Nostalgia - it's not what it used to be. Boom-tish.
The old gags are the best, and there'll be plenty more like that dusted off and lovingly reused as this year's crop of Christmas pantomimes are aired in the next few days across the local radio network.
I had a jolt the other day when my old mate Martyn Healy posted on t'interweb a recording of the Pennine Radio pantomime from 1984.
It's a time capsule.
16 December 2012
10 December 2012
Hello World ...
Out of the blue today (and with a little over 3 hours' warning) I crossed the Rubicon.
After 30 years or so of being an impartial reporter I was invited to participate on the BBC World Service show World Have Your Say as a pundit, giving a personal opinion on the issue of prank calls, of which I'd written yesterday in the post below on this blog, and to discuss the issue of whether the humiliation of an unsuspecting member of the public can ever be justified in the name of entertainment.
That meant saying what I thought rather than playing ref in the black shirt, treading a careful path to avoid personal comment and carefully summing up arguments on all sides.
It was actually rather liberating.
The programme, which also includes contributions from veteren Mancunian prankster and owner of Oldham's 96.2 The Revolution Steve Penk, can be heard here
After 30 years or so of being an impartial reporter I was invited to participate on the BBC World Service show World Have Your Say as a pundit, giving a personal opinion on the issue of prank calls, of which I'd written yesterday in the post below on this blog, and to discuss the issue of whether the humiliation of an unsuspecting member of the public can ever be justified in the name of entertainment.
That meant saying what I thought rather than playing ref in the black shirt, treading a careful path to avoid personal comment and carefully summing up arguments on all sides.
It was actually rather liberating.
The programme, which also includes contributions from veteren Mancunian prankster and owner of Oldham's 96.2 The Revolution Steve Penk, can be heard here
09 December 2012
Not Big, Not Clever, Not Funny
At it's best, radio is a magical medium which can take the listener into a different world.
Great presenters, well produced and prepared, carry listeners on a journey which will surprise and delight with music, humour, intimacy, insight, and familiar features to punctuate the routine of the day; 'if it's three-in-a-row it's time to get the kids from school'.
The more creative take those listeners to an imaginary world in the theatre of the mind, populating the studio with cartoon characters (Comedy Dave, Old Woman, Bionic Richard) or hold the audience spellbound in their cars as a competition such as Real Radio's 'Risk it for a Biscuit' reaches its climax; stay tuned five more minutes, you'll find out if Pauline has won the car or the custard cream.
Only on radio can Santa land on the station's roof with his sleigh and reindeer, narrowly missing the forest of aerials, enter the studio shaking snow from his boots, share a mince pie with the jock whilst taking last-minute requests from kids on the phone; then slip away, invisible, through a crowded reception. (Memo to all Dec 24 producers - remember the webcam)
The problem comes when presenters start believing the world of their ego is bigger, or more real, than the world outside. They can do anything. They are superman or woman with a great idea for a prank.
It'll be a scream.
Great presenters, well produced and prepared, carry listeners on a journey which will surprise and delight with music, humour, intimacy, insight, and familiar features to punctuate the routine of the day; 'if it's three-in-a-row it's time to get the kids from school'.
The more creative take those listeners to an imaginary world in the theatre of the mind, populating the studio with cartoon characters (Comedy Dave, Old Woman, Bionic Richard) or hold the audience spellbound in their cars as a competition such as Real Radio's 'Risk it for a Biscuit' reaches its climax; stay tuned five more minutes, you'll find out if Pauline has won the car or the custard cream.
Only on radio can Santa land on the station's roof with his sleigh and reindeer, narrowly missing the forest of aerials, enter the studio shaking snow from his boots, share a mince pie with the jock whilst taking last-minute requests from kids on the phone; then slip away, invisible, through a crowded reception. (Memo to all Dec 24 producers - remember the webcam)
The problem comes when presenters start believing the world of their ego is bigger, or more real, than the world outside. They can do anything. They are superman or woman with a great idea for a prank.
It'll be a scream.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)