INTERVIEW: Eoin Butlerinterviews Tom Dunne, Broadcaster and former Something Happens Frontman
Is it true that when 'NME' reviewed Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' in 1991, they claimed it was taken from a Something Happens song?(Laughs) That's right. Well, that's not exactly what they said. They said it was the best Something Happens-derived song of that week. How wrong they were!
More recently, U2 were inspired by the same song ("Hello Hello Hello Hello") on their song "Vertigo"?I must admit that I've heard the opening bars of Vertigo on the radio once or twice and thought "Oh great, this is us!" - and then I'm surprised to hear Bono's voice start singing. It is very, very similar. But it wasn't the first time, so you get used to it.
Really?Yeah, they also used the line "Stuck together with God's glue" [the title of a Something Happens album] on their single Staring at the Sun.
Has Bono ever acknowledged his debt to you?No. He crosses the street when he sees me, instructs his security to have me removed from the venue - that sort of thing (laughs). I'm joking! No, I've never broached it with him. I wouldn't want to appear small.
Recently, you moved from doing a music show to a magazine talk show format on Newstalk. Was that a progression you were always interested in making?The idea just came from standing in on the Ray D'Arcy Show on Today FM during the summer and really enjoying it. So once I'd done it a few times, it was probably at the back of my mind. Luckily, an opportunity presented itself, which I was very grateful to accept.
Is it daunting having to fill three hours of airtime with your own voice?Gruelling might be a better word. But I'm lucky to be surrounded by a very talented team who present the interviews to me on a plate, really. So there's really only a little bit of getting my head around it. Usually there's a moment around 9.15am when something really engages with me and then I tend to remain engaged for the rest of the day.
Are you ever tempted to just sit back and say "Here's the new one from Arcade Fire"?Not so far! It can be tiring, of course. But you'll always find places to hide - whether you're onstage or doing a radio show. You'll always find places you can catch a breath and gather your thoughts.
Any memorable interviews over the years? Any disasters?One of the very first interviews I ever did was with Mick Hucknall from Simply Red. It was pretty uncomfortable. In retrospect, I didn't handle the situation very well. I made the interview very general when he clearly just wanted to talk about his latest album. Usually, it's a good idea to remember why you're talking to this person. If you have Candace Bushnell on, ask her about her new book. Once you do that, shutting her up becomes the only problem.
You also recently became a father for the second time.This is the thing. There's absolutely nothing that a radio show can throw at me that compares to what my two daughters throw at me on a daily basis. One of them is two years old, the other is 12 weeks. Jaysus, it's wearying. They're giving me grey hairs. But they're great crack, really.
Any plans other plans for the future?Trying to get some sleep would be the number one priority right now. Once they go on solids it normally settles down. So, hopefully, in about four or five weeks' time it'll be easier. We'll miss all this when it's gone, I know. But at the moment, my wife and I are in the market for sleep. If there was somewhere we could go out and buy sleep, we'd definitely do that.
Tom Dunne appears on Newstalk 106-108FM, weekdays 9am-noon.