Andy Bush. Radio DJ - Absolute Radio
BA, American Studies
Class of 1998
Andy Bush. BA, American Studies. Class of 1998
Let's start at the beginning: how did you end up at Swansea University?
I kind of fell in love with the idea of doing American Studies, because my Media Studies teacher at school in Devon had done that as his degree. And it was a good all-rounder subject because it had the mix of politics and history and stuff like that. So, I thought it sounded fascinating. Obviously, the year abroad element of it was another real draw for me as well. Not that many universities offer that. I don't know why, as I had gone to see quite a few different universities, but I signed up for Swansea based on the prospectus alone; I never actually went to have a look around the university or the town, which is crazy. But that's how I ended up there. It was my first choice and everything, but I never went to visit first. I ended up at Sibley in one of the big blocks, sharing a room with another student.
How did the sharing go?
Oh, he was doing civil engineering. It was a guy from Porthcawl. And he only lasted like one term and then quit. I used to come back from lectures, and he would be sat there playing video games. I think he never got involved. I ended up moving in with some friends at Hendrefoilan student village after that. That was where I feel my university experience started for me. I was a little bit lonely before that and at that time was probably a bit shyer than I am now. It just took a little while to mix in with people. I loved Hendrefoilan – it was a great place.
Did you get involved with student radio and things like that?
No, not at all. To be honest with you, I wasn’t really interested in radio at all, until I accidentally ended up getting involved with it when we moved to Bristol. I was playing in a band at Swansea. And then we decided that we were going to try and get signed. So, we moved to the next nearest big city, which was Bristol, and we all lived there together. We did pretty well, played up and down the country and everything. But then I kind of fell into radio and that put the end to my live music career. I started to do the breakfast show in Bristol. And there was no way I was getting back at 2am from Leeds and then getting up at half four to go and do a breakfast show. So, I had to choose one or the other.
You've been on the radio for a long time. How has the role of radio as a cultural touchstone changed in British life since you started in your career?
Yeah, I mean, it's changed a hell of a lot, right? The radio industry has changed a hell of a lot. I think I'd got in just when there were lots of radio stations around. Now, they've kind of been divided amongst three behemoths that own all the stations and they've rebranded them all. The little station I worked in, it's now become a Heart station, and they've networked a lot of it. It's harder to get into it now. But there's always been this big thing about whether Spotify is going to defeat radio and, if people can choose their own playlists now, whether they need a radio station at all. Well, I think lockdown really reaffirmed the connection between audience and radio more so than ever before. There's been this kind of rekindled love for radio. We got a lot of messages from people because we were on air all the way through lockdown. People struggled mental health wise. Radio helped get us through that because they felt like they were connecting with other people who were all in the same situation. And yeah, playlists are fine, but there's something culturally about all listening to something at the same time. You know other people are engaging in that simultaneously. So I think radio presenting has gone through a period of maybe being slightly flippant in the 90s. A little bit road show; a little bit wacky and then something has happened in the past few years, particularly through lockdown where you got a sense of how important connection is, you've got a duty of care a little bit for people's mental health and their well-being and people rely on it more. I think we've seen that people rely on your voice and your interaction more than you maybe thought they did a few years back. So, it's good for breaking down those barriers in terms of loneliness and connecting people and making them feel that they're a part of something rather than just listening to a playlist that has nobody behind it.
I guess it's the kind of radio that you do. For me, it's always been a two-way street. I've always tried to have a persistent ongoing conversation with the audience, whether that's through social media or reading their messages out, or the way we do it on Hometime on Absolute Radio is, it's built by the audience. We'll put stuff out there, but the things that they come back in with in terms of stuff that we read out on air, or the features that we put out on the show, they're just geniuses. They're brilliant. It's as much their creation as it is our creation. We couldn't do without them really.
Absolute Radio has got its own distinct personality. How do you see it contributing to the wider British culture?
I think British culture has always loved an underdog. Radio has always been a kind of plucky underdog right from the start. It's always punched well above its weight with celebrity presenters or awards. We've been merged into Bauer, but we've kept our identity. And we're an important part of Bauer’s portfolio like the big hitters, Magic and Hits Radio and Greatest Hits and stuff like that, but there's always room for a place that exists on the boundaries and is quite close to the edge. And that's where Absolute Radio kind of thrives really, and that's quite a key role, because radio has gone towards the middle. The big names, I think, are in the common ground, but there's still room for people who want to try and exist on the periphery and take it as close to the edge as you possibly can. And that's the kind of radio that I'm interested in.
When you say taking it to the edge. What do you mean, musically? Or in terms of the people you would interview or the features that you run? Or is it a mixture of all of them?
I mean, it's like having someone like Frank Skinner on a Saturday morning as a presenter or Skin from Skunk Anansie doing a Sunday night music show or Tim Burgess from the Charlatans does a regular Sunday night listening party for us. So, it's different. I think the shows do fun and interesting things that are different to the rest of commercial radio. When I first joined the Christian O’Connell breakfast show, we did a Le Mans style, disability scooter race around the roundabout in the centre of golden square in Soho. Other radio stations don't really think like that.
Technology is changing how we consume music, whereas radio was the place to hear new music. What challenges and opportunities do you see for radio in that space?
I think from our perspective, we don't really break any music. People don't come to the radio for new music. Occasionally, we might kind of shepherd you into a bit of Last Dinner Party or Wet Leg or something like that. It's a mix of familiarity with a couple of songs thrown in by bands that have recently broken. I think what the doomsday scenario of Spotify being the radio killer has ended up as quite a nice symbiotic relationship where people listen to the radio for the familiarity, and the routine. They might hear a new song on the radio or a song they haven't heard for a long time and then they'll go on Spotify and listen to the album. But it won't in any way reduce their allegiance to listening to Absolute Radio. People listen to the radio in the car and at work or on the school run. We thought one would win out over the other, but they're working hand in hand. I think with podcasts, you'll take your favourite characters or your favourite topics, and you'll do a further delve into that. And that might be on your run, or it might be when you're doing some painting or creative stuff, or it might be to go to sleep or commuting. I think people are using audio to fill in more boring bits of their lives and enlightening them and enriching them a little bit more than maybe they would have done previously. People listen to audiobooks and podcasts and stuff on the train to and from work. I don't see that as a threat to radio because I think radio is always going to be a place for connection and a jumping off point to explore sounds and topics further. Radio is the shop window.
Radio can be a powerful tool for connection. Has your experience shown that Absolute Radio fosters a sense of community among listeners across the country?
I've done quite a lot over the years for mental health with the show. I did a lot of meetups during lockdown on Zoom for people, just to talk about stuff because there's a lot of lonely people or people losing it a little bit during lockdown. I used to do a thing called the “No Office, Office Party.” It was for people who are self-employed. We used to rent a pub once a year near Christmas time and give them an office party. The rest of the accounts team went to the pub, so we threw a party for the lone workers. What's been lovely is that they message me each year, those people that were all introduced to each other for the first time through the No Office, Office Party. They still have a meet-up. Stuff like that is really, really rewarding. I think radio has had a huge effect on connecting people, and our use of social media around the radio show; various people comment on forums or on Facebook posts. A lot of the regular listeners will talk amongst each other off the back of posts that we've put out about different issues. So, there's a stronger sense of community than ever before.
So, in that sense, radio has changed. You've got the actual show, the station itself, and you're also on the social media channels, and you're interacting with the people that are listening to you as well. It's morphed into something completely different. And that's the way it works. We'll put stuff out in the morning, kind of go fishing with a little bit, then people will come back to you on Twitter, then I'll message them back and ask them a little bit more about it, we might arrange to do a phone call with them. It allows collaboration between us and the listeners. It’s become more of a thing that you can constantly chat to people; I think it's great. I love that, and I don't know whether I'd have done very well back in the day of radio where people would write in. I like that you can get an instant response for something or an instant clarification on something or they all come out with something that you never thought of in a million years. And a show topic will take a complete turn. And that's the bit I love the most.
Absolute Radio is known for championing alternative and indie music. Do you think this rebellious spirit plays into keeping British radio fresh and exciting?
Absolutely. We do have certain bands that we champion; I think we give the audience what they want. I don't think our audience is people who want to hear a load of bands they've never heard of before. They want to hear bands that they think are still great and some classics. They want to hear songs that they know – maybe occasionally get introduced to something a little bit different. We also mix it up with features and a bit of chat about various topics. If they want to go and find, you know, a three-piece punk outfit from Seattle, they'll go jump on Spotify and go listen to that, but maybe it’s not necessarily what they want to hear whilst they're doing their accounting in the middle of the day from the home office. I think Absolute Radio to this day retains its edge, and that's why it's been so well recognised in the awards and in the industry for thinking differently, and it attracts people who think differently as well.
You studied American Studies at Swansea; I've also read somewhere that you're a Delta blues guitarist. Have you always had a fascination with American culture? And has that influenced your radio show?
I still think my American Studies degree was the best time of my life. My year abroad in America was brilliant. It was such a lovely department with the most amazing collection of people. It was just a great department, and this was in the era when American Studies was in a kind of prefab on campus. I think they've moved into a much nicer block now, so I’m very happy for them. I did American Studies during the most inert period of American history. I think Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky was probably the most notable thing that happened when I was doing American Studies, but it was just fascinating. I wouldn't want to do a narrow subject. That's why I thought that the breadth of American Studies and its relevance to the modern world was so important; from TV, to film, to slavery, to the Puritans and Delta Blues, and, you know, all that kind of stuff. There's just so many facets of American history and culture that I'm still fascinated by today. I still follow NFL, still follow Major League Baseball and American music and American shows. I still feel privileged that I got a chance to learn it in Swansea,
I think it taught me above and beyond cultural stuff, just to how to adapt and to get on with people. And I, you know, I like listening to people's stories on what they've been doing and what they've been up to. I’m interested in interesting people who come from different diverse backgrounds and finding out what makes them tick, what they're into and what their life's like. That’s the thing about my radio career: I’m just curious about people to be honest.
Your “Celebs at Home” doodles are brilliant. How did that start?
I started doing cartoons for the Swansea Uni student magazine. Those were the first cartoons I ever did. They were all about famous, iconic things in weird situations. I think one of the ones I did for them was Batman getting the Bat sign and then he hadn't done his washing properly overnight and was trying to find some clean clothes and stuff like that. And that sent me on my way, really. I got some stuff published through the Swansea newspapers. It has been a side thing for me ever since. The Celebs at Home went well; I got a book from it and did a lovely exhibition for the Teenage Cancer Trust in Piccadilly. And cards and calendars. I've had a couple of things published recently in Private Eye, which is nice. But the day job is all-consuming; trying to find time to switch your brain over isn’t easy. I do a lot of podcasting as well. I'm trying to make more time for drawing, because it's something that I love doing. It's a really good way to de-stress for me, but sometimes it's hard to find the time to do it properly.
