In Conversation

05 December 2008 03:52 BST

Jupitus: Donny was delightful

Comedian and presenter Phill Jupitus tells inthenews.co.uk's Lewis Bazley that Donny Tourette's far less irritating than he appears.

A mainstay of BBC2's panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Jupitus has had a lifelong love of music and seems to be a natural fit to front Vodafone's new MusicStation campaign.

"The way people consume music these days is so much more transitory," he explained, as Vodafone launch a service that allows users to download as many tracks as they like to their phones for just £1.99 a week.

"If you look at the way that magazines like Q have expanded over recent years - the breadth of music people listen to - it's something I observed when I was working for BBC6 Music. Taste is becoming more eclectic and a lot broader."

"People who were suddenly averse to country and western, say, are realising 'Hang on, there's some amazing stuff within that'. George Jones was one of the most amazing songwriters of his era, for example. And there's jazz and everything there."

With a musical library of over a million songs available at the touch of the button, Jupitus believes the MusicStation service is perfect for music lovers looking to expand their horizons.

"People are realising that a world of music has impacted upon the popular indie they listen to. And you read interviews with artists and who inspired them… I mean, much as I love Richard Hawley, I'm really interested in what made him what he is and that's how you find yourself going back to Scott Walker."

He added: "Much as I very much appreciate the 20-second samples of music you get with most download services, it's not the same as hearing the whole thing. Having access to that certainly speaks much more to me as a music consumer."

But like all true aficionados, he admitted that using the service to create his own playlist would be easier said than done - it's hard enough deciding what would make the cut…

"You always wonder if Desert Island Discs gave you the call, what you'd have on, and I always knew it'd change every week and you have to actually be happy with what you enjoy at that time," he told inthenews.co.uk.

"But, at the moment… definitely on it would be a band called Gogol Bordello, who are just amazing, and then of course the Clash, in that sort of vein. Then, I'm very into old R 'n' B, so I might go for some Nina Simone and… this is good, I always used to love compiling lists, so this is fun… then there's a French artist called Camille, who's amazing, she does a song at the end of Ratatouille. She's got a beautiful voice and a really weird character and she's doing some great songwriting at the moment."

"Some Madness and as we're on the ska tip, some Skatellites, some classic ska. Then as we're in the 60s, let's stay with some Motown now, so Bernadette by the Four Tops. Then some Lily Allen off the back of that. That takes us to eight."

"I don't know why off the back of Lily Allen, but Uptown Top Rankin' by Althea and Donna because she puts me in the mood of that, she uses a lot of old reggae. And then the last track, Pete Yorn."

"That's what'd be on at the minute, but that's literally off the top of my head," he added.

"If you get me into a conversation about which tracks, we'll be here all day."

To read the rest of the inthenews.co.uk interview with Phill Jupitus, click here.