a variety of topics. Here’s what he had to say…
How did you get your job at Radio 1?
It was advertised and I applied. I wanted to work at Radio 1 since I was 12. Did work experience, hospital radio, et cetera. Then did a postgrad in broadcast journalism. Joined the BBC as a continuity announcer, took six months off to be a cricket reporter, came back to announcing and then applied to be the sports presenter at Radio 1 when it was advertised. The rest, as they say, is history. I’ve been here seven years as of September.
If you were not a sports journalist, what would you be doing?
No idea at all — probably doing something in sport.
If you could swap jobs with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?
I would like to be Cheryl Tweedy’s backstage dresser on the Girls Aloud tour.
What would you do if you were invisible for the day?
I wouldn’t like to be invisible. I’m paranoid enough.
Have you ever had an argument or fallen out with Scott?
Sad as this may sound, never.
Describe an average day in the life of Mark Chapman.
I get in to work about 8.30am where I start preparing stuff for the show. This tends to involve a lot of research for the sport bulletins — making sure they’re factually correct, finding the audio and editing it all, and then writing the material. Sometimes I have time for lunch, but not often, and occasionally there are voice-overs to be done. Then we do the show between 4 and 7, and then I tend to hang around for a couple of hours afterwards to be across all the evening sport before going home.
Who do you prefer to work with, Dave or Mills?
Impossible to answer. I love the variety of Scott’s show and the fact that I can dip in and out. I love the responsibility and being in charge of the desk and all the buttons when I work with Dave. I like the fact that working with Dave has led to us doing the Chappers and Dave World Tour. Doing gigs is a real laugh.
Was it more fun on the Breakfast Show with Coxy, or drive with Scott?
That’s not a fair question. Working with Coxy was a real laugh — you never knew what was coming next, and to do the Radio 1 Breakfast Show for four and a half years (I worked with Zoe as well) was a fantastic experience. That was what I wanted to do since I was 13. Working with Mills is more relaxed and less pressurised, and I like the features and the acting. I could get panto out of it.
What’s your favourite TV show?
Corrie.
This is no idle claim. Multiple episodes confirm he’s a serious Coronation Street fan — during one show he admitted to being aware of eleven missing episodes. During another, he exclaimed unprompted that it was “my favourite” while cross-talking during Innuendo Bingo.
What type of music do you like?
Guitar-based stuff like the Killers and Embrace. Madchester stuff like Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and James. And great big camp pop like Girls Aloud.
What is your favourite food?
Sunday roast.
Favourite drink?
Boddingtons.
During the Chappers and Dave World Tour gig at an RAF base in Norfolk — performed on the back of an articulated lorry in the pouring rain — he and Dave each consumed approximately nine cans of Boddingtons before getting on the fairground rides. He advises listeners that “excessive drinking is neither big nor clever, particularly if you go on the dodgems.”
Have you ever had to give out the flirt divert number?
You’re joking, aren’t you. Been a long time since a girl approached me.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to get a job on the radio?
Get work experience and be lucky.
Who is your all-time favourite Manchester United player?
Eric Cantona or Bryan Robson.
Do you remember the first game you saw at Old Trafford?
October ’81. I went for my 8th birthday with my dad and some friends. Beat Wolves 5–0, Sammy McIlroy got a hat-trick and Bryan Robson signed on the pitch before the game.
What’s the secret to Chappers and Dave still being on the air after all this time?
Unfortunately we cannot reveal the secrets to our amazing success at Radio One — if we did, any old trained chimp would be able to do our jobs. However, I can say that always being grateful and cheap will help any radio presenter’s career. Dave is probably the most grateful and cheap presenter I know.
When filling in for other DJs, which show do you most prefer doing?
I quite like being in Scott’s slot. He also seems to like this because it makes him seem so much better when he returns. I like it because it gives me a break from Dave. However, when we’re together, Vernon’s hours are the best — you get to talk football on the Saturday and play great music on the Sunday.
How did it feel at Christmas to have to come in and work with Dave when you could be at home with family watching Christmas TV?
I always get Christmas Day with my little boy so that’s all that matters. Christmas TV is usually crap so I don’t mind missing that — Dave’s motorway anecdotes are more entertaining. That’s how bad festive telly is.
When you first came on air as a duo you were branded “the Saint and Greavsie for a new generation,” but more recently you’ve become known by fellow DJs as “the Bert and Ernie of Radio 1.” Do you agree with either?
Who the hell has called us Bert and Ernie? How rude. Mind you, JK and Joel get called worse. I would say, given our DJing successes, we are probably the Chemical Brothers of Radio 1.
That was Chris Moyles, by the way.
Some might say three-and-in is a shambolic feature, but after several years it’s still going strong. What’s the secret to its success?
It isn’t a success. Fact. It is embarrassingly shocking and I don’t wish to be associated with it.
Are you ever put to shame by the amount of musical knowledge and useless facts that Dave knows?
Not at all. I am quite relieved that I actually have a life and get out and have kissed girls, rather than spending my teenage years immersed in trivia.
Brian Connelly or Brian Dowling?
Connelly is funny, charming, friendly, self-deprecating and a pleasure to know. Dowling isn’t.
You’ve taken MySpace by storm, with over 15,000 friends. What’s your secret?
Accept everybody! Also — and this sounds really w*nky — we do try and reply to a lot of the messages, particularly if they come from attractive people.
Would you like to do more TV work?
Don’t know, to be honest. I don’t mind doing telly, but it can take so long to do. Radio is much more fun and spontaneous.
As regulars on the gig scene, did you think the Chappers and Dave World Tour would take off as well as it has? Do you think Kanye West was impressed?
We never met Kanye because his appearance with us was getting more publicity than his tour, so he was made to pull out. I kid you not. We had no idea it would take off as it has. Trust us — nobody is more astonished than us.
Your MySpace caption says “What Goes On Tour Stays On Tour.” Can you reveal a bit more about what happens on tour?
No. Pay your money like everybody else, you cheeky gets.
What’s been the most bizarre gig you’ve done so far?
The last one was quite strange. We did it on the back of an articulated lorry in the pouring rain at the RAF in Norfolk. We had to go through all sorts of security checks before getting soaked for two hours, and then with ten minutes left we decided to go on the fairground rides there and nearly puked up the nine cans of Boddingtons — that’s BODDINGTONS — we had each drunk. We should point out that excessive drinking is neither big nor clever, particularly if you go on the dodgems.
Finally Chappers — do you still believe the people of Unofficial Mills regularly meet up “spray tanned, with dazzling white teeth, white wine a-go-go” discussing celebrity calls and the chart show, as you said last year?
Of course I don’t. I believe that you now discuss Laura’s Diary, angry pizza guy and Scott’s random TV appearances, while still being spray tanned with dazzling white teeth and drinking white wine. And does the website scare me? Of course it bloody does. You all know more about me than I do. It doesn’t get scarier than that.
Thanks Chappers!