AS Phoenix in The Masked Singer, Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson thought he was signing up for a bit of fun — having spent years “taking myself too seriously”.
Little did he know, as last weekend’s final approached, the desire to go all the way would take hold.
As it turned out, he was runner-up to Charlie Simpson after a triumphant stint.
But relaxing in the studio of his Virgin Radio show two days later, Ricky jokes: “I wrote a song once called The Second Greatest Showman — I guess that’s me!”
The rocker’s appearance on the ITV guessing game is likely to surprise his band’s fans, as he admits he would never have agreed to it earlier in his career amid fears of losing credibility.
But he explains: “Now performing songs, hosting radio, it’s all entertainment and that is what I like doing.
“And it’s all about bettering yourself.
“In the past I would have been quite snarky about doing something like The Masked Singer.
“I think I said once, which will come back to haunt me, ‘I don’t want to be judged on a TV show — I only want to be a judge.’
“I was scared people would say I was selling out.
“But the world has changed and people who dig their heels in and think they’re too cool can fall by the wayside, or they were far too big in the first place for it to make a difference.
Competitive streak
“When we came through in the mid-Noughties, I remember us desperately trying not be thought as sell-outs, to the point where we weren’t being invited to things because we weren’t playing the game.
“And you have to switch it in your head and think, I’m not selling out, I am buying in. I am using media more than they’re using me, in which case I’m in charge of this.
“So with this show, I didn’t care. I thought I’d do one episode and then be out, but after getting through a couple of times my competitive streak took over and I thought, ‘Now I’ve got this far, I am going to win it’.”
Laughing, as he explains he came “pretty close”, he adds: “Now I think, what’s cooler? Having a niche fan base that think you’re cool is great, but selling out arenas is cooler.
“And when I did The Voice, I just realised there is this box in the corner of everyone’s room – and there’s next to no music TV anymore, aside from a slot on the big chat shows like Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross.
“That’s really bad. Telly bosses are missing a trick because music means so much to people — they want to see it.
“So doing the telly stuff is just another way to reach them – and the very worst thing that could happen is a few youngsters might want to come along to a Kaiser Chiefs gig.”
Now Ricky splits his time between performing with his band and hosting his drivetime show.
And he has turned to fellow Virgin DJs Chris Evans and Graham Norton for support as he learns the ropes behind the microphone.
He explains: “This is the first job I’ve had in 20 years — I have a boss and have to go and ask for holidays.”
“It has been really tricky to get my head around the fact I can’t just do what I want. But radio is my favourite medium at the moment — it is the last bastion of community feeling. It is predominantly live.
“When you’re listening in the morning you feel like you’re part of a team on your way to work. When it’s drive time you’re part of a team going home. I really like that and I wish television had that more still.
“That’s why people are furious when radio shows change after decades — they’re such a big part of people’s lives.”
But he still hopes to be back on stage with his Leeds-based quintet as soon as possible, and is eyeing up festival slots for the summer.
He jokes: “Actually, I really like coming second on a festival, too.
“We’ve got some new music. Our last release How To Dance went down well and we have another one in March — and festivals are really where we’re most comfortable.
“Better yet if we can play second on the bill. The pressure is off, you usually get paid about the same as the headliner anyway, and we don’t have to pay for the fireworks because we are tight.
“Also, if you headline, everyone backstage is gone. You go off and you think, ‘Now we’re going to party,’ but it’s just a load of lorries and guys in hi-vis cleaning up.
“I was born for number two!”
- Listen to Ricky Wilson’s Drive Time, weekdays from 4pm only on Virgin Radio – on DAB, your smart speaker or download the app.
S CLUB 7 have extended their October reunion tour after selling out shows across the country.
The group, reuniting to celebrate 25 years since their formation, have added extra shows in Manchester, London and Birmingham and the tickets go on sale this Friday at 10am.
Ahead of the tour, singer Jo O’Meara performed a solo show in London on Sunday, her final performance until all seven members get back on stage.
She said: “This is my last one for a little while. I’ve got to go back to a little band I was part of once upon a time. It’s time to bring back the S Club party.
“S Club 7 is coming back just at the right time because we all need a bit of positivity. The country’s been a bit s**t.”
Footie’s ruin of Roman
HE is one of my favourite radio hosts but if I could dish out one bit of advice to Roman Kemp it would be to stick to the day job.
He has started to get a bit of form for hurting himself while playing football.
I’ve been told the Capital FM DJ ended up breaking a bone in his foot during a game over the weekend – just weeks after Roman thought he had broken a toe.
He seemed in good enough spirits when he headed to the launch of Superdry’s new premium menswear collection, though.
So luckily he’s not in too much pain from his footie adventures.
But it does seem that his opponents like to hit him with some crunching tackles.
Roman has told how he ended up fracturing one of his ankles, as well as tearing his ligaments as the tackles flew in.
He revealed: “Instead of helping me, my ‘pals’ decided to photograph the event.
“Play safe, kids.”
Perhaps that should be: Play safe, Roman.
MADONNA has poked fun at rumours she has gone under the knife after he look at last month’s Grammy Awards.
The Queen of Pop shared the photo of her looking far less puffy than she did on stage in Los Angeles and joked alongside a crying laughing emoji: “Look how cute I am now that swelling from surgery has gone down. Lol.”
Glad she can have a laugh at her own expense.
Pink to take flier in Vegas
PINK is vying for a Las Vegas residency so she can perform even more death-defying stunts.
The singer is known for flying through the air during her live performances, including on a trapeze.
She predicts that a run in Sin City would make her former shows look like child’s play.
Pink said: “I would do a Vegas show. I would be the best cirque show that Las Vegas ever saw.
“Vegas would be fun as I have to do things that can travel, but when you don’t have to travel, that opens up such a box of fun.”
She added to Jessie Ware on the latest episode of her Table Manners podcast, out today: “You can have water and all these things. It sounds like a playground.”
Pink, on track to land the No1 album this week with Trustfall, will bring her Summer Carnival Tour here in June.
She will be joined on the road by her kids Willow and Jameson but confessed it can be a huge struggle balancing being a hands-on parent and pop star.
Pink said: “Touring and being a mum is impossible. It’s not even a good idea, but we do it.
“It’s all I think about. I can’t even go to the bathroom without thinking about them.”
