Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Olympic cyclist who won Britain's first cycling gold in 72 years, later a businessman and cycling commissioner.
On the island
Eight records
Well I was 11 years old when I first heard this one back in 77 because it was the first track that intrigued me and made me notice music and it was on while my dad was wallpapering at home and I was also fascinated by the album cover so it was ELO's Mr. Blue Sky.
Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
This one is from the late 90s actually, the period that we were just talking about. It was just as I was coming up to retirement. And I chose it because I love things that are creative, not just a great sound, but poetry to words. And Baz Luhrmann's sunscreen song, Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen, I thought was just ingeniously clever.
It was actually my wife Sally who is a big fan of Flight of the Concords and so she infected all of our children with this love of the New Zealand band and their humour that was built in and then phrases started to come out around the house the day after my birthday is not my birthday mom. And it's something that connects us all really and this one is called Hurt Feelings.
The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)Favourite
Most of my songs are tied to family life, and this was very early on when I used to work in Peter's Furniture Emporium in Higher Tranmere. And Sally and I were in our first house behind the technical college in Birkenhead, which we could afford to heat one room of, and used to be ice in the winter on the insides of the windows. So you can get the violins out. And we used to wrap Edward up, our first son, and put him in his bed. And I used to hear Sally singing this to him. And it's by Simon and Garfunkel, but in our house, it was just called Groovy.
Well, it's not a song that I particularly like, but it does signify that moment, I'm afraid, and it is the moment when I went from being unemployed and having no money to being, whether I liked it or not, a household name. It's marked by Barcelona by Freddie Mercury.
Well, this was a time when we bumped into weird things and you have experiences like doing things like this that you don't normally have. And we bumped into a friend who worked for the Rolling Stones. And so we used to go and see them in concert quite often. And so it has to be a stones track, Sympathy with the Devil.
The song now is by Carly Simon, and I don't think I've ever heard Carly Simon sing it. I've only heard Sally, my wife, sing it around the house to the kids. And in fact, she contests that the song was stolen. But since she was four when it was released, I think that timeline is a little bit sceptical. But it's Embrace Me Child by Carly Simon.
I think this one's really about following a path and something we've just been talking about that money and riches and all glory, it doesn't make you happy. I think not having money can make you unhappy, but having the trappings of wealth and stuff doesn't make you happy. And that's what this song is all about really. And I'm glad that this particular path is a circular one, Yellow Brick Road.
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:06What changes have you seen during lockdown in terms of cycling?
I'm very, very wary of using the term opportunity in the midst of a pandemic when people are dying. But I think we'd be very foolish not to notice some of the things that happened when we effectively turned off global traffic. … we started a worldwide consultation on how we use our roads. … when you gave people quiet streets … people wanted to ride bikes and they did that in their droves.
Presenter asks
2:50What changes are you planning to introduce as Cycling and Walking Commissioner to make cycling more appealing?
You need to be able to look out the car window and think, oh, I quite fancy that. Because if you don't, why would you get out of the car? … I need safe space and I need to be joined up to where I want to go. … we need a network fully connected that could be used by a competent 12-year-old.
Presenter asks
5:29Who inspired you when you were starting out in cycling?
I was a bit bullied and couldn't wait to leave. And I left with quite low self-esteem and low self-confidence. And suddenly I found something that I could do that other people couldn't, and that gave me that self-esteem. But my self-worth was wrapped up in results, and that's not healthy. So luckily, I bumped into Peter Keen, who changed the focus to being about being better rather than being the best
The keepsakes
The book
Iain M. Banks
it's written entirely phonetically, curious from the point of view of an ant.
The luxury
I'm going to grow some corn or I might catch a lobster. There is nothing that butter does not make better.
Presenter asks
6:44How confident are you that cycling is now a clean sport?
You couldn't win at things that I should be able to win at and it was quite depressing. But I'm glad to say, and it's taken years and years, that cycling is probably one of the cleanest, if not the cleanest, endurance sport in the world now.
Presenter asks
13:00How did you react when things had gone badly in a race?
I just get emotionally down about losing. It's quite hard now actually to think back to how obsessed and it was an obsessive behaviour that was being encouraged because that happens in sport. Obsessive and unhealthy behaviour is called dedicated and so it's disguised and not recognised for what it is.
Presenter asks
18:19When did you realise your life had changed after winning the Olympic gold?
We went home … and it was full of people and every shop had a display in the window and we turned into our little terrace street and it was just full of people and I didn't like it at all because … this is where I live. This is normal. … That was culture shock.
Presenter asks
20:39How did professional cycling agree with you after Barcelona?
It was horrible because I'd gone into this world of road racing, which I'd never done before, and it just felt like I was surrounded by complete nutters … and I had to reluctantly admit that it was skill and I didn't have enough of it.
Presenter asks
26:40How did your mother's death affect you?
I still haven't really worked out how to deal with it, to be honest. … one of the most wonderful people that you could ever meet … was suddenly taken away because somebody was texting.
Presenter asks
29:13Have you learned anything about yourself during lockdown?
I've learned that the things that I enjoy and value don't cost money. My kids and my grandkids all came to stay for the duration … I have a relationship with my grandkids now that I didn't have and I'm very thankful for that.
“No I don't [remember the race] and then suddenly it's over.”
“I'd seen people jumping up and down on podiums and in tears … and I thought that doesn't happen to people like me. I'm the unemployed carpenter, people on television do that. And then, in an instant, I was one of the people on the television, and I just felt shocked.”
“Portion of chips, please … and he holds his hand up and says, No. … It's okay. And that's when I knew I'd made it.”
“I still haven't really worked out how to deal with [my mother's death], to be honest. … The worst bit has been watching my dad, who had his life partner and they spent all their time together. … one of the most wonderful people that you could ever meet … was suddenly taken away because somebody was texting.”
“I've got six kids, two grandkids … we all ate dinner every night together for four months and I loved it. … I'm also going to grasp the things that I took from it and I have a relationship with my grandkids now that I didn't have and I'm very thankful for that.”