We all remember being a teenager and having a grown-up making an embarrassing, cringeworthy attempt to seem ‘down with the kids’.
Maybe, as you’ve got older, some of you have been on the opposite side of this situation, putting your foot in your mouth while straining to still seem cool around younger folk.
Whether it’s through first-hand or second-hand embarrassment, I think we can all spare a thought for Charlie Stayt,
The BBC Breakfast co-host was interviewing a young guest, and decided to work his ‘cool dad’ magic by namedropping the musician – another guest on the show – who he knew young people were into.
BBC News anchor Charlie Stayt
There was a small problem, though.
That musician, Craig David, was rightly identified by Stayt as someone who people younger than him were into. And yes, the singer-songwriter’s new album The Time is Now is sure to sell pretty well, but David’s peak of popularity as a worldwide star was in the early 2000s.
Maybe it’s down to poor mental maths, or a steadfast refusal to accept that people born this century will be able to legally vote from this year – and fair enough, that can be a little bizarre at first.
But it seemed to pass him by that anyone who is a teenager now was either a toddler or still yet to be born when David’s debut album Born to Do It was released in 2000, and that there’s no guarantee his new music will have the same appeal among people nearly a generation younger than the 36-year-old.
Still, credit to him, he was willing to take a gamble and ask his guest whether she was a fan. It was a gamble that didn’t quite go how he might have hoped.
While we don’t have any more of the clip, it’s probably fair to assume Stayt went on to ask his guest whether she’d been playing with her yo-yo backstage or whether she’d arrived by scooter.
Sometimes you’ve just got to put your arm around someone and tell them, “At least you tried”.
Still, it’s good to see Stayt and co-host Naga Munchetty were able to take it all in good spirits.
(Images: Rex)
