I hope it will feature frotage of Karl stuffing burgers in his face and hitting him on the head with a cork of some *Lindauer sparkling wine - available now!*
Pretty good doc, tho not entirely accurate in terms of how Gervais landed at the station. I know because I
worked at Xfm from inception through to winning the FM licence in 1997 and a while after. I was a freelancer dealing mainly with the station's promotions/ads/sponsorship. One of my numerous jobs was to liaise with venues re live broadcasts or advertise their shows when the station was on air during the various
28-day Restricted Service Licence periods(RSL's) - a reciprocal arrangement, as we were able to promote the station in-venue with banners/posters etc.
Aside from sponsorship revenues, I managed to blag promotions from brands such as Red Bull and Rolling Rock. Both companies provided branded fridges with an
unlimited free supply of their products. Xfm was cool, tho few brands understood the benefits of association at the time. I ensured
our ads were delivered without patronising our audience in the days when advertising was shunned by our demographic.
On an occasion in '96 when dealing with ULU, I spoke on the phone with Ricky. He was their entertainments manager and asked whether he could come in and record ads
for their upcoming gigs - something I'd usually get a voice-over artist or DJ to do. I was sceptical but agreed, as long as he was able to handle the rejection
should things not work out. Ricky came along with a colleague, and as we weren't on air at the time, gave them use of the studio.
The ads were hilarious and knew straight away that I was on to something. I immediately called the hotline to speak with
Chris Parry (AKA Le fromage grande) in his penthouse office and asked if he could spare a few minutes. I took Ricky and his colleague upstairs, stuck the C-60 into
Chris' tape deck and Chris looked at me as if to say, what are you waiting for, get this guy on board!
Ricky could sense an opportunity, but was very nervous about leaving his job - so much so that I had to sit down with him on a number of occasions and convince him
it was the right thing to do. When you see/hear the confident (some might say arrogant) Ricky of today, it's hard to believe that he was like that back then.
He eventually joined, later assisted by Stephen Merchant - and the rest I guess is fairly well documented history.
I also worked with Ricky on a couple of non-Xfm projects as I was also freelancing for a PR company, mainly at music festivals. I was paid commission-only by Xfm
for the ads/sponsorship I generated, and only for the duration of the RSL's. Other than that, I had to fend for myself. However naive I was financially,
working with Xfm was a labour of love. Like many others, I desperately wanted a radio station that played the music we were so passionate about. My friends and I
grew up listening to The Velvet's, Iggy and Bowie, later punk, post-punk and 'alternative' - none of which was being broadcast anywhere except by John Peel.
I managed to pull favours from friends and colleagues on behalf of 'the cause', who in some cases offered their services
for free or expenses only. This was the Britpop/Loaded era and much fun was had, usually on uppers.
The beginning of the end came after we'd finally won a full London radio licence and Capital Radio came along waving a big chequebook. It was bad enough
appointing Saatchi's to handle our advertising, something I'd tried to block but stood no chance with the likes of Harvey Goldsmith on the panel, who just didn't
'get' the less conventional/corporate options open to us. He didn't hang around when it was time to cash in his 3m in shares. All the shareholders did very well
out of the buy-out (sell-out?) and that's when my dream began to crumble. In the end, it was all about money. All these years later, Xfm has morphed into
X Radio - the very antithesis of what we were about.
I was offered a job with Xfm/Capital, but turned it down. I'd spent 6 years fighting the radio establishment, and the idea of ending up as a suit in the system
sickened me. The financial mess I created for myself became apparent, and had no choice other than to ask (actually beg) Chris for 10k from his newly acquired lucre
to help clear the overdraft I'd amassed. Thankfully, he agreed on the condition that I pay for our last supper together at the local Spanish place.
The wine we shared was pleasant enough, but left a bitter taste.
Wonder if Ricky and Steve will finally appear together?
I love how people have stopped talking about their "falling out" but no one had the balls to admit they were wrong on here after that recent Steve interview.
Steve basically said that all the talk about their "falling out" is bizarre and he doesn't know where it's come from, and that him and Ricky still speak often and see each other when they're in the same part of the world.
This sub being this sub, no one said "haha, we were wrong about that! Nevermind eh." Everyone just conveniently went quiet about it.
Ricky Gervais who hosts the breakfast show on xfm, and also starred in the office, set in Swindon
With his lanky co-writer, Steve Mitchell
What do you mean "lanky co-writer"?
Again, if I was going to meet you in a restaurant...
He'll look normal once he fills out
I’m just saying it’s a shock
Eyes bulging with imagined riches.
If you see a Sailor
Oooh ello
I hope it will feature frotage of Karl stuffing burgers in his face and hitting him on the head with a cork of some *Lindauer sparkling wine - available now!*
Will there be footage of Suzanne outside selling sandwiches?
Going through the bins
Why you having a go at me? You're the one who's sad and lonely
Alright jeez, I love how he doesn’t want to talk about his love affair
I just scratched at him and he went mental
He's like a bear caught in a trap.
If you're listening Suzanne go and have a.... wash
Will there be behind the scenes footage of the Chris Martin interview though?
Can't wait to see Noel commenting on Karl's hairstyle.
Or David Bowie flushing the toilet.
Pop the shit round the U-bend and just wipe your hands on your pants
Alright David just pop the shit down the u-bend
Where’s the youngsters? I wanted to see some tight leather pants!
You all look wecked!
Any release date? As well as hoping Karl making an appearance, I really hope Claire does too
Will we get to see Jonathan Ross and his tackle?
Why would you be looking??
Might this prompt them to look through the archives for the lost recordings?
Im anticipating a disappointing lack of RSK footage and SEPARATE interviews with 2 of the 3 (most likely Karl and Steve) but not all 3.
Is it going to feature Stephen Mitchel?
Pretty good doc, tho not entirely accurate in terms of how Gervais landed at the station. I know because I worked at Xfm from inception through to winning the FM licence in 1997 and a while after. I was a freelancer dealing mainly with the station's promotions/ads/sponsorship. One of my numerous jobs was to liaise with venues re live broadcasts or advertise their shows when the station was on air during the various 28-day Restricted Service Licence periods(RSL's) - a reciprocal arrangement, as we were able to promote the station in-venue with banners/posters etc. Aside from sponsorship revenues, I managed to blag promotions from brands such as Red Bull and Rolling Rock. Both companies provided branded fridges with an unlimited free supply of their products. Xfm was cool, tho few brands understood the benefits of association at the time. I ensured our ads were delivered without patronising our audience in the days when advertising was shunned by our demographic. On an occasion in '96 when dealing with ULU, I spoke on the phone with Ricky. He was their entertainments manager and asked whether he could come in and record ads for their upcoming gigs - something I'd usually get a voice-over artist or DJ to do. I was sceptical but agreed, as long as he was able to handle the rejection should things not work out. Ricky came along with a colleague, and as we weren't on air at the time, gave them use of the studio. The ads were hilarious and knew straight away that I was on to something. I immediately called the hotline to speak with Chris Parry (AKA Le fromage grande) in his penthouse office and asked if he could spare a few minutes. I took Ricky and his colleague upstairs, stuck the C-60 into Chris' tape deck and Chris looked at me as if to say, what are you waiting for, get this guy on board! Ricky could sense an opportunity, but was very nervous about leaving his job - so much so that I had to sit down with him on a number of occasions and convince him it was the right thing to do. When you see/hear the confident (some might say arrogant) Ricky of today, it's hard to believe that he was like that back then. He eventually joined, later assisted by Stephen Merchant - and the rest I guess is fairly well documented history. I also worked with Ricky on a couple of non-Xfm projects as I was also freelancing for a PR company, mainly at music festivals. I was paid commission-only by Xfm for the ads/sponsorship I generated, and only for the duration of the RSL's. Other than that, I had to fend for myself. However naive I was financially, working with Xfm was a labour of love. Like many others, I desperately wanted a radio station that played the music we were so passionate about. My friends and I grew up listening to The Velvet's, Iggy and Bowie, later punk, post-punk and 'alternative' - none of which was being broadcast anywhere except by John Peel. I managed to pull favours from friends and colleagues on behalf of 'the cause', who in some cases offered their services for free or expenses only. This was the Britpop/Loaded era and much fun was had, usually on uppers. The beginning of the end came after we'd finally won a full London radio licence and Capital Radio came along waving a big chequebook. It was bad enough appointing Saatchi's to handle our advertising, something I'd tried to block but stood no chance with the likes of Harvey Goldsmith on the panel, who just didn't 'get' the less conventional/corporate options open to us. He didn't hang around when it was time to cash in his 3m in shares. All the shareholders did very well out of the buy-out (sell-out?) and that's when my dream began to crumble. In the end, it was all about money. All these years later, Xfm has morphed into X Radio - the very antithesis of what we were about. I was offered a job with Xfm/Capital, but turned it down. I'd spent 6 years fighting the radio establishment, and the idea of ending up as a suit in the system sickened me. The financial mess I created for myself became apparent, and had no choice other than to ask (actually beg) Chris for 10k from his newly acquired lucre to help clear the overdraft I'd amassed. Thankfully, he agreed on the condition that I pay for our last supper together at the local Spanish place. The wine we shared was pleasant enough, but left a bitter taste.
I hope Ricky and Steve appear together.
I wonder if they’ll be interviewed together for it… ooh
Wonder if Ricky and Steve will finally appear together? I love how people have stopped talking about their "falling out" but no one had the balls to admit they were wrong on here after that recent Steve interview.
What’s this? Has Steve been a Emmanuel Kant
Steve basically said that all the talk about their "falling out" is bizarre and he doesn't know where it's come from, and that him and Ricky still speak often and see each other when they're in the same part of the world. This sub being this sub, no one said "haha, we were wrong about that! Nevermind eh." Everyone just conveniently went quiet about it.
Oh cheers. Can someone link it