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January 27, 2009

Access Interviews salutes Gordon Smart Coldplay chumminess

By Duncan wirepost

Journalist Rob McGibbon has celebrated the first birthday of his website Access Interviews – which aggregates journalists’ interviews from all over the web – by creating the Access Interviews Awards 2009.

Most accessed interview of the year was Henrietta Zuel, by Matt Dickinson of The Times.

More fun are his irreverant categories such as Most Inept Interviewer of the Year – winner DJ Les Ross’ now legendary chat with Hardeep Singh Koli.

Says Rob: “This was a supreme master class in all the things you are not supposed to do as an interviewer. No preparation, no clear line of questioning, an attitude to totally piss off your subject.”

Winner of the Gone Native award went to Sun Bizarre editor Gordon Smart for “Kidnapped by Coldplay“.

Rob says: “We accept that a certain degree of chumminess is necessary to get the goods from an interview, but Gordon showed enough warmth to accelerate the melting of the ice cap while schmoozing with hack hating Chris Martin and his band mates (do the others have names?).

“Gordon gushed and puffed until Coldplay fell down on his tape recorder. To prove he was well onside he donned a Coldplay stage outfit, drank their booze, used their cars, their jet, their LA hotel and even joined their football team.

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“But it is his name-checking of the flunkies that brings him the Gone Native trophy: ‘I watched from the sound desk with the group’s tour manager, Franksy, PA Vicki and Arlene, who works for the management.’

“We applaud Gordon’s ligging abilities in securing this junket at (we hope) the record company’s expense and for getting a centre spread out of a reportage preview to an interview. But it was all worth it because the resulting world exclusive interview produced a stunning revelatory line: “We miss X-Factor“.

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