Tom’s guest for ‘Back to Mine’ this week was Lynn Barber, one of the most revered interviewers in the UK over the past four decades, and winner of six British Press Awards.
Barber has interviewed a wide variety of celebrities during her illustrious career but she says she “avoids” actors whenever possible because “actors often speak in generalities that don’t really mean anything”.
Barber has just released her second memoir, ‘A Curious Career’, after the success of ‘An Education’ which was made into an Oscar nominated film starring Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard.
During the interview, Tom asked Barber what the secret ingredient to her interviewing style was.
“I ask questions in a ‘longing to know’ way, whereas I think a lot of interviewers sound a bit jaded,” she said.
Having experienced a career which began in the 1960s, Barber finds that the research involved in preparing for an interview has changed dramatically.
“The trouble with research now is that it used to be just a case of reading the press cuttings but now you have to do all this sort of Facebook and Twitter...and that’s an absolute nightmare because it’s limitless,” she explained.
‘Common People’ by Pulp was Barber’s first song choice.
“This is my favourite single ever,” she exclaimed.
This being the show that it is, Tom had to ask Barber about her interviews with Jarvis Cocker, the Pulp frontman.
“He suggested that he would come to my home and that was a very strange thing because I realised that trying to be a good hostess and trying to ask him questions...it made me incredibly awkward...perhaps that’s why he wanted to do it...it threw me off my professional stride,” she said.
Barber’s second song choice was ‘Heart of Glass’, the Blondie classic.
“It takes you into a new world,” said Barber. “It’s a sort of glamorous voice...as well as a glamorous persona”.
Finally, she picked ‘Sunny Afternoon’ by The Kinks to close out the interview.
“It reminds me of happy days in the ‘60’s and lying around on many sunny afternoons in Oxford”.
