Veteran broadcaster Nicky Horne is bringing his lifetime of music industry anecdotes to a new series on Rewind TV, revealing little-known stories behind some of the biggest music videos across the decades.
Horne, 76, who also presents a daily show on Boom Radio, said: "I am incredibly lucky to be doing something I love at this stage in my career. I'm thrilled to be able to play some of the greatest music videos ever made with this new project - it's everything I know and am passionate about. Nostalgia is very in at the moment. People like to look back, but younger fans love them too. It's a voyage of discovery. Some of the stories behind them that I've come to know are amazing - a real insight into a time and place."
Phil Collins and the Artful Dodger
One of the most personal stories to Horne involves the video for Phil Collins' 1985 track "Take Me Home." Horne recalls that as a 13-year-old, he auditioned for the part of the Artful Dodger in the West End production of Oliver after his mother answered an ad for the Barbara Speake Stage School. He sang "My Old Man's a Dustman" and provisionally got the part, but was later fired when his voice broke and he couldn't dance.
Horne said: "The producers asked my agent at the school - a lady called Mrs Collins - if she knew anyone else and she said 'my boy Phil's good'. And that was that. Phil knows the story and, over the years, I've jokingly reminded him he owes it all to me!"
Elton John, Duran Duran, and The Beatles
Another favourite anecdote involves the video for Elton John's 1983 hit "I'm Still Standing," filmed in Cannes. Horne said Duran Duran, who were staying nearby, thought it would be funny to get Elton drunk before filming. "They offered him martini after martini and Elton got blind drunk. He then duly arrived on set, promptly took off all his clothes and told the director to start shooting. The director thought it best to ignore him. Arlene Phillips was the choreographer - not sure what she made of it!"
Horne also shared a story about The Beatles, recalling that Paul McCartney had a motorbike accident just before filming the video for "Paperback Writer," cutting his upper lip and cracking a tooth. "So he grew a moustache to cover things up. And then the other Beatles followed suit - suddenly they all had hair on their upper lips!"
John Lennon, David Bowie, and Queen
One of Horne's most memorable encounters was with John Lennon. He said: "It was Kenny Everett who got an interview with John. He knew Lennon wanted to talk about 'heavy stuff,' so off I went to New York. I was terrified, but knocked on his door at the Dakota Building. Lennon opened it and said, 'I knew you were coming - I've just baked some cookies'. We sat on the floor in his living room - white carpet, white piano, white sofa - and chatted."
Horne also recalled a late-night phone call from David Bowie after an interview fell through. "He'd heard what had happened to me, apologised and promised an exclusive interview when he was next in London. And he kept his word. He even brought a signed poster along as a gift. We became friends. Bowie was very special, almost otherworldly."
Regarding Queen's "Breakthru" video, Horne said: "I can't watch the video for the song Breakthru without worrying - the band are playing on an open air platform being pulled at some speed along a windy Nene Valley Railway in Cambridgeshire. This was 1989. I don't know what health and safety would say about it now. No wonder the band were all insured for £2m."
Peter Gabriel and Simon & Garfunkel
Horne also highlighted that animation giants Aardman co-created the groundbreaking 1986 video for Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer." He said: "Peter Gabriel saw the potential of videos from the very beginning - it was groundbreaking stuff and amazing to think that years later the people working on it with him gave the world Wallace and Gromit."
He added a detail about Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer," noting a metallic clank noise on the recording. "That's because there was a lift shaft outside the studio which never operated at night - except for the night they recorded that song. So this brilliant track is accompanied by the noise of a lift going up and down!"
The Nicky Horne Jukebox starts on Rewind TV on Monday 2nd November at 9am, available on Freeview 81, Freely 141, Freesat 164, and Sky 182.
