A butcher’s breakfast mystery
Scott began the day in a London market district where butchers finishing their night shifts filled early-opening pubs and cafés. His breakfast contained bacon, sausage and a large bone resembling something intended for a dog. Unsure what else to do, he licked it.
Listeners offered conflicting explanations: he should eat the marrow, pour it over the meat or boil it. Scott remained no wiser but felt licking the bone had been a reasonable response to an item he had never previously found beside the beans.
The rap reaches its deadline
Abandoman’s lesson had helped Scott complete the World Cup rap by 12.30. He recorded it over the track’s spacious drum break and sent it to the producer mixing the song. The original section was intended to last 20 or 30 seconds, but the team shortened it to avoid damaging the strong material sung by 5 Seconds of Summer.
Scott struggled to choose a delivery style. A monotone John Barnes tribute, an energetic performance, a voiceover voice and his natural accent all competed. Fearne Cotton had seen him through the studio window gripping his headphones and rapping with the manner of a vicar or newsreader. The vocal was finished, but commentary remained missing.
Guy Mowbray joins the record
Chris argued that classic football songs required commentary. Scott first tested the idea with Innuendo Bingo material: a player hanging like a basketball player, Ian Holloway having a huge job on, a footballer going down on himself and a defender up Robin van Persie’s backside. The clips were memorable but lacked the intended emotional lift.
Guy Mowbray remembered working with Scott at the Radio 1 football match, where Scott confused football and rugby positions, searched for the umpire and described a player having a good lob. For the new song, Guy approved the basic ingredients: a chant, an upbeat tune, a rap, something supporters could sing on the terraces and no forced Brazilian samba sound.
He agreed to record lines about Scott and the band in his professional commentary voice. Although genuine commentary was easier while watching a match, he accepted Scott’s prepared phrases and the chance for what was jokingly presented as his big career break.
The voice of the balls
At Big Weekend’s Friday dance event, Scott and Greg James had released two enormous inflatable balls during Pete Tong’s playing of “My Balls”. Wind repeatedly blew them back towards the stage, one burst and another disappeared, while Selena Gomez appeared to act as an unimpressed independent adjudicator.
Alan Dedicoat, the voice of the National Lottery balls, had recorded a full commentary. He announced “set of balls number one”, called Glasgow the machine of choice and described the pair as the biggest he had seen. He followed them around the crowd, awarded an estimated jackpot of 12 million Rob Brydon points and continued talking balls because nobody stopped him.
Pharrell’s mysterious Mr Nigel
Pharrell Williams had repeatedly thanked a Radio 1 employee named Nigel during Big Weekend. Nigel helped decide which music the station played, but Pharrell elevated him into a cigar-smoking kingmaker capable of creating stars. Scott suspected Nigel had introduced himself as the programme director and cultivated the relationship rather more grandly than his actual title justified.
The repeated shout-outs made Scott want “Thank you, Nigel” shirts throughout Pharrell’s crowds. He also credited Nigel with reviving the singer’s career after a quieter period, imagining another private meeting and the words “I’ll make you a star again”.
A belated Bamboleo and a Milky Chance
Listener Lizzie called to complain that Bamboleo Wednesday had been forgotten. Scott immediately restored it and played footage of 50,000 people dancing before Katy Perry’s Big Weekend set. The bank holiday had confused everybody’s sense of the week, making the midweek marker unusually necessary.
The team then sent colleague Lauren to a coffee shop with an order that included “one Milky Chance”. She accepted the request and was told to insist she had ordered it before, leaving the studio unsure whether she would return with a drink inspired by Radio 1’s Track of the Day or simply a refusal.
Rhianna Dhillon checks the film facts
Film critic Rhianna Dhillon returned for Real or No Real and described a difficult three-minute interview with Ethan Hawke, who answered nine questions in the time because each response lasted only a few words. He was not unpleasant, but the silence after every answer left her intimidated and scrambling for another question.
Jen Long had not invaded Katy Perry’s stage and been removed by security. Google really had unveiled a self-driving prototype with only go and stop controls. Huw Edwards did wear shoes behind the BBC News at Ten desk, while there really was a campaign for Eamonn Holmes to become mayor of Chicago in 2015. Rhianna won 30–20 before the show turned towards Scott’s hour with One Direction the following afternoon.
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