02-25-1985 – Capital Radio
On Monday 25th February 1985 at 3pm, Brian presented a two hour show on London’s “Capital Radio” as a guest DJ.
BM: Hello, nice to see youÂ
Roger Scott: This is a new role for you, have you ever done this sort of thing before? BM: Not for a very long time. I’ve played around with it a little bit in America. In the old days you used to be able to go into a radio station and they’d say “Alright! You can do anything you want!” kind of thing. These days they’re very tight so they wouldn’t let you do it.
RS: You’re still going to squeeze in a few knucklebusters here I would think? BM: Yes, well it’s not going to be that soft, I’ll give you that. I can’t say you’re that soft these days, my God I couldn’t get in the door! He does rock, does our Roger!
RS: There were so many stories to hit the press about that Rock In Rio show.. BM: Yes, all of them complete fabrication
RS: What’s your outstanding memory? I remember reading something about you chucking people in swimming pools BM: No, I jumped in myself actually. It was the only thing left to do that night really. It was a bit warm and everyone was getting very silly and there was this lovely inviting pool there so in I went. That’s all.
RS: Outstanding memory? BM: Just looking at the crowd really. We never quite believed that it was going to happen and we were going to get quarter of a million people a night or whatever, and it just actually happened, they all rolled up and one night it was pouring with rain and they were still there until two in the morning from four in the afternoon and it was very well organised and very well lit which is unusual so you could actually see the audience very well, all in pools of different coloured lights and I think there is going to be a video of that some time and perhaps people will be able to see, but it was quite something I must say. And there was the feeling of it being the first time, which it was, because there never was that much rock ‘n’ roll in Rio. Now there is mate, I tell you!
RS: Are Queen taking a rest for the rest of the year? BM: No, we’re starting, er, the beginning of April we’ll be in New Zealand and Australia and then a couple of weeks after in Japan and then we go in the studios again and make the thirty ninth album!
RS: First of all you have to get through the next couple of hours BM: That’s right, which is going to be quite hard!
RS: Good luck
[“Hammer To Fall” – Queen]
BM: This is Brian May and we’re going to get straight into this – I can’t believe they let me do this. This is my favourite group….
[“Photograph” – Def Leppard]
Yes, Def Leppard from the Pyromania album. I think this country has yet to see the full might of these guys. I didn’t believe it either – I didn’t think they were that good until I saw them. Oh boy oh boy oh boy they are amazing. This group isn’t too bad either. This is some guy called Edward Van Halen and his brother Alex and there’s a couple of other guys in the group, but you should hear the rapport between the bass.. er guitar and the drums on this, it’s absolutely unbelievable I think. It’s called “Hot For Teacher” and it’s Van Halen…
[“Hot For Teacher” – Van Halen]
(in the middle of the track, Brian shouted “Loud!” over the music)
Yes, Van Halen. It’s going to be dry this afternoon – they’ve got me even doing this stuff can you believe it! – it’s going to be dry this afternoon, eleven degrees C, clear overnight with a maximum of five degrees centigrade but misty tomorrow morning. How about that. And here is the best singer in the world in my opinion.
[“Better Be Good To Me” – Tina Turner]
That of course is Tina Turner and absolutely tears me up and I hope she does you too. This is Brian May standing in for John Sachs on Capital and I’ve got something else for you now. A little later we have my favourite Foreigner track pretty soon after this.
[commercial break]
Hello, this is Brian May playing a few tracks for you. This is the kind of record that I think heals you if you’re feeling a little torn up sometimes. It’s Foreigner.
[“I Want To Know What Love Is” – Foreigner]
That’s Foreigner and I’m very impressed how they can do that after being a long time on the road. It seems to be something which is very personal which sometimes is hard to do. And they resist the temptation to tart it up, you know what I mean? The chorus just keeps on the same although there’s loads of other things that would rhyme. Anyway, this is Brian May standing in for John Sachs and seeing as he’s not here I’m going to do this appeal for him. They were going to try and make me say mayday but I don’t know about that really, but it’s some kind of appeal, OK! So has anyone got an old guitar to give away, bass and acoustics are needed, give Capital helpline a ring on 01 388 7575 if you can respond to this urgent [sharp intake of breath] mayday. Oh my god! Right, try this.
[“Since You’ve Been Gone” – Rainbow] (record stopped in the middle, and Brian said “spot the deliberate mistake” and then restarted it)
That’s Rainbow from some time back. A little tasteful Ritchie bit on the end, I hope you like that. OK, the next one you’re going to enjoy even more, this is “Gimme All Your Loving”. Did you spot the deliberate mistake there? I’m sorry about all that, but we thought you might enjoy the same record twice, you know how it is. They’re all having kittens in here, you see they made the big mistake of giving me the knobs to play with as well as talking. It’s great, I can go over here or I can go over here or I can do all this shit… excuse me!
[“Gimme All Your Loving” – ZZ Top]
I’ve been listening to those guys for a very long time, ZZ Top, they’re just so unbelievably cool. I don’t know what it is, it’s great. So we’re going to have something totally different after this.
[commercial break]
Just in case you were wondering if this was going to be totally head-banging, this one really gets me. It’s very emotional, it’s Amii Stewart.
[“Friends” – Amii Stewart]
Isn’t that pretty? So’s this.
[“Start Me Up” – Rolling Stones]
The Rolling Stones, in case you needed to be told. I’ve got two problems in life, firstly I never grew up and secondly I never got out of flower power so we’re going to have some flower power music after this.
[commercial break]
Where were you in the summer of 1967? I was in about a six foot by five foot bedsit listening to Jimi so I’m going to enjoy him now.
[“Little Wing” – Jimi Hendrix]
Guess what? Someone heard my mayday, so special thanks to Tessa Martin who sent in a guitar, and this is something else from our little flower power indulgence period here. I hope you like this one. That was Jimi Hendrix and this is Cream. I think if they re-released this it would be a big hit in the days on the beach(???) to come this summer.
[“Sunshine Of My Love” – Cream]
In total contrast this is something pretty modern which I actually got to play on. This is Brian May, by the way, I’m standing in for John Sachs and I don’t usually do this kind of stuff, I usually play guitar for a living but just for once I’m in here playing some records. This is Jeffrey Osbourne.
[“Stay With Me Tonight” – Jeffrey Osbourne] – (straight into) [“Ogre Battle” – Queen]
That’s my group, Queen, from some time back – “Ogre Battle”. I wasn’t going to play any Queen stuff but they forced me, you know. I’d like to play this for my long suffering lady, Chrissie, the next couple of tracks.
[“Time After Time” – Cyndi Lauper]
I think Cyndi Lauper is great and very much underrated. She’s going to be round for a very long time. This is especially for a friend of ours – this is for John [Deacon], some of you may know that John’s had a little problem with his car recently but he’s going to be alright.
[“Don’t Drive Drunk” – Stevie Wonder] [commercial break]
This is Brian May on your Capital Radio, playing some Genesis for you.
[“Turn In On Again” – Genesis]
Normally I don’t like this stuff that’s just drum machines and various kinds of machines, but this is very strange. I don’t think this has ever been heard in this country, I doubt. It’s by a group called Animotion and it’s called “Obsession” and after a while if you hear it a few times it just gets in your brain.
[“Obsession” – Animotion]
I was just getting all emotional, but they’re going to make me read some traffic news here, I’m sure you’re going to enjoy this a lot. There are town-bound delays on the A4 because of roadworks in the nearside lane approaching Hammersmith Broadway, watch out on the A4 coming into London. There are faulty traffic lights at the junctions of Baker Street and George Street, and Clapham Road and Bedford Street, and a broken down tanker is causing long delays in both directions on Gunnersbury Lane between Chiswick roundabout and Hangar Lane. We’re going to play some more music and it’s real music. I think this is my favourite record ever.
[“Tracks Of My Tears” – Smokey Robinson]
That’s definitely the best record ever made, I’m going to die with that playing. So we’ve got some Steve Perry after this
[commercial break and trailers]
So that’s what you’re getting tomorrow. Meantime, here we go with Steve Perry.
[“Oh Sherrie” – Steve Perry]
In case I don’t get a chance again, I’d just like to say a big thank you to Mike the producer, without whom I never would have got through all this. So we’re going to try and get this cue right. Get a load of this.
[“Can’t Get Enough” – Bad Company]
(start splutters and Brian says “close, wasn’t it!”)
It’s terrible this disc jockey business. They don’t have toilets in here, you have to rush out along the corridor. I just bumped into Roger Scott who said it’s terrible and they used to put on Bohemian Rhapsody in the old days so they could go for a long leak. Anyway, this is Ozzy.
[“Crazy Train” – Ozzy Osbourne]
Now the problem with this kind of program is that it’s not hard to find the tracks to play, it’s very hard to know what not to play. It’s really terrible. We’ve gone back to Def Leppard now. These people are very underrated, you should listen to this.
[“Foolin'” – Def Leppard]
This is Brian May and after this it is going to be the Hitline so I have to do what I’m told after this, OK.
[commercial break]
OK, we’re now back to the Capital Hitline and at number 10, these are the records that you voted for by the way on 388 7671, number 10 is The Commodores “Night Shift”, at number 9 Paul Young “Every Time You Go Away”, and at number 8, this.
[“You’re The Inspiration” – Chicago]
I’m personally very glad that the Capital Hitline people force that kind of stuff to get played in this country which is well made and at the same time means something. This is the Capital Hitline and I’m standing in for John Sachs, I’m called Brian May. At number 7 there’s Maxi Priest which is called “Should I?”. At number 6, Phil Collins.
[“One More Night” – Phil Collins]
Phil Collins at number 6 on the Capital Hitline. London Road in Forest Hill is slow moving in both directions because of the weight of traffic. There are faulty traffic lights at the junctions of Baker Street and George Street, and Clapham Road and Bedford Street, and a broken down tanker is causing long delays in both directions on Gunnersbury Lane between the Chiswick roundabout and Hangar Lane. Watch out on the roads OK. Be careful. It ain’t worth it.
[“Love And Pride” – King]
Number 4 is next.
[commercial break]
If you’re wondering whast’s going on, John Sachs is not here today. This is Brian May from the Queen group standing in and doing some stuff. We’re on the Capital Hitline and we’re up to number four which is the excellent good bloke Howard Jones, number 4.
[“Things Can Only Get Better” – Howard Jones]
Hitline number three is Prince.
[“Let’s Go Crazy” – Prince]
If you want to vote for tomorrow’s Capital Hitline, the telephone number is 388 7671 so vote for tomorrow’s hitline on that number.
[a bit more of Prince]
I couldn’t fade out his histrionics at the end. That’s Prince at number 3. Number 2 sound is Dead or Alive so here we go.
[“You Spin Me Right Round” – Dead or Alive]
It’s been a lot of fun being here on Capital Radio this time. Three o’ clock tomorrow you can hear Heaven 17 having a go at disc jockeying like me, best of luck to them, and a five o’clock today you can hear Nicky Horne. This is Brian May signing off. I’ve had a good time, thank you for listening. I don’t know what to say about Bruce except that I hope he’s not as good as I think he is on this tour, it’s going to be too much to bear. And very best of luck, thank you for listening to me.
He’s number 1 on the hitline, I should have told you that. Bruce is number 1. Bye.
[“Dancing In The Dark” – Bruce Springsteen]
It’s not bad this, really. It’s a shame Roger Scott doesn’t like this guy. He’s pretty good, Bruce Springsteen.
[a bit more of Bruce]
Right, this is definitely the last time. Drive home real carefully, OK. Look after your mate.