You may have noticed that Blaze is nowww on Freely! To celebrate, we're bringing you our exclusive interview with an on-screen gem from the channel, Henry Cole, host of the brilliant Junk and Disorderly.
Everyone’s favourite junk-lover sat down with us to talk about his obsession with oil cans, classic cars, and what the show means to him.
Season 4 of Junk and Disorderly starts Tuesday, 3rd February at 9pm, only on BLAZE, now available on Freely, Freesat and Freeview!
Interview with Henry Cole
What makes Junk and Disorderly different from other buy/sell shows?
Henry Cole: I think what makes Junk and Disorderly different from any other show is that we don't take ourselves seriously. I would like to believe that everything we do is relatively self-deprecating.
I get the mickey taken out of me by Alan and Guy. But the bottom line is that we're all about authenticity. Why are people of a certain age attracted to being in a shed? Well, because it's a safe, caring, sharing environment with your mates where you can close the door on society and have a bit of a giggle!
Why do you go to an auto jumble? Well, of course we're looking for that elusive part for whatever it may be – a motorbike or something like that. But really, we're not there for the burgers. We sort of might be there for the tea, but we're there for the community, and this show is all about community.
It's all about celebrating great British automotive and industrial history and the legacy of that with cans, bikes, signs, cars and whatever it may be. But mainly it's about old men having a giggle. When people come up to me and say “Henry I love Junk and Disorderly, it’s just like Last of the Summer Wine” it’s a huge compliment to me!
I don't want to do anything else. I don't want to read the news. I don't want to present a game show. I'm not a presenter or on a schedule. Yeah, it's just that I seem to be able to talk a little bit, but honestly, that's what it's all about.
Guy saved my life, he genuinely did all those 35 years ago. You know, I was a drug addict, he was too and he got clean and he got me clean. And the bottom line is this: through our love of motorcycling with Alan and Sammy, we're all a community whether the telly’s on or not!
What’s been your most unexpected find on camera so far?
I think the minute you go into any shed, there are unexpected things to look at. There are ubiquitous things that are always in sheds like mobility scooters, strimmers, chainsaws, whatever it may be. Yes, we’ve found amazing choppers and Triumph motorcycles and old cars.
But the key thing is that every single cupboard you open, every single tarpaulin you pull back – it’s about the excitement of what’s underneath. And yes, I have found Brough Superiors, and there’s two elements to the excitement. So the first element is pulling the tarpaulin back and going, “Oh my God, that’s an MV Agusta from 1970!” Holy moly. I haven’t seen one of them ever in a shed.
But then the second part of the excitement: “Hey Derek, is the MV Agusta for sale?” And then he certainly bursts your bubble by going, “No, I’ll never sell that.” And so consequently, what it’s about is that the process is: yes, all the way, yes, it’s for sale, yes, I’ll sell it for 20 grand… not what they think it’s worth at 50. And a fair deal is a good deal.
But it’s about every day you go to a shed. Tomorrow, God knows what we’ll find. But it’s not about the big money, it’s not about the big finds. Those days are over because of one thing: the internet. People will see a Brough Superior in their shed that their dad left them and Google it. And it’ll come up – they’re worth between £60,000 and £500,000. So no deal there, mate.
So what would be your dream find at an old barn if you saw something hidden beneath an old dust sheet?
God, that's such a difficult question because I have lots of things that I want to find in sheds. I would love to find a De Tomaso Pantera, which is an American crossover Italian sports car. I would love to find some Gamages five-gallon pyramid cans in immaculate condition. I would love to find certain Gilbarco petrol pumps.
To the normal people out there, it's double-Dutch. To me, it's why I live. Honestly, the list goes on and on… Also, what's exciting is when you pull the dust sheet back, you may not have thought that you wanted that, but you look at it and think, “I want it.”
Where did your fascination with oil cans come from?
Okay. Well, where my fascination with oil cans and pumps comes from is a very, very interesting question because I’m not sure.
I come from a bit of a posh background and my great-great-uncle was William Gladstone the Prime Minister. I had another uncle much later on called Uncle Dick — Red Beard Gladstone. He lived in this great big house up in Liverpool, and one day he said, “Do you want to come and have a look in my shed?” I was about eight, and I walked into the shed, and there were 20 British motorcycles. I was just completely in awe. Not only because I loved the look of the bikes, but also just the atmosphere, the smell, everything. And I remember on the shelves there were old cans, oil cans and jugs.
Now, whether they were still being used or whether they were decorative, who knows? But all I do know is that after that image at the age of eight, later on in my life I’d come into sheds and I’d see a petrol pump with a light on the globe. And the thing is, if you look around this, if this was bare walls, then these choppers wouldn’t look so great. But because they’re in an automotive environment, with old petrol pumps and signs and cans and all that kind of stuff, it adds to the ambience. And consequently, it adds to the spiritual fulfilment of owning classic stuff – which is, what life is all about. So I’m an avid collector of petrol pumps. Don’t tell anyone!
Is there a holy grail petrol pump or car or something that you have to find?
There are a number of different ones. I’d love to find some lighthouse pumps. I know where lots are for 20 grand, but I want to find them for less than 20 grand. The reason why they’re called lighthouses is that they were really tall with glass tops on them like glass cylinders, not just the glass globe.
I found some globes the other day in their original wooden boxes from 1930. Unbelievable, you know what I mean? So those kinds of signs – it’s not just the dream financially, but on the other side, it’s like revealing something that’s just been tucked away for no one to see. And also, I believe that doing TV shows, it’s our duty to show as many of these things as possible because people might not think that’s a worthy reason for doing the shows. But to me it is!
Do you prefer the thrill of buying or the buzz of selling?
I love the feeling of buyer’s remorse. You go and buy something like the chopper behind me, and then you think, “Oh, I shouldn’t have done that. That’s really expensive.” But honestly, I love buying because I love wheeling and dealing. I love the buzz and the feeling of, “Oh, this could be mine.” Now, it may not be mine for very long, but while it is, I can enjoy how I want.
Selling is never a buzz. It is in the outcome of it sometimes, you’ve made £50 or you’ve made £500, but it always just feels like you’ve never really done the deal until the money’s in the bank. People will say they’ll buy it, and then they never do. So the buying is much more exciting for me than the selling. The selling is just often hard work.
If you could live in any time period, when would it be and why?
I would love to be in the 1920s driving a Blower Bentley and going to Great Gatsby’s house. But the thing is, what I really, really wanted is to live either in the ’20s or the ’50s. I’d love to live in the ’50s in America because of that total excitement in car design and motorcycle design.
But the key thing is I want the NHS of today, because otherwise I’d probably be dead!
So if you went back to the ’20s, what would be the first thing you’d do when you go there?
Buy a Brough Superior. The first thing I’d do, and the second thing I’d do is probably go and hang out in London at all those glamorous parties. I’d want to be put into the posh side of life because in the ’20s, it was pretty miserable as a working-class man.
But then in the ’50s, I want to be riding Harleys and going to Hollister, and causing mayhem. Yeah, that’s what it’s about for me – whether that’s in the UK or the US. That feeling of hope and excitement after World War Two that I think was encapsulated a lot in car and motorcycle design. I’d like to have seen that firsthand, and buy a lot of stuff for nothing! And then fast-forward, take it to the present day, and I’ll become a millionaire.
So the show involves a lot of haggling. Is this something you really enjoy?
I love a haggle. I’ve always loved haggling. But the thing you need to understand is that I have a saying: a good deal is a fair deal. I want to haggle and go, “Can you do £500 for that?” The bloke goes, “No, £600.” I go, “Well, look, why don’t we just meet in the middle at £550?” And I go, “Right, that’s a great little haggle.” Okay, I’ll save myself £50. But then again, we’ve met in the middle.
What I don’t like is if I lowball someone and go, “I’ll give you five grand for that chopper,” and they want eight for it. And then they sort of smugly turn around and go, “Oh, in that case, it’s nine.” What are you talking about, man? So sometimes people can be fickle when you start talking about the money. And sometimes I play hard, you know, but normally it’s a very fair deal and that’s how I like it.
I don’t want to get in the car and think, “Oh, I cleaned that bloke out.” I seriously don’t want to feel that way. I think it’s all about karma and sheds and shed dwelling. And also, the other thing is I’ll probably be back next week to see the bloke for another deal, or he might have something else or she might have something else. You’ve got to leave room for others to make money.
Are you able to give us a sneak preview of the next season, the item you might be working towards?
The only thing I can say as a sneaky preview is there are things we’ve bought that we’ve never bought before. And there is amazing stuff that we’ve found. And then various other run-of-the-mill stuff that hopefully we’ve added value to by restoring in a pleasurable way, rather than it being an absolute total rebuild.
I think what we can promise you more than anything about the new series of Junk and Disorderly is more of the same. By which I mean, you know, TV for the older generation and we’re proud of that. I have no idea how you pander to a younger generation. I don’t particularly want to. Let other people who are much better looking with teeth do that. We can just make you smile.
What do you watch on telly?
My favourite channel is Crime and Investigation. Why? Because I love The First 48, which follows real detectives in America – real murder inquiries. I think it’s just fantastic. So I watch that. I watch the news, and I’ll watch movies. Like, I’m just into the True Detective box set at the moment.
But honestly, I don’t really watch much TV because I like being in the shed. And any TV that I do watch, I do watch restoration shows and stuff like that. But I don’t think anyone does it better than Junk and Disorderly personally!
Junk and Disorderly season 4 starts Tuesday, 3rd February at 9pm, only on BLAZE, now available on Freely, Freesat and Freeview.
