Hello, there. How are you tonight? No, I am serious. I'm a bit croaky, but otherwise fine. How are you,... really? If I could bottle it, I would be a very wealthy woman. Our first ever national happiness survey. Pretty happy, eh! How happy are we, really? Can money make us happy, yes or no? Results just in, and not what you think. (CHUCKLES) That's a surprise. Roly-poly, cute and goofy. But on the brink. It's sort of a hedge against extinction. Take one. Can the kung fu king,... some imposters... Panda man! ...and science save them? It's a party here in London, right? We all here? Fat Freddy's Drop on tour... ...spreading the love... ...with a packed lunch. I've got four of these big ones. Kia ora, I'm Miriama Kamo. We have so much to be grateful for, right? We live in a beautiful country, we breathe fresh air, we're not starving. But how happy are we, really? Tonight we report on the first study of its kind - a comprehensive survey of 10,000 Kiwis to find out about the state of our national well-being ` our Kiwi happiness. You might not be overjoyed with some of the results. One puts us rock bottom compared to other countries, but take heart ` as Janet McIntyre reports, there's a lot we can learn about how to become happier. In the heart of suburbia, in a quarter-acre paradise, could this woman be the happiest person in NZ? Not all of the people that are directly in my life are like me. I really am quite unique, in a lot of ways. Angela Elphick-Moon says she has the secret to happiness. If I could bottle it, and it was legal, I'd be a very wealthy lady. 33 years old, a mother of three little boys, Angela is among the top scorers on an index published today, measuring our national well-being. Go straight inside. Take your shoes off, please, babe. Are you on drugs? > No. No, no. But she's almost always on a high. What do you think when you see people being negative, being stressed out by the world? I just think that's a bit sad cos you really can be so happy, just right now, with what you have. You don't need to have all these things that create all the stresses that people are going through. There's no denying there's pain and heartache in NZ, but the perception is, this is one of the most desirable places on earth ` Godzone. We like to think we look out for one another. We take pride in our values. We like to think this is our happy place, but is it? I say I'm pretty happy, eh? Like, I'm not too fussed about life. Um, 100%. Mm. Yes. I'm right up there, I guess. Full of happiness. (LAUGHS) If business goes well, then, uh, everything else goes well. Previous international surveys of happiness have thrown up confusing results; NZ placing anywhere from the bottom to the top. They are not worth the paper they're written on, because they're not sampling a representative sample of NZers. Grant Schofield, a professor of public health at AUT, has produced, what he says, is the first reliable study of our happiness, sampling 10,000 Kiwis, the same survey that's been carried out in 22 European countries. So, in this study, you believe you're comparing apples with apples? Absolutely. Like with like. And that's very very important. 100 questions about relationships, income, health, physical activity, learning ` all to find out what makes us happy. God, family and friends. Yep. < What about being a TV celebrity? < What about being a TV celebrity? Oh... (CHUCKLES) No, I'd choose food over that any day. ALL LAUGH Um, girls. Um, girls. Girls. Gardening and dogs. Yeah. Shopping. I'd be with my grandchildren and family. I just love it. Yes. Jesus Christ. A gorgeous day in Auckland. As long as I make $15, it's good. A day. That should give me milk and bread... If you want to look at really good functioning, which I would call flourishing, I'd say that's about one in four really hitting what I would call that well-being or super-well-being. That's a bit disappointing, isn't it? One in four? Yeah. We can do better. And this is one of the points of this work, is that a lot of these skills are things that we can learn. We are the doughnut family. There's no butter or anything in them. They're healthier than normal doughnuts. Angela is one of the so-called superflourishers. How's that looking? How's that looking? That is looking absolutely fine. A navy wife, living in a navy suburb on Auckland's North Shore. It's, um, a little bit 1950s, is honestly what I'd call it. So, I know, probably, you know, every second or third family on the street. And I'm sure the others know each other, so, um, it's a real community feeling around here. And these are the final doughnuts. They're actually working out, which truly makes me happy. (LAUGHS) I was worried. Mmm. Yum. She gave up work when she started a family, and she's never looked back. I get to look after the people that I love, so, to me, that's pretty big. When I'm on my deathbed, do I want the people that I've been working for at some company all these years, to be holding my hands, or do I want my family? No-brainer. I want my family. ALL: Whoa! Daddy's in there. Wee. Yeah. Angela's husband, Dan, can be at sea up to six months a year. It's fair to say too, that when he does get home, it's often like getting a new boyfriend. Can anyone see Dad? We know happiness when we see it and feel it, but how do we measure it? Daddy! Hi. There's Dad. The survey looked at how we connect with each other, the way we give, how much we take notice of what's going on around us. < Hi, babe. Darling. How are you? Angela ticks all those boxes. She's one of the top 25% who are really happy. How many people have been with someone for 10 years and can still say they get butterflies when they see them? I don't know that many. I guess the ultimate aim of this is to grow that number from 25%. To get more NZers flourishing would be, uh, a great goal. Are we the happy police trying to make everyone happier? No. But we want enough people to have enough skill and enough support to be able to, most of the time, feel pretty good about themselves. How many people feel depressed? How many people feel depressed? We found about 40% of NZers reporting, when we surveyed them, that they had a depressed... mildly depressed mood at that time. The news about our young NZers is even worse. 60% of them report having a depressed mood. And that's despite them seeming so happy, being connected with their smartphones and tablets. For a couple of generations now, technology has promised so much for humans that it would give us more time, it would make us happier. Actually, the opposite's happened. We're busier than ever, spending less time with family than ever, and less time for leisure. So, you know, thanks for that technology, but it hasn't worked out, has it? If there's one thing the survey has thrown up, it's our lack of connection, our lack of contact with the people around us. You might not think about it, but the experts say, for our happiness, that true personal connection is vital. The fact is, we're disconnected. Very few people, especially, um, in the big cities, and Auckland's the worst, report having a strong connection to their neighbourhood ` that feeling that other people in their neighbourhood would help them, um, or do help them, and I think that's something to really ponder ` um, how that happened, why that's happening and what we can do about it. Is it true that NZ used to be a country where people did say hello to their neighbours, did look out for each other? > Well, NZ still is in places like that, and that's the good part of NZ. You know, for half of NZers, that's not the case. Yeah. If you look out for other people and do nice things for other people, that makes you feel good. It makes them feel good, and it will, sort of, spread. It will be contagious. Darryl Burridge goes out of his way to connect with people, even though his job is a solitary one. < You came out in the top group of people who are happiest about their lives. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) Yep. Oh, that's, um... Yeah, that's a surprise. It's a surprise, is it? Yeah. I just thought I was just an ordinary run-of-the-mill guy. But he's not. According to the survey, he's one of the happiest people in the country. Mate, what are doing to the weather? Look what it's doing to my hair! 53 years old, unmarried, no kids. At least the rain will make mine shiny. Darryl gets up at 3am in Palmerston North every morning to deliver meat to Wellington's dinner tables. Yeah. Good, thanks, mate. I can honestly say I don't have trouble going to work. He works 55 hours a week on a basic wage,... Yeah, I'd say 80% of my happiness comes from my job. Thank you, Jesse. Thank you, Jesse. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Oh, I was thinking about that. (LAUGHS) You surround yourself with positive things, you know, positive attitudes, positive people. It's going to be fun. > He's going to have a ball. He's going to have a ball. Yeah, see ya, mate. ...and doing things to make himself feel good. There was one day there when I had a bit of a bad day. I think it was someone with a bit of an attitude on the road that annoyed me. So I was a bit grumpy on that, and then I went and did something nice for another motorist, and that beget them to come in, and did something nice for them. HAPPINESS INTRO And that made me feel better. You make your own happiness. HORN TOOTS Our research is very clear. If you're able to give up some of your time and resources, you are the one who benefits from it. You more than anyone. And we forget that. We think it's a drag. 'I want more of this.' 'I'll be happy when I get this.' The opposite's true. So from your survey, who are the good givers among us? Some groups have more strength than others. Maori-Pacific tend to be more giving, as well as more socially connected, and they really benefit from that. So, Maori and Pacific Islanders are more generous than Pakeha? So, Maori and Pacific Islanders are more generous than Pakeha? Our results show that. And does that make them generally happier? And does that make them generally happier? Our results show that. Yes. So who are happier ` men or women? Um, women tend to do better than men. So men need to take more notice of what women are doing? That would be a great start. Dame Rosie Horton has dedicated four decades of her life working unpaid for charity. Gorgeous. I like that. That's nice, isn't it? As a woman, and as a philanthropist, the happiness odds are in her favour. Well, I really like that. One friend said to me, 'You're such a pain in the backside. You're always happy.' I said, 'Oh dear. I never thought of it like that.' And while she doesn't discuss her age, Dame Rosie says she depends on her ongoing commitment to unpaid work for satisfaction. I feel as though I'm useful. If it works for you, I guess it would work for other people. Oh, I'm sure, because I think everyone needs that feeling of purpose. And I'm just lucky it's gone on and on for me. Does it make a difference growing older? As you get older, you do become less relevant, and it's really important that as we age, that we understand that, and know that that's going to happen. But that doesn't worry me. At this stage, I feel that I am useful... And it doesn't hurt, either, that her husband, Michael Horton, former Wilson & Horton newspaper magnet, is one of the wealthiest men in NZ. I understand your husband, Michael, is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Oh, I haven't heard that. That's interesting. Does being wealthy make you happy? Does being wealthy make you happy? Yes. I think it does. Because, again, it gives you choices. Yes or no? Can money make us happy? Oh, you want a yes or no answer to the world's most complex debated question. Yes or no? Uh, yes. But there is some good news for all of us. Wealthy or not, true happiness comes much later in life than we think. We're led to believe that our wedding day will be the happiest day of our life. I remember that very clearly. 'Oh yeah, that was quite good. But is that it?' 'That's it!' 'The best thing in my life is now over.' And I don't think that's the case, and, thankfully, what we see is that, you know, people get happier as they get older. Great. And why do they? More often than not, it's an understanding that life is about giving, not just receiving. It's about connecting. Connecting: being part of a community looking out for each other. Well, here's the bad news. So, this is where NZ doesn't fare so well. So, uh, we are able to compare ourselves with 22 European countries, and we do very last on connecting with people in our local area. Absolute bottom. Absolute bottom. Absolute bottom. Absolute bottom. Absolute bottom. Just don't talk to our neighbours? Well, some people do, but, um, not as many as everywhere else. Even in Bulgaria, they're doing better than us. Look, from all this work, if you had to do one thing that could make a difference, I think that is when you get up tomorrow, and you see one of your neighbours, just smile. Just say, 'Hi. Pleased to see you. What's going on?' Um, and that's massive. (CRIES) (LAUGHS) He's so happy (!) And what does Angela, our happiest person in NZ, have to say about all this? Love what you have. You're not going to take anything with you in the end. Love your family. Love your friends. Nurture your relationships with people. And-And have fun. Live, laugh, love. That's my advice. Yes, such good advice too. Now, the Sovereign Well-being Survey will be carried out every two years. It'll provide important information for the Government and the public health sector. Next, panda imposters. People parading as pandas to save cubs born via IVF. Panda man! Panda man! Panda man! The panda we're tracking will soon be released into the wild and has never seen a human before. The panda suits ` why not? If it helps, then it helps. Hello, again. There's been an unexpected baby panda boom... an assisted boom ` IVF ` and one which just could save the cheeky, loveable, cuddly bears from oblivion. Also assisting is a kung fu fighting hero. Hollywood star Jackie Chan is leading the battle to save the giant panda in the wild. Scientists trying to protect them fear china's unstoppable growth is driving them to extinction. But there's good news. Here's Alex Cullen. OK. Panda. Panda. Yeah. Panda. Yeah. All right! (CHUCKLES) Panda man! Panda man! Panda man! Let's go! 'This is what you have to do to get anywhere near some of the most important pandas on Earth.' Panda man! 'Seriously, this is not as silly as it looks.' So, we think the pandas are about 200m up in there. So, we think the pandas are about 200m up in there. Yes. Yes. The panda we're tracking will soon be released into the wild and has never seen a human before. The panda suits ` why not? If it helps, then it helps. We're here to try and get them back into the wild. That's what it's all about. The save the last remaining giant pandas, scientists are going to extraordinary lengths in the forest, in the lab and in Australia. She's showing us that she's ready to be a mum. You can see that she` she would be an awesome mum. Why all this effort now? It's all against you, Wang Wang. We've come to Chengdu in southwest China. It has a population of 14 million, and it's growing fast. It's not far from one of the few mountain ranges that still have wild pandas. The tremendous shrinkage of their habitat has happened literally within the last 200 years and that's due to human population growth. For more than a decade, Dr Sarah Bexell has worked at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. She fears time is running out to save wild pandas. If we lose the panda, that's going to be a smack in the face that we have failed. (CHUCKLES) They seem roly-poly, cute and goofy and all those wonderful things that makes us love them. (GROWLS, CHUCKLES) They're brilliant animals. This is just incredible. Now they are threatened and they are threatened only by the power of one species and that's ours. Belly scratch?! This is the future of pandas right here. This little guy will go into the breeding program here when he reaches 6 years old. Right now, he's only 9 months, so he has got a fair while before he starts breeding. But... this is the future right here. Hey? Do you want me to scratch your belly? Yeah, you like that, don't you? (CHUCKLES) Oh, don't bite my arm. (CHUCKLES) Oh, he has got a bite. (CHUCKLES) They might eat bamboo, but they still bite pretty hard. A decade ago, 1596 pandas were left in the wild. No one knows what that number is now. Will you be surprised if it's gone down? No, not at all. Breeding them in captivity, is that a good solution to this problem? I think it's a last-ditch effort. It's sort of a hedge against extinction. One of the biggest challenges has been getting pandas to mate in captivity. They're only fertile for a few days a year and on those days, they're not always in the mood. So to set the mood, scientists even tried playing videos of pandas mating. Panda porn? It depicts the desperation that a lot of, you know, my Chinese colleagues have had and 'Oh my God, we have to figure out some way to make these pandas interested in breeding.' To complicate matters even more, an earthquake that devastated southwest China in 2008 also destroyed panda research labs and huge areas of wild panda habitat. They needed a saviour. They got Jackie Chan. What makes them so adorable? Why are they so important to us? You know, some animals, you have to spend time to watch them till you love them. Panda, you don't. When you look at their face, you automatically like them. You know, and especially when they sit there, eating... and sleeping. All kinds of things. Just so adorable. He adopted two pandas for life. He carries around toy versions of them. That's my two baby... and happy... oops! And Jackie also donated $1 million to the Chengdu Breeding Centre. $1 million is nothing. We should` Everybody should help for the panda, care about the panda. MILITARY MUSIC At the height of the Cold War, China engaged in panda diplomacy, giving two to America and two more to Great Britain as relations thawed. Today, more than 40 are on loan to zoos around the world. The only two in the southern hemisphere are in Adelaide. Hello, Wang Wang. > 'Meet Wang Wang, a 7-year-old boy.' Wow! Look at you! > 'And Funi, a 6-year-old girl.' This is incredible. This is incredible. You can give her pats on her paw. That is so soft. They arrived in 2009. Funi ` what does that mean? Funi ` what does that mean? It means 'lucky lady'. Funi ` what does that mean? It means 'lucky lady'. Lucky lady. Is she lucky in love? We think so. This year she will be. Fingers crossed, eh? Fingers crossed, eh? Fingers crossed. Yeah, that's right. Open. Senior panda keeper Simone Davey has been with Wang Wang and Funi from day one. Good. Wang Wang, up. Trying to get close up. Oh, wow! Look at the size of him. Funi actually only ovulates for about 2 to 3 days in an entire year, so, um, what that means is that we've got a really, really small window to do introductions, cos they are solitary animals, so they normally like being by themselves. Come breeding season, she's much more receptive to a male and we've got that small window to` to hopefully make things happen. Look at her lying down. She's waiting for me to ask. This year, it's gonna be all guns blazing and hopefully we will be able to do it naturally and then follow up artificial insemination. The whole reason why Wang Wang and Funi are actually here is for the breeding program. That cub will go back to China and be part of the breeding program over there, so the genetics of Wang Wang and Funi will be passed on, um, you know, into future generations. And to make sure there are future generations, China's panda breeding program has turned to artificial insemination, which has turned a baby drought into a baby boom. More on the pandas when we come back, as technology makes an unwelcome intrusion into the wild. # If you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise. # If you go down in the woods today, you better go in disguise. # CELL PHONE RINGS Is that your phone, Mr Wu? Is that your phone, Mr Wu? Hm? Is that your phone, Mr Wu? Hm? Is that your phone? So, a baby drought has turned into a baby boom for the panda. But how can that be with all the talk of extinction and oblivion? It all comes down to the captive breeding programme. This is what success looks like. It looks fun, but there's a downside. Now there are more than 300 pandas in the breeding centre and zoos. That's a huge number for pandas in this kind of artificially designed environment. So we need to release more pandas into the wild to help more pandas to be successful. We're on our way to a mountain range 100km from Chengdu to a place attempting to return captive-born pandas to the wild. But there's no escaping the advance of the bitumen. This is progress for China; danger for the pandas. We're in a four-wheel drive convoy on our way into the Wolong Nature Reserve at the foot of the Himalayas. This vast mountain wilderness in Southwest China is home to the last remaining wild pandas on earth. This valley and those mountains were once prime panda territory. Not anymore. There are trucks, there are fallen rocks, there is construction of a new road as this urban invasion just marches further and further into the wild pandas' habitat. If we were watching any other species on earth do this, what would we think of them? That they're stone crazy. Wolong Nature Reserve is the largest in China. More pandas are born here than anywhere else, including twins just this week. Next to the reserve is wilderness and that's where researchers hope captive pandas will some day make their home. The big question is whether they'll be accepted by the wild pandas who live there. One reintroduction strategy is to keep human contact to a minimum, hence the costumes. Most importantly is the panda suit is actually scented with panda urine and panda faeces. That will mask the smell from humans, because pandas are very sensitive to smells. In my years of doing this, I never thought I'd be wearing... a panda suit. We might look ridiculous, but this is for a very serious cause because if these pandas see anything that even looks like a human, it ruins the whole process of reintroduction. We ready, Mr Wu? Let's do this. VAL ROSING'S 'TEDDY BEARS' PICNIC' # If you go down in the woods today, # you're sure of a big surprise. # If you go down in the woods today, you better go in disguise. # CELL PHONE RINGS Is that your phone, Mr Wu? Is that your phone, Mr Wu? Hm? Is that your phone, Mr Wu? Hm? Is that your phone? Phone, yeah. Pandas aren't supposed to have phones, are they? You'll give us away, Mr Wu. As we got deeper into the forest, there, resting in a tree, a youngster. And then,... a mother and her cub. Seeing pandas like this helped me understand why so many are trying so hard to save them and set them free. Panda originates from the wild. I think, let them walk freely. And the whole mountain ` let them walking around. That's the most good thing for the animal. The first panda was released into the wild in 2006. 10 months later, he was killed by wild pandas. The second, called Tao Tao, was set free last October. He survived winter and is still alive. And now we're searching for the third candidate, a girl who has the hopes of China riding on her. Her name is Xiang Xiang. We know she's just up through there. She's living in a large enclosure on the top of a mountain with hardly any contact with the outside world, but closed-circuit TV cameras monitor her every move and speakers broadcast sounds of potential predators. A lot is riding on Xiang Xiang's survival in the wild. But there are some who fear her release is being rushed. So, it just takes decade of research and science, making sure these animals are ready. Until we can secure habitat, I really` I wish we were not talking so much about reintroduction. I really` That is our priority ` make sure the habitat is truly safe for them. The urgent need to secure more panda-safe territory is a common ground among all who are working to save the pandas. Finally, the Chinese government is setting aside more land. DAFT PUNK'S 'GET LUCKY' And that's something to make a song and dance about. # We're up all night for good fun. We're up all night to get lucky. Everybody in the world recognises the panda. They are a symbol of conservation, a symbol of hope, um, a symbol of peace. And I think if we lose them, it will be a blow. How are we gonna have hope for the others if we let the one that we profess to love the most go? I mean, how would that make us feel? Can we honestly save them? With tremendous self-control, ingenuity, morality. We could do it, but it's gonna take massive changes in human behaviour. You are beautiful. So cute. Up next, dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues. And oh yeah, and crayfish, of course. CROWD CHEERS CROWD CHEERS Make some noise for the one and only Fat... Freddy's... Drop! # Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ooh # Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh. # It's not just a band; it's a business ` a family kind of business. Fat Freddy's Drop, named after a drug of choice many years ago. They've moved on from those days. All very respectable and proper now, with a huge fan base. But as much as we love Fat Freddy's Drop, it seems Europe loves them more. Here's Ian Sinclair. Fat Freddy's Drop, 'BLACKBIRD' # There's a blackbird... # Hey, hey. # In my garden. # Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. # Oh, oh, oooh-oh. # The undisputable sound of Fat Freddy's Drop... It's a party here in London, right? We all here. Over 4000 fans from all over Europe applied online for tickets. Make some noise for the band here. AUDIENCE CHEERS ...and the sound of 500 fans cheering. We got that album finished. It's done, dusted. # And that should get to know, # but you keep on teasing it. # Because you can't break free from it. But the road to cheering fans and glamorous European tours started a long time ago all the way back in Wellington... ...in the not particularly glamorous suburb of Kilbirnie ` home to the Fat Freddy's Drop studio. Some of the songs that we've put together for Blackbird have been created in the studio in a really production-heavy way, and so we've gotta learn how to, sort of, reinterpret all those ideas in a way so we can pull it off live. # Ba-ba-ba-ba. Ba-ba-ba. # In 10 years, Fat Freddy's Drop have produced just three full length albums, but it's the live shows the fans love. The success is people love coming to the gigs. They get tickled when they come to the gigs. They jump around and they just enjoy dancing and the energy we give off, and its the same energy we feel when we're on stage when we're making it. # Hope for a generation... # 10 years ago those gigs were at places like the Grey Lynn Festival in Auckland and Wellington's famous Matterhorn. We worked the` the local festivals hard back in the day ` did our time around NZ. NZ's an easy market to exhaust, so I think we did that a long time ago. # And I would not waste a moment, no way. # That's when Fat Freddy's Drop took a punt. # Hey. # When we made our first record, Midnight Marauders, I felt like Europe was the place to get to with that record ` try to show it off there and try and get some interest out of somewhere like Berlin or London. Chris Faiumu, or Mu, is at the centre of this band's sound and its business decisions ` significant because Fat Freddy's Drop controls everything. I'll just come in on the bass. There are lots of people involved. With seven core members of the band, we've got seven different families. If you hand a lot of decisions over to a major label or go down that road, then you lose control, potentially, of your whole future. Man army doesn't march on an empty stomach, and that's a big army in there. We always bring a few dishes back from our travels. A few new skills and bits of kitchen equipment that we use non-stop for about a week and then it sits rusting in a cupboard somewhere, so... Here's a tip ` if any of these boys invite you to dinner... Snapper of the season, I'd say. There's a few of these biggies left. They're quite hard to catch, cos all sharks come in now. And Iain fishes out of a kayak so sharks are a little bit of an issue! Iain Gordon ` chief cook and keyboard player. I've always been in the kitchen since I was a young fella, really. I was the able bodied one in my` in my family. I've got two other sisters who are` who weren't able-bodied, and, um, and so I was Mum's, you know, guy in the kitchen. I was chopping and folding wontons from the age of` for as long as I can remember, really. ...say yes, because Fat Freddy's Drop is as much about food as they are about music. ALL: Ohhh! Getting in the kitchen is all part of the plan in London for the album release. At the moment we're trying to get some seafood together. The band is getting together with expat chef Miles Kirby to plan a menu for the media launch of the album. It really is at the forefront of our marketing assault on the world ` is feed people up, make them feel really comfortable and then play them music, and then hopefully they'll say good stuff about us. # You can tap on my window, # knock on my door. Iain, eh? Iain, eh? It's Iain! # Nobody's home. # How am I gonna leave you? Daddy, you're wearing some Converses! I wish I was that slim. Your gut's way less than my gut! Your gut's way less than my gut! That's cos my gut is way less than your gut. # Cleaning the house, man. My daddy. The great thing about my job, in terms of having a family, is that I get a lot more time with my boy. Except of course, during tour time. All of these men are fathers now. Hey. Hey! What?! What?! It's not as big as it looks. What?! It's not as big as it looks. It's not as big as it looks! And between Australia and Europe, Fat Freddy's Drop is away about a third of the year. I'll Skype my boy in the morning while he's eating his breakfast. Breakfast time for him is generally gig time for me, so I'll put him on Skype, set him up on the side of the stage. He'll watch the show with his cornflakes in the morning. I've taken him out on stage on Skype and gotten the whole crowd to say, 'Hi, Benny' and, um, you know, throw him kisses and give him cheers and stuff, which is pretty cool. I've got another baby so that my partner now has to look after two kids while I'm gone. I feel a wee bit guilty, but I try not to think about it too much, and she's always like, 'Don't worry about us. We're OK.' I guess so it doesn't affect my work when I'm over there touring and trying to stay in the a good positive frame of mind, you know. The bags are packed. The crays are ready to go. I've got four of these big ones. When we come back, we're on tour with Fat Freddy's Drop. UPBEAT MUSIC We're in Brick Lane, and it's just a great vibe. It's amazing. Just an amazing place to be. It's very exciting. After months in the studio recording the new album,... We're doing an in-store performance to promote the launch of the record Blackbird. FAT FREDDY'S DROP'S BLACKBIRD Fat Freddy's Drop are ready to see if the audience likes it. # There's a blackbird, # yeah, yeah.. Europe is huge for us because our main business is in Europe now. # Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh. We play to big audiences in Europe and in` in big cities and sell them out invariably, which is, you know, not trying to blow my own trumpet too much, but, you know, we're really proud of that. We've worked hard to do that. AUDIENCE CHEERS I loved them since I first heard them. They're so different. I love they actually have musical talent. It's about the fifth time I've seen them. We saw them in Germany because we live in Germany. I've come all the way from Leeds just to see Fat Freddy's Drop. The internet has been a good thing for us because there is a lot of concert footage around spreading your work for you. What's your name? What's your name? Name? Tatsuya. How do you spell that? We get a lot of, you know, internet traffic from different parts of the world, and that sort of gives you an idea of where you might look to go and play and visit next. We'll see you in Japan. That'll be great (CHUCKLES) It's the day before the album release, and it's time to check in on an old friend. Got your New World bags. Looking worse for wear, but he's all right, considering his journey. Miles Kirby used to be Peter Gordon's Head Chef at Providores. This was this huge chunk of swordy. So I've cut it into grillable size pieces, and marinated it with... Back in 2004, he did the food for the first album launch. Have you tasted` Have you tasted a piece of that yet? Have you tasted` Have you tasted a piece of that yet? I haven't, actually. Shall we chuck one on and give it a go? Shall we chuck one on and give it a go? Go on then. 10 years later, Miles has his own restaurant, Caravan, and is in charge of tomorrow's menu. Oh, that's good bro. Mm, that's good. Really good. Iain, I can't see you. 1, 2... 10 years is a long time with the same travelling companions,... This is, uh, home sweet home for the next two weeks. It's a little bit like living in a giant submarine. ...especially when you're travelling from one side of Europe to the other on a bus. So this romantic spot is where we sleep. As you can see, it's kinda tight, especially for 16 big lads. This is the one for me. Everyone's gotta be friends, cos otherwise it's shit. You know, cos no point being miserable. So everyone has to check themselves, and, you know, I do. Here we go ` kitchen. When the band first started, it was travelling around in small vans, you know, and sleeping in hostels and that sort of thing, but now it's a big bus that we can sleep in and we cook food in there. They come with` They have TVs, all that sort of thing. So you know, it sounds kind of semi-luxurious, I guess, but it's just the the only practical way to move that many people and all our gear. We're going to make a take on wontons, mate, cos I know you love the wontons. It's day one proper of this tour. So what's in your mixture? The small tails you brought over, raw, just chopped up, really sort of mincy. A couple of warm up gigs leading up to the album release in front of an exclusive crowd of 500 people. Yeah, I still get nervous a little bit. Nothing that a couple of shots of tequila won't fix, though. Swordfish. Swordfish. Swordfish? Wow. Swordfish. Swordfish? Wow. They` They come in our luggage. First though - buttering up the European media. That's crayfish we brought from home. We brought it over in our luggage. Really? Really? Yep. Kai. Guy? Guy? Kai ` you know, that's what we call food. It's really a case of being in the market. You come in, you can do a 6 week tour. If you go away for 5 or 6 years, you're gonna be forgotten. Paul Boswell is the band's European agent. These guys come back once a year, at least, and that just keeps the whole thing building and building and building. there's always something to talk about. There's always a show on the horizon for people to come back to. All the way from Lyall Bay, Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand ` Fat Freddy's Drop! It feels like the audience is still growing in Europe for us, so that's encouraging. It means we'll be doing it for a little bit longer yet. FAT FREDDY'S DROP'S 'FLASHBACK' # ... natural in the way you touch me. 10 years and still going, then. # feeing that I can't describe. # There's something mystic in that soul connection. # Something magic in your misty eyes. We've weathered and navigated some struggles. I think we've got better at doing that. # Don't you say that it's all the same. It's a bit of an achievement making it for this long. # Something that I can't explain. # We've lasted longer than a lot of my relationships. (CHUCKLES) Thank you, audience. Thank you very much. Cheers, brothers and sisters. Take care. We'll see you next time. Thank you, brother. Cheers. And their album Blackbird is in the top 40 in the UK and Australia and of course here, where its currently number 1, and it's topping iTunes charts in Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands. And on that note, so to speak, that's our show for tonight. Do join us on Facebook and let us know how you are... really! Live, laugh and love. That's the advice for tonight. We'll see you next Sunday. Kia pai to wiki ` have a great week. Nga mihi nui.