“I do my best to not end up in a compromising position”: Luttsy reveals Brisbane party scene
Nova’s breakfast team have revealed their biggest on and off-air blunders, celebrity encounters and what goes on behind the scenes at Brisbane A-list parties.
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This week, Nova’s breakfast team Ash, Kip, Luttsy and Susie are our guest editors of A-list confidential. We turned the tables on them, asking them the tricky questions they often ask of their guests.
ASH BRADNAM
Q. What is your biggest interview blunder, on or off air?
In 2000, I was commentating for the official Olympic broadcasters, the Talk Australia Network.
I was the first person to interview Michael Diamond after he defended his shooting gold.
He gave me a raw, compelling and emotional interview of what the victory meant to him.
It was a great moment and I’d listen back fondly... if I had only remembered to plug the microphone into the recorder.
Q. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to do for the purpose of radio content?
What haven’t I done?! I’ve had my belly button and both ears pierced. I’ve been thrown out of an airplane three times and performed prostate karaoke (yes, it is what it sounds like).
You haven’t lived until you’ve sung Stayin Alive by the BeeGees with a man’s finger up your bum.
They told me he was a doctor…
But easily the weirdest, was the day I got my hair permed. Until then I never knew the term ‘perm’ was short for permanent. Still to this day, it affects my marriage…
Q. Who is the worst of the team at dealing with the early mornings? Any fun quirks you can share about your co-hosts?
Whenever Susie is mid-sentence talking about something she doesn’t want to, she always looks at the clock first. I think to myself ‘say it Suse!’.
It’s been 8 years now and I still don’t know why she does that.
And somehow I’ve been doing Breakfast radio with Luttsy for longer than I imagined (over 15 years!) and I’ve still never seen him before daybreak.
SUSIE O’NEILL
Q. What is your best and worst celebrity encounter?
My best celebrity encounter is a toss-up between Queen Elizabeth II and Tom Cruise.
I met the Queen in Manchester at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
To be honest I was mostly excited because I thought I was going to meet David Beckham at the time. I only met the Queen because I was carrying the baton in the relay in one of the last legs and so was he so I thought I would have met him then.
Unfortunately for me, he didn’t come to meet the Queen so that was a little bit of a letdown. Looking back now I realise I’ve met a lot of Royals – including Prince Harry, Princess Anne and Prince Albert of Monaco.
I met Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman at the Mission Impossible II movie premiere in 2000. If I had to pick, Tom Cruise was probably my favourite. He was really chatty and personable.
I don’t have a worst – I love meeting A listers!
Q. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to do for the purpose of radio content?
Most recently dress up as a horse and pretend to have a race. I also have been made to eat pig’s eyes and fish milkshakes… not the best moment for me!
There was also this one promotion where they built a giant human-sized ‘Lazy Susan’ and spun me around on it for a week.
Then we took it to a Chinese Restaurant in the Valley to give away the major prize. That was pretty weird.
Q. What’s a memorable experience of being recognised around town?
It’s kind of flipped around but Bronte Campbell always gets mixed up for me. It’s funny because she just goes along with it. They always ask her about my kids!
I don’t get recognised as much anymore.
During the 2000 Sydney Olympics it was a bit crazy with people stopping me to say ‘Hi’ and for a photo opp but now on occasion I think I get more recognised because of my voice.
DAVID ‘LUTTSY’ LUTTERAL
Q. What’s been your favourite Brisbane event over the years and why?
World Expo 88 was an amazing experience for me personally and for the whole city.
I was only in grade 7 but I worked out a way to get on the Channel 10 news every night at their live studio which made me popular at Boondall State School, and it also gave me my first look at live radio via the Triple M remote studio at the River Stage.
It appealed to all ages and I think it changed Brisbane forever.
Also my Dad using me as an alcohol mule around this time. Sending me through the gates with a backpack filled with XXXX Gold Cans waiting to see if I got arrested before he followed me through with the rest of the family.
Maybe that’s what started my love for XXXX…
Q. What’s your best ‘let’s not talk about this’ story from a Brisbane event?
The best part of my gig is usually the green room drinking sessions with bands I grew up loving.
I ended up in a stretch hummer one night with a famous Brissie band pumping their own music through the speakers as the band did air guitar and drums and mimed their hits. It was surreal.
These days I do my best to not end up in a compromising position with a reality television star.
Q. What’s a memorable experience of being recognised around town?
Hearing “you’ve got a great face for radio” 5 times a day for my entire life.
Also for 3 years whilst working as the on-ground MC for Cricket Australia, I was widely recognised, mostly at urinals, as Australian Fast Bowler, Brett Lee.
I told Brett this once and he was deeply offended.
KIP WIGHTMAN
Q. Considering you share your life on air, how do you cope with the interest in your life from listeners and the general public?
It’s more of an issue that my family are listening and find out things I would never normally tell them.
Although there are things that I’d prefer to keep to myself that end up on-air anyway.
Like the time that I was meant to have a small, family affair to celebrate the gender reveal of my baby, Raff (now almost 2!).
Of course, it ended up turning into a full-scale event involving a huge on-air lead up across a few weeks, dedicated show broadcast from the city, a relay race passing the ‘gender baton’ through Brisbane which guest starred multiple Brisbane celebrities including the Mayor at the time, Graham Quirk, The King Wally Lewis and others and ended up culminating in King George Square to reveal his gender.
At least it was definitely one to remember!
Q. Is there anything you keep off limits?
Not really but I do try to keep boring things to myself. No one needs to hear that haha.
Also I’m considering keeping my next relationship out of the public eye.. the open approach hasn’t worked great so far haha.
Q. Who is the worst of the team at dealing with the early mornings? Any fun quirks you can share about your co-hosts?
It kinda depends on the day of the week. Luttsy tends to be dusty on a Monday (sometimes Friday & any day that ends in ‘y’).
Suse can be a little agitated if she’s had to do a school drop off or hasn’t had her bacon & egg roll.
Ash’s morning tends to hinge on his interaction at 7/11 when he’s buying his $1 coffee.
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