Twenty years have passed since Adam Hills first told Australians “let’s play Spicks and Specks”.
Now, the host and his two insanely knowledgeable team captains, Alan Brough and Myf Warhurst, are back for a spectacular 20th anniversary season of the music quiz show.
Fans will be pleased to know that all the classic games remain, such as ‘Know Your Product’ and ‘Substitute’. But some new ones are also being introduced, including something called ‘Musical Chers’. Colour us intrigued!
Here, Adam, Myf, and Alan chat to New Idea about being “20 years young”, and why Spicks and Specks truly only works with the three of them…
When Spicks and Specks began in 2005, did you expect to still be going strong two decades later?
ADAM: Our goal when we started was to stay on air long enough to make a Christmas special. I’m still amazed we get to make this show all these years later, and more so that we seem to be getting better with age! The last few seasons have been some of our best.
MYF: When the first episode aired, I remember my mum said to me that she hoped I had taped it (on VHS – yep, I’m that old!), because it might be something I’d want to keep for my résumé.
ADAM: The question is probably best answered by someone who approached Alan on the street once and said, “Most of the time I don’t know who you’re talking about, but it’s just nice to see people enjoying each other’s company on television.”
Why does it still work?
ALAN: Raw sexual chemistry.
ADAM: When the three of us get together, wherever we are, magic just seems to happen. Plus, we have a real love of music, and in particular, Australian music.
MYF: I don’t think any of us thought it would last this long. Now we’ve been in people’s homes for 20 years! It’s the best job in the world. It’s a hoot for us to make, so it’s a hoot to watch.
What do each of you bring to the show?
MYF: Being a part of this team is like being in a band, because we each bring different perspectives to make an excellent whole. Adam is the perfect host, and Alan’s enthusiasm for the music he loves is just infectious.
ADAM: Both Alan and Myf bring an incredible knowledge of music. I’m like an interpreter sitting between them, translating to people watching at home.
ALAN: I truly believe Myf is the most important woman to have appeared on Australian TV in the past 20 years, because every week, young women watched her openly striving to come to terms with her mistakes, triumphs, loves and hates in the most intelligent, passionate, daggy, witty and, above all else, truthful way. Myf was ‘them’, which in turn meant they could be her in whatever sphere of life and work they chose to make their own.
Which guest has left you the most starstruck?
ALAN: English musician Lloyd Cole. His first record, Rattlesnakes by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, was the soundtrack to so many wonderful moments from when I heard it for the first time, aged 16. So, meeting him in person was just too much. The debris of teenage Alan still rattling around inside 30-plus Alan coalesced and then exploded with joy … and swearing.
ADAM: I’m a huge fan of Ben Folds, and he was so lovely afterwards. I still regret not asking for his number. I feel like we’d have become mates.
MYF: Renée Geyer, Chrissy Amphlett, Marcia Hines, Tim Finn, Brian Mannix from Uncanny X-Men, Paul Gray from Wa Wa Nee … to name a few!
