Published: 19 July 2014
Hairy Biker Dave Myers:
‘I used to deal in antique ceramics in the 80s. Now I have about 200 pieces’
We ask a celebrity a set of devilishly probing questions – and only accept THE definitive answer. This week it’s Hairy Biker Dave Myers’ turn
The prized possession you value above all others... A Breitling Colt watch which my wife Lil and Si (King, his sidekick in The Hairy Bikers) bought for my 50th birthday. It was very generous.
The biggest regret you wish you could amend... That I stopped painting after I left Goldsmith’s art school. It was my dream to be a professional artist. But I went in a different direction.
The temptation you wish you could resist... Fattening foods like fish and chips, pies, beer and pork belly. I love them, but I got fat and unhealthy, which is why we started The Hairy Dieters. I’ve gone from 18st to 14st 12lb recently.
The book that holds an everlasting resonance... Jupiter’s Travels by Ted Simon, about his four years travelling the world on a motorbike. It opened up my eyes to what was possible on two wheels.
The priority activity if you were the Invisible Man for a day... I’d stand on stage at an Aerosmith concert and play air guitar alongside Steve Tyler and Joe Perry in front of 10,000 screaming fans.
The pet hate that makes your hackles rise... Racism, particularly towards immigrants. Lil is Romanian and there are too many sweeping statements about nationalities that cause a lot of hurt.
The person who has influenced you most... Phil Eaton, my art teacher at school. He was a breath of fresh air in a stuffy place and so inspiring.
The piece of wisdom you would pass on to a child... Don’t fret about something that may never happen.
The misapprehension about yourself you wish you could erase... That I’m a Geordie! People come up to me and say, ‘Howay, man, it’s great to meet a fellow Geordie’, but then I have to disappoint them. I’m born and bred in Cumbria.
The unlikely interest that engages your curiosity... Antique ceramics and glass. I have about 200 pieces. I owned an antique shop in the 80s, so I always had to sell things I liked. Now I can buy stuff and not have to sell it.
The film you can watch time and time again... Breakfast At Tiffany’s. Audrey Hepburn is fabulous. I’ve seen it 12 times, but it still makes me weepy.
The crime you would commit knowing you could get away with it... I’d steal a Suzuki Hayabusa motorbike and take it for a fast ride on the motorway.
The treasured item you lost and wish you could have again... A train set my dad bought me when I was three. I sold it for £45 when I had my antique shop and I’m sad I let it go.
The unending quest that drives you on... To never lose my love of cooking.
The poem that touches your soul... Auguries Of Innocence by William Blake. He can sum up the whole cosmos in four simple lines.
The event that altered the course of your life and character... Meeting Si on the set of the Catherine Cookson series The Gambling Man in 1992. He was ordering a curry for lunch when everyone else was having salad. We got talking and became inseparable.
The song that means most to you... Crazy by Gnarls Barkley. It was everywhere in 2006 when I met Lil in Romania. Whenever I hear it now it gives me a happy glow.
The unfulfilled ambition that continues to haunt you... To ride in the Isle of Man TT Race. It’s utterly thrilling.
The figure from history for whom you’d most like to buy a pie and a pint... The painter and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. I’d ask him about the women he hung out with – and why he loved his pet wombat so much!
The way you would spend your fantasy 24 hours, with no travel restrictions... I’d start the day with Lil at Sharrow Bay Country House hotel at Ullswater, Cumbria, where I’d have a Cumberland breakfast – bacon, sausages, the works, and a pot of coffee – served on Royal Worcester china.Then we’d arrive in Cape Town and pick up a Harley-Davidson and ride into the Great Karoo desert. Elevenses would be a bacon and banana sandwich on dark South African bread. Then I’d go fishing for tarpon at Barra del Colorado in Costa Rica with Si and some mates. Later, I’d check into the best suite at the Faena Hotel in Buenos Aires and have a bottle of Bollinger. After that I’d dance the paso doble with my Strictly partner Karen Hauer at Sadler’s Wells Theatre with Brucie in the stalls. Supper would be in Venice with Penelope Cruz. Lil would understand and there’d be no hanky panky. I’d take her to the fish restaurant Trattoria alla Madonna. We’d drink Tears of Christ (Lacryma Christi) white wine and have spider crab. I’d meet Lil later at Deauville for a glass of calvados.
The happiest moment you will cherish forever... When our producer rang to say The Hairy Bikers show had been commissioned in 2005. I was a make-up artist on Spooks at the time.
The saddest time that shook your world... The day my fiancée Glen (short for Glynnis) died. I’d proposed to her on New Year’s Eve in 1997 and then we found out she had cancer. She died that May and she was only in her early 50s.
The philosophy that underpins your life... Never limit your ambitions.
The order of service at your funeral... I’d like vodka martinis before a service with a reading of Blake’s Innocence. I’d be carried out to The Scorpions’ The Best Is Yet To Come.
The way you want to be remembered... The bloke who had a go.
The Plug... The Hairy Bikers’ Diet Club is perfect for anyone wanting to lose weight. www.hairybikersdietclub.com.
Copyright: Rob McGibbon/Accessinterviews.com 2011 (2014). All rights reserved