Sharing A Cab With Ray Cokes
At the music channel MTV Ray Cokes had made grimaces with the wildest faces
of the branch for years. Now he has become a commuter between London and Berlin. Every
Friday and Saturday evenings he presented his radio show on Kiss FM. The Ticket has
brought him to the airport.
Ticket: Which cabs do you prefer, the German or the English ?
Ray: Definitely the Germans. The rest of the world may prefer the English cabs, but
nevertheless I prefer a good Mercedes. The cabdrivers here are also nicer. Often they have
the radio on and are in a good mood. The London cabdrivers never want to bring you to the
places, where you want to go and they always have to say their comments about anything.
Ticket: We are now on the way to the airport. You must know the way by now,
don't you?
Ray: Yes indeed. Kiss FM flies me and Naughty Nina every week to Berlin. At Friday we
arrive, we make the 2 shows and at Saturday we fly back again.
Ticket: Besides the airport, hotel and the studio, have you seen much of Berlin
so far ?
Ray: I must confess, that so far I am not very acquainted with the city. For example I
was not in one of the clubs so far. But next week we will get a car, and then we will
explore the city of Berlin extensively.
Ticket: Why did you as such a popular MTV VJ suddenly begin a radio show at such
a little Berlin radio station?
Ray: I didn't see a possibility for further development at MTV and the radio has
attracted me as a new medium. Of course I have received lots of offers and I also could
make a show for several radiostations all across Europe. But Kiss FM were the only
channel, that gave me total freedom. I see my show as an experiment, because I have never
made a radio show before and nobody can hear my faces. My contract is running until the
end of the year.
Ticket: And then ?
Ray: Then I have to look further. Right now, I'm planning a great pan-European
TV-Show. Actually the European public is very important for me. At the moment, I wouldn't
be satisfied by working for just an english TV-station. There are only a few presenters,
which are as popular like me in Europe and it makes work much more interesting if you have
to deal with so many different kind of people. If the Kiss FM show will be successfull I
could imagine that I'll go on with radio. Maybe Kiss will licence the show to other German
radio channels.
Ticket: Thinking of MTV, how are your feelings about that today ?
Ray: Mixed. I was always good friends with the bosses there, but when the first show
of my new show has flopped - which was not my fault - they wanted me to do Most Wanted
again and this would be a step back. After all these years MTV didn't have to offer any
new perspectives for me. I also believe that the new direction that they are taking is
critical. They become more and more like VIVA because they hope to attract more German
commercial clients. They have split the European program into different regions, where
every country gets special video clips distributed and the new VJ's are become younger and
younger and are more changeable.
Ticket: Immediately in your first Kiss-Show you've played records of English
rock-bands like Oasis, even if Kiss normally plays a strict dance-programm. Did you get
into trouble for that ?
Ray: On the contrary, the Kiss boss phoned me up from his car and said I should play
more of it all. Certainly I like Hip Hop, but I can't get warm with Techno. I really like
bands like Oasis or Radiohead and I play them. And that is what I like about Kiss FM. Also
we have started an action, which is called TechNO.
Ticket: Are you satisfied so far with your performances as an radio-presenter ?
Ray: At the beginning there were a few difficulties and looking on the technical
side I am now as before a catastrophe. But Krane, a Kiss FM employee, was responsible for
the technical side and the running of the show. With the technical side I would be
overcharged at the moment. But I guess that the show is running okay by now. In anycase
it's a lot of fun.
Ticket: So in a short while we will arrive at Berlin-Tegel-airport. Do you fly
Business-class ?
Ray: No, at such a little channel like Kiss you have the choice. You can fly
Economy class or the money for Business-tickets will be divert from your payment. So I fly
Economy. But most times the stewardesses know me and they place me automatically in the
first class. It has also it's advantages to be famous.
Ticket: And what do you make with all the free miles ?
Ray: I believe, I will travel with my mum to somewhere. She would enjoy it.
