Thursday, September 20, 2007

Radio One More Time: Blue Jam

I can't see too well because I pawned my corneas

There was little truth in the claim that comedy was the new rock and roll - after all, it's not like comedians ever wake up, like rock stars, to discover bloated corpses floating in their swimming pools, is it? But, for a brief while, comedy did challenge pop as Radio One's stock-in-trade. Like one of Amos Brearley's short-lived obsessions, Radio One decided it was a comedy station, too.

Experience before the And it did have quite a claim to be doing it seriously, with a 9pm comedy slot which challenged Radio 4's 6.30 prominence in radio humour. And, with the likes of Radio Tip Top, also had as many duff shows as Radio 4 manages. But when it was hitting, it was a thing of beauty - The Mary Whitehouse Experience; Lee and Herrings Fist of Fun; Armando Iannucci's slightly awkward attempt to combine being a satirist with playing enough records to convince people tuning idly in that they were on the right station. This he did by means of aping the Chart Show's information boxes over the top of the songs.

Then, of course, the work of Chris Morris. The late-night (really, early morning) Blue Jam was one thing: a stumbling-out-the-club soundtrack coupled with Andrew Morton being asked to comment on spurious stories about Diana-themed video games. But better yet was the Christmas Day when - for reasons we've never quite understood - Morris ended up hosting the afternoon show.

It must, surely, have been an administrative error, mustn't it? Presumably Adrian Juste took delivery of an envelope the same day asking him to produce a late-night comedy show.

Suddenly, though, Radio One abandoned comedy altogether - presumably it was while playing the Mary Whitehouse Live At Wembley show that someone realised this was the future held: punchlines ripped from their contexts and bleated back by baying crowds; wit abandoned for slight characterisations; the frightening thought of teenage girls throwing knickers at Punt and Dennis. Something had to give.

Radio One returned to what it used to do before it employed comedians and scriptwriters, and instead got teams of researchers to stand in the studios guffawing at the daytime DJs every bon mot.

[Part of Radio One More Time]


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Come off it, Radio Tip Top was fantastic. Postman Patois and his dog Zebulon? The Ginger Prince live from the Starlight Rooms? I've still got tapes of these and they're still funny. Punt and Dennis were rotten, though, I'll give you that. - ANDREW

Anonymous said...

I've still got the Andrew Morton interview on MP3 somewhere, it's a classic.

Morris: "Your new book... I'd like to read a passage, if I may"
Morton: "Alright."
Morris: "Ok..."

*silence*

Morton: "Um..."
Morris: "Shhh... Have to start again now..."
Morton: "Oh..."

*silence*

Morris: "Nearly there... "

*silence*

Morris: "And... Done. Good boy."

Christmas Day was an aces show too. I'm still amazed it went ahead (even with the obligatory Mark-Goodier-voiced warning beforehand). One joke involved one of those wierd child's toys which consisted of a tube which went 'Weeeeeeeeooooooo' when you tilted it. Morris shook it quickly and explained that the sound we could hear was "Stephen Hawking tossing himself off".

My first memory of Radio 1 comedy was the Mary Whitehouse Experience, which I'd tape and play back religiously. To this day I still find myself humming the Tracey Brothers' song 'Get Your Nob Out' (an ode to the benefits of exposing yourself during comedy routines, which included such couplets as "Because you'll never be a failure / If you reveal your genitalia" and "Don't worry if your shy / I know it might seem reckless / But it always gets a laugh / and it sodding shuts up hecklers")

Radio 1 tried its hand at comedy again a couple of years ago, in the awkward early-morning 'OneClick' slot.

It wasn't much cop :(

Random recollection: Did Radio Tiptop start as a pretend-pirate broadcast on Mark Lamarr's Radio 5 show 'Fabulous'?

Simon Hayes Budgen said...

Andrew:

At the time, I felt a bit odd for not liking Radio Tip Top - the music press were delighted with them (was it Select or one of the others that treated the Ginger Prince like he was real royalty?). I think it was so much "the sort of thing I should like" I rejected it on that basis alone. Or maybe it was because it reminded me of the Frank and Walters.

James:

I think there was a club version of Tip Top that pre-existed before they started appearing on the actual radio, but as I spent every moment they were around grinding my teeth, I don't recall with any great certainty beyond that...

Nice to see mention of Fabulous, though. Perhaps there's room one day for a series on those regional 10pm programmes from the old Radio Five...

Mikey said...

Every now & then an old 'Blue Jam' pops up on shuffle on my iPod.

No matter where I am or what I'm doing I instantly feel like it's 4am & I've done myself a mischief

Anonymous said...

'Comedy' Dave, Alad and... Rachel? More mornings than not you can hear their forced guffaws as Moyles the ego rips into them in a 'hilarious' manner, the saviour of Radio 1 ever so slightly failing to keep his bullying, despotic tone in check, whilst 'the team' clap, nod and compliment the emperor on his fine set of new clothes (a fine line between today's ironic delivery and the po-faced hairy cornflake of yesteryear).

The Ginger Prince did (and as far as I know still does) live in a wonderful, and wonderfully cheap, ex-council flat near London Bridge Station. Prefers body shop watermelon soap in the bathroom... and, err... he's got a wonderful cousin called Helen. - E(lvis)

Anonymous said...

ah, who could forget that time when you randomly switched on the radio and Blue Jam was on and at first you didn't have a clue.

eyetie said...

What about the Milk Run? It was Blue Jam as run by Eddy Temple-Morris. One hour of mayhem and mashups.

Anonymous said...

> after all, it's not like comedians ever wake up, like rock stars, to discover bloated corpses floating in their swimming pools, is it?

Michael Barrymore? Ah, you said comedian, my mistake....

CarsmileSteve said...

was good to see hugh dennis STILL using old MWE jokes on mock the week last week.

i must admit to having ENTIRELY forgotten about radio tiptop, blimey...

Inspector Sands said...

The original Radio Tip Top was a pirate station in London. I've still got the members' pack somewhere.

Anonymous said...

The problem with The Milk Run was that it wasn't funny. The fact that it also had 'mashups' (the natural domain of the tone deaf) in it just compounded the misery.

Anonymous said...

Radio Tip Top is a forgotton masterpiece. Anyone got any tapes or MP3's id love to hear them again

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