Danny Baker
Encyclopedia
Danny Baker is an English
comedy writer, journalist
, radio DJ and screenwriter
. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME
, LWT, the BBC
, and Talk Radio
.
in south east London to a dock-working
, union-leading father and factory-working mother and grew up in Bermondsey
. He left school in 1972 at the age of 14 and initially worked in One Stop Records, a small but fashionable record shop in South Molton Street in London's West End
.
, Baker founded the proto-punk
fanzine
Sniffin' Glue
, and this led to an offer from the New Musical Express, home to the likes of Julie Burchill
, Tony Parsons
, Charles Shaar Murray
and Nick Kent
. Baker initially began working as the office receptionist, but was soon contributing regular articles and reviews before progressing to interviews. He often refers to these times during his radio shows
, regularly citing examples of the ridiculous behaviour exhibited by his rock star interviewees.
In the later 1990s, Baker wrote a weekly sports column for The Times
and was briefly a columnist for early issues of movie magazine Empire
.
for the popular culture series 20th Century Box. The show consisted of a series of 30 minute documentaries on elements of youth culture. An edition documenting the burgeoning New Wave of British Heavy Metal
(NWOBHM) scene included an early TV appearance of Iron Maiden
performing at The Marquee Club and interviews with "air guitar
ists".
Baker's first mainstream break was as roving
reporter-presenter
on the Michael Aspel
's LWT regional magazine The Six O'Clock Show
alongside former Mastermind
winner and former London black cab
driver Fred Housego
. Paul Ross
(brother of Jonathan Ross whom Baker had as his best man) was his researcher. During his stint on The Six O'Clock Show
, Baker was filmed having an altercation with a railway platform guard in which Baker can be heard remonstrating "Don't you know who I am?". This clip is often resurrected for clip show
s.
Baker began writing for television programmes in 1992 after being asked to prepare a piece for one of the first clip shows: TV Hell
, which was a collection the worst TV programmes ever. Since then he has presented television shows such as Win, Lose, or Draw, Pets Win Prizes
and TV Heroes, which was a series of 10-minute homages to some of Baker's entertainment idols including Fanny Cradock
, Peter Glaze
(from Crackerjack) and the Top of the Pops
audience. In one episode of TV Heroes, a clip was shown of Baker leaping around to a performance of "Ooh What A Life" by the Gibson Brothers
in 1979, which was captioned as "Danny Baker's first TV appearance". Baker later described himself as "looking like he was trying to put out a small fire".
Baker also began a BBC Saturday night chat show
, called Danny Baker After All which borrowed its style from Late Night with David Letterman
, but his style and guests (Rick Wakeman
of prog rock band Yes
was a regular) did not attract the mainstream audience the slot demanded. Film critic Mark Kermode
's band The Railtown Bottlers was the show's house band.
Later he fronted television adverts for Daz washing powder
and Mars bar
confectionary. Adult satire comic Viz featured a critical cartoon, "Cockney Wanker", with Baker and actor Mike Reid
as likely sources for the character. Baker parodied his Daz ads by appearing as himself on the sitcom
Me, You and Him
.
During this period, Baker began presenting on BBC Radio 5's 6-0-6
football related phone-in programme as well as the job of presenting Match of the Eighties, a six-part BBC series of football during the 1980/81
and 1985/86
seasons.
Baker was a writer on Chris Evans' TFI Friday
show, as well as contributing material for presenters such as Angus Deayton
and Jonathan Ross
.
, Shooting Stars
and Room 101
. During this period he appeared in the press as a result of nights out with friends Chris Evans and England footballer Paul Gascoigne
. Gascoigne was under media scrutiny for drinking and socialising while preparing for tournaments. After Gascoigne was left out of the 1998 World Cup
squad, Baker went on Have I Got News For You to defend his friend and criticise the omission.
He also appeared on The Terry and Gaby Show
from 2003 to 2004 (where he burnt his hand trying to perform a trick with a microwave and a piece of soap) and has appeared on BBC Two
quiz show QI
, becoming the show's first ever winner.
Baker worked again with Charles Shaar Murray on the Ramones documentary End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones, providing an audio commentary.
In 2005, Baker appeared in the video to "Is This the Way to Amarillo
?", a number 1 single for Peter Kay
and Tony Christie
, which also featured other British personalities such as Keith Harris, Geoffrey Hayes, Shakin' Stevens
and Jimmy Savile
.
Baker's most recent TV project was The Sitcom Showdown
which began on UKTV Gold in late April 2006. Baker appeared on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice
in 2007 for Comic Relief. He also starred in The Rocky Horror Show
, as the narrator, at the Churchill Theatre
in Bromley
and the New Wimbledon Theatre
.
In 1990, Baker joined the newly launched BBC Radio 5
, presenting Sportscall, a phone-in sports quiz broadcast every Saturday lunchtime.
From October 1991 to October 1992 he presented 6-0-6
and, from February 1992 until October 1993, he presented Morning Edition from 6.30-9am every weekday morning. The show blended Baker's love of unusual trivia with 'grown-up' music. This was where Baker first teamed up with Danny Kelly
and Allis Moss. Mark Kermode
added weekly film reviews, and would later appear with his band 'The Railtown Bottlers' every week on the first series of Baker's TV show.
Baker's loud-mouthed, iconoclastic anchoring of 6-0-6 polarised opinion. He was often fearless in his attacks on football authority, particularly the 'blazers' at the Football Association
. His influence on the station remains, such as in BBC 5 Live's present day preparedness to court unpopularity within the game through its robust criticism of players, managers and referees.
Baker joined BBC Radio 1
in October 1993, taking over the weekend mid-morning show from 10am-1pm from Dave Lee Travis
who had resigned on air following the sackings instigated by Matthew Bannister
and Trevor Dann
during the early 1990s. However, due to poor ratings, from November 1994 he was heard on Saturdays only from 10am-12midday. Simon Mayo
took over Sunday mornings.
Baker's style led to a fall in listeners at Radio 1 but despite his tendering his resignation on at least two occasions, management added extensions to his contract. From October 1995, his Saturday show went out from 12.30-2.30pm. He left the station in September 1996. His co-hosts during this period included BBC continuity announcer Allis Moss, Dr.H, Laurie Sore, Andy Darling and Danny Kelly
.
While continuing with his Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 1
, in 1996 Baker joined BBC Radio Five Live
to present a Sunday lunchtime show with Danny Kelly
, Baker & Kelly Upfront.
On leaving BBC Radio 1
, Baker returned to BBC GLR to present a three-hour Sunday show from 10am-1pm. 'Baker and Kelly Upfront' also returned, now at Saturday lunchtime, while Baker also took on a new show, 'The Baker Line', a Wednesday evening version of the 606 phone in
show.
While 'Baker and Kelly Upfront' was light-hearted, 'The Baker Line' was darker and emotionally charged. Baker was at his most outspoken, and in early 1997, he was sacked from Five Live when station bosses alleged that he had incited threatening behaviour during an angry outburst about a referee.
to present a similar football phone-in with Kelly each Saturday from 5.30-7.30pm. A pre-match show was added from 11.30am to 1pm. After moving to the Saturday breakfast slot (8am to 12 noon), he engineered his own dismissal after a matter of weeks by refusing to centre the show on football, preferring to intersperse chat with his own music selections.
After leaving Talk Radio
, he joined Virgin Radio in early 1999, taking over from Jonathan Ross
on Sundays from 10am-1pm.
Not long after, Baker was approached by the BBC
and was asked whether he wanted to present a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2
. Baker turned down the offer by saying the time wasn't right, and the show was given to Jonathan Ross. Baker also deputised on Virgin's Saturday lunchtime football show from 12-2pm for a handful of shows, alongside Danny Kelly
until he left the station in 2000.
presenting a Saturday morning show from 8-11am. Just 6 months later, in March 2002, and with a new co-presenting team which included Amy Lamé
, Mark O'Donnell and David Kuo
, he took over the breakfast show from 6-9am, with a new theme tune in the form of the Anthony Newley
song The Candy Man
.
Although not drawing a large listenership, Baker won "Sony Radio DJ of the year
" for the show. However, the day after winning the award, he announced his intention to leave the show at the end of the month. The last show was on Friday 27 May 2005.
On Monday 17 October 2005, after a sabbatical at home, Baker rejoined BBC London 94.9
where he took over the weekday 3-5pm show from Jono Coleman, who had moved to co-present the breakfast show with former actress JoAnne Good
.
His current (2005- ) BBC London 94.9 shows tend to feature off-the-wall phone-ins and discussions with his on-air team, Amy
and Baylen Leonard
, often regarding music and entertainment nostalgia of the 1960s and 1970s. His interviews focus on off-beat trivia rather than the guests' latest or most famous work. He takes pleasure in interspersing his shows with relatively obscure rock tracks from bands such as Yes
, Todd Rundgren
, Steely Dan
, Frank Zappa
and Captain Beefheart
.
, a podcast
to reach listeners beyond BBC London's FM radio reach. Regulars Amy Lamé
, Baylen Leonard
and David Kuo
all contributed and the first show featured an appearance by comedian and actor Peter Kay
.
The All Day Breakfast Show was recorded daily, Monday to Friday at 11am GMT, "in the past for listeners in the future" originally in Baker's own studio based from the kitchen of an Italian restaurant and known as La Cucina and later from the offices of Wippit media. Each show was available as a download and lasted between 40 and 60 minutes.
After nearly six months of free podcasts, the All Day Breakfast Show
began charging £2 per week in early September 2007. However, after one week of paid shows, Baker put the ADBS on indefinite hold until "a few things get sorted out". Users had reported short shows and difficulty downloading episodes. After several weeks of silence and internet "twitch", the All Day Breakfast Show officially announced its return to the air on 19 October 2007. No announcement on the main website was given, but in a 5 minute mini-show downloadable initially only to paid subscribers who happened to check the download section of the website, Danny Baker and Baylen Leonard announced the return of the show. They confirmed that from "next week" they would be broadcasting three times a week. They also suggested (possibly only partially in jest) that due to BBC cuts announced the previous day, that they may be planning to end their official BBC London show and move to being an "Internet only" show.
This new scheduling model continued – apparently successfully - for the next eight weeks. However, on 15 December 2007, Baker himself posted a notice on the "All Day Breakfast Show" and "Baker and Kelly" websites announcing that both shows were cancelled with immediate effect. The notice said that this was a result of "an irreversible and utter breakdown between the on-air team and the company Wippit media who have ... provided it to you online."
The notice in full:
Wippit responded on 17 December 2007 with the following, alluding to Baker's failure to quit his daily radio show as agreed:
On 8 September 2007 Baker and Kelly had resumed their partnership, releasing the first podcast of their football programme for the 2007–2008 season. A total of twelve such podcasts were produced, before their cancellation was announced on 15 December 2007 as a result of the dispute with Wippit.
football phone-in for a limited period that summer, Baker hosted six shows during Euro 2008 beginning on Sunday 8 June (following Austria's game against Croatia) and culminating after the final on Sunday 29 June.
Baker went on to make a long-term return to 6-0-6
in September 2008, hosting a Tuesday night show for the duration of the 08/09 football season.
Baker's first Radio 2 show was announced by the BBC Press Office on 11 November 2008, with a statement revealing that he and Zoe Ball
would co-present four Saturday morning shows from 22 November to 13 December 2008 in the slot usually occupied by Jonathan Ross
, who had been suspended for three months by the BBC. The shows were generally well-received, and notably different in style to Ross's regular programme.
At the end of the 08/09 football season Baker's 6-0-6 Tuesday night show (nicknamed the 'Pirate Ship' – Baker oft donning a pirate's hat and wig for the benefit of the digital TV simulcast) that he co-hosted with Issy Clarke shifted to an expanded Saturday morning slot, debuting on 5 September 2009 on BBC 5 Live. The show returned in September 2010 after the summer break with Lynsey Hipgrave replacing Clarke as co-host. Hipgrave had been co-hosting during the World Cup as Clarke was working elsewhere during the tournament. Previously Hipgrave had been providing travel reports during the show and across other weekend morning shows on the station.
The Game (1990), a cult classic television show presented by Baker, following bottom-division East London Sunday League football teams, was released on DVD through Revelation Films
on May 24th, 2010.
entitled Classic Football Debates Settled Once and for All, Vol. 1. Despite the title, the book itself makes clear that a sequel is not planned, though some extra material was written for the paperback edition, released to coincide with the 2010 World Cup
.
, Steely Dan
, Disney, The Marx Brothers and P. G. Wodehouse
. He has a large collection of vinyl records
and a collection of redundant laserdiscs that his family refer to as 'Baker's folly
'. On 8 February 2008, two days after giving up drinking for Lent
in support of Amy Lamé
, Danny announced on air on his BBC London 94.9
show, that he was selling his record collection.
It has frequently been claimed that Baker inadvertently killed Bob Marley
by treading on his foot at a charity football match. However, although Baker did break Marley's toe in a 1977 football match, and Marley's cancer began with foot melanoma
, the match was played after the onset of his illness.
Baker is a life long supporter of his local football club, Millwall
.
On meeting one of his heroes Mel Brooks
he was delighted to find Brooks had used the name "Danny Baker" as character names in one of his early works as he felt it "was the most Gentile
name I could think of".
Baker is married to Wendy (born 7 March 1955). They have three children: Bonnie, Sonny and Mancie. He lives in Blackheath
, South East London
.
On 1 November 2010 Baker announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would start chemotherapy instantly and radiotherapy in January. On 14 June 2011 he announced that he had been given the all clear.
Baker resumed broadcasting on BBC London on 18 April.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
comedy writer, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, radio DJ and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including 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...
, LWT, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, and Talk Radio
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
.
Early life
Baker was born in DeptfordDeptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
in south east London to a dock-working
Stevedore
Stevedore, dockworker, docker, dock labourer, wharfie and longshoreman can have various waterfront-related meanings concerning loading and unloading ships, according to place and country....
, union-leading father and factory-working mother and grew up in Bermondsey
Bermondsey
Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
. He left school in 1972 at the age of 14 and initially worked in One Stop Records, a small but fashionable record shop in South Molton Street in London's West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
.
Print journalism
In 1976, with fellow Deptfordian Mark PerryMark Perry (musician)
Mark Perry, also known as Mark P, was a British fanzine publisher and is a writer and musician.Perry was a bank clerk when, inspired by The Ramones, he founded the punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue in 1976...
, Baker founded the proto-punk
Protopunk
Protopunk is a term used retrospectively to describe a number of musicians who were important precursors of punk rock in the late 1960s to mid-1970s, or who have been cited by early punk musicians as influential...
fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
Sniffin' Glue
Sniffin' Glue
Sniffin' Glue is the name of a monthly punk zine started by Mark Perry in July 1976 and released for about a year. The name is derived from a Ramones song "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." Others that wrote for the magazine that later became well known journalists include Danny Baker.Although initial...
, and this led to an offer from the New Musical Express, home to the likes of Julie Burchill
Julie Burchill
Julie Burchill is an English writer and journalist. Beginning as a writer for the New Musical Express at the age of 17, she has written for newspapers such as The Sunday Times and The Guardian. She is a self-declared "militant feminist". She has several times been involved in legal action...
, Tony Parsons
Tony Parsons (British journalist)
Tony Parsons is a British journalist broadcaster and author. He began his career as a music journalist on the NME, writing about punk music. Later, he wrote for The Daily Telegraph, before going on to write his current column for the Daily Mirror...
, Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray is an English music journalist. His first experience in journalism came 1970 when he was asked to contribute to the satirical magazine Oz...
and Nick Kent
Nick Kent
Nick Kent is a British rock critic and musician.-Career:Along with writers including Paul Morley, Charles Shaar Murray and Danny Baker, Nick Kent is seen as one of the most important and influential UK music journalists of the 1970s. He wrote for the British music publication New Musical Express,...
. Baker initially began working as the office receptionist, but was soon contributing regular articles and reviews before progressing to interviews. He often refers to these times during his radio shows
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
, regularly citing examples of the ridiculous behaviour exhibited by his rock star interviewees.
In the later 1990s, Baker wrote a weekly sports column for 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 was briefly a columnist for early issues of movie magazine Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
.
Reporting for LWT (1980s)
By 1980, Baker was making documentaries for producer Janet Street Porter at LWTLondon Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
for the popular culture series 20th Century Box. The show consisted of a series of 30 minute documentaries on elements of youth culture. An edition documenting the burgeoning New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
(NWOBHM) scene included an early TV appearance of Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
performing at The Marquee Club and interviews with "air guitar
Air guitar
Playing air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs, solos, etc. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking motions and is often coupled with loud singing or lip-synching...
ists".
Baker's first mainstream break was as roving
Itinerant
An itinerant is a person who travels from place to place with no fixed home. The term comes from the late 16th century: from late Latin itinerant , from the verb itinerari, from Latin iter, itiner ....
reporter-presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
on the Michael Aspel
Michael Aspel
Michael Terence Aspel, OBE is an English television presenter, known for his reserved demeanour and rich speaking voice. He has been a high-profile TV personality in the United Kingdom since the 1960s, presenting programmes such as Crackerjack, Aspel and Company, This is Your Life, Strange But...
's LWT regional magazine The Six O'Clock Show
The Six O'Clock Show
The Six O'Clock Show was a regional television magazine show broadcast in the Greater London area and produced by London Weekend Television between 1982 and 1988....
alongside former Mastermind
Mastermind (TV series)
Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the...
winner and former London black cab
Hackney carriage
A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or automobile for hire...
driver Fred Housego
Fred Housego
Fred Housego is a former London taxi driver who became a television and radio personality and presenter after winning the BBC quiz Mastermind in 1980. His specialist subject in the final was 'The Tower of London'...
. Paul Ross
Paul Ross
Paul Ross is an English television and radio presenter, journalist, and media personality. He is the son of Martha Ross and the elder brother of Jonathan Ross.-Early life:...
(brother of Jonathan Ross whom Baker had as his best man) was his researcher. During his stint on The Six O'Clock Show
The Six O'Clock Show
The Six O'Clock Show was a regional television magazine show broadcast in the Greater London area and produced by London Weekend Television between 1982 and 1988....
, Baker was filmed having an altercation with a railway platform guard in which Baker can be heard remonstrating "Don't you know who I am?". This clip is often resurrected for clip show
Clip show
A clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicted with a clip of the event presented as a flashback. ...
s.
Writing and presenting (Early – Late 1990s)
In 1990, Baker presented The Game for LWT, a show which charted the ups and downs of a Sunday League in East London. Presented with a blend of passion and wit, the show went on to become a cult classic.Baker began writing for television programmes in 1992 after being asked to prepare a piece for one of the first clip shows: TV Hell
TV Hell
TV Hell was a BBC2 theme night broadcast on 31 August 1992, showing a whole evening of archive television clips widely regarded by critics and the public alike as among the worst ever produced in Britain...
, which was a collection the worst TV programmes ever. Since then he has presented television shows such as Win, Lose, or Draw, Pets Win Prizes
Pets Win Prizes
Pets Win Prizes was a game show, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation and shown on Saturday nights on BBC 1 in the United Kingdom from 16 July 1994 to 3 August 1996...
and TV Heroes, which was a series of 10-minute homages to some of Baker's entertainment idols including Fanny Cradock
Fanny Cradock
Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey , better known as Fanny Cradock, was an English restaurant critic, television cook and writer who mostly worked with her then common-law husband Johnnie Cradock, adopting his surname long before they married. She was the daughter of the novelist and lyricist Archibald...
, Peter Glaze
Peter Glaze
William George Peter Glaze was an English comedian born in London. He hosted Crackerjack with Leslie Crowther in the 1960s and with Michael Aspel, Don Maclean, and Bernie Clifton in the 1970s...
(from Crackerjack) and the Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
audience. In one episode of TV Heroes, a clip was shown of Baker leaping around to a performance of "Ooh What A Life" by the Gibson Brothers
Gibson Brothers
The Gibson Brothers are a France based musical group, who had their greatest success during the disco boom of the late 1970s. Their best known hit singles included "Cuba" and "Que Sera Mi Vida"....
in 1979, which was captioned as "Danny Baker's first TV appearance". Baker later described himself as "looking like he was trying to put out a small fire".
Baker also began a BBC Saturday night chat show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
, called Danny Baker After All which borrowed its style from Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
, but his style and guests (Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
of prog rock band Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
was a regular) did not attract the mainstream audience the slot demanded. Film critic Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician and a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He contributes to Sight and Sound magazine, The Observer newspaper and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presents Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews with Simon Mayo on Friday afternoons...
's band The Railtown Bottlers was the show's house band.
Later he fronted television adverts for Daz washing powder
Daz (detergent)
Daz is the name of a popular laundry detergent on the market in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble and is lower priced than P&G's main brand, Ariel...
and Mars bar
Mars Bar
Mars is a chocolate bar manufactured by Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in Slough, Berkshire in the United Kingdom in 1932 as a sweeter version of the US Milky Way bar which Mars, Inc. produced...
confectionary. Adult satire comic Viz featured a critical cartoon, "Cockney Wanker", with Baker and actor Mike Reid
Mike Reid (entertainer)
Michael Reid was an English comedian, actor, author and occasional television presenter from Hackney in east London, who is best remembered for playing the role of Frank Butcher in EastEnders and hosting the popular children's TV show Runaround...
as likely sources for the character. Baker parodied his Daz ads by appearing as himself on the sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Me, You and Him
Me, You and Him
Me, You and Him is a British television sitcom, that aired on ITV in 1992. It was made for the ITV network by ThamesIt was written by and starred Nick Hancock, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, all previously known - though particularly Punt and Dennis - for their work on the alternative comedy and...
.
During this period, Baker began presenting on BBC Radio 5's 6-0-6
6-0-6
6-0-6 is a football phone-in, broadcast on BBC Radio Five Live throughout the football season; when the programme started, it typically went on air at 6:06pm on a matchday . It covers topics relating to the current affairs of football in the United Kingdom. It currently airs on Saturdays and...
football related phone-in programme as well as the job of presenting Match of the Eighties, a six-part BBC series of football during the 1980/81
1980-81 in English football
The 1980–81 season was the 101st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League introduced a three points for a win system in place of the two points for a win system which had operated since the league's formation in 1889...
and 1985/86
1985-86 in English football
The 1985–86 season was the 106th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :The championship crown went to Liverpool for the 16th time in their history at the end of their first season under the management of Kenny Dalglish, but they had to fight off some very stiff competition to...
seasons.
Baker was a writer on Chris Evans' TFI Friday
TFI Friday
TFI Friday is an entertainment show broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 1996 to 2000. The show produced by Ginger Productions, written by Danny Baker and hosted by Chris Evans, for the first 5 series. The final series was hosted by a number of Guest Presenters. It was broadcast on...
show, as well as contributing material for presenters such as Angus Deayton
Angus Deayton
Gordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster. He is best known for his role as Victor Meldrew's long-suffering neighbour Patrick Trench in the comedy series One Foot in the Grave...
and Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
.
Guest appearances (Late 1990s – 2000s)
During the late 1990s he made guest appearances on comedy shows including Have I Got News for YouHave I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
, Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its axing in 2011...
and Room 101
Room 101 (TV series)
Room 101 is a BBC comedy television series based on the radio series of the same name, in which celebrities were invited to discuss their pet hates and persuade the host to consign them to a fate worse than death in Room 101, named after the torture room in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is...
. During this period he appeared in the press as a result of nights out with friends Chris Evans and England footballer Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne
Paul John Gascoigne , commonly referred to as Gazza, is a retired English professional footballer.Playing in the position of midfield, Gascoigne's career included spells at Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio, Rangers, Middlesbrough, Everton and Gansu Tianma, where he scored at least a goal...
. Gascoigne was under media scrutiny for drinking and socialising while preparing for tournaments. After Gascoigne was left out of the 1998 World Cup
1998 World Cup
1998 World Cup may refer to:*1998 IAAF World Cup*1998 Men's Hockey World Cup*1998 Women's Hockey World Cup*1998 FIFA World Cup*1998 Alpine Skiing World Cup...
squad, Baker went on Have I Got News For You to defend his friend and criticise the omission.
He also appeared on The Terry and Gaby Show
The Terry and Gaby Show
The Terry and Gaby Show was a daytime television show broadcast on Five on weekday mornings between June 2003 and April 2004, produced by Chris Evans' company UMTV. It was hosted by Terry Wogan and Gaby Roslin....
from 2003 to 2004 (where he burnt his hand trying to perform a trick with a microwave and a piece of soap) and has appeared on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
quiz show QI
QI
QI is a British comedy panel game television quiz show created and co-produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given...
, becoming the show's first ever winner.
Baker worked again with Charles Shaar Murray on the Ramones documentary End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones, providing an audio commentary.
In 2005, Baker appeared in the video to "Is This the Way to Amarillo
Is This the Way to Amarillo
In the United States, a version by the writer of the song Neil Sedaka made to number 44 in the Billboard charts in 1977, and the title was shortened to "Amarillo".-Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay version:...
?", a number 1 single for Peter Kay
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
and Tony Christie
Tony Christie
Tony Christie is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his track, "Is This The Way To Amarillo", a double UK chart success.-Career:Tony Christie has sold over 10 million albums Worldwide...
, which also featured other British personalities such as Keith Harris, Geoffrey Hayes, Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens, also known as "Shaky" is a platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter who holds the distinction of being the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s . His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although it was not until 1980 that he saw...
and Jimmy Savile
Jimmy Savile
Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, OBE, KCSG was an English disc jockey, television presenter and media personality, best known for his BBC television show Jim'll Fix It, and for being the first and last presenter of the long-running BBC music chart show Top of the Pops...
.
Baker's most recent TV project was The Sitcom Showdown
The Sitcom Showdown
The Sitcom Showdown was a television quiz show hosted by Danny Baker. To date, it has run for one five-episode series, and was produced by UMTV for the UKTV Gold digital television channel.-Synopsis:...
which began on UKTV Gold in late April 2006. Baker appeared on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice
Comic Relief Does The Apprentice
Comic Relief Does The Apprentice is a special celebrity version of British reality television series The Apprentice, produced to raise money for Comic Relief. The first edition aired in March 2007, and the second in March 2009. Five male celebrities and five female celebrities took part in the show...
in 2007 for Comic Relief. He also starred in The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
, as the narrator, at the Churchill Theatre
Churchill Theatre
The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, south east London was built by the London Borough of Bromley to designs by its borough architect's department.It is carefully integrated into the central library complex overlooking Church House Gardens and Library Gardens...
in Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
and the New Wimbledon Theatre
New Wimbledon Theatre
The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Grade II listed Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J B Mullholland. Built on the site of a large house with spacious grounds the theatre was designed by...
.
BBC GLR/5 Live/Radio 1 (1989–1997)
Baker began his radio career on BBC GLR in 1989, presenting Weekend Breakfast from 6-9am on Saturdays and Sundays. The show was produced by Chris Evans, who became a good friend to Baker. With GLR eventually opting for a more orthodox breakfast show at weekends, Baker moved to the 10am to 1pm slot on Sundays.In 1990, Baker joined the newly launched BBC Radio 5
BBC Radio 5 (former)
BBC Radio 5 was a BBC radio network that carried sport, children's and educational programmes.It was transmitted via analogue radio on 693 and 909 kHz, and lasted for three years and eight months. The success of BBC Radio 4's coverage of the Gulf War, on a service known as Scud FM,...
, presenting Sportscall, a phone-in sports quiz broadcast every Saturday lunchtime.
From October 1991 to October 1992 he presented 6-0-6
6-0-6
6-0-6 is a football phone-in, broadcast on BBC Radio Five Live throughout the football season; when the programme started, it typically went on air at 6:06pm on a matchday . It covers topics relating to the current affairs of football in the United Kingdom. It currently airs on Saturdays and...
and, from February 1992 until October 1993, he presented Morning Edition from 6.30-9am every weekday morning. The show blended Baker's love of unusual trivia with 'grown-up' music. This was where Baker first teamed up with Danny Kelly
Danny Kelly (journalist)
Danny Kelly is a music journalist, sports presenter and internet publisher. He is the former editor of the music weekly New Musical Express....
and Allis Moss. Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician and a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He contributes to Sight and Sound magazine, The Observer newspaper and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presents Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews with Simon Mayo on Friday afternoons...
added weekly film reviews, and would later appear with his band 'The Railtown Bottlers' every week on the first series of Baker's TV show.
Baker's loud-mouthed, iconoclastic anchoring of 6-0-6 polarised opinion. He was often fearless in his attacks on football authority, particularly the 'blazers' at the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
. His influence on the station remains, such as in BBC 5 Live's present day preparedness to court unpopularity within the game through its robust criticism of players, managers and referees.
Baker joined BBC 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...
in October 1993, taking over the weekend mid-morning show from 10am-1pm from Dave Lee Travis
Dave Lee Travis
Dave Lee Travis , also known professionally as DLT and the Hairy Cornflake, is a British radio presenter, best known for his career on BBC Radio 1.-Early life:...
who had resigned on air following the sackings instigated by Matthew Bannister
Matthew Bannister
Richard Matthew Bannister is a British media executive and broadcaster. After attending King Edward VII School , he graduated in law at the University of Nottingham in 1978, and joined BBC Radio Nottingham as a trainee reporter and subsequently the presenter of its speech-based breakfast show,...
and Trevor Dann
Trevor Dann
Trevor Dann is a British writer and broadcaster who has been associated with some of the most influential radio and television pop music programmes and events of the last 30 years.-Early career:...
during the early 1990s. However, due to poor ratings, from November 1994 he was heard on Saturdays only from 10am-12midday. Simon Mayo
Simon Mayo
Simon Mayo is an English radio presenter who has worked for BBC Radio since 1981. As of January 2010, Mayo is presenter of Simon Mayo Drivetime on BBC Radio 2 and, with Mark Kermode, presenter of Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews on BBC Radio 5 Live.In 2008, Mayo was recognised as the "radio...
took over Sunday mornings.
Baker's style led to a fall in listeners at Radio 1 but despite his tendering his resignation on at least two occasions, management added extensions to his contract. From October 1995, his Saturday show went out from 12.30-2.30pm. He left the station in September 1996. His co-hosts during this period included BBC continuity announcer Allis Moss, Dr.H, Laurie Sore, Andy Darling and Danny Kelly
Danny Kelly (journalist)
Danny Kelly is a music journalist, sports presenter and internet publisher. He is the former editor of the music weekly New Musical Express....
.
While continuing with his Saturday morning show on BBC 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...
, in 1996 Baker joined BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
to present a Sunday lunchtime show with Danny Kelly
Danny Kelly (journalist)
Danny Kelly is a music journalist, sports presenter and internet publisher. He is the former editor of the music weekly New Musical Express....
, Baker & Kelly Upfront.
On leaving BBC 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...
, Baker returned to BBC GLR to present a three-hour Sunday show from 10am-1pm. 'Baker and Kelly Upfront' also returned, now at Saturday lunchtime, while Baker also took on a new show, 'The Baker Line', a Wednesday evening version of the 606 phone in
Phone in
In broadcasting, a phone-in or call-in is a programme format in which viewers or listeners are invited to air their live comments by telephone, usually in respect of a specific topic selected for discussion on the day of the broadcast. On radio , it is common for an entire programme to be dedicated...
show.
While 'Baker and Kelly Upfront' was light-hearted, 'The Baker Line' was darker and emotionally charged. Baker was at his most outspoken, and in early 1997, he was sacked from Five Live when station bosses alleged that he had incited threatening behaviour during an angry outburst about a referee.
Talk Radio/Virgin Radio (1998–2000)
Baker joined Talk RadioTalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
to present a similar football phone-in with Kelly each Saturday from 5.30-7.30pm. A pre-match show was added from 11.30am to 1pm. After moving to the Saturday breakfast slot (8am to 12 noon), he engineered his own dismissal after a matter of weeks by refusing to centre the show on football, preferring to intersperse chat with his own music selections.
After leaving Talk Radio
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
, he joined Virgin Radio in early 1999, taking over from Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross (television presenter)
Jonathan Stephen Ross, OBE is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting the BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross from 2001 until he left the BBC in 2010. Ross began hosting a new chat show on ITV1 starting 3 September 2011...
on Sundays from 10am-1pm.
Not long after, Baker was approached by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and was asked whether he wanted to present a Saturday morning show 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...
. Baker turned down the offer by saying the time wasn't right, and the show was given to Jonathan Ross. Baker also deputised on Virgin's Saturday lunchtime football show from 12-2pm for a handful of shows, alongside Danny Kelly
Danny Kelly (journalist)
Danny Kelly is a music journalist, sports presenter and internet publisher. He is the former editor of the music weekly New Musical Express....
until he left the station in 2000.
BBC London 94.9 (2001–2002 and 2005–Present)
In September 2001, Baker joined BBC London 94.9BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
presenting a Saturday morning show from 8-11am. Just 6 months later, in March 2002, and with a new co-presenting team which included Amy Lamé
Amy Lamé
Amy Lamé is an American-born, British performer, writer, television and radio presenter and producer.-Biography:Lamé was born Amy Caddle and raised in Keyport, New Jersey. She attended Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland and moved to London in 1992...
, Mark O'Donnell and David Kuo
David Kuo (financial adviser)
David Kuo is a financial adviser, radio personality and writer at The Motley Fool UK.-Broadcasting career:David can be heard on...
, he took over the breakfast show from 6-9am, with a new theme tune in the form of the Anthony Newley
Anthony Newley
Anthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
song The Candy Man
The Candy Man
"The Candy Man" is a song from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley specifically for the film and does not appear in the original book or the 2005 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...
.
Although not drawing a large listenership, Baker won "Sony Radio DJ of the year
Sony Radio Academy Awards
The Sony Radio Academy Awards , started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. They are run by ZAFER Associates in association with the Radio Academy...
" for the show. However, the day after winning the award, he announced his intention to leave the show at the end of the month. The last show was on Friday 27 May 2005.
On Monday 17 October 2005, after a sabbatical at home, Baker rejoined BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
where he took over the weekday 3-5pm show from Jono Coleman, who had moved to co-present the breakfast show with former actress JoAnne Good
JoAnne Good
JoAnne Dorothy Good is a British radio presenter, television presenter, broadcast journalist and actor.-Actor:As an actor, she is best known for her role as Carol Sands in the ITV soap Crossroads from 1982 to 1984. She played a schoolgirl in the 1978 cult British horror film Killer's Moon, and...
.
His current (2005- ) BBC London 94.9 shows tend to feature off-the-wall phone-ins and discussions with his on-air team, Amy
Amy Lamé
Amy Lamé is an American-born, British performer, writer, television and radio presenter and producer.-Biography:Lamé was born Amy Caddle and raised in Keyport, New Jersey. She attended Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland and moved to London in 1992...
and Baylen Leonard
Baylen Leonard
Bruce Alan "Baylen" Leonard is a radio presenter and DJ based in London, UK. At the age 18 he moved to New York to study, and was based there for several years working as an actor and dancer in the theatre...
, often regarding music and entertainment nostalgia of the 1960s and 1970s. His interviews focus on off-beat trivia rather than the guests' latest or most famous work. He takes pleasure in interspersing his shows with relatively obscure rock tracks from bands such as Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
, Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
, Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
.
All Day Breakfast Show/Podcasts (2007)
On 15 March 2007, Baker launched the All Day Breakfast ShowAll Day Breakfast Show
The All Day Breakfast Show was a daily podcast which was launched on 15 March 2007.Created by and starring Danny Baker, the show also featured Amy Lamé, Baylen Leonard and David Kuo...
, a podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
to reach listeners beyond BBC London's FM radio reach. Regulars Amy Lamé
Amy Lamé
Amy Lamé is an American-born, British performer, writer, television and radio presenter and producer.-Biography:Lamé was born Amy Caddle and raised in Keyport, New Jersey. She attended Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland and moved to London in 1992...
, Baylen Leonard
Baylen Leonard
Bruce Alan "Baylen" Leonard is a radio presenter and DJ based in London, UK. At the age 18 he moved to New York to study, and was based there for several years working as an actor and dancer in the theatre...
and David Kuo
David Kuo (financial adviser)
David Kuo is a financial adviser, radio personality and writer at The Motley Fool UK.-Broadcasting career:David can be heard on...
all contributed and the first show featured an appearance by comedian and actor Peter Kay
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
.
The All Day Breakfast Show was recorded daily, Monday to Friday at 11am GMT, "in the past for listeners in the future" originally in Baker's own studio based from the kitchen of an Italian restaurant and known as La Cucina and later from the offices of Wippit media. Each show was available as a download and lasted between 40 and 60 minutes.
After nearly six months of free podcasts, the All Day Breakfast Show
All Day Breakfast Show
The All Day Breakfast Show was a daily podcast which was launched on 15 March 2007.Created by and starring Danny Baker, the show also featured Amy Lamé, Baylen Leonard and David Kuo...
began charging £2 per week in early September 2007. However, after one week of paid shows, Baker put the ADBS on indefinite hold until "a few things get sorted out". Users had reported short shows and difficulty downloading episodes. After several weeks of silence and internet "twitch", the All Day Breakfast Show officially announced its return to the air on 19 October 2007. No announcement on the main website was given, but in a 5 minute mini-show downloadable initially only to paid subscribers who happened to check the download section of the website, Danny Baker and Baylen Leonard announced the return of the show. They confirmed that from "next week" they would be broadcasting three times a week. They also suggested (possibly only partially in jest) that due to BBC cuts announced the previous day, that they may be planning to end their official BBC London show and move to being an "Internet only" show.
This new scheduling model continued – apparently successfully - for the next eight weeks. However, on 15 December 2007, Baker himself posted a notice on the "All Day Breakfast Show" and "Baker and Kelly" websites announcing that both shows were cancelled with immediate effect. The notice said that this was a result of "an irreversible and utter breakdown between the on-air team and the company Wippit media who have ... provided it to you online."
The notice in full:
Dear All,
It appals me to say it but there will be no more All Day Breakfast Shows nor Baker & Kelly's. There has now been an irreversible and utter breakdown between the on-air team and the company who have, with varying degrees of success, provided it to you online. I suppose I should have heeded the warning of many of you after the initial, half-assed sign up but, Jesus Christ, I wanted this to work. I have absolutely no idea where any subscription fees are, went or remain. All I know is that we all have created an enormous amount of strong, funny, unbeatable internet shows and in return received nothing. And I mean nothing. Not a brass penny in nine long months just some hefty studio bills along the way. Now it has come down to the old "Ah well if you read your contract you'll find..." and I feel like some dumb-cluck boy band.
Truth is when you're fifty years old, a successful broadcaster for two thirds of your life, and you're standing, crushed, on the sweaty Northern Line every day going to work without even so much as getting your ticket reimbursed... well it kind of rankles you know? I don't know any of my peers or, indeed, any of our genuinely genius audience who would tolerate such a circumstance. It's a rotten shame but enough is enough. The shows were too good and I have too much respect for myself and the team to allow this farcical situation to continue a belly-laugh longer. When I think of the hours and hours of midnight oil that Sonny put in to the magnificent websites alone it frankly makes my blood boil. What a sucker. (Me that is, not you Son).
Radio - in whatever form I can deliver it - is what I do for a living. The current situation is, professionally, killing us all.
I can't thank you enough for any of the two-quids - wherever they currently are - that you were good enough to invest in the ADBS. I just hope what you heard made it worthwhile. That will be the only recompense I can take from this whole wretched episode.
Regards and with great apologies to you all,
DB.
Wippit responded on 17 December 2007 with the following, alluding to Baker's failure to quit his daily radio show as agreed:
Unfortunately the All Day Breakfast Show in COLOR has ceased to be due to a breakdown in contract negotiations between our company and Danny Baker. Mr. Baker did not wish to meet his agreed obligations regarding exclusivity and the new terms proposed by his agent were not acceptable to Wippit. Last week Wippit offered Mr. Baker 100% of ADBS in COLOR revenues and declared no further interest in the podcast, but this offer was rejected by Baker’s agent. With the exception of ADBS and Baker and Kelly none of the other seven podcasts produced by Wippit are affected.
On 8 September 2007 Baker and Kelly had resumed their partnership, releasing the first podcast of their football programme for the 2007–2008 season. A total of twelve such podcasts were produced, before their cancellation was announced on 15 December 2007 as a result of the dispute with Wippit.
Return to 6-0-6, Radio 2 and Saturday Show (2008–Present)
Having announced on his BBC London radio show on 21 May 2008 that he would be returning to present BBC 5 Live's 6-0-66-0-6
6-0-6 is a football phone-in, broadcast on BBC Radio Five Live throughout the football season; when the programme started, it typically went on air at 6:06pm on a matchday . It covers topics relating to the current affairs of football in the United Kingdom. It currently airs on Saturdays and...
football phone-in for a limited period that summer, Baker hosted six shows during Euro 2008 beginning on Sunday 8 June (following Austria's game against Croatia) and culminating after the final on Sunday 29 June.
Baker went on to make a long-term return to 6-0-6
6-0-6
6-0-6 is a football phone-in, broadcast on BBC Radio Five Live throughout the football season; when the programme started, it typically went on air at 6:06pm on a matchday . It covers topics relating to the current affairs of football in the United Kingdom. It currently airs on Saturdays and...
in September 2008, hosting a Tuesday night show for the duration of the 08/09 football season.
Baker's first Radio 2 show was announced by the BBC Press Office on 11 November 2008, with a statement revealing that he and Zoe Ball
Zoë Ball
Zoë Louise Ball is an English television and radio personality, most famous for becoming the first female host of the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show and for her earlier work presenting the 1990s children's show, Live & Kicking.-TV career:The daughter of the children's TV presenter Johnny Ball and his...
would co-present four Saturday morning shows from 22 November to 13 December 2008 in the slot usually occupied by Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
, who had been suspended for three months by the BBC. The shows were generally well-received, and notably different in style to Ross's regular programme.
At the end of the 08/09 football season Baker's 6-0-6 Tuesday night show (nicknamed the 'Pirate Ship' – Baker oft donning a pirate's hat and wig for the benefit of the digital TV simulcast) that he co-hosted with Issy Clarke shifted to an expanded Saturday morning slot, debuting on 5 September 2009 on BBC 5 Live. The show returned in September 2010 after the summer break with Lynsey Hipgrave replacing Clarke as co-host. Hipgrave had been co-hosting during the World Cup as Clarke was working elsewhere during the tournament. Previously Hipgrave had been providing travel reports during the show and across other weekend morning shows on the station.
Other ventures
Football videos
Baker has presented a number of popular football videos and DVDs including Own Goals and Gaffs (1992), Right Hammerings, Whose Season Was It Anyway? (both 1993), Own Goals and Gaffs 2 (1994), Fabulous World Of Freak Football (1995) and The Glorious Return Of Own Goals And Gaffs (2009).The Game (1990), a cult classic television show presented by Baker, following bottom-division East London Sunday League football teams, was released on DVD through Revelation Films
Revelation Films
Revelation Films is a British distributor of entertainment programmes on DVD.It was perhaps most well known as the company through which as of November 2006, the American anime company FUNimation Entertainment has launched its titles in the United Kingdom on region 2 DVD...
on May 24th, 2010.
Books
In 2009, he released a book co-written with Danny KellyDanny Kelly (journalist)
Danny Kelly is a music journalist, sports presenter and internet publisher. He is the former editor of the music weekly New Musical Express....
entitled Classic Football Debates Settled Once and for All, Vol. 1. Despite the title, the book itself makes clear that a sequel is not planned, though some extra material was written for the paperback edition, released to coincide with the 2010 World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
.
Led Zeppelin
Danny was made an official member of Led Zeppelin by Robert Plant at the Q Awards 1992. 25 minutes later, Danny resigned citing musical differences.Personal life
His passions range as widely as punk music, the U.S., progressive rockProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
, Disney, The Marx Brothers and P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
. He has a large collection of vinyl records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
and a collection of redundant laserdiscs that his family refer to as 'Baker's folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
'. On 8 February 2008, two days after giving up drinking for Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
in support of Amy Lamé
Amy Lamé
Amy Lamé is an American-born, British performer, writer, television and radio presenter and producer.-Biography:Lamé was born Amy Caddle and raised in Keyport, New Jersey. She attended Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland and moved to London in 1992...
, Danny announced on air on his BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9
BBC London 94.9 is London's BBC Local Radio station, and part of BBC London. Broadcasting across Greater London and beyond on 94.9 FM, DAB, Virgin Media Channel 930, Sky Channel 0152 and also online...
show, that he was selling his record collection.
It has frequently been claimed that Baker inadvertently killed Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
by treading on his foot at a charity football match. However, although Baker did break Marley's toe in a 1977 football match, and Marley's cancer began with foot melanoma
Melanoma
Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye...
, the match was played after the onset of his illness.
Baker is a life long supporter of his local football club, Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
.
On meeting one of his heroes Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
he was delighted to find Brooks had used the name "Danny Baker" as character names in one of his early works as he felt it "was the most Gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
name I could think of".
Baker is married to Wendy (born 7 March 1955). They have three children: Bonnie, Sonny and Mancie. He lives in Blackheath
Blackheath, London
Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...
, South East London
South East (London sub region)
The South East is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark. The sub region was established in 2008. The south east has a population of 1,300,000 and is the location of 500,000 jobs...
.
On 1 November 2010 Baker announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would start chemotherapy instantly and radiotherapy in January. On 14 June 2011 he announced that he had been given the all clear.
Baker resumed broadcasting on BBC London on 18 April.
External links
- The All Day Breakfast Show official web site.
- Site with a wealth of Baker-related information and archives of his work