Read this: Tony Moorey talks to Leona Graham

Hello, this is not Stuart Clarkson this is why might in saying welcome to the radio Today programme broadcast bionics working with the world leading broadcasters and equipment suppliers to transform industry standard technologies and workplace normally Woodhouse 2:00 and introducing me and the rest of the items those that are left on This podcast but at the moment with the things the way they are he like money was found who is spinning far too many plates all at the same time and it's been increasingly difficult to find Guess willing to come on the show at short notice the idea of This podcast has always been about reacting to the latest radio industry news, so when we asked for those to come on the shoulder in the news that week as only a short window of opportunity for this to happen before the weekly publishing date which is used on a Wednesday morning now some of you will have seen her.

Close to secure guests on social media, but we probably should say a lot about that we could of course change the feel of the podcast to be less topical we could do more timeless feature-based interviews with those in charge of and working in the radio industry.

This is something we may look at in the future depending on what happens now when Stuart told me he need a break from the podcast my first reaction was just a press pause pop the Sean home for a little while.

It's been running pretty much every week for 8 years.

We've had every from Bob shennan.

2D Ford quite literally.

What was on the first podcast and be was the last one from 2020 and with the end of David Lloyd's radio moments James Bond's weekly observations coming to a close and Trevor Downs round table at perishing during the last lockdown now seem like a good idea to press pause.

Was insistent it continues as usual Stuart has the best ideas out of the two of us, so single tweet asking for guest presenters resulted in literally dozens and dozens of people answering hour podcast hasn't been the best at diversity over the years but again we usually speak to those making the headlines in the radio industry, and it's true to say radio industry still working through Sony shoes with that so we can only speak to those running the radio industry and involved in the stories of the time but we working on that was pleasantly surprised with the amount of people that came forward to help us from part of the radio industry even I didn't know exist so we've got a whole mix bag of things coming up for you over the next few weeks.

Lot of people on the the DMS praising the podcast and offering to do their bit and I'm pleased to say we will continue the podcast until Stewart Returns with a different voice.

Interview every time over the next few weeks months maybe more so can I just say thank you for downloading? Thank you for listening to me and Stuart talk rubbish no mate the beginning of the podcast and then Delve into the more serious stuff with Stewart interviews which will hopefully be back when things get back to some kind of normality, so I'm waffling now which is what all good podcast do apparently and let's hand over to our first guest a lady who's been on This podcast herself quite a few times.

She's talking for a boss.

It's Leona Graham talking to Tony Maureen on the radio today podcast and my guess is Tony Morrey group director for both magic and Absolute Radio hello, how are you? I'm very very.

Very lovely to speak to you.

I've not spoken to you since we would have last bumped into each other and back when we are a bulb in Golden Square we met in the 90s at Radio 5 Live and you're a senior producer there.

You got me into do the voice overs there.

Can you remember those days with many happy memories? I don't actually think I can claim the glory of getting you in to do the voice overs.

I think that might have been Wendy Palma who was the A5 live who found you I had the great fortune to work with you, but it was Wendy's great idea to tie you and BBC old looking studio and then later on they literally just stuck a Bude in your office.

We were when we first all working together.

We would have been at.

In-house and that was you I'd always dreamed of working in broadcasting house and then they moved 5 live out to TV centre in White City before it way before it went to Salford and we built this kind of prefab sound isolation Booth which I was permanently from the small office on the 7th floor of TV centre, and I was permanently terrified that you were broke into this thing and sit down in there and then because it was so heavy it would crash through all 7 floors.

You don't you'll end up in the basement because sitting a little boobs at home what this is it and a colleague of yours and mine downright was I was talking to the other day about a similar thing and he was telling me about I think one of his maybe one of the radio stations he used to work at went to the extremes of building a studio that floated in oil just say.

Is so sound isolated no vibrations or anything else would get into it and now at here.

We all are just you know presenters a lot of presenters doing shows from under the duvet or the advice that we actually sent out to prevent presenters back in March April of last year was the best way of doing something with the set amount of Sound dead open your wardrobe and talk to your clothes because the clothes Echo won't the sound won't bounce back off the clothes that so much anymore.

Don't think white is precious about background noises in radio as we used to be in the old days away with all of that stuff and these last 9 months.

We've kind of learn the value actually of being at home and being a different environment and being an environment that's closer to the

Listeners are in so there might be a small difference on sound that somebody with really expensive hi-fi not be able to pick up but the benefit to being able to talk about working from home.

Just like you are lots of the list is far away presenters washing machines on high pitched spell in the Battlefront in working in radio, so I grew up in a pot of Stockport in Manchester and I was addicted to Piccadilly radio back fan and I never used to listen to Radio 1 radio to couldn't stand the BBC and you no pics.

Obviously it's one of those first big commercial.

VII IV commercial station on our in the UK and it has just so many amazing presenters who just used to create little world's whether it was a lamp or whether it was just you know the kind of the 5th of the mind staff and presenters like there's a guy called James H Reeve on there.

Who used to do a like a phone-in show are late at night.

It was a phone insulated like but I understand that one point the bosses Phantom from taking phone calls, so but he still managed to do speech radio show or so with loads of speech but with letters and all those remember notes and so it was it was just it was that sensitive part of a club and you decided to go into it as a producer was that a deliberate route or did you want to be a presenter? I have a feeling that maybe I wanted to be a presenter.

But then within about 3-weeks of actually being a radio studio helping out on a phone and show that actually understood that I didn't have it in me and production with the way to go absolutely beautiful.

It was actually it was Piccadilly but that point to be key 103 and Piccadilly 1152 and it was actually Piccadilly 1152 that I started popping in on a Saturday night to answer the phones for free.

We ordered it for a late night phone in Show by a guy fantastic presenter called on berto massive character, so I did that was the first my first yes exactly and it was good.

You know it was just good timing and my letter arrived.

Play weak when I think the previous person that used to go in and answer the phones for free did something that he shouldn't have needed somebody it's going and answer the phone so it was pure luck definitely so then you went to five live as a senior producer is that right? Yeah, I did say Piccadilly and key 103 for about 92 to 98 so doing first in phone and shows then playing out shows on tape like the Bacardi club chart on key 103 and then making pause and promos to Nutella stuff and then from that job came up at five live for a producer in the promos tin or the presentation unit as the and God knows tail fluke Lee got it.

I've spent the weekend beforehand revising on my sports knowledge.

Quite fen to be honest reading the sports papers for 3-days solid just trying to get everything in and I managed to pass the test faking it so from there you moved to Virgin as a producer and that's when our paths crossed again was that in around 2002.

It was during 5 live at 98.

Just before the World Cup 98 in France and left 5 Live just after the next World Cup and after two World Cups and four years of making trials for the Premier League and I make another football trailer and I was very very fortunate in the at the same again lucky timing I got a cold from Peyton Jeff who were doing drive to produce.

I think I've gone off to work at TV complete doing development work and they asked me if I'd like to come over I had a chat with them and yes from again small world.

Just because they did an amazing show in the afternoons on key 103 and they joined Virgin in 99 so got the opportunity to work with them on drivetime breakfast which was fantastic place things.

I think I've been really lucky with in fact the most the thing I've been most lucky word is I've had the opportunity.

I think to work with some amazing people in my career and almost nothing more important that if you get the opportunity to work with people who while supportive like David was or who you know I massively creative and you know in quite inspire like cliver.

You know what to talk about the mole Wendy 5 Live saying that David Lloyd faith in me to take a step up and

In charge of a couple of presenters who are already there on an established, so when you are in charge of programming you have the power then to say well.

I don't want you on at all.

I want you on at this time.

I want to bring in comparison with that feel like as your eyes your groin is a producer and then taking a step into management either one of the things you need to do is you need to become confident in view of what's going to be successful, but also try and instill confidence in others in decisions that you might be making where we are in a creative industry and that sometimes in Uno forwarded music radio creative.

There's not a faster man's creativity because you know where honing a product and we're aiming exactly this audience.

No that's actually it is a massively creative industry and how you was a presenter reach reach audiences and talk to them and connect with them and probably build a relationship with them.

And getting to know presenters and how they can do that and especially if you can work with the presenter unlock a deeper relationship between and the audiences massively fulfilling you went from producing weekends, then you move on to the weekday, so obviously at the management light what you were doing and then later on you became the program manager of absolute.

Yes, and you want some you is Frank Skinner and Dave Gorman and all kinds of documentaries and events.

What was it like bringing some new ideas and new shows and programs was really exciting it was obvious cracking but having the opportunity to do something like bring something like Frank Skinner an amazingly talented broadcaster to absolute was so exciting going through that process.

Clive at 5 Dickens who was the chief operating officer and Absolute Radio for the first 6 years and I think we cook today we talked it up, then you know I went Ellen did the deal with thanks and kind of legendary manager getting up to 22 over something like Frank was enormously rewarding and then Dave Gorman and yeah that show was on the radio for a couple of years, but it was so fantastic and those are too you know if I was to pull out the lights in my career those two would definitely be at and I'm just you know knowing that working with people like that.

I'm always a big Believer and I think this is one of the things that absolutes always brighten ACast right now with with Paul is don't hire a presenter and ask them to do something that isn't them you had somebody because of that.

They are in their style and and you don't give them the freedom to do it after program manager at Absolute Radio you then became content director in 2010.

What is the difference between those two rolls moving to a specific decision that we made myself and Clive where it would be a combining of the soul and the program inside of the business of the reason it wasn't program director it was content director was because I had the great fortune to then work not only with fantastic presenters from producers, but also the web team on content and we couldn't think of a nicer name and contender I hate the word content because it's just it's one of those words, but there's no word unfortunately and that was a sense of how can we ensure that more of what we do is not just focused on what's coming out of the radio which is?

The majority of how the audience is consuming us, but he's also the other in a whether it be online or whether it be social or Wetherby podcasts or all of these things that we should consider the same old part of our job.

We went just radio broadcasters than a digital team would try and do some separate digital things we wanted to be a fully digital radio station very very generic awful word, but unfortunately there's no other word for it social media and the internet is that when you thought of in streaming and also banana on Breakfast Show so couple of things that I can't take any credit for in-stream.

That's you know as it was again clives idea and a fantastic idea and if you don't know what instrument is and Clive realised that you know in an internet advertising revenue was going it would be more important to be able to allow the advertisers to speak to specific audiences, so if a beer and wants to advertise with those they might not want to speak to people under the age of 21 or if a a male grooming products play Taylor men's deodorant Gillette razors or something wanted to advertise with those they might not want to speak to when you know this is obvious stuff now.

That's been going around on the internet for ages, but what Clive was in was saying as we're as a station like absolutely having more and more people listening to us through the web, how can't we do that things are well?

But with the audio ants in the Stream has instream so you and I might be listening to Radio but might be getting a different stream of adverts and the thing that Clive was so fantastic about with this was he saw away that this could be better for the advertisers the radio station on the listeners better for the advertised as big so we're getting targeted advertising better the radio station because the advertising was targeted you can sell it at a premium and most importantly better for the listener because as the radio station with charging for the answer a premium.

We could give the listeners the reward of playing France so just the answer that right for them and in place.

You know one or two extra songs an hour so more of the stuff you are tuning in for so that was fantastic and it was very fortunate to work with amazingly talented people like Ben

Developers who we still work with Anthony ABBA who is it now in digital that was one of the great things about went absolutely sick some fantastically talented people absolute but they did updated all that stuff.

I just spoke about it at radio conferences and then you've got people in our music department James James current schedule different music for the advert that doesn't clash with something that I'm already playing for example project banana.

Which is as you may or may not know when absolute launched and then after we launched we launched onto the 80s and then Absolute Radio 90s and we already had absolute classic rock and everyday at breakfast time Christian did a fantastic Breakfast Show but it was all of those stations, but it was just one set of Music and it was so music the main station was playing so if you're listening to classic rock you'll be hearing stuff like Arctic Monkeys switch likely.

A cup of tea and for ages with wondered how can we is there a way of doing it so that if you're listening to 60s you just get the 60s songs and and between the fantastically quotes of people supporting people are the people behind selecting between again placing people on the digital DAB cider per absolute like they're Matthew Robbie Harrison of you know one of the engineers that you know I've worked most of the years and years was and the and the team on a day-by-day basis.

Got to this point where the main station would be scheduled first and then based on the times of the songs 60s 70s 80s 90s noughties and classic rock woodpits roughly fitted and it's it's just I'm still amazed to this day.

How seamless it sounds that matches that?

Hasn't been played recently and this kind of thing I fit all the criteria.

It's quite incredible.

How they do it and it's not just you know I think one of the criticisms of commercial radio is often the it's programmed by computers and lots of stuff and that is completely not the case what you know the music we work with but also in other stations around of very very good at doing is using the computer using laptop as a tool but then applying so much more art and love and care on that in terms of selecting might suggest a bunch of songs but then somebody like Tim Vernon who is the most picky music Scheduler on her spend hours on picking and tweaking until he gets the next he fixes.

Just write a perfectionist and will literally worked till very late at night every night.

He has to sow director of

Absolute Radio and then all of a sudden you go from here, then you ended up running magic as well.

Yes, which time of Canada out of the blue to me for the surprise to use him or supposed to me, but which was feel fortunate that when absolutely came part of our we didn't know that was going to go and you would probably still in the same things we were and PlayStation but ultimately a tiny company bought by a big company like Bower and you know we don't know whether barrel would treat us with care would or would undo all of the door Norwood just didn't know what was going to happen and we were very very fortunate that our saw the great Talent that we had and I'm not including me in this sort of great Talent that was an absolute and gave them an opportunity to give me an opportunity to take on magic which Hood recently become.

Toolstation and had song you know speak growth targets had a bit and needed a new Breakfast Show and kind of needed a bit of life back into it was fantastic radio station with hugely talented people oriented but needed a little reinvigoration and that was after years and years and years have been cold play Red Hot Chili Peppers Arctic Monkeys Absolute Radio that was an amazing challenge more magic Hands on then.

You are an absolute.

I mean does the running of absolute doesn't he's he's the program.

What's the correct time content director of absolute and because a mix of his fantastic program in judgement bottles have his Faithfulness and he takes care of the running of absolute very very nicely and has LED absolute onto bigger and better things.

So yes most of my time is spent working on magic and and now magix network of stations because your magic we learn from what we did absolute with the digital stations and launched magic soul on mellow magic and that sort of stuff so trying to pick some of the best with an absolute but also do some new things on magic that we had that I've never done before we got back up to the present day, but in a personal level now because of coving real working from home, but am I right in saying I'm talking to you right now when you're abroad by I am currently in Spain the so so my other half is out here mark is out here all the time and where are you very very?

Be able to get here as gold near got currently you know where in the very severe lockdown in the UK and nobody apart from a very limited number of radio shows a broadcasting from Golden Square so it was either be in on my own flat in Walthamstow or being out here with Mark so I decide with Mark and I don't think it's making a huge amount difference a whole chat with you and it's only just occurred to me and I presume it doesn't make any difference to programs radio station is in your whole job because we're all in a very times.

It doesn't really matter where they are for them for the moment.

It doesn't mean I cannot wait to see the and two and anybody that knows me will know this is true to at the end of the day after 10 if you want to go out to the pub next door to the pub and so.

This is fine for the moment, but ultimately I think an awful lot of people will never go back to five days a week in the office not just our place not just in our industry as a whole by still I still think that we need to retain a certain amount of being amongst each.

So do you think working from home is going to change our industry in the long-term even after covid-19 at home will go back to the studio and what you know.

I am in awe of yourself another radio broadcasters that are managed to do radio shows at the moment.

Not just from home which is the which must be a bit of a thing to get your head around not having the support system that your

Play used to but also when we're all stuck at home doing nothing.

You know what you're using a source of material for links at the moment.

When all were doing is watching Netflix they but yes, I think I think there's a few things.

I think some shows or just go back to the studio in their shows that need to be together double headers and all of that sort of stuff.

I think what this has shown as though is it possible to do shows around the country and different places and that's other stuff and possible that national radio station actually after this period will end up with having presenters based around the country and that actually mine makers a less london-centric broadcasting industry and the music director for magic and absolute is it is currently working in Scotland and that's really useful for us at the moment because we used to be.

A team of people based in London and at the moment Nina does frequent been different lockdown in Scotland and it's useful you know with it's easier for us to feel more in touch more different parts of the country, so I think that's important.

I also think that as we were saying earlier.

This is kind of tortoise this period that there's more important things than perfect sound quality and focusing on what we have in common with the audience actually is probably more powerful than a perfect Mike's yeah.

Yeah, I agree under from my point of view.

I quite enjoyed it, but really lovely to catch up with you and speak to you in the context of cost and best of luck for 20/21.

Thank you and you too.

Thank you very much for both magic and Absolute Radio this is Leona Graham and if you want.

My own podcast in tint it called rock and Road details on Instagram at Rock and Roll pod and my own one at Leona Graham DJ the radio programme with broadcast bionics creators of The Bionic studio listening watching reacting to and learning from every spoken word Kolo sweet and SMS to a mix-up and understand your content the bionic studio transform everything about radio except the Way You Make It by Tony you Leona as well.

Will have something completely different same time next week now before I go you may have heard of something called cleanfeed.

Cleanfeed is good weather is Adobe an interview are co-hosting it's designed for radio and podcasters and it's simple to connect live audio over the web the quality is great and you can record to play Feed doesn't cost.

Get started right now cleanfeed dot net that's you lots.

Thank you so much for everybody getting in touch.

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