Richard Wilkins recoils in his chair, the memory still fresh in his mind.
It was 2010 when the Nine Entertainment Editor first met the individual who he now describes as the most difficult interview of his career.
“There’s a guy called Mick Hucknall. Beautiful voice, the singer of Simply Red,” Wilkins said.
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Since forming in the mid-1980s, the British band has performed to more than 11 million people all around the world.
“Probably the first time they toured Australia, they had a function at a bar called the Iguana Bar up in The Cross and they asked me to present a plaque to them for x-number of records sold,” Wilkins said.
“Which I did, and we got on well and had a couple of drinks and it was fantastic.”
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The next day, Wilkins and Hucknall would bump into each other again. The interaction would be far from fantastic.
“He was doing a guest VJ thing for MTV at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, which isn’t there any more,” Wilkins said.
“Anyway, he walked in, and I said, ‘G’day Mick, that was great last night, good to see you’.”
Wilkins recalled the greeting, gesturing with an extended hand to shake. He then proceeded to share Hucknall’s response to the greeting.
“‘I shook your hand last night, I don’t need to do it again’,” Wilkins said in his best Manchester accent.
The moment left the presenter confused.
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“I went ‘woah’. So I didn’t know whether he was on something good the night before or something bad this day, but he was just bloody rude,” Wilkins said.
“I went back and told the boss about it, and he said, ‘If anyone ever does that again, just pull stumps and don’t do the interview’.
“But, yeah, great singer, lovely voice, nice band, good songs, but pretty shitty interview.”
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