Concerns over alarming Kyle and Jackie O call: ‘Check he’s OK’

Jackie O has asked producers to check on a listener after receiving a harrowing phone call during a segment live on air this morning.

Jackie “O” Henderson has been prompted to call for a welfare check on a listener after an alarming phone call live on air during the Kyle and Jackie O show this morning.

A man named Michael was heard on the program just after 6.30am during the hosts’ “First Calls” segment, and sparked concerns after breaking into a harrowing song about suicide.

“You want to ring up for anything? First Calls, 13 1065 will get you through. Michael has called in. Hey, Michael,” Sandilands began the segment, prompting a sombre “Hello” from the caller.

The radio host then asked Michael how he was, to which he responded: “Oh, not bad. I have a quick 10-second song I’d like to sing for you … It goes like this.”

Michael then broke into an impromptu performance of Fade To Black by Metallica – which clearly came as a surprise to the hosts and producers, who had been told by Michael beforehand that he planned to share “a few jokes”.

Sandilands kicked off the segment with a call from ‘Michael’.

Following the short conversation, Henderson asked for a welfare check.

Fade To Black, from the band’s 1984 album Ride To Lightning, features the lyrics: “I have lost the will to live/ Simply nothing more to give/ There is nothing more for me/ Need the end to set me free.”

Michael added his own line to the song, singing “never cared for no one else” before abruptly hanging up on the hosts.

A clearly concerned Henderson immediately turned to the producers, asking: “Is he all right? That didn’t sound good, guys. What were you getting off air? Because that sounded like a goodbye song to me.”

Sandilands then tried to reassure his co-host.

“He seems fine,” he said.

“Intern” Peter Deppeler – one of the show’s producers – then weighed in, telling them both that Michael had seemed OK off air before the segment.

“He said, ‘I’m a comedian, I’ve got a few jokes to tell, I’ve got a new song,’” the producer said, adding that the listener had “gone rogue”.

Henderson then requested Deppeler “call him back and check he’s OK”, adding: “He just hung up and said this is the end for me. Just check he’s all right, that guy.”

A spokesperson for the Kyle and Jackie O show told news.com.au the police had been called following the segment.

“During this morning’s show, we had concerns for the welfare of a caller. The police were immediately notified and are now looking into the matter,” the spokesperson said.

Originally published as Concerns over alarming Kyle and Jackie O call: ‘Check he’s OK’