Tom Waits on Loose Talk with Ian Hislop and Peter York

[@philh7298]

I adore Tom. He’s got them in his palm and they don’t even know it.

[@alexanderewing3779]

Tom Waits, an oasis in a desert of smug self-satisfaction! I think Tom had to show a lot of self-control, by not punching their lights out! Saw him in London on the Rain Dogs tour. Marvellous!

[@jontk]

I can imagine there were a few actual Tom Waits fans in the audience that wanted to to do the job.

[@MONSTERKILL2013]

One of the most unhinged comments i've ever read in my life

[@jontk]

@@MONSTERKILL2013 Short life so far?

[@surfraptor]

They had no idea ... what a genius they had on the show. :-)

[@keithwigley1256]

Agree they had no idea..their just part of our ever declining country..

[@the-ambivalent-orthographer]

@@keithwigley1256 *they're

[@stewartcohen-jones2949]

Tom is not only a musician’s musician and a poet’s poet but he is also a comedian’s comedian. A force of nature.

[@hydraxisfrimon9785]

Tom Waits gives of himself in this heart-aching performance, the songs made me cry, and I hope this audience has grown up to appreciate him better. He could have been as trite as the rest of the programme, but he wasn't, his musicianship was far more generous and true than this mean-spirited bit of jumped-up cleverness deserved. Thanks for posting, every little bit of Mr Waits' perfomance on record is like an oasis in the desert

[@jake90052]

Ive never really heard his stuff, but I admire him for sticking through that, what a champ. Most people would've walked out. He reminds me a bit of Jack Kerouac. That piano was gorgeous

[@frankstewart9607]

Swordfishtrombone stands the test of time. A really great album with a superb cover on vinyl. The show was a hard watch.

[@AngéliqueElle]

😂We all know Tom is playing a funny character here, love this ❤️🥰 ... I have an Eternal Friend Who is just the same as Tom .... I miss this friend dearly ❤

[@nikiTricoteuse]

What a gem the algorithm has thrown me! I nearly quit cos of the stupid snickering audience but, l'm glad l stayed to hear him sing. ❤

[@keithwigley1256]

Sick interviewer , audience , Hislop , another Eton idiot...big part of Britains decline...

[@csurname]

I know it's just editing on a live show where they're compelled to finish on applause, but that closing line followed by enthusiastic applause is so Thatcherian

[@Davett53]

The guy's a genius, and a bit of an enigma. Channels personas from another time and place. This is so early in his career yet we see the cornerstones to the lovely, gritty world he seems to conjure and inhabit.

[@jeffreywegener8841]

When Tom starts to play he transcends the stupidity of the situation.

[@gothfather1]

Tom was the classiest out of all the people on the stage. Then people wonder why he does relatively few interviews. He doesn't need to take rubbish from journalists, because he's above them.

[@Coppillie]

Never seen this before! Brilliant Tom. Thanks for sharing / uploading

[@Bonedust66]

The one and only.. Mr Tom Waits.

[@Skyjacker_]

Thanks for this upload.

[@charleshagen1143]

David Letterman had him on his show many times and obviously respected his work. Good on Dave!

[@rainblaze.]

Waits was one of letterman first guests I believe., when lettermans was still a side show. I believe they were good friends and drinking buddies when they both still drank

[@StevenCorr]

Not trying to defend Hislop in this interview, but for the sake of balance, it's worth noting that Hislop had been told to ask Tom to speak up as he couldn't be heard properly. It's pretty obvious that he can't be heard by the live audience when at 4:37 someone shouts out asking him to speak up. I don't think they had the radio mics that people wear on TV now, so it probably wouldn't happen today. Tom Waits was not well known here in the UK back in 83, not in a commercial sense. I'm a massive Tom Waits fan but also have a lot of respect for Hislop, but yes, his sense of humour can be very cutting. It's great when it's directed at people we don't like, but not when it's people we do. We're all hypocrites. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g3XLpqFvpsuoZ68si=aGpeBBIC43E-4u9q

[@the-ambivalent-orthographer]

You speak for yourself man.

[@rossdavies-hooper3602]

Both Hosts were incredibly rude, snide, and obnoxious. The audience followed suit like bleating sheep. They were too stupid to realize they were talking to one of the FINEST artists of our time!

[@keithwigley1256]

Same idiots that vote our governments in ...

[@johnnyconnelly7278]

Hislop lost the smugness pretty quickly. Waits was never a man to take the piss out of. The crowd seems drunk..but Waits genius in song stood out like a beacon.

[@slimjim4239]

fantastic upload - shame no one else was able to match waits wit

[@piplee1439]

Amen

[@piplee1439]

As if Hislop is anything but a privileged turd

[@patrickdowney2778]

22:50 "...I mean if that's what you're over here for." I saw this the night it was broadcast in the early 1980s and remember being struck by what an unpleasant prat Hislop across as. Seeing it again, I imagine he was just aligning himself with the edgy tone the show was rather awkwardly seeking to convey. It was hard to watch Tom and Keith being treated with such disrespect. Great to see the episode again, though. Thanks for uploading!

[@ronancahill1070]

Think you hit the nail on the head there. Hadn't seen this before but the smugness of the interviewers is truly cringe-worthy. This should be a lesson in how not to interview anyone

[@tjeu2275]

Tom is great

[@kritikrebel.in.krikitpond]

terrible interviewers, sorry tom and keith had to endure this

[@piplee1439]

Aye

[@Davett53]

Born in 1949,....is only 34 in 1983.

[@theholidaylady1]

The interview and conversations are hard to watch and uncomfortable and the audience very weird however, Tom's performance was gorgeous. I still love him after all these years!!!!! 💗🎹🎶

[@greenhotchillipopper]

Thanks for this, had not seen it before. Seems like a rowdy room with a host who should have done his homework.

[@sticksman1979]

Man what a disrespectful crowd for Waits.

[@dangerrayy]

I dunno. Waits is perculiar. He walks a tightrope with baggy pants. The crowd is honest

[@piplee1439]

He rode em like a champ .

[@jam-nc8ut]

Embarrassingly and uncomfortably so. It's to his eternal credit that he didn't just walk off stage. The presenter certainly didn't help. They didn't deserve to have been there to experience such an exquisite performance.

[@dangerrayy]

@@jam-nc8ut we love Tom but its because he takes risks right. Swims diagonally across the mainstream during a flood holding a puppy? The tension is part of the thing

[@keithwigley1256]

​@@dangerrayythe crowd is of the same mentality of the Trump cult ...what where they doing their if they didn't have a brain cell to understand , appreciate real creativity ..obvious Taylor Swift clones...

[@sticksman1979]

Jonathan Ross was a researcher on this.

[@GK1976A]

He was great in Bram Stokers Dracula!

[@sticksman1979]

A brutal watch. Everyone taking the piss out of each other.

[@SA-ff9uc]

They are all awful people with terrible pointless questions. It's a total idiotic mess.

[@peterjonas4971]

And a clueless interviewer who's--how shall I say this? innocent?

[@jontk]

"I don't believe it. I expect you to defend me from these characters and the only one I've got on my side is the bloodsucking marketing guy?" -Tom Wait's internal monologue, probably.

[@sticksman1979]

Hislop has hardly changed! He looked 50 back then.

[@sittingonmysofa]

Tom sussed that Hislop was a jumped up loud mouth nobody from moment one. Great archive footage of the great man (Waits)

[@StevenCorr]

@sittingonmysofa I'm a big fan of Hislop and think he's been brilliant over the years on HIGNFY and in Private Eye. Hislop was just pointing out that it was very difficult to hear what Waits was saying because he was too far away from the mic, and as always, Waits was mumbling and slurring his speech and not making much sense. I'm also a massive Tom Waits fan, but he is notoriously difficult to interview, but that makes him all the more of an enigma, which is perhaps what he wants. I don't think Hislop had a clue who he was, but Hislop has no idea about modern music, something that Paul Merton has always made into a running joke on HIGNFY. Admittedly, Hislops' sense of humour can be very cutting and sometimes snide, but he was making a joke.

[@sittingonmysofa]

​@@StevenCorr Yeah I agree that Hislop matured and achieved stuff AFTER this. But he's a jumped up nobody at this stage of his career and his remarks are snide, haughty and lacking respect for someone who had achieved way more at this point - he says something after Tom finishes singing about Tom's lack of articulateness.

[@sturdeehouse]

@@eightiesmusic1984 He's an annoying man and still is.

[@maymalone1505]

I understood every word Mr waits said 😊

[@maymalone1505]

Everyone is somebody 😊

[@tinsolder9929]

Brilliant In real life he speaks like Larry Grayson.

[@tinsolder9929]

Only joking. I love this man.

[@Beau-i5s]

It sucks to see how much this crowd puts Tom off his game. He's always so clever and on-point with his answers and this gang of jerks very obviously makes him uncomfortable and self-conscious. Those fools should have shined his shoes with their tongues instead of running their mouths.

[@SA-ff9uc]

22:45 For the Ian Hislop/ Tom Waits fight.

[@patrickdowney2778]

Thanks!

[@peterjonas4971]

Fight? Hislop made some bitchy, foppish comments and Waits told him he'll market his album his own damned way. End of the story.

[@Mackermanesq]

Titles music by Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure)

[@piplee1439]

Another credit to us unlike these stuck up obnoxious pricks

[@iansmith511]

Where the fuck did you find this content, it's absolutely beyond brilliance. X

[@StevenCorr]

This clip from when Nick Hancock used to present Room 101 came up in my feed so I decided to search out the full program (Loose Talk) and was amazed to find it. Not sure if I'm violating any copyright but I downloaded it from their site so I could share it on youtube.

[@r4h4al]

@@StevenCorr Yeah I thought that was why you uploaded it.

[@GhostTrigger4023]

Excellent discussion. Very relevant for these times. I’m wondering how well Mr. Hislop knows Mr. Waits? Are all these men aware of the TableTop (7up) and Company? My understanding is that our History is fairly agreed upon. Religiously, my interpretation of the individuals written about are alive. I know for a fact the Bishop is Father. His son, Jesus is Tom Waits and Our Mother is Ms. Healy. Judd Apatow might be playing two roles on stage tonight. I’m not sure, Mr. Hislop could be Scott or Jeff. We’ve met two separate times on accident. Also, the back door is always open and someone is up there. We may not always see him, but Tom hasn’t been gone. And please, let’s remind ourselves of Whom we live for. The Principles above from where we came. I’m praying for understanding and forgiveness. Not knowing all the ways of everyone who knows. You🫵…❤

[@MarkTarmannPianoCheck_it_out]

You obviously liked your own comment, because there's not a single cohesive thought or statement that relates to any reality experienced or observed by Earthlings. Other than yourself.

[@jhjhjhjhjhjhify]

God, I didn't realise just how much of a disaster this show was! Waits does well when he's singing (he's a very captivating performer, albeit not a 'pretty' one if that makes sense, but he's clearly holding the attention of the room). He even gets a few laughs during his interview segments, but otherwise the audience seem to be talking amongst themselves at times, which is a bit weird. We then have this bizarre quasi-intellectual discussion, Hislop acting unusually smug and even rude, and it becomes quite clear none of the hosts are all that familiar with Waits or his work (or indeed Keith Haring, who actually gets the worst of the hosts' cutting comments here. They're all at least a bit intimidated by Waits and he seems to have completely clocked out by this point, rather understandably). I will say though - I don't think Waits was quite as drunk or high as Hislop makes him out to be on Room 101. And his musical performances here are actually some of his best!

[@fawsonben]

I don't believe he's high or drunk in the slightest, it's part of his act. To play piano that well and with so much confidence and presence and in front of a hostile crowd you need to be as sober as a judge

[@jennifergeach7043]

I believe drunk was to do with the crowd, I think he has a charismatic attractiveness that gives me chills especially with that astounding voice!!!! ☘

[@diegoinjapan]

seedier parts of LA..... "you mean like the farming community" lol.

[@evandylan]

I can’t understand a fucking word except for Tom

[@kenq7948]

Lucky you. The interviewers were insufferable.

[@jaimemurphy2208]

@@kenq7948 More fool you

[@kenq7948]

@@jaimemurphy2208 You thought that was a good interview? All I learned was how Waites reacts to unsolicited marketing advice. That guy was being a dick.

[@spanglegranny]

That was unbearable. That's what we (the British) thought our place in the world was, aloof, rude and above everyone. Hislop was young I guess, but Peter York, the production and the self-satisfied London audience of pr**ks should have been ashamed of themselves. Tom Waits was and still is, the truest of artists.

[@r4h4al]

A good lesson to speak up here.

[@eyesintheskies]

Waits has more wit under his toenail than the entire back catalogue of private eye scraped together

[@peterjonas4971]

"You've got me completely lost." It must suck to be a pompous but gullible square. BTW, no one on earth, except some really old surviving brits in London, even knows who these foppish other geezers are. Tom Waits (and Keith Haring, of course) has been, on the other hand, world famous since the late 1980s.

[@rosalindmartin4469]

1983. Wow. Ian had hair.😮

[@hulmerist4297]

It's a very awkward watch, Hislop and York are just embarrassing.

[@keithwigley1256]

Big part or seeing how and why our country has gone down the drain..

[@lareinedemado]

How to look completely stupid in front of a quick witted ultra talented man. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Tom is too smart for this

[@PMWNorton]

Good Lord everyone on that program that wasn't named Keith Haring or Tom Waits was just insufferable. I understand now why America fought a revolution.

[@kinofritze]

Keith Haring😁

[@borzhhodges9385]

It gives one hope for humanity that Steve Taylor's face-like-a-slapped-ass career could charitably be described as marginal, where, on this evidence, it obviously belongs; whereas Tom has come to be regarded as a legend in his own time.

[@edwardlee2700]

Hmm...so much arrogance, ignorance and mean-spiritedness. Yet we see see 3 years earlier how Tom could be playful with his persona on a mainstream Australian talk show. Check out the "Tom Waits Don Lane interview 1979".

[@bobbydazzler1780]

Imagine going to a dinner party with Peter York and Ian Hislop back in those days it would be arse clenchingly hideous. They come across as horrible intellectual snobs. 23:00 Tom doesn’t put up with Hislops pathetic jibes.

[@soo9939]

Marry me Tom❤

[@soo9939]

Holy fuck her said #rod sterling

[@jimoil6372]

3:10 "Liz Truss!"

[@playlist9980]

Ian Hislop was born 60

[@GeorgeKing-ms1vy]

Peter York has the most affected, inauthentic accent I have ever heard.

[@justaplainspokengirl]

It's from the defined upper class, private schools, city and country homes. They serve the Elite and can mingle with the Middle. But it's a defined class structure that most don't breach. And I find it up against Tom, well, like you said.

[@garyowen4602]

The Fisher King.

[@pajaf0341]

This was so awkward. Anybody knew the fraud they were, quite desperately trying to take a fight just to distract from their own impishness, faced with the possibility of simple and honest art.

[@freezerjoe]

That was amazing!!! I like Hislop but on this clip he comes across as an absolute gobshite.

[@csurname]

"eloquent in song at least"

[@ngiles1000]

Painful

[@19rudy73]

justify and try and hide it in the guise of British humour all you like. That just seems like a cowardly excuse to be nasty. The disrespect these presenters showed these artists who were generous enough to share their craft was hard to watch. The only good thing about this was Mr. Waits performances. And this show didn't deserve them. But we know it's a favorite past time of the English to be nasty and disrespectful to and about Americans. And when called out they just say Americans don't get their humour. Nasty arrogant and haughty is funny?

[@thekaratekidpartii2169]

I mean, I like Tom Waits' music, but... I mean... ya know... he is a little bit like Peter Skellern.

[@marie_elaine-fa5]

Completely disrespectful and embarrassing. I was cringing until Tom Waits started to play and then all was right in the world again.

[@marcusmaher-triskellionfil5158]

I seriously don't remember this show, must have been 85/86 ....Waits looks befuddled by the set up...

[@StevenCorr]

@marcusmaher-triskellionfil5158 October 18th 1983. He was over promoting Swordfish Trombones.

[@daveowen9481]

Keith and Tom seem extremely uncomfortable here, I really wish they could’ve avoided such an awkward experience.

[@maxhoe]

leave it to the brits to not know anything at all

[@rcs3511]

My god this was painful to watch.

[@Ziggy_Shakespeare]

Hislop and the other insufferable posh guy come across so rude and disrespectful. I get it that it's their job to be edgy, but it's not even funny. it's all so awkward and cringe worthy. Waits and his genius is totally lost on these hacks and most of the audience.

[@tinmek]

Tom Waites has made Hislop look a little stupid, I wonder if he looks back at this and thinks, hello Waites is a great singer songwriter, I should been rather more respectful

[@jamiestuart5186]

The presenter and the audience are truly not worthy. Such a bizarre display of disrespect.

[@louistracy6964]

yspod

[@stephenjohnson8776]

Boomer audience being a boomer audience

[@dylanevans2498]

the UK arrogance here is disgusting

[@darylcumming7119]

You can't take this seriously ? 😊

[@ulpana]

There really is more their they're, way more thar than here...... Tio M. Doctor of Grammatical Arts University of Universalists U. of U. Main Street campus

[@callmeroy2172]

These guys are an embarassment to the British.

[@nickg0261]

Terrible audience, and Hislop!!!

[@tkshots]

what an arse ian hislop was,and is...part of the establishment

[@StevenCorr]

@@tkshots In what way is he part of the establishment? 🤔 I mean, he's spent his entire career attacking the establishment.

[@tkshots]

@@StevenCorr attacking the establishment,to a certain extent...i told him about judges who made criminal judgements against innocent people...he did nothing...even the people who purport to be anti-establishment,are part of the establishment...fatrats