Rave Up with Arielle Free

[Viv]

So, Scott has been exclusively talking to "Outmag".

Now, aged 39, and presenting the afternoon Scott Mills Show on Radio One, he has decided to reveal more about his life with the publication of his autobiography, Love You Bye. The book reveals that behind his seemingly self-assured and slick banter, the presenter has sometimes struggled with his own demons.

David Hudson interviews him and here are just some of the answers:-

Was there anything you found it difficult to write about?

Having never done this before, I found the structure of it was the hardest part: what to put where, and creating chapters that make sense, as the stories dart about everywhere. There’s a lot about my teenage years, and there’s a lot about depression and anxiety in there, which I found quite hard to write about, because when you write it all down and you see it in print it’s quite scary! It’s the most that I’ve ever opened up to anyone, but in a way, I feel quite good about it.

Was is it hard to write about other people?

Yeah, there is that. Obviously, I didn’t want to make it a bitch-fest. You’re writing about ex boyfriends, but I’m the kind of person who keeps in touch with ex boyfriends, so it’s kind of fine. There are a couple of stories about famous people that might surprise, but they’re not done in a bitchy way. The worse thing is, you think, “Who have I left out?” Because there will be people who are probably thinking that they might get a mention, and it’s quite… well, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

After his eight-year stint, Chris Moyles is leaving the Breakfast Show slot this month. You’ve often filled in for him while he’s been away. Was there any disappointment on your part that you weren’t offered the position of full-time host?

Erm… do you know what? If this had happened three or four years ago, and I hadn’t got it, I’d have been quite surprised and I would have probably been very disappointed, because I feel that at one point I was in line for it. Now that it’s happened, I kind of don’t want to do it anymore [laughs]. And, you’ve also got to see it from a Radio One perspective. They can’t replace like for like. They need someone younger, because that’s the remit of the radio station. So, this time, to be honest, my time passed, both for them and for me. It’s not something that I’d want to do now anyway. I’m quite happy where I am, and I think that they have to do something different now as well, and something quite radically different, which is what they’re doing.

Radio One is very firmly geared towards the youth market these days. Do you ever feel presenters, or pop acts, are discriminated against purely because of their age?

I know what you mean, but I think they have to play music that appeals to a younger audience. They have to, because that’s what the government tells them to do [laughs]. I don’t think there’s age discrimination at all. I would still have the first play of a Madonna track (ROCK ON!!!! :hahaha:) You still hear U2 on Radio One, and all that stuff, so I don’t think that’s the case, but they have to remain relevant and if somebody, like an older artist, is not relevant to a younger audience any more, then I don’t think Radio One should play them. I totally think that that’s the right thing to do, because Radio Two is amazingly successful and does all that very well.

Do you have a partner?

I do, yes. He’s the manager of a store in Essex and I met him through a friend of a friend, and he’s lovely and I’ve been seeing him for over a year now. And he has to deal with my weird job, which involves me going away a lot. At the moment I’m going away to Greece every weekend to do DJ gigs, and obviously there’s a radio show every day which is my routine day job, but also there’s a lot of stuff that I do around that. And it is irregular hours, and I can get tired and grumpy sometimes, and he puts up with it and is lovely, so I’m lucky. I’m a lucky boy.

Do you feel the job of being a radio DJ has changed in the last 20 years, or is it still basically the job you set out to do?

I think it’s massively changed. If you think about the job I set out to do when I was 16, you could probably only call a radio station on the phone. You couldn’t text them, you couldn’t get hold of them on Twitter or Facebook. Social media has completely changed the way that my show works. I’m embracing of that because it makes it a totally interactive experience, and for a lot of the time on my show, you feel that the audience is running the show, which I quite like.The other thing that’s completely changed is the multi-platform scenario. I got into radio because I didn’t want anyone to see me, because I was shy. And now, pretty much anything of any note gets filmed and put on YouTube and put on the website. I would say that’s only been happening in the last 3, 4, 5 years. We used to put videos on, but now we do live streaming of things. I did an interview yesterday and that was all streamed on the website for people to watch. I didn’t really see that coming but it has to, because that’s how people consume things, and I think radio, probably, in the world we live in now, on its own, for young people –not for the older generation – but for young people, I think it’s a bit one dimensional. I think you have to keep up with that otherwise you’re not going to win.

PLUS: Viv's views. Just have to pick up one of the points I disagree with - 1. I wouldn't call Radio 2 "amazingly successful"... if anything, this is where a whole load of problems are coming up for the listeners R1 wants to get rid of. R2's image is OLD. They still have a number of songs from bands such as "The Beach Boys" on the playlist, a 60's morning on Saturday, suitable for people of MY parents' age, etc., etc. This is why listeners (of all ages) who want NEW MUSIC will still turn to Radio 1, and their drive to take down the average age WILL continue to fail.

Good interview however, and a lot of interesting stuff there !! :-)

www.outmag.co.uk - Outmag will be on ACTUAL SHELVES from October 2012 - find it at WHS and other retailers !!

[Harkinson]

Maybe they should start up a Radio 1+ for older people who'd prefer a slightly more pop-oriented playlist than Radio 2's playlist...

(Also, they could put all the 'old' DJs on it when they are getting booted)

[Viv]

Christ. What an excellent idea. An actual radio 1 plus. Would actually solve so many problems. i wonder what will happen to grimmy, james, etc. when the age range does not go down? fire them all too?

[Viv]

Btw, this isn't the complete interview. I have missed out all the "gay" stuff, which is sooooo tedious. For the full interview, pls visit www.outmag.co.uk .. Incidentally, mills has just told "gay times" he is STILL receiving tweets asking if he is gay, or people just finding it out.

[Harkinson]

Well, it's hardly obvious.. Well, not too obvious.

He also did some Radio 1 bitching in another interview..

Mills said losing his drive-time show after eight years to Greg James was ‘like a punch in the stomach’. But it’s not the first hurdle that Mills has had to overcome at the station, after he confronted loud mouth Chris Moyles.

‘He can come across as homophobic, but it’s because he’s so not that he thinks it’s OK to say some things,’ Mills said. ‘I was quite scared and overwhelmed by him. I dreaded hosting the show before or after him because of what he was going to say.

‘I went in one day and said: “What’s your problem?” When I confronted him he was an absolute puppy dog.’

[Viv]

Will read properly tomorrow. Every time i try to click on your links, my 'orange' has a fit and shuts down.

[Harkinson]

The full interview is in Now magazine!

[Viv]

Have read now. Absolutely shocking. :-(

[spotty]

The picture used on the website http://www.outmag.co.uk/site/images/stories/scottmills.jpg isnt very flattering at all, it could be my computer but he looks so pale and one thing Scott isnt is pale.

[R94N]

Looks like a photo he had done before he had the tan

[Viv]

Funnily enough, I prefer him without all his tanning products.** But that is just a bit too pale.

** personal choice, mind you !! :-)

[GoOnPigs]

I actually really like that picture of Scott. Love the fluffy hair

[Viv]

I like the fluffy hair too, oddly enough!! :hahaha: he is quite cute in that pic, if just a bit too pale.

[GoOnPigs]

I dont think hes actually that pale in that pic. I think its just cos we're so used to seeing him orange!

[Viv]

Yeh. True actually !! :hahaha:

[MrDoovdeHaxorz]

Have to disagree about Radio2 here, it's SUPPOSED to be for an older audience with a wide scope across time for the music they play. Just because the BBC don't set the same age range for it as certain people here doesn't mean what they're doing is wrong.

Also, 6Music is SO MUCH BETTER for audiences who want new music, more of an audience are going to that than it is given credit for.