A Face For Radio ...

[andy-hughes]

... is a common expression for those who are not actually sprayed with evolution's aftershave.

There are many radio presenters who have wonderful voices, and (they would happily admit!) faces that don't match.

On occasions, there are TV presenters whose natural charm and good looks tend to obscure the fact that their voice in isolation sounds like a cat sliding down a blackboard.

I have always wondered then, how Mark Lawson ever found and continues a career in either medium - his voice sounds like he is breathing through a straw under water, and his visual manifestation is, shall we be kind and say - unusual?

So how did he find work on radio or TV, and why do they still use him?

[goodgoalie]

You seem to have a thing about this, Andy!
https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Media-and-TV/Question1398253.html

[-Talbot-]

O' dear ... do you write stuff down for future use on AB, andy?

[andy-hughes]

goodgoalie - Obviously you have a better memory for my posts than I do - I find that such instances vanish from my memory banks in minutes, but I retain vast swathes of musical knowledge effortlessly.

I heard Mr Lawson on the radio yesterday - obviously my subconscious memory was stirred - but only slightly!

[andy-hughes]

Talbot - // O' dear ... do you write stuff down for future use on AB, andy? //

Clearly not!!

LOL!

[Mamyalynne]

I think the question in your last sentence could only be answered by those who employ people you find disagreeable for one reason or t'other.

[vernonk]

The answer is because he’s a brilliant journalist/interviewer - one of the finest at the BBC. Though he was suspended by the Beeb in recent years as you’ll be able to discover by googling. You’d have thought good looks and a good voice would also be vital assets for MUSIC stars, but the likes of Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Rod Stewart etc do not appear to be blessed with either yet they are immensely successful. I’m a massive Dylan fan...and I love watching and listening to Mark Lawson’s outstanding TV interviews.

[campbellking]

I'm still vaguely shocked when I see anyone I've listened to for years (especially 5live presenters) appearing on the telly, as they invariably look nothing like I've imagined them to be.

[Cloverjo]

I am also surprised when I see people who I had previously known only by their voice. Tim from the Steve Wright Show springs to mind.

A-H, Mark Lawson must be good at what he does. I've never really noticed anything wrong with his voice.

[andy-hughes]

vernonk - // The answer is because he’s a brilliant journalist/interviewer - one of the finest at the BBC. Though he was suspended by the Beeb in recent years as you’ll be able to discover by googling. //

I have listened to many episodes of Front Row, and other contributions from Mr Lawson, and obviously we are hearing completely different things when we listen. I don't find his interviews at all out of the ordinary.

// You’d have thought good looks and a good voice would also be vital assets for MUSIC stars, but the likes of Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Rod Stewart etc do not appear to be blessed with either yet they are immensely successful. I’m a massive Dylan fan...and I love watching and listening to Mark Lawson’s outstanding TV interviews. //

Your comparison is completely off beam.

Journalists are conduits, they convey information or comment on facts, or present a platform for people of interest to convey their thoughts and views. The journalist doing his or her job properly is the antithesis of a 'famous' person, they are there to facilitate, not to be noticed.

Any popular musician, including all that you have mentioned, are popular entirely because of the singularity of their work, and their unique way of presenting it - they are the point of the presentation.

So your comparison is about as wide of the mark as it is possible to be.

We'll agree to differ about Mr Lawson.

[douglas9401]

Here endeth the lesson, go in peace my child.

[kvalidir]

He looks perfectly normal and he sounds perfectly normal, why are you so hung up about him? And you're not being kind describing him as 'unusual' you're being ***, he just looks like an average middle aged bloke. You're a journalist, do you look or sound any better, and if you think you do, are you sure that you do, or do you think that Mark Lawson goes out and says 'Hmmmm I think I'll look 'unusual' today and sound as if I'm underwater breathing through a straw'?

Oh and to answer to your question they employed him because he's intelligent and a good all rounder and continue to do so because they aren't hung up about him.

[andy-hughes]

kvalidir - // You're a journalist, do you look or sound any better, and if you think you do, are you sure that you do, or do you think that Mark Lawson goes out and says 'Hmmmm I think I'll look 'unusual' today and sound as if I'm underwater breathing through a straw'?
//

I don't imagine he thinks that for a moment. We all think we make the best of ourselves, and if we are in the public eye, we are subject to scrutiny and comment - it goes with the territory.

I probably look about the same, but I do sound a lot better, and I do know that.

// Oh and to answer to your question they employed him because he's intelligent and a good all rounder and continue to do so because they aren't hung up about him. //

I imagine that's true.

[Bazile]

It's interesting isn't it , how you form a picture of how someone looks from their voice ; which is totally different when you see them

[-Talbot-]

Career envy.

[andy-hughes]

Talbot - // Career envy. //

Let me see - indifferent author with horrible voice and bad dress sense suspended for bullying .... er ..... that's a No from me.

If you said Stuart Maconie, you'd be right on the button, he knows more about music than me, he's a better writer than I am, he has books published, a career in radio, and he's been to Wigan Casino.

Career envy? Dead right!

[Bathsheba]

I think all TV recruiters search for blokes unable to sound the letter "r"

Baths
x x x

[-Talbot-]

That's what this thread comes across as.
You obviously feel your talents are superior to his and you deserve better.

Don't suck them ... make lemonade.

[andy-hughes]

Talbot - // That's what this thread comes across as.
You obviously feel your talents are superior to his and you deserve better. //

If it comes aross like that to you,l then that is your conclusion, but you are incorrect.

I don't think my talents are superior to Mr Lawson's as it happens, and I don't think I 'deserve better'.

I made my observations, as people often do, based on what I see and hear, not some bitter twisted envy - he doesn't interest me that much

[Bathsheba]

Well I think what I said was dead funny........

[murraymints]

there'll never be another Wogan !