[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”default” animate=”yes” delay=”50″][vc_row_inner column_margin=”none” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”default” animate=”yes” delay=”50″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]Producer & Host Phillip Silverstone joins the program to discuss how he prepares for interviews, and the skills that set him apart from other interviewers. He reveals the approach he takes when interviewing celebrities and why he admires Winston Churchill. Discover the importance of stepping outside of your comfort zone and how to stand out from the crowd.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_background” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”7%” class=”custom-p” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”left-right” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][toggles style=”default”][toggle color=”Default” title=”Episode Transcription”][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”padding-3-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]Speaker 3: Welcome to Hidden Human, the podcast where we explore the stories behind the business leader. Get ready to hear insights from business leaders, speaking candidly about how they became who they are today and the lessons they learned along the way. And now, here’s your host, leadership coach and speaker, Kelly Meerbott.
Kelly: Welcome to Hidden Human, the space where we reveal our personal humanity to reconnect with our shared humanity. It is my honor and pleasure to begin our conversation with Phillip Silverstone, producer and host of Time Out with Phillip Silverstone and Silverstone Live. Two programs that have become my favorite since meeting Phillip. Welcome, and thank you Phillip. How are you?
Phillip: I can’t believe it. I actually have one listener, thank you. And one watcher, thank you.
Kelly: Yeah, it’s me. It’s absolutely me. So, tell me something. We’ve known each other a little bit, but we haven’t known each other that well. But what drew you to creating the content that you create through your two shows?
Phillip: Because what drew me to it? God, it’s just a lifelong passion for everything that I do. Since I was five years old, growing up in Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood, London NW8, I had a tape recorder in my hand and I always knew I wanted to do something that was related to communications, and unfortunately I wasted 30 years in wine, but I parlayed that into getting onto television and radio.
And for the last year, I’ve realized my lifelong dream, which is to focus on all the things that turn me on. That’s why I do what I do, I like to interact with an audience, but I like to share with them the music I like, the guests that turn me on, the themes. I do fashion entertainment, lifestyle, movies, theater, everything that I love is now under the umbrella of my podcast and my video show.
Really and truly, it’s not about my audience. The show is just me, it’s about me, whether I get turned on by it, and I happen to have a few people that listen in. At least I know I’ve got one now, one audience member.
Kelly: Well, and I love it and I love your approach, because it’s very authentic. It doesn’t feel scripted or it just feels like you’re opening up your heart and allowing us to peek in to it. Is that accurate?
Phillip: Well it’s accurate that I’ve been successful then as 100 percent phony and I fooled you into believing that I’m a nice guy and I’m being honest. No, I actually … No. I’m authentic because I have enormous respect for people and I know that people can tell a phony. Most of the intelligent ones can. They can tell a phony from the genuine article.
That’s not true in a subject we’re not touching on, that’s not true in politics, but it is true, I think, in entertainment.
Kelly: Oh, 100 percent. 100 percent. And I mean, I think that’s why your guests warm up to you so well, that and the fact that you do extensive research. I would love you to tell the story that you told me. I can’t remember who it was, but it was somebody that you did some research on that was surprised that you got that kind of nugget of information. I think it might’ve been Bradley Cooper, I think?
Phillip: Well it’s actually all my guests and this isn’t a bragging thing, this is something that I’m passionately obsessed about. I’m an obsessive person. When we finish this conversation, I have to prepare … I’ve done the groundwork, but I have to prepare for tomorrow’s live show, video show, with a fabulous British band called Dance Macabre, and there’s three of them.
Until yesterday, I thought I was only having one of the band, but yesterday I was informed it was three. And what I do, I learnt from actors, from all actors, especially movie actors, that when they are given a role and accept the role, they need something … they need a hook. They need something to get them into character.
Most actors will tell you it’s either with a pair of shoes, which they feel the character would be wearing and which informs them of the kind of walk that the character would have, or it might be just a hat. In my case, we are fortunate enough now to have the internet and I, instead of starting at page one, I go as far out as I can to go back in time and see if there’s some nugget of information about this person, some obscure thing from their school days. Everything I do is positive, so I would never bring up anything negative.
But if I found out that they went into Jim Smith’s dance class when they were five and that got them off on their dance career, then I’ll say to them, “You’ve just completed this year’s Nutcracker. You were the lead in the Nutcracker, was Jim Smith in the front row?” And they’ll say … There’s a pause and there’s like … They say, “How did you know that?” And that’s when I get them to realize in that instant, and I always do that up front.
In that moment, they know I’ve done my research, they know I’m interested in them enough to have done that research, and they’re immediately comfortable with me, so that’s how I start off my interviews. Normally with something like, “Hey, tell everyone about that [inaudible] you had at Martha’s Vineyard last year.” And I do that in every show and that’s how I kick the show off. And from that moment forward, they know they’re not on a morning TV show where the worst thing, nails on a blackboard to me is when you watch Robert De Niro, or whoever it might be, on a morning news show for their three minute segment and the silly news person says, “Now, tell me about the role. Who do you play?”
Well, I refuse to interview anyone unless I’ve read their book, listened to their record, watched their movie, seen their play, been to their art exhibit, and I tell them, “Hey, you know that scene you did where you did such and such, I think that was one take, wasn’t it? ‘Cause it seemed like it.” I don’t remember what your question was, because I meander, but I hope that answers it.
Kelly: It does. I mean, it goes to being authentic and really caring enough about your subject to interview them in a thoughtful and intentional way, and that’s what really spoke to me when we met for the first time. I mean, you bring that presence with you as a human. I know you’re probably going to bat it off as a backhanded compliment, but it’s true and people are drawn to you that way.
I think it really plays out, at least for me. It speaks to me and resonates with me when I watch you and when I listen to you. But I want to go back to when you were talking about in your childhood and you had that tape recorder or recorder in your hand, who gave you your first tape recorder?
Phillip: My dad, my mom and dad got it for me because I drove them mad. I was a horrible child and I was a spoiled brat and unless I could get something, I just screamed and ranted and raved. And I think we were on holiday somewhere and I was screaming and it was a little hotel and I was kicking up such a fuss and my dad said, “Be quiet!” And I said, “If you buy me the tape recorder, I’ll shut up.” “Okay! Okay!”
So they bought me a little Phillips cassette recorder, which was brand new, never been … It dates me of course, but it was what I wanted, ’cause I’m into … I’ve always been into technology and I wanted a Phillips tape recorder. And I stood outside of our flat in London with my tape recorder, one November the fifth, I remember this. And November the fifth is Guy Fawkes, which is the man who tried to blow up Parliament 500 years ago and it’s celebrated by having fireworks and burning effigies of him.
And I stood outside my house as people were going to firework parties, this obnoxious little, I don’t know, five or six year old saying, “Excuse me, what do you think about fireworks?” ‘Cause I was a little boy, and they actually answered me and I put together a little program. And then at school, we went on a field trip to a village in Aylesbury Buckingham, a little village of about 100 people, and I said to my headmaster, “Can I do a recording there? Can I interview the people?”
We went on a geology trip. We were supposed to dig up things from people’s [inaudible] and he said, “Yeah, go on then.” So I did an interview and I played it in the school assembly on the stage and it was quite good.
Kelly: And how young were you when all of this was going on? Between the fireworks and the geology-
Phillip: Well, I think I was six, but the actual thing in front of an audience on the stage, and I was petrified, because I was extraordinarily shy. That was when I was … Let me see, probably 11. 11 years old.
Kelly: Wow. So this was from a really early age that you were just interested in having these conversations with people. I mean it’s fascinating how, like I said, it happens in your childhood creates the leader that you are today. What did mom and dad do? Tell me about them a little bit.
Phillip: Smacked me most of the time, and shouted at me. My dad was a dress manufacturer. He had a dress factory. People used to say to me, “What does your dad do?” And I used to say, “He travels in ladies’ dresses,” which they had a strange feeling about my dad, but I explained that he made ladies’ dresses. My mom was a housewife, was a mother, and she also worked at his little factory from time to time.
It was a pretty tough childhood, because my dad served as a British solider in World War 2. He was just a private in the army and he was on a ship going to Singapore. Bad timing, it was the day that the Japanese overran Singapore. They bombed his ship, he swum ashore and he spent the next four years as a prisoner of war, building bridges for the Japanese and being horribly dealt with by them.
When I was growing up, he had PTSD, but nobody knew what it was. We weren’t sure if Mr. Happy or Mr. Grumpy was going to wake up in the morning. It was mostly Mr. Grumpy.
Kelly: Wow. And were you an only child, Phillip?
Phillip: I was an only child until I was eight, and then my world was shattered, because my mother had a baby in her tummy, as she told me, and my brother came along. So I have a younger brother who’s much more successful than me. And as it happens, on the day that we are talking, he is about to get a plane to London and he’s going to do something that I’m very proud of. He’s going to be meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace as he was included in this year’s honors list.
He is getting an MBE, which is one of the highest honors which the Queen gives out on her birthday at Buckingham Palace. So my brother is getting a medal.
Kelly: And so what is your brother’s name, so we can give him a little love?
Phillip: My brother is Howard Silverstone, and he is one of the world’s leading forensic accountants. When nasty people screw nice people out of lots of money and the government gets involved, they come to my brother who is a Sherlock Holmes of … Essentially, he is a Sherlock Holmes of accounting.
Kelly: Wow.
Phillip: So he’s got books that have been published on it. As I said, he’s much more successful than me, but I got the looks.
Kelly: And so if we had your brother in the room with us, what would he say about his older brother Phillip as a child?
Phillip: That he was demented, nasty, vindictive, viscous, spiteful, and everything you would hate in a brother. But then when I grew up, I was just eccentric, more nasty, obnoxious, and we’re very close.
Kelly: I mean, I find that so hard to believe Phillip, because to me you’re just a joy. I mean, I really enjoy you a lot. What would you say from this point until way back from the beginning, what’s the happiest moment of your life?
Phillip: That’s a good question, ’cause there’s lots of different answers to happiness. Clearly, the birth of our daughter is probably the monumentally happiest, because it seemed that we were never going to have a child due to lots of issues and problems that arose, but thanks to the medical world, one came along and she’s my best mate. So that’s the happiest.
Kelly: This is Kelly. Thanks so much for listening to Hidden Human. We love having you as part of our audience. As a thank-you gift from us to you, click to KellyMeerbott.com/downloadables to download our free white paper, Seven Insights on Leadership from 20 Years of Coaching Executives. That’s K-E-L-L-Y-M-E-E-R-B-O-T-T.com/downloadables. Thank you so much for being part of the Hidden Human family, and make it a great day.
Take me back to that moment when you’re in the hospital room and she’s just been delivered. So go back there in your mind’s eye, and the doctors have cleaned her up and put her in your arms for the first time, and you look down on her face. What is that moment like for you?
Phillip: Well, there was a lot of things going on. Firstly, she was a C-section, so we actually had an appointment to have the child delivered, which was quite neat. It was choreographed very nicely. The other thing was that the gynecologist delivered her was something of a friend and he was a wine buff and I was, at that time, the region’s wine guru, so I took a selection of champagnes with and he flipped out when he saw them.
He said, “I’m gonna put them in the fridge,” and I said, “Are they going to be okay?” And he said, “Yeah, I’ll have the baby out in time for them to be chilled just at the right moment.” I was actually videoing the delivery, but not graphically, because obviously I just wanted to capture the moment the baby was born for posterity.
The moment the baby was born, I got so excited, I was so overwhelmed, I walked in front of the camera and killed that moment. I did ask the doctor if he could put the baby back and do a second take, but he refused to do that. It was just the most wonderful feeling. I thought if I don’t accomplish anything else in life, I have contributed a certain percent to bringing this, what I hope, will be a wonderful child into the universe.
So I felt very proud, very overwhelmed, and then they said, “You can hold the baby.” I’ve never forgotten this, I said, “I’m not touching that. It’s full of blood and goo. Wash it first, then I’ll hold it.” ‘Cause I am a bit of a clean freak. And then from that moment onwards, all I did was look at every feature on the child from the minute she was born and just, I fell madly, deeply in love. Plus, we got very drunk afterwards, ’cause she was the last delivery, so we enjoyed the champagne.
That was just, from a scientific standpoint, just the wonders of life and just the entire creation of the universe. I’m not a follower of a faith, I’m more scientifically minded, just the most wonderful experience as far as seeing a human animal delivered. It was fascinating.
Kelly: I mean, that’s a great story and I always wonder, because I feel like in moments like that, and while it should be … the mother and the child should be the focus, I do feel like sometimes fathers get left behind and I’m always interested in what that moment was like for the fathers. So I really appreciate you sharing that with me.
Okay, so who’s been the kindest to you in your life, Phillip?
Phillip: Who’s been the kindest to me? There have been lots of kind people. The kindest person, without a doubt, was my mom. We lost her about two months ago and it was the most remarkable death. I couldn’t have paid enough money for her to die the way she did, because it was painless. She was 93, she went to sleep, had a brain hemorrhage and never woke up from it, and fell to a sound sleep death.
But she never shouted at me, we never had an argument. She was a very much a result of an English lady that had dealt with being bombarded by the Germans and doing her little bit for the war effort and being a proud housewife and mother. She also was my best mate. We were very good friends. So she was the kindest person to me.
And she’s the top of the pedestal actually, and most of the good things that I’ve … Most of the good genes that I have come from my mom. She doesn’t own Levi’s, by the way, or Lee or anything like that, but the other type of jeans. She was the kindest.
Kelly: Would it be fair to say she had the biggest influence on your life or was there someone else outside your immediate family that had a positive impact on you?
Phillip: I think the influences on my life were the people who I idolized. So they weren’t necessarily my family, ’cause I put them into a different little niche, but I had heroes. I mean, my greatest hero to this day is Winston Churchill. I love Winston Churchill. He has helped me in so many ways when I do live events, sharing some of his stories and his quotes. Remarkable man.
And he won the war against the Nazi criminals, not really by the way he directed the soldiers or anything like that. That was secondary. He won the war by the way he used words to generate patriotism amongst the people who were suffering from the bombs falling on them. There’s the first man who I saw was so articulate, he articulated the win of the war. He just did it in a different sort of way. He had a way to move people, people that felt they were going to be wearing little mustaches and doing goose steps, he managed to defeat the Nazis just by his rhetoric.
He was the first. And then there was rock musicians who I idolized, there were authors, there were all kind … I get turned on by people, by people who are in the public eye whose work I adore, and so I am an, I suppose, an amalgam of all of these people and who I started out as doesn’t exist anymore. I’m sort of a fabrication of all of these things.
Kelly: What’s your favorite Winston Churchill story that you can share with us?
Phillip: Well, there’s the classic one. There’s a lady by the name of Lady Astor who was the first female member of parliament and among other things, Winston Churchill was a terrible chauvinist and did not believe women’s place in parliament was something they were entitled to. They loathed each other, and so they were both invited to every party, every dinner, and always seated across from each other, because people knew how entertaining it would be.
The great quote is when Lady Astor says to Winston Churchill, who is known to enjoy a tipple or two of champagne and other drinks, she said to him. “Sir, you’re drunk.” And he said, “Madam, you’re ugly, but in the morning, I’ll be sober.”
Kelly: Oh my god, that’s terrible, but it’s funny.
Phillip: There was the second one she said to him, she said, “Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink.” And he said, “Madam, if I was your husband, I would drink it.”
Kelly: That’s amazing. He was a really incredible leader, wasn’t he?
Phillip: Yeah. He was just, as I said, it was just his ability, and I think that’s when I realized the power of speech and the power of charisma, that the man had made so many mistakes in his life and some of them were desperately, abysmally, catastrophic. They caused so much death to young men, yet in a way they were forgiven and overlooked by the way that he just moved a nation to defeat this sinister, oppressive cult.
And so it showed me from an early age that … I was always drawn to larger than life people. I love larger than life people. I have people like Winston Churchill, I got to the other extreme where I’m fascinated by Keith Richards of the Stones and when I reached a certain age, I said, “I’m gonna get old shamefully,” and so the first thing that I did was I got a tattoo, I started wearing clothes that I really wanted to wear and my appearance has become more of a rock and roll, aging rock and roller, and I owe that to Keith Richards and I guess Johnny Depp. So, larger than life people, I love larger than life people.
Kelly: Yeah. I mean, so tell me a good story about Keith Richards. Have you met him?
Phillip: No, I haven’t met Keith Richards. He’s one of the few people that I don’t want to meet, because I don’t-
Kelly: Oh.
Phillip: … want to be disappointed. I don’t want to be disappointed. There’s certain people that you do not want to meet. I don’t have a good story about him, other than the fact that he used to live in Jamaica and not that long ago, there was a story about him falling out of a palm tree. The question that nobody asked, because it was Keith Richards … And he had to go to hospital for a damaged arm or damaged leg.
The question that nobody asked, which I thought was fabulous, because it was Keith Richards is, “Excuse me, what was he doing up a palm tree?”
Kelly: Right, exactly! That is what I was thinking. Why didn’t anybody ask that question?
Phillip: Well, it’s because he is who he is and it’s accepted. You just accept things. John Lennon, on his honeymoon, spent it with Yoko in a bed for peace and they had all the press from around the world flocking to them. They got enormous publicity. I suppose at the time, people might have thought, “Why is John Lennon and Yoko Ono, why are John Lennon and Yoko Ono in bed for peace on their honeymoon?” But then again, the answer is because it’s John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and they do stuff like that.
Kelly: And because they can.
Phillip: Yeah. So I think what I see that as telling me is, if you establish, and this is sort of a lesson for people. I always say that I have never swum with the tide, I always swim against it. It’s much too easy to swim with it and I like to be rebellious. I think if you can be rebellious in a positive way, if you can step outside of your comfort zone, if you can step outside of other people’s comfort zones, you’ll get noticed, but you won’t get laughed at if you do it in a way that’s positive and accomplishes something.
I mean since I did a complete makeover of myself when I was in the wine business. I wore blazers and pocket handkerchiefs and bow ties, I was known for my bow ties. I’ve always been into fashion, but I was known for my bow ties. And then when I started dealing with musicians and actors and artists, I thought, “Well, I can be who I really was before I went through this 30 year diversion being a serious person in a serious business.”
And it changed my whole mode of dress and a day doesn’t go by when somebody doesn’t come up to me, men or women, and say, “Are you an artist? Are you in a band?” And it starts a conversation. They could laugh at me and ignore me, they could elbow their mate that they’re with and say, “Look at that jerk.” But they don’t. They actually come up to me and say, “Man, you’re really rocking that style.” Or “I love those boots,” or “I love how you’re carrying that style. What do you do?” And we get into a conversation.
I’ve made some very good friends from that. It’s almost like an advertisement to start a conversation with me. People feel very comfortable when they see the way I appear, and also I don’t look like the average guy, the average guy wears a blue button-down shirt and khaki pants. The world walks around in a uniform.
Kelly: It really does, and when I did meet you, I mean, I noticed how quickly I was very comfortable with you. And I have that gift too where people are just comfortable to talk to us, which is why I think we do as well as we do in the modem that we’ve chosen for this life. So who’s your favorite person to interview?
Phillip: My favorite person to interview is any person who engages me with the same passion that I engage them. So it has to be somebody that’s really tuned in to the fact that I am turned on by them and have gone to the trouble, as you have done today, to invite the person that fascinates you onto their show. I want them to reciprocate by engaging me in conversation.
The worst thing is when you get one word answers or they really are not interested enough to share my fascination with them, with me. I mean, most of the people I have, whatever they do, I’m interested in the same things you’re interested in. I’m interested in what motivates them, if it’s an artist, an actor or an artist of that kind, I’m interested in their craft.
I don’t do late-night talk show chat. I’m not interested how many kids they have or what first word the kid said was or any of that stuff. I’m interested in how they get into a part, how they perform a role. So that’s my favorite guest.
The best guest that I’ve ever had has become a friend of mine and he did something amazing for me. And this was a kindness and so much came together. As a child of the 50s, I had a hero who is still hitting the top of the British charts, he’s known all over the world except the United States, which was a management decision. It wasn’t a good decision, ’cause he did not come across with the British invasion, but his name is Sir Cliff Richard.
He is the most successful recording artist on the planet, and at the age of 75, he sells out a concert tour in a matter of minutes.
Kelly: Wow.
Phillip: Cliff has been on my show four times. We met a couple of times in person and he’s always, always comfortable with me. About two years ago, three years ago, he was invited to come over and do a concert in New York. He was invited to be the opening act and the artist, I’ve just … I can’t believe this has happened, but I’ve just forgotten the name of the artist. It’ll come to me maybe in a minute.
Oh, Morrissey, Morrissey. Morrissey wanted Tom Jones to open in LA and he wanted Cliff to open in New York, and Cliff hadn’t done a New York gig for years. And so it came to a week before and Morrissey, who used to be in a bad called the Smiths, who’s renowned for getting sick, he got sick and canceled the concert, and Cliff’s in London. Now, Cliff’s fans, they had traveled … They are so fanatical, they traveled from Japan. They even came over from England. They’ll go to every concert of his.
And Cliff said to his team, “I gotta do something. I know what I’ll do, I’ll throw a concert in New York and I won’t charge all these people that have come over, ’cause otherwise, they’ve spent money for nothing. I’ll get a small theater. I’ll just get a theater for 1,000 people, just a small theater. Let them all in for free. And you know what? I’ll do something up close and personal. How about I do three sets, it’ll run for two hours, and I’ll have some interviews between them.”
They said, “Well, it’s in New York, who would you have to interview you?” And he said, “Phil Silverstone. Call him up, see if he’ll do it.” So they called me up and they said, “Cliff said, would you host and interview him on his stage?” I said, “I gotta think about this.” They said, “How long do you want to think about this?” I said, “No, that was long enough. Of course I’ll do it.”
It was the most surreal thing of my life. I was on the stage introducing and interviewing my hero. It’s all over YouTube, Cliff Richard and Phil Silverstone, and his fans who now follow me, because they’ve kind of adopted me, they all knew who I was. So when I came out on the stage, I had 1,000 people cheering for me and I got them off to the same start I do on my show. I said, “Hang on everyone, I have to make a confession,” and there was this deadly hush. I said, “I’m not Cliff, I’m Phil Silverstone.” And they all …
And it was a wonderful evening, it was a surreal evening. So that was-
Kelly: That’s amazing.
Phillip: … probably the second most amazing experience of my life.
Kelly: I love that. Thank you so much for sharing that, and I did watch a lot of your videos, but I’ve gotta go back and re-watch those, ’cause I don’t remember watching that video.
Phillip: That was taken by somebody in the … Well a lot of people in the audience filmed it. If you just look up “Gramercy Silverstone, Cliff Richard,” you’ll see a ton of our concert on there.
Kelly: That’s amazing. I will. I’m writing it down right now. Okay, so this is a point in time where we’re starting to kind of wind down the interview and I love to ask four rapid fire questions of everybody. I hope you’re okay with that?
Phillip: I don’t know, see, I get nervous with exams and-
Kelly: Oh, you’ll know all the answers, I promise. Okay, so the first one is, what’s your favorite comfort food?
Phillip: My favorite comfort food is Bassetts Ice Cream from Philadelphia, rum raisin.
Kelly: Yum! That sounds delicious. Okay, what music is on your playlist right now? What are you listening to right now?
Phillip: I listen only to new bands, just emerging. I don’t listen to any old stuff. So my guests on tomorrow’s show, Dance Macabre, they’re on my playlist right now.
Kelly: That’s awesome. I can’t wait to experience them. Okay. What books are on your nightstand right now?
Phillip: I have Craig Johnson’s Depth of Winter. Craig Johnson’s Depth of Winter is one of his series of Sheriff Longmire novels, which was, and is, an amazing series.
Kelly: I love Longmire! I’ve never read the books though.
Phillip: I met the author and he’s gonna come on the show and he is also gonna have some of the cast on the show for me.
Kelly: I love that show. Please tell him to keep up the good work. It’s amazing, and now I need a new set of books to read, so this is great. Thank you so much. Okay, final question. What are you most grateful for in this moment right now?
Phillip: Oh god, that is such a difficult question. What I’m most grateful for right now is having a very logical mind and looking at a very crazy world in a very logical, unpanicked way, because I know we will get through what we’re going through, which is very turbulent. And I know I can keep my head on my shoulders, to keep my family safe and happy and content and steer them all through this. And the people that I bring some pleasure to, I do it through my work by bringing them … literally bringing them pleasure and helping them all get through a very tough period.
Kelly: Wow, that is a gift, isn’t it? And now and I feel out of balance, but I’m gonna cling to my husband and call you, so there you go. But how can our listeners and our audience learn more about the work that you do? And it is incredible work and I encourage everybody to go and watch and listen to Phillip’s podcast and video cast.
Phillip: There’s an easy way, which is going to my website, which is TheSilverstoneCollection.com. That first word is “the” or “the” T-H-E Silverstone Collection dot com. Or just Googling my name. The show is on my … You can watch it live every Friday at five o’clock on my Facebook page, which is Time Out for Phillip Silverstone.
Or you can go to my YouTube channel, which is Phillip Silverstone, but the best thing to do is if you go to TheSilverstoneCollection.com, it’s got all the links to everything on there, plus all my shows and all the information about me, and that’s all you need, that one thing.
Kelly: And take the time to do that, because it really is worth it. Phillip is a gifted interviewer and you can tell just based on the results of the things that he’s put together. Phillip, it’s deep gratitude to you for being so vulnerable and real with me. To our listeners, it’s our intention that this podcast inspires you to go out and have authentic conversations, to deepen the connections in your life. Thank you so much, and make it a great day.
Speaker 3: You’ve been listening to Hidden Human, the stories behind the business leader. If you’ve enjoyed the episode, please subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. To learn more about Kelly and the service that she provides, visit YouLoudandClear.com. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll be back soon with a new episode.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/toggle][/toggles][/vc_column][/vc_row]
