There are so many things to talk about apart from Covid...
IT’S ALL CHANGE FOR RADIO 1 DJ AND PODCASTER ANNIE MACMANUS. THE MUM OF TWO, 42, CHATS TO MARION McMULLEN
How did you manage during the lockdowns?
I was doing the radio show during the day (as Annie Mac, she hosts the new music show Future Sounds on Radio 1 but recently announced she will be stepping down from the station in September after 17 years) and my podcast, Changes, at home.
I recorded it from my garden shed and it was really nice to go there and have a conversation with people about moments that had changed their lives.
It was just lovely to make that contact. There are so many things to talk about right now apart from Covid. I always ask people about the three biggest changes in their lives – the changes in society that must happen, the changes we would rather forget and the change they would like to make.
It’s really interesting and such an insight into a guest’s life.
Caitlin Moran has been a guest, actor Michael Sheen, Katie Price, Romesh Ranganathan and Billie Piper about her directorial debut Rare Beasts and then there have also been people like Paddy, who was homeless for five years and now lives with his partner and new baby. He went to work with the charity Shelter who helped him get off the streets.
Who would be your dream guests?
There are so many amazing people in music. (Laughs) I have to be careful not to only speak to lots of music people.
I do try and mix it up, but Sir Elton John would be one of my dream guests. I like people who have nothing to hide and speak their mind.
Mary J Blige has also gone through a lot in her life. I’ve interviewed her for radio and she’s a great talker. I would love to have her on the podcast.
Any favourite podcast moments?
Caitlin Moran was my last guest just days before the first lockdown and we talked about things coming up and what was important to us.
It was good to do before everything changed.
Your debut novel Mother Mother has just been published and has been called a powerful comingof-age novel and an intimate family study. How did it all come about?
I was stealing what time I could to write in my spare time – two hours here, 40 minutes here – and then I had time to work on it properly and I realised how much I actually enjoyed writing.
I would take the working draft everywhere with me in taxis, everywhere, and
I actually felt a bit lost without it. I was able to escape into my own little world.
What was it like when you saw the book in print for the first time?
It made it very real and pretty weird when publishers read it for the first time. I had put so much into it, but I had no idea how good it was or not. I asked a friend to read it and I was prepared for them to say it was awful, but she was so encouraging and I thought ‘Oh, this is OK.’ People ask ‘Where did this book come from Annie?’ and I really don’t know. I didn’t set out to write this book. It just came to me and then evolved over time.
It’s about a woman called Mary whose mother died when she was only a baby and now she has a teenage son of her own. The first professional person who said they liked it was the one I was most nervous about.
I was in a bar with him and it was a really big moment for me. I actually cried.
What did you miss most last year?
I missed the music festivals. They kind of define my year and it felt very strange without them. I felt very sad and frustrated for the music industry and the people who work within it.
Then there was the closure of venues and theatres and everyone involved with them, from artists and stage management to lighting and backstage staff.
There has been livestreaming and radio and such and so many people have stayed loyal to bands even though they have not had that live experience.
Bands and acts have still been busy playing and writing music.
Did music help in lockdown?
Doing the radio, I did have somewhere to go every day and I found pop music helped my listeners to open up and deal with their feelings and emotions.
It’s something that everyone was dealing with across the country, and I think it helped playing the right music, showing videos and just talking. It was a way for people to connect.
I suppose I felt useful and we were soundtracking the moment.
I think with the NHS as well, people also realised the sheer importance of this great institution.
No one will forget the summer of 2020.
Music festivals kind of define my year and it felt very strange without them Annie on what she missed most last year