Exclusive chat with Pete Waterman ahead of Lytham Festival set

Blackpool Gazette

Pete Waterman shares his excitement at performing at Lytham Festival, what audiences can expect & why he loves the Fylde Coast.

Transcript

00:00we're obviously chatting because you'll be one of the acts at living festival this year so can

00:03we just start by going straight in with how are you feeling about that well fantastic i mean because

00:11a lot i've worked with a lot of these acts i've worked with over the last 30 years you know and

00:18when i was the first booked i thought i was going to announce all the bands i thought this is amazing

00:23this is like going back 60 years didn't realize that i was going to be doing a dj set um so you

00:30know it's it's it's what i've wanted since lockdown well because i've been i've been working for the bbc

00:38for god knows how long not doing radio you know local radio wm covens and warwick manchester

00:47this one lockdown came down because of my age they stopped us going into studios

00:53so you know it meant that i wouldn't go back to to to local radio so i sort of thought well

01:02the only way i can keep in touch with music is is to sort of start playing it again i didn't i didn't

01:07think of like this i didn't you know this was just around the house and uh picking up playlists and

01:13and bits and pieces and you know we did the Stock Hake in Waterman tour and then last year i did

01:20in november i did the steps musical and this year we go on tour with the steps musical from august

01:26onwards to next april so i'm really busy but i like playing i like playing music

01:34what can people expect from the set if they've never heard of the hitman

01:37oh they've heard of the hitman let me tell you if you're in the hitman you ain't bother going no

01:45this is a you know this is a great thing about this festival if you look at the acts it's a time frame

01:51from you know all the time but and i was a major major television radio you know record producer

02:01songwriter at this period so if you remember the alarm you'll remember pete waterman if you know

02:08justin timberlake you know pete waterman if you knew stevie wonder you know pete waterman if you

02:13know simple minds you know pete waterman because when they were having their hits i was on television

02:20playing hits so if you were let's just say 20 then you'll be at the festival

02:30so what sort of music can we expect you to play will it be the acts that you have worked with

02:38what's the music we play can you can you can expect me to

02:44play bangers all the way through there'll be no drum and bass it'll be

02:48sing along sing along a pete but it's i'm there to warm the crowd up for the acts on that night

02:55that's the way i see my job entertain the crowd for an hour make sure that they're ready for the

03:00main acts because i'm the warm-up and so if you don't like rick astley don't turn up because i will

03:08be playing rick astley at some point yeah um and have you ever done any dj sets in lancashire before

03:16come on christ i must have done blackpool 60 times christ i grew up in blackpool um

03:28i think we've done i didn't i've done so many big gigs in blackpool i did one festival in blackpool on

03:35the on the by the by the tower which i was with rick was was with rick astley and it'll mix fantastic

03:45night i mean just fantastic yeah so i've done blackpool's like my second home well when i worked

03:51for granada television blackpool was still in you know massive in entertainment venues at that point

03:59you know if you if you were an entertainer blackpool was like your second home because

04:05you know the whole northwest went to to blackpool at that point but you know i got introduced to

04:12blackpool in the 50s um because of course the august bank holidays in the midlands everybody went to

04:18blackpool for the long weekend with your false teeth and your frothy bubble nose you know it's like

04:26a yaces wine lodge i mean that was that was tradition

04:32yeah you enjoyed the entertainment of blackpool back in the 50s how does it feel being that entertainment

04:3770 years later oh yeah yeah yeah i mean yeah it's it's i mean i still can't get over it you know it's

04:48like it's every time you walk out or people stop you in the street people stop in the street and say

04:54you know you were the music music of my you know youth you were the background to my life

05:01well i'll tell you it's like it's an amazing statement to make to somebody um that's walking

05:08down the street it's like you know it's like whoa and yeah after all this time you didn't you know

05:16funny enough the thing that gives me away every time is my voice i can get on a train and nobody

05:23recognizes me i say one word and every every head on the train goes up and says pick one

05:29because my voice is so familiar to people whether it be from television whether it be from radio

05:36or or other stuff i mean i've been doing this for 60 years that's a long time in entertainment

05:45yeah you talked about your incredible career and voice will you get much of a chance whilst on stage

05:50to talk to the crowd as well as playing music oh i talk to the crowd you know i'm not i'm not one of

05:55these days listen this is live i play to the crowd you know i i have a dj steve sailor used to be at

06:03blackpool uh the mecca at blackpool he will be spinning the discs i will be calling the tunes i will be

06:09out there with the audience and the dancers you know i am not beyond the head with the headphones

06:14not talking to anybody that's not that i am not that sort of dj i am a come here come for fun i'm going to

06:22entertain you if you can't dance then you'll join me because i can't dance either but we'll have a good

06:27time and then you'll be ready for the main act later on

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