Chris Moyles’ ‘billion pound’ idea to start a Lincoln taxi company (and open a pub)

DJ Chris Moyles has big plans for Lincoln, including a ‘billion-pound’ taxi idea and possibly opening a pub in the city – but first he will start next weekend with a DJ set of 90s classics at the Engine Shed.

The 49-year-old has brightened up morning commutes for over 20 years on the airwaves of BBC Radio 1 and Radio X.

He will be bring his 90s Hangover Show to the Engine Shed on Saturday, May 27, with a set list packed with the decade’s biggest anthems, from Britpop and dance to cheesy pop hits.

This isn’t his first encounter in The Lincolnite, however. He featured in a story after he criticised three-hour wait for taxis as he visited family in the city in 2021.

We wrote about this ordeal, and it was read out on air the next day, as Chris realised he had “stumbled into a debate”.

He was still adamant that Lincoln needs better taxi provision when we spoke to him.

“I’d be a billionaire if I set up a taxi company in Lincoln. I’d call it Kerching because talk about a gap in the market!” He said.

“You’ve got so many pubs in Lincoln and, as someone who loves a night out, I would have thought lots of pubs equals not driving home and needing a taxi.”

Discussing his mentioning of his taxi plight on the national airwaves, Chris said: “Anything I can do to help, really, because I feel everyone’s pain.”

Chris’ solidarity on this matter was gratefully received by readers at the time, and he told us, perhaps with a hint of tongue-in-cheek, that his plans for Lincoln span wider still.

We asked him if he’d considered running to be a councillor in Lincoln, to which he said: “Let’s start slowly by bringing this show to the Engine Shed and making 1,000 people happy with music and booze – and see where it goes.

“Maybe I could buy a pub, I’ve always wanted to do that. I nearly bought one with Vernon Kay a few years ago!

“If I were to buy a pub in Lincoln I could get my brother to run it. It could be a complete disaster and it would make no money – but it would be the greatest pub in Lincolnshire.”

As for his favourite places in the city, he nodded to the wonder of Steep Hill and the Cathedral Quarter, saying that anywhere with “two shops sandwiched between two pubs is my kind of place.”

Chris said he enjoys visiting Brown’s Pie Shop on his trips to Lincoln, as well as the nearby Roly’s Fudge Pantry and the Magna Carta pub.

Away from Lincolnshire, Chris Moyles spent last winter in the Australian jungle, taking part in ITV’s hit show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Chris finished in 6th place and describes the whole experience as a “weird dream” on reflection.

He said: “I’ve been asked a million times to do something like I’m A Celeb over the years and for whatever reason I agreed to speak to the people at ITV.

“They asked me why I wanted to do it, I said I didn’t. They asked me why I was here, I said I didn’t know. Somehow they convinced me to go on the show.

“It’s really real, you know? No producers walk in and tell you how to do all this stuff. You have to learn how to sleep in a hammock, you have to learn how to keep the fire going and you have to wash those clothes after a trial.

“You learn how to live and then you wake up to Eileen off Corrie wishing you a good morning and Mike Tindall asking how you slept last night.

“I’m so grateful I got to do it and experience it, but I don’t think I could do something like that again.

“I love watching it from my sofa with a cup of tea, and I cannot wait to continue watching future series from my sofa with a cup of tea, rather than being on that crazy experience myself.”

As for what people can expect from his upcoming 90s Hangover show, the answer is clear.

“It’s a great show and all the songs I play feel five minutes old, despite the terrifying thought process that 90s music was like 30 years ago,” he said.

“Sara Cox does brilliant 80s nights so I wanted to do something similar with the 90s, because as a decade it is so varied with its music – every genre was popular at one point in the 90s.

“We try to cross genres a bit, there’s thumping dance tunes, but also great indie rock music and some cheesy anthems too.

“The highlight of these shows so far was a guy wearing a Muse shirt in the front row singing his heart out to The Backstreet Boys. I just love music so much and have so many favourites, we’re really looking forward to bringing the show to Lincoln.”

Tickets are still available for the 90s Hangover, via the Engine Shed website.

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