One of the most impressive and inspiring things about Hamish Blake and Andy Lee, since the duo stopped doing a regular radio show together in 2017, is that they can pop up anywhere, together or alone, and fit right in.
Andy Lee did the Nova rounds this morning chatting with Melbourne Nova 100’s Jase & Lauren about travelling to Brisbane to watch his beloved Carlton Blues in the AFL preliminary finals on the weekend which, if you follow that code, you will know did NOT go well.
On a brighter note he also checked in with Nova 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie in Sydney, talking about his book and podcast Do Not Open This Book:
Fitzy: ‘Do Not Open This Book’. It’s gone from strength to strength. How many copies have you sold? Andy, this has gone worldwide. I see you traveling the world, signing books.
Andy: We’ve sold over three and a half million copies worldwide.
Wippa: How many countries?
Andy: It in 38 languages…so that would mean more countries. We just launched in Brazil… I don’t know what it is about that language, but it’s gone gangbusters. We sold a quarter of a million book books in Brazil
Fitzy: That’s crazy! Are you going after David Walliams?
Andy: Yep…that’s always been my goal in life.
Wippa: But [with this book] you’re on board with the ABC and it’s been developed into a cartoon?
Andy: Yes I’m making an animation called ‘Do Not Watch This Show’
Wippa: That is awesome. The kids will love it!
Speaking of the ABC, Hamish Blake was a guest on The Assembly, a show where Autistic journalism students interview well known Australian personalities. Some of the questions put to Hamish, Amanda Keller and Sam Neill, plus their responses, still linger; especially Hamish’s to the most memorable answer one of his interview guest’s has given. You can still catch up all the episodes on ABC iview.
I also watched Hamish last weekend on Channel 10’s Thank God You’re Here, climbing Everest as it happens. Over on the Nine Network, series seven of The Hundred with Andy Lee starts tomorrow, Tuesday September 10.
Then there’s their podcasts, which you may have heard of. Regularly getting a couple of million monthly downloads and being No 1 on the Australian Podcast Ranker, the Hamish and Andy podcast is a winner for listeners and LiSTNR. Producer Mike Liberale said on LinkedIn today that he and the duo (main picture) have also just wrapped up series 6 of the Hamish & Andy’s Remembering Project, a podcast where they revisit highlights from their radio shows. Liberale wrote a lovely piece about how indebted he is for the opportunity.
There’s few in our media industry who balance such a juggle across medias, networks, family and other interests while retaining a sense of authenticity and their genuine and unbreakable bond.
When they signed an early long term, multi-year extension to their contract with SCA in November 2022, Hamish and Andy said:
“We said we’d do 40 shows for 40 years, so I guess we are an eighth of the way there. We love doing the podcast, it’s our favourite part of the week. We look forward to providing a similar type quote in the year 2057 from a nursing home where minders allow us to pretend we are still podcasting and lie to us that heaps of people are listening.”
And, you know, I really think that 40 shows might happen.
Related Report: Hamish Blake and Andy Lee: Secrets behind 20 years of success
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo.