ANDY LEE
Andy Lee is a game changer. Alongside Hamish Blake (and producer Sam Cavanagh), he is half of the most successful show on FM in Australian radio history, Hamish & Andy.
Hamish and Andy started as a development show on Fox in 2001, and over the next four years refined their act on late nights and weekends before moving into the national drive slot on the Today network in 2006. Their ratings were astronomical. Highlights included 25 per cent of the Melbourne Drive market and a national audience of more than 2 million. With ground breaking ideas - like the Caravan of Courage and the Tall Ships Adventure - Hamish and Andy established themselves as more than just a radio show: they are one of the most potent media brands in Australia.
They have announced 2017 will be their last year on radio.
READ THE SHOW NOTES
3:40 Talking about his TV project with Hamish Blake
4:25 Starting a radio show with his sister
5:46 Being a jock and a nerd at school
6:50 Doing things because he likes them, not because he is good at them
7:20 Dropping out of accounting at university
8:50 Meeting Hamish
11:23 Knowing Hamish is the funniest person on the planet
12:57 Defining the program: not to be funny but to have fun
13:40 Describing Hamish as incredibly intelligent and tremendously dumb
15:28 Commercialising a friendship
17:37 Explaining how the relationship changed over time
18:50 Understanding ratings (and why they don’t matter)
19:26 Being rejected – all the shows that rejected their demo
20:04 Learning, and more learning
20:57 Loving an air check
21:39 Defining and refining the craft
23:10 Reflecting on 10 years on one show
24:39 Making the unimportant important: Push the Button Pete
27:22 Hosting a two-hour radiothon program
29:15 Being naive
30:16 Craig describing the competitive Drive market
31:50 Believing that pop music becoming popular contributed to their success
34:06 Describing the role of Program Managers on their development
35:57 Starting Pants-Off Friday
37:31 Explaining the relationship between talent and company
38:26 Why he won’t take no for an answer
39:20 Understanding the impact of 'no'
40:30 Craig discussing the influence the 'hand of God' had on the program
41:40 Understanding that failure can be funny too
44:22 Building trust with the audience through shenanigans
47:09 Picking experiments because they genuinely want to know what will happen
49:11 Remembering the dangerous pranks
52:50 Who will be the next Hamish & Andy?
54:38 What skills will new talent need to make it in radio/media these days?
56:11 What will Andy miss about the radio?