Adam and Joe (radio show)
Encyclopedia
Adam and Joe is a Sony Award winning radio show on BBC 6 Music
presented by Adam and Joe
; comedians Adam Buxton
and Joe Cornish
. The show began in October 2007 and runs for three hours in a Saturday morning slot, originally from 9:00am to 12:00pm before moving to 10:00am to 1:00pm. After a hiatus from 26 December 2009, the current series returned on 2 April 2011 on BBC 6 Music
.
, Stephen Merchant
and Karl Pilkington
, Adam and Joe first appeared on the London-only radio station XFM
in 2003, leading to a series of popular podcasts. They remained at the station for three years, with their final show broadcast on Christmas Eve 2006.
In August 2007, they presented the BBC 6 Music
weekday morning slot for two weeks, filling in for Shaun Keaveny
. This led to their own Saturday breakfast show, starting 27 October 2007, signed for a 1-year contract. In October 2008, their contract was extended for another year.
On the 12 December 2009 podcast, it was announced that, as of Boxing Day, the show would be put on hold while Joe was away directing the film Attack the Block
.
Adam and Joe
returned to BBC 6 Music
for three special shows during the 2010 Glastonbury Festival
, each running for 2 hours over the course of the 3-day festival. In August Adam announced on his blog that they would be back in November but the press release for Song Wars Volume 2 said they would be back in December. The new series started on 2 April 2011.
on a given theme (often using the program GarageBand
). Listeners vote for their favourite. Both Adam and Joe have occasionally made videos for their songs.
An album of the first 12 pairs of songs was released on 23 June 2008 exclusively on iTunes
entitled Adam & Joe, Song Wars volume one. The album was reviewed by The Times
and given 4 out of 5 stars.
"Video Wars" was a competition set by Adam and Joe for listeners to create a music video for two Song Wars songs: either Adam's song 'Jane's Brain' or Joe's song 'Meatballs'. Reviewing these videos in the Telegraph, Gillian Reynolds
described them as "so good they surpassed what is on TV". They were right." - Gillian Reynolds, The Daily Telegraph The winner was Chris Salt for his Lego
animation
of 'Jane's Brain.'
s or ideas on a subject given by Adam and Joe, which they refer to as 'The Nation's Favourite Feature'
A "Retro Text the Nation" segment was introduced as a podcast-only feature, in which listeners who did not listen live could contribute to Text The Nation. It was first introduced in February 2009 but from 12 September 2009, this was incorporated into their live show as it exceeded the limit of "new material" allowed to be produced on a BBC podcast.
The emergence of "Black Squadron" has given rise to a number of variants on the theme;
s are used to introduce the different sections and features of the show. From late 2008, listeners were invited to send in original or cover version
s of existing jingles. Despite Adam producing the vast majority of the jingles Joe's Retro Text the Nation jingle is by far the most popular.
Adam and Garth Jennings also produced a series of pirate radio
-style interludes which they interrupted songs with; as the radio station is DAB
only, this was presented as a charming relic of the analogue listening experience. The clips have also been used to cover up swearing
in songs.
!' in a public place. Other listeners reply with 'just coming!'. Thereby listeners can identify each other. This happens particularly at music gig
s, though other situations have been reported such as a cinema and a museum, and recordings have been sent in to the show.
The origins of "Stephen!" lie in one of the show's 'Text the Nation' stories about juvenilia, submitted by a listener called Steve Curran. Curran related his youthful creation of a self-referential magazine, depicting him in the style of an "Action Force
" soldier. The title of the magazine was "STEPHEN!".
In the course of the Christmas show (broadcast 19 December 2009) a panto
completed the Boggins story by revealing that he had been re-homed with a London street urchin. Joe was of the opinion that living on the street would result in the dog's death.
was produced beginning in January 2008. With the exception of Song Wars, all music is removed. At first it consisted of about half an hour of highlights of the show; since late 2008 it has been about an hour of highlights. A simple cut retaining just the talk lasts about an hour and a half.
There is a special spoken introduction and ending, and extra jingles are added between cuts. Beginning in February 2009 there was a podcast-only section called 'Retro Text The Nation' where podcast listeners' contributions to the previous week's Text The Nation were read out. Since late September 2009, this feature has transferred over to the live show, while being retained as part of the podcast.
The podcast has featured in the top ten of the iTunes
Comedy Podcast Chart.
While Adam and Joe were on their summer break in 2009, seven Song Wars Classics (or KQLLASSIXCQS) podcasts were released weekly in which the boys talked about their songs in a 'ludicrous way,' and including their normal, rambling chit-chat. The themes were as follows:
Family Friendly Erotica,
Revisied T.V. Theme Tunes,
Kate Nash Parody Songs,
Quantum of Solace,
Internet Piracy,
Grazia Magazine, and
Free Choice - Adam's Flu Song and Joe's 'Umm, err symphony.'
The songs were available as MP3 file downloads from their blog.
and Richard Herring
have hosted Adam and Joe's morning slot. Collins and Herring
continued a few of the Adam Joe's features including 'Song Wars' altered to 'Diary Wars' (in which both presenters would read out excerpts from their own teenage diaries), and 'Text the Nation' as 'Text the Station'. Collins and Herring have appealed to listeners to create radio-jingle
s, this much in the same spirit as Adam and Joe's feature.
The Adam and Joe show has interviewed only two celebrity guests ever, Sir Roger Moore
and Seasick Steve
, although Frank Skinner
and Lauren Laverne
dropped by for a brief chat during one of the Christmas shows.
Award for Radio Programme of the Year in 2008, and three silver Sony Awards in 2009; two for the programme in the "Entertainment" and "Comedy" categories, and one for the "Video Wars" slot in the "Competition" category. In 2010, the Adam and Joe show was awarded the Sony Gold Award for Best Comedy, the judges describing the show as "extremely funny, engaging and inclusive".
A two-hour best-of compilation was aired on BBC Radio 2
on New Year's Day
, 2009.
'Without fanfare, their BBC show has quietly become essential listening, woven into the comforting fabric of Saturday mornings.' - Luke Lewis, NME
'Listening to the show is like sitting in on a pub conversation between two extremely witty, frivolous, pop-culture-literate mates. ' - James Delingpole, The Times
'On 6 Music, Adam and Joe lay bare the mechanisms of radio to great comic effect.' - Lesley Douglas
, The Guardian
'They don't get the recognition that they deserve' - Gareth McLean on TV blog, The Guardian
'Adam and Joe deserve a big audience but I hope they don't get one. They are too funny, inventive, disrespectful, joyous. They are also intelligent [...]
But if Radio 1
, or the new Capital
, or Radio 2, or even Radio 4
in one of its desperately "young" moods were to sign them up, they would change, become frantic, be obliged to fit in. At the moment they chat without putting each other down.
They laugh as if they mean it. They are not mean. This attracts amiable listeners [...] How cheering to have some signals from a radio world beyond celebs, Olympics and the new football season.' - Gillian Reynolds, The Daily Telegraph
"This is going to sound a bit cheesy, but I swear that it's true - working at 6 Music is the most fun I've ever had working with Joe. After the death of our TV series, it's almost like we've become friends again.
Being on the radio is nice - it's like hanging out again, fooling about and talking rubbish. I really enjoy it and look forward to it every week." - Adam Buxton
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
presented by Adam and Joe
Adam and Joe
Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish are British comedy performers known together as Adam and Joe. They are best known for presenting Adam and Joe on BBC 6 Music, and The Adam and Joe Show on Channel 4 from 1996 to 2001.-History:...
; comedians Adam Buxton
Adam Buxton
Adam Offord Buxton is an English comedian and actor. With Joe Cornish, he forms one half of the duo Adam and Joe. The pair presented Adam and Joe on BBC 6 Music, whilst Buxton also presents his own show on 6 Music on Sundays, called Adam Buxton's Big Mix Tape, currently on hiatus.-Major work:His...
and Joe Cornish
Joe Cornish (comedian)
Joseph Murray "Joe" Cornish is an English comedian, television and radio presenter, director, writer and actor, who along with his long-time comedy partner, Adam Buxton, form the comedy duo Adam and Joe....
. The show began in October 2007 and runs for three hours in a Saturday morning slot, originally from 9:00am to 12:00pm before moving to 10:00am to 1:00pm. After a hiatus from 26 December 2009, the current series returned on 2 April 2011 on BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
.
History
Filling in for Ricky GervaisRicky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
, Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
and Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington is a British podcaster, author, television personality and former radio producer. He is best known for the Sky travel series, An Idiot Abroad, which was also presented in the United States on the Science Channel, in Canada on Discovery Channel and in Australia on One HD, and The...
, Adam and Joe first appeared on the London-only radio station XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
in 2003, leading to a series of popular podcasts. They remained at the station for three years, with their final show broadcast on Christmas Eve 2006.
In August 2007, they presented the BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
weekday morning slot for two weeks, filling in for Shaun Keaveny
Shaun Keaveny
Shaun William Keaveny is a British broadcaster, who presents the breakfast show on digital radio station BBC 6 Music.- Career :He played guitar for John Ariss in the student band Mosque between 1987 and 1993....
. This led to their own Saturday breakfast show, starting 27 October 2007, signed for a 1-year contract. In October 2008, their contract was extended for another year.
On the 12 December 2009 podcast, it was announced that, as of Boxing Day, the show would be put on hold while Joe was away directing the film Attack the Block
Attack the Block
Attack the Block is a 2011 British science fiction action film written and directed by Joe Cornish. The film stars Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones, Simon Howard. Set on a council estate in South London on Bonfire night, the film follows a street gang which have...
.
Adam and Joe
Adam and Joe
Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish are British comedy performers known together as Adam and Joe. They are best known for presenting Adam and Joe on BBC 6 Music, and The Adam and Joe Show on Channel 4 from 1996 to 2001.-History:...
returned to BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
for three special shows during the 2010 Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, each running for 2 hours over the course of the 3-day festival. In August Adam announced on his blog that they would be back in November but the press release for Song Wars Volume 2 said they would be back in December. The new series started on 2 April 2011.
Song Wars
Adam and Joe compose a songSong
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
on a given theme (often using the program GarageBand
GarageBand
GarageBand is a software application for Mac OS X and iOS that allows users to create music or podcasts. It is developed by Apple Inc. as a part of the iLife software package on Mac OS X.-Audio recording:...
). Listeners vote for their favourite. Both Adam and Joe have occasionally made videos for their songs.
An album of the first 12 pairs of songs was released on 23 June 2008 exclusively on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
entitled Adam & Joe, Song Wars volume one. The album was reviewed by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and given 4 out of 5 stars.
| Theme | Adam's Song | Joe's/Garth's Song | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | "Four Foot Club" | "T.A.L.L." (WIN - 60% of votes) | 0–1 |
| Public Transport | "Tiny Mobile Speakers" | "The Public Transport Song" (WIN - 68% of votes) | 0–2 |
| IKEA IKEA IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer... Meatball Meatball A meatball is made from an amount of ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, minced onion, spices, and possibly eggs... Cooking Instructions |
"Meatballs" | "Meatballs" (WIN - 68% of votes) | 0–3 |
| Specific listeners | "James Rohan Neanderthal Man" (WIN - 75% of votes) | "Jack Meller's Song" | 1–3 |
| Climate Change Climate change Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average... (with whistling Whistling Human whistling is the production of sound by means of carefully controlling a stream of air flowing through a small hole. Whistling can be achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips and then blowing or sucking air through the hole... ) |
"Sincere Whistling Eco Song" | "Global Warming Song" (WIN - 58% of votes) | 1–4 |
| I'm A Celebrity... I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here is a reality television game show series in which 8 to 15 celebrities live together in a jungle environment for a few weeks. They have no luxuries, and compete to win a cash prize... |
"I'm a Celebrity Song" | "IACGMOOH" (WIN - 74% of votes) | 1–5 |
| New closing credit music for a film | "The Hours The Hours (film) The Hours is a 2002 drama film directed by Stephen Daldry, and starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Ed Harris. The screenplay by David Hare is based on the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by Michael Cunningham.... " (WIN - 86% of votes) |
"The Shining The Shining (film) The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an... " |
2–5 |
| Christmas Christmas Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days... |
"Christmas Country Party Time" | "All Night Garage" (WIN) | 2–6 |
| Ringtones | "You Got A Call" (WIN - 79% of votes) | Controversially entered three: "Phone Call", "You Funky Mother" and "Excuse Me" | 3–6 |
| Cryptozoology Cryptozoology Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven... |
"Loch Ness Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next.... Song" |
"Bigfoot Bigfoot Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid... " (WIN) |
3–7 |
| Educational Song for Children | "Toothpaste Brush" | "The Right and Wrong Song" (WIN - 97% of votes) | 3–8 |
| Internet piracy | "Mind of a Pirate" (WIN - 93% of votes) | "Cautionary Song about Illegal Downloading" | 4–8 |
| Songs in a foreign language | "Penelope Cruz Penélope Cruz Penélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón , to critical acclaim... " (WIN - no vote % given) |
"The Actresses of France" | 5–8 |
| Songs featuring family members | "BaaadDad Rap" ft. Nigel Buxton Nigel Buxton Nigel Edward Buxton is a British travel writer and wine critic, also known for appearing as BaaadDad in the Channel 4 comedy series The Adam and Joe Show, which was written and presented by his son Adam Buxton along with Adam's friend Joe Cornish.The comedy behind the character of BaaadDad is the... (WIN - 90% of votes) |
"I'm Still Standing I'm Still Standing "I'm Still Standing" is a song on English pop rock performer Elton John's 1983 album, Too Low for Zero. He sings about making a comeback despite problems in daily life. The video, directed by Russell Mulcahy, was shot in Cannes and Nice on the Côte d'Azur in France and features the colours of the... " ft. Grandma Joan [By Garth Jennings] |
1–0 |
| Kate Nash Kate Nash Kate Marie Nash is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. She had a UK no. 2 hit "Foundations" in 2007, followed by the platinum selling UK number 1 album Made of Bricks. She was named Best Female Artist at the 2008 BRIT Awards.... Parody |
"Bums and Binge Drinking" (WIN - 62% of votes) | "Itchy Bum" | 6–8 |
| Music festivals | "Festival Time" (WIN - 75% of votes) | "Glastonbury Song" | 7–8 |
| Family friendly erotica | "Dirty Robots" | "Dr. Sexy" (WIN - 64% of votes) | 7–9 |
| New birthday songs | "Happy Birthday Time" (WIN - 83% of votes) | "Birthday Reply Song" | 8–9 |
| Illness | "Flu" | "Hayfever" (WIN - 75% of votes) [By Garth Jennings] | 1–1 |
| The Quantum of Solace | "The Quantum of Solace" (WIN - 64% of votes) | "The Sontum Of Quolace" | 9–9 |
| Grazia Grazia Grazia is an Italian weekly women's fashion and celebrity gossip magazine, with international editions printed in France, Serbia, Australia, United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal, Japan, the Netherlands, India, Bulgaria and Germany.... Magazine |
"Too Beautiful For A Cranky Old Bag Like Me" (WIN - 91% of votes) | "This Week in Grazia" | 10–9 |
| Credit Crunch Credit crunch A credit crunch is a reduction in the general availability of loans or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from the banks. A credit crunch generally involves a reduction in the availability of credit independent of a rise in official interest rates... |
"The Crunch" | "My Credit Crunchy Song" (WIN - 68% of votes) [By Garth Jennings] | 1–2 |
| Radiohead Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992... 'Reckoner Reckoner "Reckoner" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, and is the seventh track on their 2007 album In Rainbows. The song was released as the third and final single from In Rainbows on 23 September 2008. It was released through the Radiohead Remix website in the form of "stems",... ' Remix |
"It's Very Hard To Clear Radiohead" (WIN - 65% of votes) | "Thom Thom Yorke Thomas "Thom" Edward Yorke is an English musician who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter for Radiohead. He mainly plays guitar and piano, but he has also played drums and bass guitar... in the Shower" [By Garth Jennings] |
2–2 |
| Scary Songs | "Nutty Room" (WIN - 86% of votes) | "Hallo Mr. Ghost" | 11–9 |
| Revised T.V. Theme Tunes | "Here's The News" | "Antiques Roadshow Antiques Roadshow Antiques Roadshow is a British television show in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979... "(WIN - 93% of votes) |
11–10 |
| National Treasures | "Stephen Fry Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also... " |
"La La Lumley Joanna Lumley Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive... " (WIN - 51% of votes) |
11–11 |
| Baz Luhrmann Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!... 's Australia Australia (2008 film) Australia is a 2008 epic historical romance film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, behind Crocodile Dundee. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood... |
"Australia Song" (WIN - 68% of votes) | "Australia" | 12–11 |
| Ultimate '80s song | "'80s Song" (WIN - 57% of votes) | "Incredible Song" | 13–11 |
| The Apprentice | "The Apprentice" (WIN - 66% of votes) | "Song for Margaret Mountford Margaret Mountford Margaret Mountford is a British lawyer, businesswoman and television personality known for her role in The Apprentice.-Biography:Mountford is originally from Holywood in Northern Ireland... " |
14–11 |
| Bathtime Songs | "Special Bath" (WIN - 67% of votes) | "Bathtime for Bowie David Bowie David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s... " |
15–11 |
| Royal Wedding Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Prince William, the eldest son of Charles, Prince of Wales, first met Catherine Middleton in 2001, when both were studying at the University of St Andrews. Their... |
"The Royal Wedding Song" (WIN - 59% of votes) | "Right Royal Rave-up" | 16–11 |
| Toys and Games | "Party Pom Pom" (WIN - 64% of votes) | "Twister Twister (game) Twister is a game of physical skill produced by Hasbro Games. It is played on a large plastic mat that is spread on the floor or ground. The mat has four rows of large colored circles on it with a different color in each row: red, yellow, blue, and green. A spinner is attached to a square board... " [By Garth Jennings] |
3–2 |
"Video Wars" was a competition set by Adam and Joe for listeners to create a music video for two Song Wars songs: either Adam's song 'Jane's Brain' or Joe's song 'Meatballs'. Reviewing these videos in the Telegraph, Gillian Reynolds
Gillian Reynolds
Gillian Reynolds MBE, née Morton is a British radio critic, journalist and broadcaster. The daughter of market traders in Liverpool, she was educated at St Anne's College, Oxford University....
described them as "so good they surpassed what is on TV". They were right." - Gillian Reynolds, The Daily Telegraph The winner was Chris Salt for his Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
of 'Jane's Brain.'
Text the Nation
Listeners text or email anecdoteAnecdote
An anecdote is a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. It may be as brief as the setting and provocation of a bon mot. An anecdote is always presented as based on a real incident involving actual persons, whether famous or not, usually in an identifiable place...
s or ideas on a subject given by Adam and Joe, which they refer to as 'The Nation's Favourite Feature'
A "Retro Text the Nation" segment was introduced as a podcast-only feature, in which listeners who did not listen live could contribute to Text The Nation. It was first introduced in February 2009 but from 12 September 2009, this was incorporated into their live show as it exceeded the limit of "new material" allowed to be produced on a BBC podcast.
Black Squadron
People who listen to the show live from 9 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. are known as "Black Squadron" - a title bestowed upon them in recognition of their ability to rise early on a Saturday morning - and are often given a task to do. From late 2009, Black Squadron's commands were issued between 10 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. instead.The emergence of "Black Squadron" has given rise to a number of variants on the theme;
- People who listen live and abroad are known as "GlobeGlobeA globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...
Squadron", however they can still consider themselves equivalent to a Black Squadron member in terms of operational duties. - People who listen later in the week on iPlayerBBC iPlayerBBC iPlayer, commonly shortened to iPlayer, is an internet television and radio service, developed by the BBC to extend its former RealPlayer-based and other streamed video clip content to include whole TV shows....
are known as "PhantomGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
Squadron" or "Slack Squadron". - People who listen to the podcastPodcastA podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
are known as "Pod Cats" - the original term "Slack Squadron" was considered derogatory. - Listeners invited to the show recorded at the Camden Crawl were known as "Elite Squadron".
- Listeners called Caley are known as "Caley Squadron".
- Listeners who use Twitter are known as "Twit Squadron".
- People who read the blog are known as "Blog Squadron".
Jingles
The show's idents and jingles are mostly created by Adam. JingleJingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
s are used to introduce the different sections and features of the show. From late 2008, listeners were invited to send in original or cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of existing jingles. Despite Adam producing the vast majority of the jingles Joe's Retro Text the Nation jingle is by far the most popular.
Adam and Garth Jennings also produced a series of pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
-style interludes which they interrupted songs with; as the radio station is DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
only, this was presented as a charming relic of the analogue listening experience. The clips have also been used to cover up swearing
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
in songs.
Stephenage
A social phenomenon, known as Stephenage, whereby listeners shout out 'StephenStephen
Stephen or Steven is a masculine first name, derived from the Greek name Στέφανος meaning "crown, garland", in turn from the Greek word "στέφανος", meaning "wreath, crown, honour, reward", literally "that which surrounds or encompasses". In ancient Greece a wreath was given to the winner of a...
!' in a public place. Other listeners reply with 'just coming!'. Thereby listeners can identify each other. This happens particularly at music gig
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
s, though other situations have been reported such as a cinema and a museum, and recordings have been sent in to the show.
The origins of "Stephen!" lie in one of the show's 'Text the Nation' stories about juvenilia, submitted by a listener called Steve Curran. Curran related his youthful creation of a self-referential magazine, depicting him in the style of an "Action Force
Action Force
Action Force was a 1980s range of European action figures initially based on Action Man, and later used to introduce G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toys to European markets...
" soldier. The title of the magazine was "STEPHEN!".
Boggins
Voiced by Adam, Boggins is a friendly but filthy and smelly dog who arrived in the studio after Adam 'left', and went on to tell Joe how much he loves him but also what he has been rolling in, and that he ate it as well. There was an on-going debate as to whether Boggins should be put down or not.In the course of the Christmas show (broadcast 19 December 2009) a panto
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
completed the Boggins story by revealing that he had been re-homed with a London street urchin. Joe was of the opinion that living on the street would result in the dog's death.
Podcast
A podcastPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
was produced beginning in January 2008. With the exception of Song Wars, all music is removed. At first it consisted of about half an hour of highlights of the show; since late 2008 it has been about an hour of highlights. A simple cut retaining just the talk lasts about an hour and a half.
There is a special spoken introduction and ending, and extra jingles are added between cuts. Beginning in February 2009 there was a podcast-only section called 'Retro Text The Nation' where podcast listeners' contributions to the previous week's Text The Nation were read out. Since late September 2009, this feature has transferred over to the live show, while being retained as part of the podcast.
The podcast has featured in the top ten of the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
Comedy Podcast Chart.
While Adam and Joe were on their summer break in 2009, seven Song Wars Classics (or KQLLASSIXCQS) podcasts were released weekly in which the boys talked about their songs in a 'ludicrous way,' and including their normal, rambling chit-chat. The themes were as follows:
Family Friendly Erotica,
Revisied T.V. Theme Tunes,
Kate Nash Parody Songs,
Quantum of Solace,
Internet Piracy,
Grazia Magazine, and
Free Choice - Adam's Flu Song and Joe's 'Umm, err symphony.'
The songs were available as MP3 file downloads from their blog.
Guest presenters
Garth Jennings has stood in for Joe on a few occasions, and taken part in Song Wars in his place. For most of 2010, Andrew CollinsAndrew Collins (broadcaster)
Andrew Collins is the creator and writer of Radio 4 sitcom Mr Blue Sky. His TV writing work includes EastEnders and the sitcoms Grass and Not Going Out .-Personal life:Collins was a member of the Labour Party between the late 1980s and early 1990s, leaving after Labour's...
and Richard Herring
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring is a British comedian and writer, whose early work includes his involvement in the double-act, Lee and Herring...
have hosted Adam and Joe's morning slot. Collins and Herring
Collings and Herrin (podcast)
The Collings and Herrin Podcast was a topical podcast produced by broadcaster Andrew Collins and comedian Richard Herring. Its title derives from the recurring Richard Herring trope of misspelling names for comic effect....
continued a few of the Adam Joe's features including 'Song Wars' altered to 'Diary Wars' (in which both presenters would read out excerpts from their own teenage diaries), and 'Text the Nation' as 'Text the Station'. Collins and Herring have appealed to listeners to create radio-jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
s, this much in the same spirit as Adam and Joe's feature.
The Adam and Joe show has interviewed only two celebrity guests ever, Sir Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
and Seasick Steve
Seasick Steve
Steven Gene Wold, commonly known as Seasick Steve, is an American blues musician. He plays guitars, and sings, usually about his early life doing casual work.-Childhood and early life:...
, although Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner is a British writer, comedian and actor. He is best known for his television presenting, often alongside David Baddiel, with whom he also collaborated for the football song "Three Lions."He is a radio presenter on the Saturday morning slot on Absolute Radio.-Youth and early career...
and Lauren Laverne
Lauren Laverne
Lauren Cecilia Fisher , known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, television presenter, author and singer...
dropped by for a brief chat during one of the Christmas shows.
Awards
The show won a Broadcasting Press GuildBroadcasting Press Guild
The Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
Award for Radio Programme of the Year in 2008, and three silver Sony Awards in 2009; two for the programme in the "Entertainment" and "Comedy" categories, and one for the "Video Wars" slot in the "Competition" category. In 2010, the Adam and Joe show was awarded the Sony Gold Award for Best Comedy, the judges describing the show as "extremely funny, engaging and inclusive".
Reception and popularity
The show receives about 160,000 listeners a week, and 95,000 podcast downloads a week.A two-hour best-of compilation was aired on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
, 2009.
'Without fanfare, their BBC show has quietly become essential listening, woven into the comforting fabric of Saturday mornings.' - Luke Lewis, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
'Listening to the show is like sitting in on a pub conversation between two extremely witty, frivolous, pop-culture-literate mates. ' - James Delingpole, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
'On 6 Music, Adam and Joe lay bare the mechanisms of radio to great comic effect.' - Lesley Douglas
Lesley Douglas
Lesley Douglas is a former British radio executive. She was the Controller of BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music from early 2004 until her resignation in October 2008 over the Russell Brand Show prank telephone calls row.-Early life:...
, The Guardian
'They don't get the recognition that they deserve' - Gareth McLean on TV blog, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
'Adam and Joe deserve a big audience but I hope they don't get one. They are too funny, inventive, disrespectful, joyous. They are also intelligent [...]
But if Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, or the new Capital
Capital Radio
Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
, or Radio 2, or even Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
in one of its desperately "young" moods were to sign them up, they would change, become frantic, be obliged to fit in. At the moment they chat without putting each other down.
They laugh as if they mean it. They are not mean. This attracts amiable listeners [...] How cheering to have some signals from a radio world beyond celebs, Olympics and the new football season.' - Gillian Reynolds, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
Quotations
"Creatively, there are lots to be said for it really. You feel much closer to your audience on live radio and you can be a lot more relaxed and the funny things can be lots more spontaneous and therefore funnier. [...] The radio’s, if not lucrative, a very rewarding hobby and it’s the only thing that we do together now, so it keeps our friendship and banter alive." - Joe Cornish"This is going to sound a bit cheesy, but I swear that it's true - working at 6 Music is the most fun I've ever had working with Joe. After the death of our TV series, it's almost like we've become friends again.
Being on the radio is nice - it's like hanging out again, fooling about and talking rubbish. I really enjoy it and look forward to it every week." - Adam Buxton
External links
- Official website
- Podcast
- Adam and Joe Blog
- Adam and Joe BBC 6 Music on Facebook
- Fansite
- Rubapedia The online encyclopediaEncyclopediaAn encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
of Adam and JoeAdam and JoeAdam Buxton and Joe Cornish are British comedy performers known together as Adam and Joe. They are best known for presenting Adam and Joe on BBC 6 Music, and The Adam and Joe Show on Channel 4 from 1996 to 2001.-History:...