Category: News
Steve Lamacq’s farewell
Steve Lamacq presented the final edition of his regular Radio 1 programme.
He recalled meeting a musician from a band he had followed around Britain while writing a teenage fanzine.
During a later night of drinking and reminiscing, Lamacq had promised that when Radio 1 eventually “gave him the push”, he would end his final programme with one particular song by that band.
He kept the promise, thanked everybody who had listened to or worked on his programmes and told the mu [...]
Chipmunk and Nick Grimshaw
Chipmunk told Nick Grimshaw about the strange way Danny Howard had entered his life.
After a performance in Bristol, Chipmunk met Scott and was pleased that the Radio 1 presenter knew and liked his work.
The following morning, Chipmunk’s brother — who worked for Virgin — phoned to say he was repairing Danny Howard’s car.
Chipmunk was amazed that two figures from the programme had appeared in his life within such a short period.
Grimshaw joked that Chipmunk’s brother wa [...]
After Edinburgh
The team returned from a week they described as a blur.
They said the musical had received a surprisingly strong review in The Observer and continued directing listeners to the filmed production online.
The Chippendales’ birthday visit was also mentioned in the review, confirming that it had become part of the wider Edinburgh story.
Oh, What’s Occurring?
The first round counted every use of “Beccy” by characters in Mills: The Musical.
The montage included introductions, arguments [...]
The final performance
The final performance of Mills: The Musical had taken place the previous night.
Scott said the project had begun three months earlier as a joke after a flyer falsely suggested he would play several 1980s pop stars in a stage show.
A suggestion to create “Danny Howard: The Musical” then grew into listener-written songs, auditions, casting and a real three-night run at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Joe Taylor played Scott, while actors also portrayed Beccy, Chappers, the boss and oth [...]
Mills: The Musical
The second performance had included Denise Van Outen as the nightly celebrity contestant in the show’s fictional talent-search scene.
Aled Haydn Jones visited to discuss the production, while Vernon Kay was expected to appear during the final night.
The team explained that a different celebrity entered the audition sequence at each performance, creating material that could not be identical from night to night.
Dear Scott
Listeners were told that musical songs and clips could n [...]
The first performance
Scott said the opening night of Mills: The Musical had gone extremely well.
Part one was being uploaded to the Radio 1 website, although the hotel’s slow internet connection delayed the process. Scott particularly praised John, the actor playing Chappers.
Antony Costa
Former Blue singer Antony Costa visited while appearing in his own Edinburgh musical, Bloodbath.
He described it as a cross between The Rocky Horror Show and High School Musical, with cheerleaders and a charac [...]
Opening night in Edinburgh
The team broadcast from the Pleasance courtyard before the first performance of Mills: The Musical.
They had rehearsed from early morning and emerged from the theatre surprised to find daylight. Members of Unofficial Mills had already arrived with a banner and were waiting for the show.
The team explained the atmosphere of the Edinburgh Fringe, where almost any room could become a venue and performers spent the day distributing flyers.
Axis of Awesome
Australian musica [...]
Oh, What’s Occurring?: Sonisphere special
Scott moved Oh, What’s Occurring? earlier than usual because the team had to catch a train to Edinburgh after he booked the wrong one.
Adam the Rock Show producer had recorded three challenges with bands at Sonisphere.
Mastodon’s extinct mammals
Members of Mastodon had 20 seconds to name extinct mammals.
Their answers were a house cat, an albino tiger, a white whale and Chewbacca. The team checked each suggestion and concluded that none was a valid extin [...]
The fake Danny Howard account
Presenters on BBC 1Xtra became excited that Danny Howard had followed one of them on Twitter.
They announced the follow on air and encouraged listeners to follow their own accounts.
After checking with Scott, they discovered the account was not genuinely Danny Howard.
The page had around 52,000 followers and followed several Radio 1 and 1Xtra personalities. The words “Unofficial Mills” on the profile should have revealed that it was part of the fan-site joke.
Sara C [...]
Oh, What’s Occurring?
The first public question asked which subject should be turned into a musical even though nobody had yet done so.
Suggestions included David Beckham, Rihanna’s life, Keeping Up Appearances and Countdown. The latter inspired an immediate song built around requesting another consonant.
There was no clear repeated public answer, but Countdown became the studio favourite.
The Surgery’s alcohol count
Jono from Unofficial Mills supplied a montage from Aled Haydn Jones’s The Surge [...]