The Luke and Pete Show - Bonus episode: The Interruption

Episode Date: December 7, 2022

What a treat! Luke is here, on a Wednesday, with a special bonus episode. Today, we’ve put Pete stories of DIY mishaps and erections while playing video games aside, as Luke is instead joined by Tommie Trelawny, the host of The Interruption, a new and totally fascinating podcast from Stak that we think you’ll love.On 26th November 1977, the mysterious alien voice of “Vrillon” broke onto the five o’clock news. The intruder had a warning to the viewers of Southern Television: live in peace or leave the galaxy. For forty-five years, those responsible have not been identified. Tommie Trelawny has reopened the case. Who, or what, was behind The Interruption?Listen and subscribe to The Interruption HERE! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to a very special bonus episode. As you all know by now I'm Luke and today instead of being joined by Pete to discuss the latest mishap he's encountered while pulling his floor boards up or the latest pet he's bought for his long-suffering parents or the time he got an erection while playing a video game i thought i'd bring you something a little bit different um elsewhere at stack we've been working on a show i think you'll all really enjoy and i thought what would be a really cool thing to do is to bring the host of that show into the luke and pete show world for a little uh chat because i think it's something that everyone listening will really get stuck into and really like.

The show's called The Interruption. It's about a strange voice breaking onto an evening news bulletin on UK TV one night way back in November 1977. Suddenly, as the newsreader was delivering the latest headlines into everyone's TVs, into their living rooms, headlines into everyone's TVs, into their living rooms, an alien voice identifying itself as Vrilon broke through and warned viewers to, quote, live in peace or leave the galaxy. It's a really odd thing. Totally true, completely 100% true story. To date, no one knows who or what was responsible, but 45 years on, Tommy Trelawney reopened the case for stack and embarked upon a rip-roaring adventure trying to find out what actually happened so it's the latest podcast series from stack it's called the interruption and i thought uh luke and peach our listeners would

love it we'd love it as much as i do um so instead of just running an ad for it on the on the feed or on one of the shows as you guys sometimes hear i thought i'd treat you all to a chat with tommy the host, who joins me right now, right here in the studio. But before we speak with him, let's run the trailer. This story is not a work of science fiction. Everything you're about to hear is true. The Rhodesian nationalist leader, Bishop Abel Muzarewa,

has accepted Mr Smith's offer to negotiate... For Southern Television, a TV station based in the south of England, November 26th, 1977 was a day like any other, until 5pm, when this happened. The broadcast had been hijacked by a deep, echoey voice. The speaker identified themself as Vrilon and claimed to be calling from outer space. The message lasted for six more minutes, but then it was gone. We understand that viewers in some parts of the region are receiving a breakthrough in sound. Nobody came forward to claim responsibility for this event.

To this day, no one knows who was behind it. But that's where I come in. I'm Tommy Trelawney. I am going to investigate what really happened and unravel an incident that was the very first of its kind. Join me on this UFO odyssey. It's gonna get weird. Earth, as you call it, this is a certain situation, rather a dangerous one. You could say that this is fraud, of course, but I would rather interpret it as a genuine attempt to reveal important religious messages to people. It was real to take the piss of the establishment. 45 years later, I am going to answer the unanswered. To extract that information, you should actually read his

book. It's called Uri. Behind whatever motive there was for what happened in 1977, it was an amazing event. Hi, so am I speaking to Vrilon? Yes, you are. Great to see you. From the 28th of November, The Interruption will be available to download wherever you get your podcasts.

Two episodes dropping weekly. Be still now, and listen, for your chance may not come again who or what was behind the interruption there it is there it is tommy welcome hello nice to be here it's so great to have you yeah it's the trailer just hearing it again, it's crazy just looking back at the journey of this. It is just this bizarre story from the 70s that has been unsolved.

Yeah. Until now. And we're not going to spoiler everyone listening. They should go over to the interruption, search for it in their podcast apps, and we'll put a link to it in the show notes for this episode as well but um this is this is a story that the moment you came to us and talked to us about instantly i was like we've got to do it we have to do this it's such a bizarre thing um and it's very exciting for me to listen through to it as it's the same as it is for

all the listeners but tell us what attracted you to this story in the first place because i know you're someone who's attracted to subcultures the fringes of society you know esoterica that kind of stuff what attracted you to this story specifically so i love lost stories with no one to tell them i sort of dive into obscure topics and that's kind of what i like to do it also helps that i do that on youtube i documentary film something i love to do so i thought i teach myself how to create videos by making youtube channel by making videos on obscure topics and the channel's called hocha lager and this topic about vrillon interrupting the tv is just one of them and so i've sort of i made a video on it and it was eight minutes long, but it only covered the basics.

And I've always felt there is more to this story. And so start the year. I was like, you know what? Let's reopen this case. And yes, the journey, as you can see from the interruption, there is more to it.

It is bizarre. Yeah. And I think it's really, it's right in the Luke and Pete show wheelhouse because I can definitely imagine Pete and I sitting around and thinking about, imagining or hearing of a story where in the late 70s, a very different world to what it is now. You know, there's no internet.

There's no kind of, the way the internet's connected to people has been, of course, totally revolutionary, but none of that actually existed then. And people are sat there living in a different world to be able to we have today and watching a serious news bulletin because as you can hear from the trailer and as you can hear when you listen to the to the podcast series you know it's a bizarre thing even now like then in situ sat in front of your telly with a dinner on your lap or whatever it would be hearing that happen and it goes on for six minutes in total and the newsreader

himself was completely unaware and there's no precedent for it's obviously the first time it's ever happened it would have been so frightening and for that to then disappear as quickly as it came and never be solved or no one to ever get to the bottom of it i think is a genuinely bizarre thing because nowadays you can you know you see something crazy on the tv you can search online like what happened yeah and everyone else is already talking about it. Yeah. It's already solved at that point, I'm sure. But at the time, yeah, it just, six minutes,

Vrilon from the Ashitar Galactic Command speaks. No clue. So I actually spoke to some people who saw the incident live in the show, and they were just like, what on earth? What is this? One guy was even fixing his aerial at the time of the interruption right so he was just sort of um oh is it the aerial or is it the the alien on the tv but yeah you know this mystery just happened and then went sort of underground because without the

internet these stories get lost but then there's a stuff of legend right among people who were interested in that kind of that kind that kind of UFO-type scene. Because the Interrupter claims to be an alien, right? Yeah, and a very specific alien as well, which is the real thing that I got so interested in. Vrilon of the Ashtar Command is connected to these UFO religions, about groups from the 50s that sprung up. So this alien has been around before.

So that was a real angle of investigation and other people like you say they've looked into it too but it's now with the internet age these stories have resurfaced and then you know at this point 45 years later you know it's been unsolved let's have a go let's see what we can find yeah and did you go on the journey so when we i mean i'm fortunate enough to be experiencing this as a listener as well so um and i haven't listened to all of it yet because all it's not um out yet but did you go on the journey because you're taking listeners on the journey with you did you go on the journey and be pulled all over the place personally thinking it could

be this it could be that and genuinely not know totally totally okay it's that's the thing with any investigation you have to go down lots of different routes. You've got to have all avenues open. And a part of that is you go down these cul-de-sacs. You think, oh, this is it. I'm going to break the case. And then you learn more and then it gets deeper and then you arrive at dead ends. It's always really frustrating when something like that happens. happens however when you come back to your main thrust you're like oh okay this is useful um at this point i can't say various dead ends because you know um but yeah and then ultimately as the investigation goes on you get a

more rounded picture and then when you sort of come out the other end, you're like, oh, wow, okay, this is a really sort of intricate, you know, wiggly story that has so many avenues, but, you know, one destination, I guess. And it's a tough challenge because, you know, if we hear about it, and what I like about the show as well is it's almost a bit like a subversion of a true crime podcast series.

And one of my beefs with, and we talked about this on the new competition before, one of the big beefs I have about true crime shows is they kind of invariably involve a vulnerable, normally young woman being killed, right? And it can come across as very exploitative and actually very unsavory. And I think that the subversion of that kind of true crime idea with

something that of course is important to you and does become important to the listener. Ultimately though, there's no real quote-unquote victim per se it's almost like a wild goose chase cold case um that you're reopening and solving in a really i think quirky and i don't mean that in a kind of disrespectful like a quirky interesting way um but that's all well and good and that's why it's part of the reason why it's interesting but it's harder because you haven't really got any experience of investigative work you've got no original case to draw on and you're not a police officer or anyone they won't give you anything anyway and there's no actual evidence right because it's something that comes in it's completely transient it interrupts a tv thing for six minutes and goes away again and that's

basically presumably that's all you've got it's all you have there's no there's nothing left at the crime scene quote unquote crime scene yeah all we have the starting point is that message and yes i have no you know i'm not technically a journalist you know i make videos on youtube but that's really my wheelhouse of experience i'm not a police officer um so going into this was a first investigation for me and I've learned a lot as an investigator doing this and so you know I've got tools now but back in the day not so much yeah but yeah it's it's a bizarre one I feel that I've learned that the investigator really shapes what they look at so I have a background my university education is like religion

and that's what I do on YouTube. Lots of stuff about religion. So I found that religious stuff was interesting to me and that's why UFO religions really drew me into this story because it's connected to all those different groups. But yeah, you make an investigation in the shape of you in any way. You really mould it.

How much did people who genuinely believe in alien technology and alien presence and UFOs come into the story? So that is the big avenue of this. We meet some people that they not only believe in aliens, but they really believe in aliens. So, for example, we speak to Yuri Geller. He's connected to the story. And he finds his way in so many different things.

But Yuri Geller has these strange links to these UFO groups. I've got a clip of Yuri Geller here. And it's from episode four, which is actually out now um although i would obviously recommend people listen to episode one two and three first because i'm leaning a narrative show not a low compete show you can just pick out whenever you want um you're a girl there's a really interesting part of this let's let's hear a clip of you interviewing him because i think it's a really interesting interview and i'll come on to why afterwards so so that's a that's my belief system this is a why i'm still on the cover of you know the tabloids in in britain in japan yes all over the world uh because i truly believe that

they do exist um i mean we'll be foolish to to say that the universe the cosmos is empty there's no life no there's no such thing so i'm a great believer anyhow tommy listen before i sign off with you um tell me a little about yourself how old are you oh this is brilliant because you like listeners who go and check this out tommy tries tries to find out if yuri geller was involved in this and And Yuri Geller is just way too canny, right? He's done so much of this. He ends up just flipping it on you and interviewing you. And I love the fact that Yuri Geller,

in all seriousness, he's quite a controversial character anyway, to say the least. Potentially, you know, a little bit problematic with the way he does things. He says, like, with a straight face there, well, it's impossible to imagine

that aliens don't exist. Okay, that's fine. But that's not the same as him interrupting a TV station in Hampshire in 1977 as the priority. But what I love about it is that he starts talking to you and saying, okay, what are you up to? What's your thing? Everything about it. It really shows like he's been through tons of interviews. This is like one of my very first really in the deep end.

You can hear by the clip my oh where that you're not expecting it no that was me being very like uh cool calm and measured oh the reality was oh my gosh yeah you know obviously i give him my personal information which i don't think appears in the show but he asks things like you know what's your mom and dad called what do they do as work? Why was he doing that? Do you think he was doing that to disarm you, to try and get you off the scent, basically?

I don't know. I've thought about it a lot. Perhaps there is that, but also I think he is genuinely interested because I came with him about the interruption and it's something that he knows a little bit about, but no one really has come to him to talk to him about it. And I think maybe he sees it as like,

well, you've asked me all these questions. I'm going to ask you. And, you know, I wouldn't say I'm friends with Yuri, but we do chat on WhatsApp every now and then. We're recently talking about, he wants to find the Ark of the covenant right and that's in the old testament it's this golden box you might know from indiana jones i do know and it's got the uh the mercy seat on top and it's where they held the ten commandments right ten commandments

and some other trinkets yeah you know in it's a biblical super weapon you open it up and it sort of explodes and kills 50,070 people in the Bible in one particular bit. He wants to find that, for better or for worse. And so drawing on my knowledge from Old Testament, which is stuff I did at university, you know, we've been chatting about it. I sent him my video on it.

So, you know, you'll see me and Yuri trekking in his Isle of Inscotland, looking for the Ark of the Covenant. Next series. Next series. If you see the big explosion somewhere, well, you know. On each step with Peloton, from their pop runs to walk and talks, you define what it means to be a runner.

Whatever your level, embrace it. Journey starts when you say so. If you've got five minutes or 50, Peloton Tread has workouts you can work in. Or bring your classes with you for outdoor runs, walks, and hikes, led by expert instructors on the Peloton app. Call yourself a runner. Peloton All Access Membership Separate. Learn more at onepeloton.ca slash running.

Learn more at onepeloton.ca slash running. I think I just love that in the show that I've heard so far, that it takes you on this journey, and you really are trying to solve it organically by going down all these different places. And it almost becomes, did you ever think to yourself, why is this so important to me? Why do I want to find out what happened here? Or did you just, you want to autopilot as soon as you decide to do it?

I think with this, the best way I could describe it is it's an itchy story. You hear it, you hear the Vrillon message, the original audio, and it just lodges in your brain and it becomes an itch you have to scratch. I remember I kept on thinking about it, knowing that there is something out there. There is something more to this than people know. And so that is what drew me to it. And it kind of goes back to kind of what you're saying earlier. I know that for me, there is quite a saturation of quite dark stories on either podcasting or Netflix, especially of that investigative stuff. I know that, like, I only have so much, like, emotional, I guess, strength or endurance or kind of energy to be listening to stories about abuse, murder.

And obviously they're important in their own right but when it is just that it sort of makes a really fun space documentary investigations it makes a fun space into something you know that there's more to it and so with this story the one big thing that i love about it is it's a real investigation I'm coming to this with all my skills, or a lack thereof, but trying my best to solve something that is quirky, but it's just, it's itchy. It's something that needs to get solved. It also has a kind of wider meaning

because I think what the voice that claims to be Vrilon from the Ashtar Galactic Command is saying is that the message of the time is very Cold War, it's very kind of nuclear paranoia, it's like lay down your weapons, live in peace for the safety of the galaxy, all the rest of it. And people, when they listen, will hear all that. But it kind of gives you an idea that, to me at least,

from the outside just listening in, it doesn't feel like it's just a prank. It doesn't feel like, oh, we can interrupt this TV thing with these tools and it'll be funny it's like they're doing it for a reason and the stuff they're saying is quite heavy shit like there's a reason why they're saying it and as you rightly point out i think in one of the early episodes that you know people are interrupting tv broadcasts now to make political statements and to get their messages across we saw it happening around the russia invasion of ukraine for example so there is more depth to it it's not just a kind of you know doing it for the sake of it because it's a quirky thing because if it was just a prank i don't think it

would resonate as much and it's obviously resonated quite a lot i think that is the most interesting thing about this the message is sincere you have this i mean it you know you have this alien quote-unquote alien um warning people being like you know prepare for the age of aquarius abandon all weapons of evil and it's there is real intention behind this so why would you hack a tv station with that kind of message it's so specific and it has so many links to ufo religions that the way i see it those are fingerprints yeah those are clues that the person behind this or you know alien behind it uh drops that you know it it leads you down the investigation and as you say these things happen a lot even nowadays maybe not on the same scale but russia um, in Iran more recently, a state broadcast got interrupted by a picture of the Ayatollah with a big X on it.

Does anyone know who did that? Well, people believe it was probably traced to students, but there's no real person or people they found. But when they happen, they are done for a good reason and often for a protest so that's why this vrillon message this quirky alien impersonation there is method to the madness there's something in there and i think that's to me why it's so like i guess i say itchy it's just what is that and one of my one of my favorite i want to play another clip before we before we go but one because one of my favorite moments is where um you get i mean is it unfair of me to say that you just decide that you're going to be so open-minded from the soldiers that you will

literally talk to anyone that's fair to say yeah and you you somehow get hold of like a psychic who claims to be able to channel like a vast range of supernatural beings for like a fee angels to aliens he's yeah for a fee of course and it turns out just by sheer coincidence that he thinks he can actually channel vrilon the alien that actually did the message and so you it's absolutely like louis theroux like farcical type situation where you're talking to someone who supposedly is channeling vrilon right vrilon yeah let, yeah. Let's have a listen. Yeah, so what I'm looking for specifically to talk with the Ashtar Galactic Command.

Are you able to call them up? Yeah. Fantastic. There's a specific being I'm looking for, and it's Vrilon. Vrilon from the Ashtar Galactic Command. Vrilon, Vrilon, okay. On the other line is a self-proclaimed psychic.

According to his website, he's able to channel a vast range of supernatural beings, from angels to aliens. I'm here to talk with a being called Frilon from the Ashtar Galactic Command, whose disembodied voice broke onto English television in 1977. whose disembodied voice broke onto English television in 1977. Is it male or female? To be honest, I don't know. The voice I have heard is male.

It's so funny. Is it male or female? You're like, I don't know. I don't know. Do aliens have genders? It's so many questions to unravel. Yeah, as part of this, you know, any good investigator, you need to cover all of the bases.

That's what I was talking about earlier. So you might as well speak to the alien directly. Just to make sure. Just to make sure. Or I guess in this case, indirectly, because in that scenario, I was chatting to a channeler who claimed to sort of be an antenna to the spaceship, which is Ashtar Command.

And so I got to meet Vrelon in person. I think if you did have those skills you'd definitely be spending your time doing it on the internet for 50 quid a time right?

Perfect People like me coming in wanting you know he's probably a wealthy guy That's exactly what he'd be doing

with his amazing like found skill Alright look it's a great show I really wanted to get you in thank you for giving up your time I think the Luke and Pete

show family will love hearing this show and I wanted to give them in. Thank you for giving up your time. No, thank you for having me. I think the Luke and Pete Show family will love hearing this show and I wanted to give them, in return for their great dedication to the Luke and Pete Show, a little inside track on it. So it's great to have you in. Those of you who think this is of interest to them,

go and check out The Interruption wherever you get your podcasts. We'll put a link to the show to be able to subscribe to in the show notes. At the time of recording, there's four episodes of eight out, right? Yes, we're halfway through. It's two dropping every Monday. We're halfway through.

So there's not too many to get through at the moment. So if you go in there now, you can listen to the first four. The next two are out on Monday, and the next two to Monday after that, leading us up to Christmas. And then we'll see what's next. Maybe there'll be a sequel. Well, maybe the Ark of the Covenant will be found. That'll be great.

You and Yuri. We'll have Yuri in there next time. Be my little duo. Yeah um well maybe the ark of the covenant will be found that'll be great you and yuri we have yuri in there next time my little duo yeah i get the fear yuri's fee might be massive probably is right um so maybe yuri next time but maybe not but um tommy it's been great to talk to you thanks so much for bringing um news of the interruption to the luke and pete show uh community but also thanks for doing the show because it's great and we love it oh i mean it's been such a joy to make uh thank you for having me as well it's been great to chat with you. Good, all right, cool. Well, we'll speak to you again soon,

and everyone else listening, check out Luke and Pete's show. There'll be another one out tomorrow. I'm not sure what we're going to talk about yet. We're going to record it in a minute, so it's something to look forward to. Thanks, everyone, and we'll see you next time. the luke and pete show is a stack production and part of the acast creator network