1 00:00:09,093 --> 00:00:11,972 Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from news Talk z'd be 2 00:00:12,373 --> 00:00:16,933 Speaker 1: follow this and our Wide Ranger podcasts now on iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:16,653 --> 00:00:20,332 Speaker 2: Frominent businessman, author and former politicians. Sir Robert Edward Jones, 4 00:00:20,332 --> 00:00:23,373 Speaker 2: better known as Sir Bob Jones, has died five year old. 5 00:00:23,413 --> 00:00:27,173 Speaker 2: Died peacefully adis Wellington Homes, surrounded by family after a 6 00:00:27,173 --> 00:00:30,293 Speaker 2: brief illness. And a man that's had a quite a 7 00:00:30,293 --> 00:00:32,812 Speaker 2: bit to do with Bob Jones over the years as 8 00:00:32,933 --> 00:00:37,453 Speaker 2: seven Sharp and Radiohodechi host Jeremy Wells. Welcome to the show, Yoday. 9 00:00:37,253 --> 00:00:38,132 Speaker 3: Matte good o'kyler. 10 00:00:38,173 --> 00:00:41,092 Speaker 2: How are you, Jeremiary Guard? So how did you first 11 00:00:41,132 --> 00:00:42,013 Speaker 2: get to know Sir. 12 00:00:41,893 --> 00:00:45,493 Speaker 3: Bob well Years ago? I was doing a show called 13 00:00:45,492 --> 00:00:47,772 Speaker 3: Eating Media Lunch and a lot of it used to 14 00:00:47,812 --> 00:00:51,573 Speaker 3: be archive based, and when we'd look at some archives stuff, 15 00:00:51,613 --> 00:00:55,853 Speaker 3: Bob Jones featured very, very heavily, particularly through the nineteen 16 00:00:55,893 --> 00:00:59,453 Speaker 3: seventies and then into the nineteen eighties, the early to 17 00:00:59,533 --> 00:01:02,173 Speaker 3: mid nineteen eighties with performation of the New Zealand Party, 18 00:01:02,773 --> 00:01:08,053 Speaker 3: and so he was a heland large over the New 19 00:01:08,133 --> 00:01:11,173 Speaker 3: zealk political landscape that just opened in landscape as a whole. 20 00:01:11,213 --> 00:01:12,812 Speaker 3: So we thought it'd be a great person to reach 21 00:01:12,853 --> 00:01:14,812 Speaker 3: out and talk to it. When you did reach out 22 00:01:14,853 --> 00:01:16,413 Speaker 3: to Bob Jones, this is the thing. You call him 23 00:01:16,493 --> 00:01:19,173 Speaker 3: up on his landline at home, and he's always on 24 00:01:19,373 --> 00:01:21,853 Speaker 3: to the phone and he'd have a chat to you, 25 00:01:22,053 --> 00:01:24,613 Speaker 3: and he always gave you time. And so I was 26 00:01:24,652 --> 00:01:27,853 Speaker 3: very real lucky that he gave me a bit of 27 00:01:27,853 --> 00:01:29,493 Speaker 3: time over the years, and I got to inter him 28 00:01:29,493 --> 00:01:31,413 Speaker 3: a few times and got to go to his house 29 00:01:31,413 --> 00:01:32,333 Speaker 3: and all sorts of stuff. 30 00:01:32,533 --> 00:01:36,173 Speaker 2: What was he like to spend time worth personally outside 31 00:01:36,173 --> 00:01:37,813 Speaker 2: of the public image. 32 00:01:38,292 --> 00:01:43,732 Speaker 3: Well, he was incredibly affable and very hospitable when you 33 00:01:43,773 --> 00:01:45,572 Speaker 3: went to his house. I went over there once and 34 00:01:46,413 --> 00:01:48,213 Speaker 3: he made lunch for us. Well he didn't make lunch, 35 00:01:48,293 --> 00:01:53,253 Speaker 3: but has made lunch for us and he was walking around. 36 00:01:53,333 --> 00:01:57,093 Speaker 3: He shared so much of himself. He was a great wreck, 37 00:01:57,613 --> 00:02:01,133 Speaker 3: an amazing conversationalist, even if at times it was more 38 00:02:01,133 --> 00:02:03,493 Speaker 3: of a listening exercise for the other person involved in 39 00:02:03,493 --> 00:02:07,053 Speaker 3: the conversation. You were definitely happy to listen because his 40 00:02:07,173 --> 00:02:11,252 Speaker 3: stories were second I mean, his Muldoon's stories were next level. 41 00:02:11,293 --> 00:02:13,733 Speaker 3: Because of course he was great mates with Muldon and 42 00:02:13,773 --> 00:02:16,093 Speaker 3: then formed the New Zealand Party in nineteen eighty three 43 00:02:16,133 --> 00:02:18,933 Speaker 3: because he didn't believe what Muldoon was doing was right 44 00:02:19,053 --> 00:02:22,292 Speaker 3: and essentially split the vote and really changed New Zealand history. 45 00:02:22,293 --> 00:02:26,093 Speaker 3: I mean, is there a man who's changed New Zealand 46 00:02:26,173 --> 00:02:28,013 Speaker 3: politics more? I'm not sure. 47 00:02:28,173 --> 00:02:32,133 Speaker 2: It would have been a very different country if Muldoon 48 00:02:32,173 --> 00:02:34,773 Speaker 2: had got back. And you've told me a great story 49 00:02:34,773 --> 00:02:39,053 Speaker 2: in the past that that's I think's hilarious. And you 50 00:02:39,213 --> 00:02:41,853 Speaker 2: and Sir Bob Jones are smoking cigars and a TV 51 00:02:41,933 --> 00:02:45,173 Speaker 2: in Z studio long after that was the considered an 52 00:02:45,213 --> 00:02:46,093 Speaker 2: absolute crime. 53 00:02:48,013 --> 00:02:49,532 Speaker 3: It was set up an interview with him and we 54 00:02:49,532 --> 00:02:51,292 Speaker 3: thought it would be good to do it like a 55 00:02:51,373 --> 00:02:54,493 Speaker 3: nineteen seventies interview in black and white, so we created 56 00:02:54,493 --> 00:02:56,573 Speaker 3: a set that looked like a nineteen seventies set, and 57 00:02:56,573 --> 00:02:58,893 Speaker 3: then we approached TV and Z of course strict no 58 00:02:59,013 --> 00:03:01,533 Speaker 3: smoking rules of TV and zed in the studios in 59 00:03:01,573 --> 00:03:05,692 Speaker 3: the late nineties early two thousands understandably, but we asked 60 00:03:05,693 --> 00:03:10,093 Speaker 3: for an exemption and in a strange tournam events, they 61 00:03:10,093 --> 00:03:12,572 Speaker 3: allowed us to smoke cigars and the studio. I don't 62 00:03:12,573 --> 00:03:15,093 Speaker 3: think that'll ever happen again. So we drank red wine 63 00:03:15,573 --> 00:03:18,813 Speaker 3: chatted away. The planned interview was about half an hour long, 64 00:03:19,293 --> 00:03:20,853 Speaker 3: went for an hour and a half because once Bob 65 00:03:20,853 --> 00:03:24,173 Speaker 3: started talking, he couldn't stop them, and we ended up 66 00:03:24,213 --> 00:03:27,173 Speaker 3: polishing off two bottles of wine. Next thing you know, 67 00:03:27,252 --> 00:03:29,252 Speaker 3: he said to me, he goes, Jeremy, I've got to 68 00:03:29,252 --> 00:03:31,893 Speaker 3: go and meet Barrymore. So you come with me. You're 69 00:03:31,893 --> 00:03:33,533 Speaker 3: coming with me. We're going to meet Barrymore. I've got 70 00:03:33,532 --> 00:03:35,333 Speaker 3: to go and do a speech. And the blah, I mean, 71 00:03:35,653 --> 00:03:37,693 Speaker 3: he was, you know, he's a couple of bottles of 72 00:03:37,733 --> 00:03:39,613 Speaker 3: wine deep. Next thing you know, I'm out, I'm going 73 00:03:39,613 --> 00:03:42,093 Speaker 3: out to Barrymore's house with them. He's dragging me around 74 00:03:42,133 --> 00:03:45,333 Speaker 3: somewhere else. But that's the kind of guy he was. 75 00:03:45,693 --> 00:03:48,333 Speaker 3: He as soon as he kind of sussed you out 76 00:03:48,413 --> 00:03:50,253 Speaker 3: quite quickly, and if he decided that he liked you, 77 00:03:50,333 --> 00:03:52,773 Speaker 3: after that, there was nothing he didn't share. 78 00:03:53,733 --> 00:03:56,053 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I've heard stories of people banging on 79 00:03:56,093 --> 00:03:58,053 Speaker 2: the doors of that studio trying to get in because 80 00:03:58,093 --> 00:04:01,253 Speaker 2: even though it was sanctioned that you could be smoking cigars, 81 00:04:01,293 --> 00:04:03,053 Speaker 2: only not the whole company was buying. 82 00:04:04,773 --> 00:04:08,533 Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, once we went to his Wellington office and 83 00:04:08,573 --> 00:04:10,573 Speaker 3: he invited us up there for drinks, and so we 84 00:04:10,653 --> 00:04:13,693 Speaker 3: went up there and as a huge office. I mean 85 00:04:13,733 --> 00:04:16,973 Speaker 3: it's a giant but big drinks cabinet and poured us 86 00:04:17,013 --> 00:04:18,973 Speaker 3: a glass of wine and then I saw I said 87 00:04:18,973 --> 00:04:20,573 Speaker 3: that do you make He had a huge balcony. I said, 88 00:04:20,573 --> 00:04:21,773 Speaker 3: you mind if I go and have a cigarette. The 89 00:04:21,773 --> 00:04:26,133 Speaker 3: balcony is nate. You must smoke inside. I said no, 90 00:04:26,173 --> 00:04:27,973 Speaker 3: I'd rather smoke outside of smoking at the time. He 91 00:04:27,973 --> 00:04:32,253 Speaker 3: said no, no, no, I insist you have to smoke inside. 92 00:04:32,573 --> 00:04:35,573 Speaker 3: He forced you to smoke inside. He was very funny's 93 00:04:35,573 --> 00:04:38,293 Speaker 3: a sad loss, and I feel for his family. 94 00:04:39,173 --> 00:04:42,973 Speaker 2: So, uh, Jeremy, we've had We've had a someone textrow 95 00:04:43,053 --> 00:04:45,813 Speaker 2: and that news said Bob Jones, and has put the 96 00:04:45,853 --> 00:04:47,933 Speaker 2: man in order in this fashion. And see if you 97 00:04:48,013 --> 00:04:58,773 Speaker 2: agree with that? He said, businessman, drinker, politician, author, boxing fan, drinker, philanthropist, smoker. 98 00:04:59,013 --> 00:05:00,293 Speaker 2: Would you agree with that order? 99 00:05:01,213 --> 00:05:05,453 Speaker 3: He definitely did all of those things. Tricky tricky to 100 00:05:05,573 --> 00:05:07,293 Speaker 3: know which order to put them in. I think it 101 00:05:07,373 --> 00:05:09,133 Speaker 3: sort of depends on how how he was feeling at 102 00:05:09,133 --> 00:05:11,213 Speaker 3: the time. I think at one stage we went around 103 00:05:11,253 --> 00:05:12,893 Speaker 3: to his place and he said, I've given up the 104 00:05:12,893 --> 00:05:15,053 Speaker 3: bozer dot just told me that's not good for me. 105 00:05:15,493 --> 00:05:18,453 Speaker 3: And then by about by about an hour into it, 106 00:05:18,493 --> 00:05:22,813 Speaker 3: he said, should we crack into a red So we're 107 00:05:22,813 --> 00:05:25,653 Speaker 3: having a glass of glass of red wine. But yeah, 108 00:05:26,373 --> 00:05:31,533 Speaker 3: a really good guy and one of the one of 109 00:05:31,573 --> 00:05:33,573 Speaker 3: the last people. I don't think we'll ever see another 110 00:05:33,613 --> 00:05:35,853 Speaker 3: person like Bob Jones, and there's no doubt about that 111 00:05:36,053 --> 00:05:36,853 Speaker 3: absolute icon. 112 00:05:36,933 --> 00:05:38,973 Speaker 2: Jeremy, thanks for having a yet with us. We'll catch 113 00:05:39,053 --> 00:05:39,613 Speaker 2: up again soon. 114 00:05:39,653 --> 00:05:42,413 Speaker 1: That is Jeremy Wells, who was a great fan of 115 00:05:42,453 --> 00:05:45,373 Speaker 1: s Bob Jones. For more from News Talk said, b 116 00:05:45,653 --> 00:05:48,893 Speaker 1: listen live on air or online, and keep our shows 117 00:05:48,933 --> 00:05:52,213 Speaker 1: with you wherever you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.