Kiss History

CLARA AMFO 30 January 2012

Clara Amfo is the Kiss weekend breakfast show presenter and has recently taken up the role of entertainment news presenter, giving live updates every hour with the latest showbiz news, gossip and trends on Twitter. She talks to us about why she loves Kiss, Twitter and Beyoncé quite so much…

How long have you been working at Kiss and how did you end up here?

I’ve been working at Kiss now for 5 years and a month, so it’ll be 6 years in November… Oh my goodness! I got the job because Karen Sibindi, who’s now the marketing manager here, used to work here as the marketing assistant but she chose to leave to go to another company and said “look there’s a 3 month contract up as a marketing assistant so why don’t you go for it?” I remember thinking “maybe I will, maybe I won’t” because you’re not sure if you’re ever going to get these things, but I thought screw it, let me go for it. So I went for an interview with a lady called Emma Roscoe who used to be the marketing manager, and I was only supposed to be here for the 3 months and I’ve now been here for 5 years!

While you’ve been here have you met anyone you admire?

I’ve met loads of people I’ve admired while I’ve been here. There’s my fellow colleagues who I admire every day. Broadcasting wise, getting to speak to David Rodigan every day is lovely – he’s an MBE! But he’s so lovely and so cool to chat to. There’s EZ, I grew up listening to his pure garage CDs and mixtapes. He’s such a nice guy and I really respect him. Hype, who is one of the godfathers of the drum and bass and Jungle scene in the country. Having these people as your colleagues is just incredible. Our team is just amazing. Before I got onto the programming team I was with Karen and Tash in the marketing team, and learnt so much from them and from Sandra in the office.

Musically, my two favourite moments at Kiss have been meeting Mary J Blige and Salt n Pepa. I was so nervous before I interviewed Mary J Blige, because this was someone whose music I’ve grown up listening to my whole life, but she was so cool and so chilled. She told me she liked my shoes and she told me she thought I was pretty. I never need to be chatted up by another man again! She was lovely and she’s an example of a massive star but the ego is relatively in check. Mary J Blige was definitely a highlight. (To watch Clara's interview with the lady herself, Mary J Blige, click here.)

Salt n Pepa were incredible. They were so much fun, they even did their “Salt n Pepa’s here!” bit at the start of the interview. And I’ve met Rihanna in the office, she was really lovely.

What’s the best thing about working at Kiss?

The best thing about being at Kiss is being around music every day. It’s just a joy, regardless of whether you like everything or not. We have daily debates in the office about what we do and don’t like. And getting to sing along to the old school tunes we all used to love on the Kisstory hour! Being surrounded by music is essentially the best thing, and that’s why we do it and that’s why music radio stations exist because people like to carry around with them the tunes that they love. It’s nice to be a part of that.

As entertainment producer and presenter, you get to go to all the great music events. Which have been the most memorable?

Every single year, I think it’s got to be Wireless festival. It’s just pure fun! And because it’s based in London, which isn’t surrounded by rolling hills and farm animals like Glastonbury, it’s such a wicked vibe at the festival. Everyone’s really happy and usually the weather’s good – there was one year when I saw Roisin Murphy get rained off the stage, which was quite unfortunate because I love her!

Some of the best moments there, oh gosh… Jay Z! That was the first time I’d ever seen Jay Z live actually. I think it was 2008 and he absolutely smashed it. Everyone in Hyde Park was like “Oh my god!” 99 problems, Izzo, Hovi, Bonnie and Clyde, he did his whole back catalogue. Kanye West was cool too. And last year, Katy B at Wireless was one of the best live performances I’ve seen in a long time.

Are you on Facebook and Twitter?

I am on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve finally got an official Clara Amfo page on Facebook, so can you like it please! And I’m on Twitter @ClaraAmfo, so you can follow me. I usually talk about how much I love Beyoncé, how much I love food, great song lyrics, rant about the world, and laugh at things. Follow me, I’m at 969 followers and I wouldn’t mind 1000!

Who do you follow on Twitter?

I follow a lot of friends, just because it’s nice to know what they’re up to. I follow some of the listeners – they ask me to follow them so sometimes I follow back. And  I follow artists… Obviously I follow Beyoncé (@beyonce) . Even though she hasn’t tweeted yet, she’s got about 4 million followers, which is incredible. I think that’s true star power. I follow lots of blogs just to keep up to date with news, so lots of gossip and entertainment blogs, and funny, singular bloggers.

My favourite people to follow are a blog called That Grape Juice (@thatgrapejuice), who are really good and go really deep with their research and the music they like to talk about. And Pop Justice (@popjustice), they’re very funny.

Do you have any interesting celebs following you?

Hmm, do I actually have any celebs following me..? The most famous-ish people following me are Rickie, Melvin and Charlie! Neev follows me, thank you Neev. All the Kiss guys all follow each other. But I think the most well-known person on my list is Nicholas Pinnock, the guy who played Leon in the massive Channel 4 drama Top Boy. One day maybe Nicki Minaj will follow me!

How helpful do you find Facebook and Twitter for finding entertainment news? Do you use it for spreading news?

It’s SO helpful. Some of the funny, entertainment things I found this year, I’ve found because a friend put a link up or the blog’s that I follow put them up on Facebook. Facebook and Twitter are essential for finding out new stuff.

If I’m not talking about stupid stuff - I’m terrible because I’m always updating my status or Twitter with what I’m up to or something I’ve seen - I definitely use it to spread stuff. Funny videos, news and general stuff.

Have you found any new artists on there that you would recommend for 2012?

Yes, I’ll tell you who I’ve found via Youtube and they’re on twitter too – A girl group called VanJess (@vanjessmusic). They’re a sister duo and they basically do cover versions on a Youtube channel and they have a massive following. They’ve done a famous video called ‘90s medley’ and it has all your favourite songs on Kisstory like This Is How We Do by Montell Jordan, Jump by Kriss Kross and Creep by TLC and they’ve done them in a medley/mash up. It’s just those two and a piano, and they’re wicked. They’re my favourite.

And there’s a guy called Daley (@daleymusic), who’s incredible. He’s on Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. He had his album available as a free download, which he put up on Facebook and Twitter and I can’t stop listening to it.

In general, who are your favourite artists?

My favourite artists are, when it comes to super star status, obviously Beyoncé. She’s a G! It’s like she was made in a lab, she’s unreal. Her talent is ridiculous.

I love Katy B and I’m gutted she didn’t get nominated for a Brit Award. She was totally robbed because the On A Mission album is just brilliant. I love Janelle Monae, I think she’s fantastic. I love Daley, and Disclosure – who we just added to the Kiss playlist.

I love old school stuff like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson to the end of the world. I love all the Jackson family! There’s just so much music I love, not just hip hop and RnB. Things like rock and punk. I like a lot of music!

What do you do in your free time between presenting and attending glamorous events?

In my spare time I like to eat! And if I’m not eating I’m sleeping. And if I’m not sleeping I’m watching my American TV sitcoms. I’ve got an addiction to American medical dramas, and my favourite one at the moment is one called Private Practice, which is a spin off from Grey’s Anatomy and I’m absolutely obsessed with it! I LOVE 90210. I’m so into it I watch it ahead from America, online. And I love True Blood. I can’t wait for that to come back on. I love me some vampire action!

What’s your favourite song that Kiss are playing at the moment?

At the moment, my favourite song on the Kiss playlist is Disclosure’s Tenderly.

What’s your favourite Kisstory song?

That’s tough! At the moment my favourite Kisstory song is Stay by Eternal.