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Kevin Greening dead following "marathon drugs and kinky sex session"

Started by aaaaaaaaaargh!, January 03, 2008, 10:26:48 AM

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Former Radio 1 DJ goes out in style:

http://www.gigwise.com/news/39707/kevin-greening-died-after-marathon-sex-and-drugs-session

Celebrating his 45th birthday apparently.

edit to alter thread title slightly

jaydee81

I like the fact initial reports stated he died 'peacefully in his sleep.' In contrast to the proceedings the night before.

The Mumbler

Is husband-batterer Rebekah Wade still editing The Sun?

Press in 'We're cunts' shock.

It's a shame that he's dead but it's well better than being murdered.

no_offenc


Hank_Kingsley

I thought he was Scott Mills. I have never heard of Kevin Greening. Still, it's made me think twice about my next GHB and gay sex marathon.

Famous Mortimer

After all those glowing reviews of his career, people tend to forget that he was...well, not a very good DJ. I used to listen to Radio 1 a lot in those days, and had the displeasure of hearing many a breakfast show with him and Zoe Ball showing absolutely zero charisma as a team, and as soon as Ball was ready to present the show on her own they booted Greening out the door (with a brief stop-off on some other show, if memory serves). I don't suppose many obits are all that honest, though.


jaydee81

Yeah... I remember turning off many a radio when he used to cover various slots on Radio 1... wouldn't want someone saying 'he used to always make bland statements' about me when I die though.

Catalogue Trousers

Greening was a much better DJ than he's given credit for by some. Especially in his early work for Virgin Radio, where characters like Eric the Gardener and Raymond Sinclair (with his Blowchap business empire) made for the first really consistently and intentionally funny Dj since Kenny Everett. So there.

A bag of Blowchap Chicken Lips will be eaten in his honour tonight.


CaledonianGonzo

Quote from: Catalogue Trousers on January 03, 2008, 12:46:23 PM
the first really consistently and intentionally funny Dj since Kenny Everett. So there.

Blimey - does 'Greening Was Funnier Than Chris Morris*' get mentioned in any of his other obits?

He's with Diana now..

*Or Mark & Lard/Lee & Herring/etc, etc., delete as for preference


23 Daves

Quote from: Catalogue Trousers on January 03, 2008, 12:46:23 PM
Greening was a much better DJ than he's given credit for by some. Especially in his early work for Virgin Radio, where characters like Eric the Gardener and Raymond Sinclair (with his Blowchap business empire) made for the first really consistently and intentionally funny Dj since Kenny Everett. So there.

I agree with everything you've said up to the point about Kenny Everett - he wasn't that good.  Besides that, there's no question that the Eric the Gardener monologues were of a high quality and that his radio show was actually absurd listening, not "bland" at all.  The point has been made on Cookd and Bombd before that Greening was likely to have been an influence on Morris' career, since some of the more ridiculous monologues he created came with ambient backings, which added to their otherworldly air.

This is what happens to people when they take on high-profile work which doesn't suit them.  The Radio One Breakfast Show really killed Greening's career.  His humour was too subtle to work in tandem with motormouth Zoe Ball, and he was just drowned out by the whole format.  It's just a pity he's remembered primarily for that now rather than the work he did before.


Quote from: 23 Daves on January 03, 2008, 01:07:09 PM
This is what happens to people when they take on high-profile work which doesn't suit them.  The Radio One Breakfast Show really killed Greening's career.  His humour was too subtle to work in tandem with motormouth Zoe Ball, and he was just drowned out by the whole format.  It's just a pity he's remembered primarily for that now rather than the work he did before.

Indeed, it would take a superhuman effort or sledgehammer humour to drown out Zoe Ball.  Basing opinions of him on that fairly small part of his career seems a little unfair really.

I really should have put "marathon drugs and kinky sex session" in quote marks up there, I don't think it's an established fact yet.  Still, in any case, that's how I want to go, possibly minus the homosexuality.

This was a strange story - when it said he died quietly in his sleep, but gave no details, it seemed a bit funny to me. Then I read he was gay, so thought that it was maybe AIDS and he hadn't made it public or something.

Derek Trucks

I'd recommend the book "The Nation's Favourite" by Simon Garfield to anyone remotely interested in the workings of Radio 1 in the 90s & the change from the being the well-listened but over-established DLT era to the edgier world of Chris Morris & Evans etc. (and then showing glimpses of being the unlistenable current age).  From that I've gathered that Kevin Greening was very respected within the industry for his professionalism, and being able to judge the tone & atmosphere of different situations.  My his own admission he wasn't the most charasmatic man on the radio, and would play the straight role, letting the action happen around him.  What seemed to make his career was being put in the prime slots immediately after the death of Diana, the station reckoned he captured how a lot of listeners were feeling, needing company but having a period of reflection & withdrawal.

23 Daves

Actually, if I must criticise Greening - and now would probably be a slightly bad time to do it - I would admit that his response to Diana's death did get rather tedious.  He just kept on waffling about it in a solemn voice for what seemed like weeks.  I'm sure he wasn't the only one, but I nearly wore the enamel off my teeth from all the aggravated grinding I was doing when he was on air at that point.  As I was living in Portsmouth when the fatal Paris accident happened, it wasn't even as if I had many quality regional stations to tune into instead.

Another Greening minus point:  He spluttered "well, that's not exactly a morning single, what are we supposed to do with that?" in a disgruntled manner when Pulp's "This is Hardcore" came out.  He was wrong.  It sounded hilarious when you woke up with the morning horn. 

But now I've got those two out of the way, I honestly have to say that when he was good, he was really very good.  If anyone has any MP3s of some his comedy characters or monologues, I'd really love to have the chance to hear them again.

PaulTMA

I remember Greening actually said something like "send us any of your requests...it's OK if you feel like a little cry".  I'll be  listening to Bobby Conn's 'Angels' follwed by Redd Kross' 'S&M Party' and thinking of you, Kev.

I'm sure there's be  a wave of comforting 'oh dear he's dead how sad RIP' NOTBBC condolences to endure he drops some little angel tears on us all.

Phil_A

Quote from: PaulTMA on January 03, 2008, 06:31:23 PM
I remember Greening actually said something like "send us any of your requests...it's OK if you feel like a little cry".  I'll be  listening to Bobby Conn's 'Angels' follwed by Redd Kross' 'S&M Party' and thinking of you, Kev.

I'm sure there's be  a wave of comforting 'oh dear he's dead how sad RIP' NOTBBC condolences to endure he drops some little angel tears on us all.

Fuck off, you fucking snide twat.

dr beat

Agreed with 23 Daves - I remember listening to his early Saturday morning show, which was always a slightly disorienting but entertaining way of waking up.  I guess he was able to mess around so much presumably because none of the management were listening at that time.  Oh, and I wonder who the Raymond Sinclair bloke actually was in real life?

greencalx

I remember finding him quite tedious when he first appeared - I initially felt his sketches were whimsical rather than funny. I also didn't like the way the Management used him as the stand-in DJ when anyone else went on holiday. It was like he kept following me around as I changed the time of day that I switched the radio on to avoid him*. But, over the years either I got the humour more, or he raised his game, that by the time the Diana shit happened I actually quite liked him. I also felt he was the better half of the Breakfast Show - almost all the clever gags and features seemed to be his influence rather than shouty old Ball. It's fairly typical for me to start liking someone just as they're axed. Poor chap.

* They did the same thing with Moyles a few years later  -  but I've never warmed to him.

Ambient Sheep

And now Mark Speight's girlfriend.  Does anyone think there's some kind of super-strong cocaine doing the rounds of the minor celebrity circuit?  Mind you, overdosing on uncut heroin is relatively common, but I've never heard of anybody overdosing on uncut cocaine, so maybe it IS cut, but with something nasty...

non capisco

One of my friends' work colleagues' girlfriend died of a heart attack after taking coke at New Years. On top of these two stories, the thought that there's something nasty being dealt around London at the moment occured to me as well.

I blame the proleteriat once again for their increasingly common aspirational use. There's fuck all good gak left for media types who actually do need it to get through the day! I'm convinced that these poor dead bastards were stuffing their conks full of bleach residue when they snuffed it.

You know this country's going to the fucking dogs when you can't even get quality beak at the BBC.

Where the bloody hell is my license fee going?

nuttyxander

I found the obit in The Guardian rather interesting, especially as it has a section from Andrew McGibbon.

My teenage self found Creighton Wheeler on Loose Ends a work of genius. Didn't really notice him as a DJ though.

johnfuego

Raymond Sinclair was a bloke called Andrew Paresi. Drummer with Morrissey and not very funny comedian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Paresi


kidsick5000

Its a shame about Mr Greening. Including The Raymond Sinclair stuff was great. I'll have to try and find some of those segments. There has to be some around.
But Greening was a really good radio DJ. Never destined to be a star, but one of those that could fill any show, didnt try to be anyone else or force a personality you, or pretend that his show was some sort of pleasure zone party palace or talk utter shit.
Just came in, affable, no crappy forced jokes. A good presenter.