‘I’ve been a very, very lucky little fat bunny.’
The latest guest on David Lloyd’s podcast Radio Moments is radio and TV personality Jono Coleman, who discusses his successful career which has spanned two continents.
A Londoner by birth, a childhood move to Australia dictated Coleman’s accent and his early media home, where ad script-writing for local radio programmes led to national TV before graduating through the Australian radio ranks.
Coleman grew up in London loving The Goon Show, Round the Horn and programs on classic BBC Home Service, and as a child started recording off the radio and acting out scenarios in which he was a radio presenter.
Several years after the move to Australia, a young Coleman commenced working at Sydney ad agency Schofield Sherbon Baker.
‘I was primarily a copywriter working with an art director, but they’d say, “you love radio, you can write the radio ads for Levi corduroy jeans. We need 6.” So basically I came into radio as a copywriter writing for a radio agency.
‘And then suddently a job came up on brand new radio station 2WS, and I went and talked to them, and they said “do you want to be the creative director.”‘
Coleman also began providing voices for the ads, before being offered a presenting slot on 2WS. ‘One minute I’m the creative director, and the next minute I’m doing midnight to dawn.’
From there, Coleman was chosen to be a member of the reporting team for children’s TV show Simon Townsend’s Wonder World, followed by several years as a presenter on Double J.
Coleman’s UK radio career began at BBC GLR in 1990, before moving to the newly launched Virgin Radio in 1993, where he was known as ‘Mound of Sound’ and ‘The Thunder from Downunder’.
‘I think about three months into the station, they said “how would yo like to keep Russ Williams company?” And that was the beginnning of six or seven years of the ‘Russ & Jono Breakfast experience’. Suddenly I’m on 1215, a brand new station, I’m like a pig in mud. We were up against Chris Evans, we were up against Steve Wright,’ said Coleman.
There were a few stunts enacted during Coleman’s time at Virgin, including an incident involving bringing some sheep into a live Steve Wright radio show in Birmingham, decked out in t-shirts reading ‘I’m a Radio 1 listener.’
Coleman dragged four sheep on strings in t-shirts across the road, was arressted for endangering livestock, and received an offical caution (as did station boss Richard Branson).
‘It was seen as a silly publicity stunt “Fat Aussie Drags Four Sheep Across the Road to Steve Right Breakfast Show,”‘ said Coleman.
‘Virgin was fantastic fun, we were the larrikins, the new boys on the block. We would make lots of jokes about Tarrant, Chris Evans, we did get into some trouble slagging people off,’ he said.
After an Australian holiday, Coleman discovered he was to be replaced on his breakfast show by a former rival presenter, the very same Chris Evans.
‘So I went off to Australia for four weeks holiday, and we got taken off breakfast while I was away. “Mate you’re not going to believe this, they’re taking you and Russ off Breakfast.” We did Drive on Virgin for a little while, and then as we say in Australia, we got ‘boned’ from Drive,’ he said.
In 1998, Coleman was fired from Virgin.
‘I was a little unruly one Friday afternoon, I brought in a few beers for Russ, had had a bit of a boozy lunch. ‘Your tenure at Virgin Radio is gone.’ I was suddenly boned. It was very disappointing at the time. They basically had taken apart the Russ and Jono magic, brought us very close to being the number one radio show in London. I didn’t hold it against Russ. I thought it was foolish and a mistake.”
In 2007, Coleman returned to Australia to be with his family, and hosted ‘The Jono Coleman Experience’ on the Classic Hits Network. ‘I ended up having to come back to Sydney, mum was sick, I wanted the the kids to spend time with their grandma,’ he said.
‘BBC Radio, Virgin Radio, to have Richard Branson as my boss, I’ve been blessed by some incredible opportunities, I’ve got two lovely kids, and I’m still working on the radio.’
On how he’d like to be remembered, Coleman said: ‘A funny guy who didn’t take himself too seriously, and like all people in show biz, who just wanted to be liked and wanted to get a laugh once in a while.’
Listen below.