DYLAN LEWIS
The radio personality, 46, recalls his time as a late ’90s Saturday morning music show host in Recovery: The Music and the Mayhem (airs Wed., Nov. 27 at 9.05pm; ABC)
How would you sum up your time on Recovery in one sentence?
You know when a child gets lost in a shopping centre and doesn’t want to cry but can’t help it and then a nice grown-up helps them find their parent and then they get a lolly? That’s how it felt being on Recovery. Of the many crazy moments, what is the one that sticks in your mind as the pinnacle of Recovery madness? Jon Spencer Blues Explosion destroying the set and the audience’s innocence [while it happened]. Countdown gave our music industry a shot in the arm in the ’70s. Did Recovery do the same in the late ’90s? Recovery was less of a shot in the arm and more of a punch in the lung. Were any ideas too out-there and nixed at the brainstorming stage? We had a segment called ‘Hitting Dick’. It involved teenagers hitting golf balls at a picture of Richard Wilkins. That got through. I think that answers your question.
The show provided a training ground for everyone associated with it. What were the biggest lessons you learned? I learned about crafting telly, researching and the music of the time. But I also learned it was OK to be who I am and we don’t need no-one to tell us what to do.
Was there much network interference or did they let you get on with it? They complained about us a lot, I think. They had to deal with lots of complaints from the public, too. Mostly about my eyebrow ring and the fact that Gardening Australia was moved to make way for Recovery! What do people want to ask you about Recovery all these years later? It comes up all the time! Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Public Enemy. And bloody Weezer and the horrible interview I attempted.
Did you have trouble convincing any artists to appear on the show or were people clamouring to get on?
I have no idea. It was the ’90s. Hazy.