There is a description in post #263 from someone who claims to have heard the show. So I guess we have to decide whether their description is accurate, and if so whether it's a description of normal programming on Radio Stoke or not.
Like I said we don't know what actually happened all we have is their personal interpretation of what they heard.
It may not be normal programming but is probably a good description of people in Stoke.
From someone who comes from the south I can tell you the local radio here in stoke is dire . I live 15 miles from stoke . And in the place itself , you have signal 1 and 2 and radio stoke . Signal 1 says they are the number one station in the area , the thing is there is nothing else . On the dab 5 stations including the above , radio stoke a religious station and heat that's it .
Thankfully where I live I can get the Manchester mutiplex , I like magic north , the playlist is excellent . And not bland and the djs talk but not waffle .
Smooth is ok but it's trying to cater for London and we will see how it does in the north west soon. In stoke it's hard to pick up
Smooth .
Nowhere has the BBC ever said she was drunk. They have merely said she was feeling unwell.
It is worth noting that slurring words and losing consciousness can be symptomatic of someone who has diabetes and is not managing their condition properly. It can come on extremely quickly without prior warning.
But of course that type of explanation wouldn't suit the "heads must roll" brigade, would it?
Nowhere has the BBC ever said she was drunk. They have merely said she was feeling unwell.
It is worth noting that slurring words and losing consciousness can be symptomatic of someone who has diabetes and is not managing their condition properly. It can come on extremely quickly without prior warning.
But of course that type of explanation wouldn't suit the "heads must roll" brigade, would it?
Hence why I asked if they explained, the first time she was definitely drunk though as she said she had been drinking, it did cross my mind whether this time she was drunk or actually ill, of course the audio has gone.
I know this is about another presenter, but does anyone remember the really REALLY drunk Radio 4 continuity announcer? I think it was earlier this year, it was mid-afternoon. I was driving between jobs and a bit stressed at the time and never followed it up to find out what happened. But I was talking to someone this evening about it and they heard it to. So I googled "drunk announcer" and turned up this thread.
I definitely didn't imagine it as my friend heard the same. He reckons it was "about a year ago", I thought it was maybe early this year. Either way, I don't recall recognising the voice. I think it was just before the Archers, there was a LONG pause, then a "thunk", then some heavy breathing, then a lot of slurring. He was still at it about an hour later.
OK, here's my "drunk on the air" story. (It wasn't me who was drunk).
Back in 1979 I was doing the morning show on Beacon Radio. One morning I got out of bed as usual at 4am and went downstairs to make a cup of tea before leaving for work. I'm not sure why I turned on the radio, but I did. It was tuned to Beacon. This was during a time when the station did not have an all-night show. They had previously experimented with staying on-air all night (I did those shows, alternating with Peter Quinn) but at this time the station was silent 1am to 6am. On the morning in question, instead of dead air I heard something strange. Voices. Two drunk voices, slurring, talking nonsense, it sounded like two very pissed people pretending to be DJs. Then I recognized the voices. It was Program Director Alan McKenzie and Managing Director Jay Oliver. On the air -- smashed out of their heads. It was hard to figure out if they knew they were going out live -- or if they thought they were just sitting in the studio messing around, disconnected from the transmitter. Wow.
I jumped in my car and drove from Telford to Wolverhampton in about 60 seconds. All the way there I listened to Alan and Jay mumbling and giggling and saying stuff that should never be said on the radio. Just before I got to the station, their "show" ended. I raced into the building just as they were leaving the studio. They staggered past me -- and left. I never mentioned what I had heard. They never mentioned the incident either. My show that day was a rather nervous one. Bob Snyder
OK, here's my "drunk on the air" story. (It wasn't me who was drunk).
Back in 1979 I was doing the morning show on Beacon Radio. One morning I got out of bed as usual at 4am and went downstairs to make a cup of tea before leaving for work. I'm not sure why I turned on the radio, but I did. It was tuned to Beacon. This was during a time when the station did not have an all-night show. They had previously experimented with staying on-air all night (I did those shows, alternating with Peter Quinn) but at this time the station was silent 1am to 6am. On the morning in question, instead of dead air I heard something strange. Voices. Two drunk voices, slurring, talking nonsense, it sounded like two very pissed people pretending to be DJs. Then I recognized the voices. It was Program Director Alan McKenzie and Managing Director Jay Oliver. On the air -- smashed out of their heads. It was hard to figure out if they knew they were going out live -- or if they thought they were just sitting in the studio messing around, disconnected from the transmitter. Wow.
I jumped in my car and drove from Telford to Wolverhampton in about 60 seconds. All the way there I listened to Alan and Jay mumbling and giggling and saying stuff that should never be said on the radio. Just before I got to the station, their "show" ended. I raced into the building just as they were leaving the studio. They staggered past me -- and left. I never mentioned what I had heard. They never mentioned the incident either. My show that day was a rather nervous one. Bob Snyder
Wow ! What a great story ! To think that if I'd left the radio on that night I could have heard that too. Their drunken disagreements and scuffles were legendary. The 9 week 24 hour experiment was from late January through to March in 1978 and the station went fully 24 hours in November of the same year, so are you sure it wasn't 1978?
In 1979 (around June I think) Allen and Jay were fired and it would've made more sense for them to go on air drunk in rebellion knowing they'd lost their jobs, but Beacon was already 24 hours a day by then. As soon as they'd been fired Mike Baker was reinstated after losing his job a year earlier.
You may be right about the year, it's a long time ago, my memory (as well as my face) is fuzzy. I do remember how alcohol was an important part of every British station I worked at. There was always a pub across the street. Looking back I'm surprised there weren't more people drunk on the air. It was almost as if the drinking scene was a big part of the reason people got into the radio business. Here in Canada, at least at the stations I worked at in cities like Vancouver, jocks didn't socialize as much. They were much more business-like. And in smaller markets the relationship between the station and the local business community was much stronger than it was in the UK. So the station discouraged anything that might offend the chamber of commerce. Having said that, I'm sure there are heavy drinkers at Canadian stations -- but a pure minded boy like me was never part of that scene!
You may be right about the year, it's a long time ago, my memory (as well as my face) is fuzzy. I do remember how alcohol was an important part of every British station I worked at. There was always a pub across the street. Looking back I'm surprised there weren't more people drunk on the air. It was almost as if the drinking scene was a big part of the reason people got into the radio business. Here in Canada, at least at the stations I worked at in cities like Vancouver, jocks didn't socialize as much. They were much more business-like. And in smaller markets the relationship between the station and the local business community was much stronger than it was in the UK. So the station discouraged anything that might offend the chamber of commerce. Having said that, I'm sure there are heavy drinkers at Canadian stations -- but a pure minded boy like me was never part of that scene!
Not just radio. I worked in an engineering factory in the 80's and everyday we'd go over to the local golf club for 2-3 pints of Tuborg and a beef salad baguette. Never mind that we had to operate machines and do welding in the afternoon - no wonder I cut the top of my finger off . Couldn't afford to do it nowadays either.
I hadn't heard that Radio Wyvern clip before, it is awful, and the excuses he makes cannot be right - a power cut locking him out of the studio? Everything appears to be working fine with one obvious exception......
When he does speak it is gibberish - surely he would normally have something to say?
I hadn't heard that Radio Wyvern clip before, it is awful, and the excuses he makes cannot be right - a power cut locking him out of the studio? Everything appears to be working fine with one obvious exception......
When he does speak it is gibberish - surely he would normally have something to say?
The presenter is Mark Williams. I understand he was fired after that performance, but it didn't end his career.
He worked on lots of radio stations beginning at Radio City, then Beacon, then he worked in Australia, then he returned to opened CBC in Cardiff, then Centre Radio before going to Toronto, Canada (which he mentions in the clip). He then opened Buzz FM in Birmingham and much later on in 2001 he worked at Saga West Midlands.
His voice is amazing and I used to listen to him present the "Billboard Hot 100" on Beacon in the '70s where his vocals fitted well, however, him having something to say was never his forté.
Comments
Like I said we don't know what actually happened all we have is their personal interpretation of what they heard.
It may not be normal programming but is probably a good description of people in Stoke.
Thankfully where I live I can get the Manchester mutiplex , I like magic north , the playlist is excellent . And not bland and the djs talk but not waffle .
Smooth is ok but it's trying to cater for London and we will see how it does in the north west soon. In stoke it's hard to pick up
Smooth .
Good.Should have happened the first time,now we just need the 'Editor' to actually make a statement and not DUCK OUT OF THE ISSUE.
What was the explanation?
Who cares?
If you don't care don't post in the thread.
I care about the incident up to a point but I don't feel there needs to be an explanation.
Well I do, I don't like mysteries, it is interesting to find out what happened, so if you don't care why post to make that point, others do.
It is worth noting that slurring words and losing consciousness can be symptomatic of someone who has diabetes and is not managing their condition properly. It can come on extremely quickly without prior warning.
But of course that type of explanation wouldn't suit the "heads must roll" brigade, would it?
Hence why I asked if they explained, the first time she was definitely drunk though as she said she had been drinking, it did cross my mind whether this time she was drunk or actually ill, of course the audio has gone.
Is it a car crash? Yes. It is.
Is she drunk? I don't know. There are a range of conditions or medications that can make one sound like they are intoxicated.
Does she deserved to be publicly mocked, whatever the reason? No.
Clearly, whatever the reason for the rather strange interview she was unwell and I hope that she is recovering now.
I definitely didn't imagine it as my friend heard the same. He reckons it was "about a year ago", I thought it was maybe early this year. Either way, I don't recall recognising the voice. I think it was just before the Archers, there was a LONG pause, then a "thunk", then some heavy breathing, then a lot of slurring. He was still at it about an hour later.
Anyone remember that? Who was it? What happened?
Back in 1979 I was doing the morning show on Beacon Radio. One morning I got out of bed as usual at 4am and went downstairs to make a cup of tea before leaving for work. I'm not sure why I turned on the radio, but I did. It was tuned to Beacon. This was during a time when the station did not have an all-night show. They had previously experimented with staying on-air all night (I did those shows, alternating with Peter Quinn) but at this time the station was silent 1am to 6am. On the morning in question, instead of dead air I heard something strange. Voices. Two drunk voices, slurring, talking nonsense, it sounded like two very pissed people pretending to be DJs. Then I recognized the voices. It was Program Director Alan McKenzie and Managing Director Jay Oliver. On the air -- smashed out of their heads. It was hard to figure out if they knew they were going out live -- or if they thought they were just sitting in the studio messing around, disconnected from the transmitter. Wow.
I jumped in my car and drove from Telford to Wolverhampton in about 60 seconds. All the way there I listened to Alan and Jay mumbling and giggling and saying stuff that should never be said on the radio. Just before I got to the station, their "show" ended. I raced into the building just as they were leaving the studio. They staggered past me -- and left. I never mentioned what I had heard. They never mentioned the incident either. My show that day was a rather nervous one. Bob Snyder
Wow ! What a great story ! To think that if I'd left the radio on that night I could have heard that too. Their drunken disagreements and scuffles were legendary. The 9 week 24 hour experiment was from late January through to March in 1978 and the station went fully 24 hours in November of the same year, so are you sure it wasn't 1978?
In 1979 (around June I think) Allen and Jay were fired and it would've made more sense for them to go on air drunk in rebellion knowing they'd lost their jobs, but Beacon was already 24 hours a day by then. As soon as they'd been fired Mike Baker was reinstated after losing his job a year earlier.
Not just radio. I worked in an engineering factory in the 80's and everyday we'd go over to the local golf club for 2-3 pints of Tuborg and a beef salad baguette. Never mind that we had to operate machines and do welding in the afternoon - no wonder I cut the top of my finger off
https://radiofail.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/drunk-in-charge-of-a-show-fail/
and here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/bbc-radio-stoke-dj-paula-white-passes-out-on-air-during-saturday-show-8932844.html
Though this isn't Paula White, it is another example of an allegedly drunken performance on a breakfast show from a couple of decades ago here:
http://aircheckdownloads.com/Wyvern_MarkWilliams_29Jan89.mp3
I hadn't heard that Radio Wyvern clip before, it is awful, and the excuses he makes cannot be right - a power cut locking him out of the studio? Everything appears to be working fine with one obvious exception......
When he does speak it is gibberish - surely he would normally have something to say?
The presenter is Mark Williams. I understand he was fired after that performance, but it didn't end his career.
He worked on lots of radio stations beginning at Radio City, then Beacon, then he worked in Australia, then he returned to opened CBC in Cardiff, then Centre Radio before going to Toronto, Canada (which he mentions in the clip). He then opened Buzz FM in Birmingham and much later on in 2001 he worked at Saga West Midlands.
His voice is amazing and I used to listen to him present the "Billboard Hot 100" on Beacon in the '70s where his vocals fitted well, however, him having something to say was never his forté.