Let’s see who’s sharing a birthday with Adolf.

dan o'day

Dan O’Day used his library of audio clips to illustrate the dos and don’ts, based on things he had heard, admired or cringed at from radio stations all over the world. One example was that hackneyed feature The Birthday List, when a radio presenter gave a roll-call of famous people – dead and alive – who might also be sharing a birthday with you on that day. But who, asked Dan, as he fired a clip of a bored presenter going through the motions, really wants to know that “… also born on this day was notorious Nazi, Adolf Eichmann, responsible for implementing Hitler’s Final Solution that led to the murder of millions of Jews.”

It was a fair point. You would have trouble shoe-horning that into the conversation at coffee break.

-The Red Light Zone (Chapter 12)

Dan’s website

Chapter 15: A bit tacky, but it sticks.

“I suggested the open auditions might be just a publicity stunt. Goaded into taking part, I looked around the office for some inspiration, but all I could see were office supplies and so Johnny Sellotape was born. And his daft gimmick of attaching old jokes to his jacket would allow him to fill the required five minutes of stage time, should he forget his lines.”

*audio from Stuck: The Rise and Fall of Johnny Sellotape (BBC Radio Scotland)

Picture: The Big Issue.

Chapter 10: The Elephant in the Room

Let’s do the Show Right Here: “News anchor Jackie Bird presented the first series and compered shows across Scotland, always bringing another famous name to help boost ticket sales. Barbara Dickson sang her hit songs in Aberfeldy; magician Paul Daniels conspired with the audience in Brookfield, explaining that radio was a great medium for magic and making an entire elephant disappear.”

-The Red Light Zone