You’re On The Air
With all this weekend songery, I need a jingle or something.
THIS IS THIS……. (CHOEW!! PI-CHEOW!!!!)
Type it in - (Jhhhevvvvvvv)
… and rip out your keyboard. (BYOWVVVVV!!!!)
…From the USB thing. If you have one.
Unless you’re wireless. Then, I don’t know – rip THAT out.
This is why my radio career was shortlived.
The first song I played on radio, working the graveyard shift for Warrington Festival FM, was Me In Honey by REM. It’s a song that feels like the start of something.
That’s a part, that’s a part of meeeee.
The programme manager, a guy with the dubious mantle of being my first editor, was called Phil. He was in the next room listening to the song which kicked in within fifteen seconds of him shouting: “I don’t hear anything…”
Me, Ken and Matt – all Joneses and yet unrelated – we were young and we were on the air, eager to stick it to The Man. We had power without responsibility and it was payback time.
The point that we had taken way more from life that we had put in made little difference as we dropped the needle on Radio Asskiss by The Wonder Stuff as the last song on our first show.
So bold! So full of life and energy and rebellion! We were on the air.
Phil wasn’t going to be outdone by our upstartly insolence, and took the handover to his breakfast slot by defiantly backannouncing the record as “Radio Arse”.
He looked at us like we were all sticking to The Man.
We looked at him like he was The Man. Except so not the man.
15 comments
Ah, the Wonder Stuff. I saw them at the Brixton Academy a terrifyingly long time ago. I preferred them to Teenage Fanclub, myself, but I think I might have been in a minority.
I loved the Wonder Stuff too. I particularly liked Sleep Alone and the rude rhymes people used to make up about the singer’s name.
This blog is turning into a catalogue of bands I wish I’d seen, but haven’t. Although I have seen REM, thank god.
‘Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat…
Sorry, Ed, this is probably not the most US-friendly conversation. I am not sure that the ‘Stuff or the ‘Club ever made it big Stateside.
Oh it’s ok, I’m not upset at all. I was just trying to get that silly song out of my head.
Don’t get Leemer started – he like the Stuffies. And he’s from Texas.
The Wonderstuff were THE band of my teenage years.
“Ooh she said, you she said, me? I said, yes she said………” Brilliant!
Still have a copy of Eleven Appalling Promos somewhere.
i’m a big fan of the Stuffies too and my poor little brothers inherited it from me.
Katy, I saw them at Brixton too (at least once). Wonderful stuff.
Aaargh, middle-aged people reminiscing…
I’m 31! I am not middle aged! I was promised a minimum of three score years and ten and I’m having them!
Katy, I hope you get lots more than that!
Hey! Where’s Cliff gone?
Just what I was gonna ask! Maybe Mrs CLiff kicked him out for spending too much time online?
Yeah – no. Back now. What did I miss? What page are we on? Can I borrow someone’s notes?
You’ve got two notepads and three pencils, you should be making notes for the rest of us…
Leave a comment. Play nice. I will turn this blog around.