Before we started recording, Ben Jones told us he has a namesake in the radio industry and wanted to check we had the right guy. Er, yeah. We're sure.

Ben was ever-present on the original Virgin Radio / Absolute Radio for a decade for goodness sake. He now plies his trade on the new Virgin Radio (amongst other pies he has his fingers in...), but it hasn't all been plain sailing to get there. After leaving Absolute there were some pretty dark times which Ben opens up about, and some of us will be able to relate to.

But the good times majorly outweigh the bad, and he tells us all about them. Like blagging his way to Spain with a Capital legend; how he was the last person to interview David Bowie(!), and how "nobody gave a shit about his shiny trousers"!

About those other pies Ben has his fingers in then. As well as radio he's also a prolific podcaster (can't see that ever catching on but, whatever) AND A BLOOMIN' MOVIE PRODUCER!

His new film Love to Hate: Nickelback is about, well, sure you can work that one out. Many radio people will totally relate to that title after playing Rockstar for the 7000th time! If you're listening to the podcast the day it comes out, you'll be able to see the film in the actual cinema from Wednesday (27th March 2024). And it's a bit good, irrespective of how you feel about its titular subjects.

Love to Hate: Nickelback is in cinemas on Wednesday 27th and Saturday 30th March 2024. Here's the trailer to whet your apatite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpvOigy8UR4

And there's more on the film here: https://www.nickelbackfilm.com/home/

Here's some classic on-air Jones: https://www.aircheckdownloads.com/audio-search?term=ben+jones&sort_bef_combine=relevance_DESC

And here's his Twitter: https://twitter.com/thisisbenjones