DORSET ISLAND DISCS
Interview by Courtenay Hitchcock
Turning ‘no-one likes olives’ into a business supplying Fortnum & Mason (via Take That) Giles Henschel, the award-winning ‘oliveer’, who came to his national artisan brand by way of school expulsion, the Army, being deported from Libya with his wife (twice), and Take That ... From a youth spent rebelling against the expectations of a world which insisted on comparing him to his disciplinarian headmaster father, Giles Henschel followed a circuitous route to become The Olive People with his wife Annie. “I was eventually expelled by my own father at the age of 16 – and kicked out of home too. I joined the Royal Engineers (who are known for building things then blowing them back up again. Which was exactly what I wanted to do). I was told I wasn’t bright enough to operate a giant digger, but perhaps I should apply to Sandhurst? I did, and then joined One Squadron, 30 Signal Regiment in Blandford - the very best posting. We flew all over the world; Hong Kong, Belize, Namibia, Bahamas, Beirut… “ Out on Civvy Street “I left the army as a Captain, expecting simply to walk straight into another job. I obviously started to apply for £150k a year jobs… and didn’t get them. So I reduced my expectations a little and applied for more… down to £80k, £60k, £35k… the last job I was rejected from was a second hand car salesman in Clapham for £11k a year. I didn’t ever
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get an interview. Not one single from Manchester called: interview. ‘I’m putting a band together, and “I was 30, and living in a bedsit in I need you to run the auditions, Walthamstow. My landlady Judy and then get them working Walker worked for Renata John together’. (Elton John’s wife), who owned “Judy did the first auditions, a music management business, brought me a demo tape to which and Judy sat “I wasn’t deemed I said ‘yeah, they’re me down one She spent bright enough to alright’. night ‘I want to some time grooming operate a giant the band, took them start my own business. I know digger for the Royal all over the place, and the music. But I Engineeers, but eventually got them don’t know the onto a kids Saturday it was suggested morning TV show, and administration – which you then on Terry Wogan I should apply do.’ And so we the same evening. to Sandhurst started; we had “On the Sunday instead?” some opera morning Nigel called singers and jingle singers on the ‘Yes, I’ll take them from here, books, and then a guy called Nigel thanks’, and they were gone.
