At 8:30, the studio lights dimmed (literally — Scott asked for “mood lighting”) as Barry Manilow joined live to talk about his new album Once Before I Go and upcoming farewell tour.
“You don’t just listen to Barry Manilow — you feel him through the car speakers.” – Scott Mills
“I never thought I’d be the reason people were crying at breakfast… but I’ll take it.” – Barry Manilow
“We’ve gone from burnt toast to the king of ballads in under two minutes — that’s Radio 2 magic.” – Tina Daheley
Toast, traffic and Tina’s tea disaster
Scott announced he’d burned his morning toast “so perfectly it looks artisanal”, while Tina Daheley admitted she’d left her tea bag in so long it “could file for a pension.” The pair joked about launching a new café called Scalded & Charred, which quickly became a running gag throughout the show.
Listener texts poured in with breakfast disasters of their own — including a man who tried to defrost a croissant in his tumble dryer, and another who claimed to have buttered his thumb by mistake. Scott summed it up: “We’re not a breakfast show; we’re a public safety announcement.”
Unexpected small talk and a loud Alexa
Midway through the morning, Scott tried to cue a travel bulletin but accidentally triggered his smart speaker live on air. “Alexa, play Radio 1,” it responded, sending Tina into hysterics. She quipped: “Even your tech is trying to leave you.”
Listeners loved the chaos. One woman in Wolverhampton texted that her Alexa had joined in and was now playing Mandy at full blast, which felt prophetic once Barry Manilow arrived later in the show.
Breakfast therapy and listener overshares
A segment on “little things that make you irrationally emotional” had listeners pouring their hearts out. One man said he’d cried at a train leaving a station, another admitted he gets teary whenever someone waves at a bin lorry. Tina confessed hers was old people holding hands, while Scott added “mine’s that little noise when your microwave finishes – it sounds like it’s saying goodbye.”
It was the perfect emotional warm-up for the morning’s guest.
Barry Manilow – warmth, wit and pure showbiz 🎹✨
At 8:30, the studio lights dimmed (literally — Scott asked for “mood lighting”) as Barry Manilow joined live to talk about his new album Once Before I Go and upcoming farewell tour. From the moment he said “Good morning, London,” the studio melted. Scott greeted him with “You’re basically Radio 2 royalty,” to which Barry replied: “I never thought I’d be the reason people were crying at breakfast… but I’ll take it.”
Barry spoke warmly about the emotion behind the new record. “It’s not a goodbye,” he clarified. “It’s a love letter to everyone who’s been there all these years.” He said he’d written most of it late at night at his piano in Palm Springs, “thinking about all the faces I’ve seen from the stage — the same ones, year after year, getting older with me.” Scott admitted he’d listened to the title track three times that morning: “You don’t just listen to Barry Manilow — you feel him through the car speakers.”
They reminisced about his decades of touring, with Barry joking that he once got lost trying to find the stage in Birmingham and accidentally joined a hen party. “They didn’t mind. They got a free chorus of Copacabana.” Tina asked how he still has the energy to perform night after night. Barry’s answer was simple: “Adrenaline and gratitude. When you love what you do, it keeps you upright.”
When Scott brought up Mandy, Barry laughed: “That song follows me everywhere — supermarkets, taxis, even airports in Tokyo. I once heard it on hold to my own accountant.” He admitted he still sings it differently now: “It’s slower. I understand it better. The lyrics feel lived-in.”
To close, Barry shared a moment of unexpected depth. “People think I’m the ‘happy songs’ guy, but sadness is where the music comes from. You take heartbreak, turn it into melody, and somehow it makes everyone feel less alone.” Scott ended the interview visibly emotional: “There are legends, and then there’s Barry Manilow.”
Aftermath and accidental karaoke
When the music faded, the studio was still buzzing. Tina tried to regain composure but immediately set off another round of laughter by accidentally cueing Copacabana again. “He’s gone, Tina — let him rest!” Scott shouted.
Listeners texted in saying they’d pulled over on school runs to cry, one calling it “the most emotional breakfast since the Queen’s Jubilee.” Another summed up the mood perfectly: “It’s raining, my toast is burnt, and Barry Manilow just fixed my soul.”
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