People • 3 August 2003

on the spot... with Noel Mallia

Noel Mallia is head of station at Radio 101. He has been involved in radio since 1973, interrupted by a nine-year break and hitting back the airwaves in 1991. His debut on radio was unusual. Noel was given the opportunity of an audience after he, along with a friend sent a rude letter to the head of station at Rediffusion Malta Ltd. Shall we call it a rude awakening for his radio career?
Noel Mallia spills the beans.What do you do besides being a radio programmes producer?
I am the managing director of a family business and head of station at Radio 101.
How long have you been a radio programmes producer?
I’ve been in the scene since 1973. I stopped in 1982 and started again in 1991.
Where did you first start and how did you become involved?
I started at Rediffusion Malta Ltd. My friend Brian Micallef and myself sent a rude letter to the then Head of Programmes Victor Aquilina and got an audition.
Who inspires you the most?
Bob Dylan
If you ruled the world, what would you ban?
Techno, rave and that kind of cow dung.
What’s your biggest phobia?
Being buried alive
If you were invisible for a day, what would you do?
Hang around the Oval Office.
Your best friend would describe you as...
Moody.
The person you text the most is...
My wife. I reply to her texts.
Someone hands you Lm10,000. What would you spend it on?
Books, cd’s, a new hi-fi and an expensive Martin acoustic guitar.
If you wanted to impress a lover, what would you do?
Too old for this game.
What do you want to be remembered for?
A producer/presenter of quality radio programmes.
What’s the worst insult one can throw at you?
Philistine
Which movie or song best describes your life?
Has not yet been written/filmed.
Are you a coffee or a tea drinker?
Tea. It’s the Anglophile in me.
What’s been the highlight of your life so far?
There are two actually – the first sitting in a Hard Rock Café hospitality tent in Wembley Stadium at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, eating and drinking all day and interviewing Metallica, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Def Leppard and others.
The second was two days in glorious sunshine at the Cropredy Festival England with Nigel Camilleri in 2000.
How old do you feel?
Depends on how I wake up in the morning
What’s your best pick-up line?
I do not believe in pick-ups.
What are you like when you’re drunk?
Gregarious
Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert.
Live long or live fast?
I’m now beyond the age of living fast, so - long
Tell us a recent dream
I was in Radio 101’s main studio, watching the waves crash against a glass panel separating it from the Talk Studio. Try and interpret that!
What’s the most bizarre thing you have ever eaten?
In Hong Kong in 1987 – some kind of jellyfish. I almost puked.
Are you good at keeping secrets?
Yes
If you had a time machine where would you go?
I would go back and be a dashing cavalry officer in charge of the light brigade in Crimea.
If you could be a fictional/real character, who would you be?
Paul McCartney – All that talent and dough.
Do you believe in the supernatural?
Yes.
You’re stuck in an elevator with strangers: what do you do?
I would have to stop my legs from shaking. I’ve got natural rhythm.
Are you a workaholic?
Yes/No. It all depends on my mood.
What are you most afraid of?
A sudden death.
Would you quit a job without having another one lined up?
No
What’s your most embarrassing moment?
Far too many to tell.