Jo Whiley, who is narrating a new National Rail guide about Britain’s biggest musical locations, discusses rock and roll nights, her 60th birthday, and swapping raves for wild swimming.
Jo Whiley has been at the centre of popular music for 30 years, interviewing the biggest stars and discovering the hottest new talents. It’s made the Radio 2 favourite an oracle on bands, beats and beyond. As she gets ready to celebrate her 60th birthday this summer, Jo looks back on her exciting career, from partying with U2 to turning to Coldplay’s Chris Martin for advice – and speaking exclusively to OK!, shares what she really thinks about the big Oasis reunion.
“I don’t feel very old at all,” beams a glowing Jo, fresh from a day in the garden and a restorative massage. I still feel like I’m 17 or 27. Sixty – it’s a weird thing to get your head around. I’m alive and that’s the greatest thing. I’m healthy and I’m lucky to be here, because lots of people we’ve grown up with aren’t here any more.”
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Radiating energy and happiness, Jo speaks with as much passion about music now as she did at the start of her career. She has become a powerful voice in the field while presenting one of the nation’s biggest shows, rising up through the ranks of radio.
“I’m so happy that I’m still working,” grins the mother-of-four. I never had a game plan, never had any wild ambition or intention. I’ve just had the absolute best of all of my opportunities while still running a radio show, playing these gigs, and attending festivals. I’m simply appreciative of how people still want me.
A champion for new music and a celebrator of vintage tunes, Jo says she’s delighted with the resurgence of 90s Britpop bands such as Oasis, Blur and Pulp, who were coming up in the industry at the time she was – and she’s enjoying reuniting with them.
She says, “All these bands I knew 30 years ago are still being incredibly creative, and that’s lovely.” But also, I’m enjoying talking to them as an adult. When we were young, we were all awkward and just plain rude in our interactions. However, we can now engage in respectful conversation. It’s lovely. Because we’ve known each other for so long, we’re genuinely friends. We have a common ground.
Jo and youngest daughter Coco are among the lucky ones who’ve managed to bag tickets to see Oasis live this year – something Jo never thought she’d see. “I said Oasis would never get back together again, so I’m not going to predict anything!” she laughs.
Coco says, “I’m really excited about seeing them because she’s so excited about seeing them, and it’s kind of given me a renewed love of them too.” Everyone who attends will experience a lot of emotion, and it’ll be interesting to see how the boys are performing these days.
Over the decades, Jo has enjoyed incredible access to the world ’s biggest music icons, from George Michael to David Bowie. Looking back at some of her favourite deep dives, she says chatting to the Queen of Pop is among her top experiences.
“Interviewing Madonna at any point is always really enjoyable,” says Jo. “I really like her. She listens very carefully to what you ask her, and then she’ll contemplate her answer. Also, Bono is one of the dream storytellers, so any question you ever ask him will have some amazing anecdotes and will make you laugh at the end of it.”
Jo reveals some of her wildest nights out have come courtesy of Bono and his iconic band, U2″. She reveals that U2 have provided some of the best nights out I’ve ever had despite never being a huge socialiser. They showed us a lot of Dublin and showed us some great hospitality.
Letting loose at festivals is what Jo enjoys most now, but not in the ways she once did. Night raves are out and lake swimming is in for fitness fanatic Jo. “My idea of fun is getting up dead early and going swimming at Latitude,” she says. “I see people coming in after a great night out, and I’m there in my swimming costume ready to get in the water. I always make my gang get up early and come dipping with me at 8am, which they hate me for but it’s also very fun.”
It’s all part of Jo’s fitness routine – something she’s grown passionate about in recent years. She turned to the gym to “save” herself from debilitating menopause symptoms – and earned some impressive abs in the process. “I go to the gym and see a trainer maybe once a week,” she says. “I’ve tried Reformer Pilates. I’m not a naturally stretchy person, but it’s good. As I got older, I was like, ‘I want to be strong and I want to be active.’ Exercise is just a huge part of my life.”
It sounds pretty intense to work in the DJ booth at her 90s anthem gigs all over the UK. She chuckles, “it’s physically grueling.” It’s like doing some kind of Jane Fonda workout for an hour and a half on stage, because I don’t just stand there – I get really involved in the songs. When you’re playing a game like Fatboy Slim, Pulp, or James, you can’t stand still. “It’s impossible.”
Inspired by lively legends such as Mick Jagger and Sting, Jo too wants to be able to rock out into her eighties”. She recalls seeing Sting in concert last year, and he was fantastic and amazingly fit. He looks incredible when you talk about having a body, being strong, and having a body.
“How do they do it? Since I’m only an hour and a half on stage, I’m really hurting afterward. It’s unbelievable how someone like Mick Jagger behaves in this manner! I guess you get to a point when you’re like, OK, right, all this debauchery and all that stuff, it’s got to stop because I’m not going to be here or in a fit state to enjoy the rest of my life”.
Jo is never short of valuable advice, always surrounded by musical wizards who are full of wisdom. She counts Coldplay frontman Chris Martin as one of her close friends, and says he’s always on hand when she needs a pep talk. She says, “Chris is really good at dispensing advice, and he’s really good at handling things when I’ve had a difficult time or something goes on” whenever she needs it. He advises me to “just chill out.” He’s wise. Because they frequently resemble long poems, I can’t come up with any specific advice.
“Bono said the best piece of advice he’d been given was by Chrissie Hynde. She told him the best way to live is to make sure you live a long life and don’t die choking on your own vomit somewhere. So the smart thing to do is to get fit, look after yourself and enjoy a long life.”
Jo is undoubtedly doing that. She’s also enjoying a busy phase at work. Her most recent project involved taking National Rail to locations that have inspired massive music acts by traveling by train across the nation.
She explains that it’s encouraging people to travel to places where writers have found inspiration to write songs. “It’s really lovely things to do,” she says. I can remember taking the train with my friends to the Haçienda in Manchester, going to see New Order or Happy Mondays – bands that were key to my career.
“Antony Szmierek, a new up and coming artist I love, has a song called The Great Pyramid Of Stockport , so I went there. I went to Denmark Street, where Elton John wrote Your Song , and visited the pub in Taylor Swift ’s song, The Black Dog . It’s been a real musical education.”
Jo Jo plans to kneel up at her Northamptonshire home in the summer of 2016 while her husband, music businessman Steve Morton, and their four children, India, 33, Jude, 26, Cassius, 24, and Coco, 16, are present.
“I’m having a barn dance”, she reveals. I did it ten years ago, so I decided to do it again. Cowboy boots, gingham, and the rest will be present for a big old hoedown. Or maybe I’ll be Calamity Jane. I’m definitely wearing a skirt. People always dress up for the parties we have. We’ve got the most insane fancy dress emporium above the garage, with many boxes of costumes we’ve worn over the years. I might start a fancy dress boutique.
What will Jo do as she enters her seventh decade? Dreaming of more distant shores, Jo says, “More than anything, I want to do more travelling, because I never have time to go away. My greatest fear is that I won’t be able to see those locations, whether it’s climbing Mount Snowdon or visiting Japan or Canada. I must take action to bring it about.
