Chris Morris Radio 1 Question

[Purple Tentacle]

Hello there, just a couple of questions really.

Did Frankie Valli prevent the R1 show going out one week? I'm listening to the spoon baby balloon episode with all the "apologies" to Frankie Valli, but the show wasn't on the previous week... was this his fault?


And secondly I was just wondering when the notorious "exam help" episode will be available for download, because I'd love to hear it again.

(Soulseek is out of bounds for my 56k ilk)

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

And secondly I was just wondering when the notorious "exam help" episode will be available for download, because I'd love to hear it again.

I was going to ask if this one was going to up for download too, I've heard a lot about it but never actually heard the episode itself. I'd love to hear episode 19 too actually, the one with the Frankie Valli apologies in it.

[Manford Thirty-Sixborough]

And secondly I was just wondering when the notorious "exam help" episode will be available for download, because I'd love to hear it again.

I was going to ask if this one was going to up for download too, I've heard a lot about it but never actually heard the episode itself. I'd love to hear episode 19 too actually, the one with the Frankie Valli apologies in it.

Didn't someone called "Some Herbert" put one of these up for download recently? Not sure if it was on the web or on Soulseek (which I could still access at the time) but I'm sure somebody will be able to help.

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

This site has them, and puts them up a couple of times a month. I'm sure the next update will have one or two.

[alan strang]

Did Frankie Valli prevent the R1 show going out one week? I'm listening to the spoon baby balloon episode with all the "apologies" to Frankie Valli, but the show wasn't on the previous week... was this his fault?

Not Frankie Valli personally - the PR woman in the phonecall after the Valli interview made the actual complaint and demanded an on-air apology. The BBC apparently took her side because, what with Radio 1 feeling 'wounded' by an increase in music-radio competition, they felt they should stay on the right side of the publicists.

Morris really hated the idea of doing the apology - hence the pisstaking throughout (and the coded message to Day Today fans with the final 'apology', read out under the influence of helium to 'detract credability from the statement'!)

There was originally going to be a further apology, which Radio 1 cut. Morris phoned up the PR woman in question posing as a Radio 1 executive and asked her to read the apology down the phoneline in order to 'check that it was correct' - the plan was to broadcast the apology using her voice and make it look like she was taking the blame! Radio 1 were a bit iffy about the drunken "I drink methylated spirits, Mister..." apology too, but Morris threw a tantrum so they left it in.

Having said all this, I seem to remember that the lack of the previous week's show was down to the practicalities of having to edit around all the above shenanegins rather than anyone insisting that it shouldn't go out. Towards the end of the run, Morris and Baynham were assembling the shows right up to the last minute and beyond (and in one famous case - the doubled-up edit of the Stone Roses track over which Morris sang Led Zeppelin - doing the show 'live').

"Di - My Spunk In Her Snatch" - Radio 1 cut that out too.

[Purple Tentacle]

Cheers for that!

(In all fairness it was quite out of order for Morris to broadcast a private phone conversation from what seemed to be quite a decent woman)

[Bilko]

I've posted before wanting that exam help episode.

Someone did reply and said they had it , I can't remember his verbwhore name it was on the old site and he my have not registered on this one. Anyway he gave a couple of dates he would be available on soulseek to share it.

I managed to get all 14 parts of that episode. Having got it from another verbwhore I feel obliged to tell other verbwhores I have it and will be on soulseek tomorrow in the CaB between 7 and 10 at night if anyone wants it. I also will be on most mornings around 6.50 to 7.50. I go under the username as I use on this site with one less L. Peter Hammil

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

Morris really hated the idea of doing the apology - hence the pisstaking throughout (and the coded message to Day Today fans with the final 'apology', read out under the influence of helium to 'detract credability from the statement'!)

There was originally going to be a further apology, which Radio 1 cut. Morris phoned up the PR woman in question posing as a Radio 1 executive and asked her to read the apology down the phoneline in order to 'check that it was correct' - the plan was to broadcast the apology using her voice and make it look like she was taking the blame! Radio 1 were a bit iffy about the drunken "I drink methylated spirits, Mister..." apology too, but Morris threw a tantrum so they left it in.

Having said all this, I seem to remember that the lack of the previous week's show was down to the practicalities of having to edit around all the above shenanegins rather than anyone insisting that it shouldn't go out. Towards the end of the run, Morris and Baynham were assembling the shows right up to the last minute and beyond (and in one famous case - the doubled-up edit of the Stone Roses track over which Morris sang Led Zeppelin - doing the show 'live').

"Di - My Spunk In Her Snatch" - Radio 1 cut that out too.

Thats all really interesting. How do you know all that stuff? Have you heard it from people involved in the making of the shows or does Morris refer to it in a later show? Do you have any more interesting Morris storys?

[alan strang]

Thats all really interesting. How do you know all that stuff? Have you heard it from people involved in the making of the shows or does Morris refer to it in a later show?

I interviewed Peter Baynham back in December '94 - when all this stuff was still fresh in his mind.

Do you have any more interesting Morris storys?

About the Music Shows? Yes, one or two. There's a lovely one about the crack-up at Edinburgh which I'll post up later.

[Some Herbert]

Didn't someone called "Some Herbert" put one of these up for download recently? Not sure if it was on the web or on Soulseek (which I could still access at the time) but I'm sure somebody will be able to help.

That'll be me then. They're still in my Soulseek share - I'll try to log in over the next couple of days so you can get 'em.

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

I interviewed Peter Baynham back in December '94 - when all this stuff was still fresh in his mind.

Do you have any more interesting Morris storys?

About the Music Shows? Yes, one or two. There's a lovely one about the crack-up at Edinburgh which I'll post up later.

That would be great. Do you have a transcript of the Baynham interview? Or is it anywhere on the internet? It sounds interesting.

[Neil]

I got the show from Some Herbert as well, I'll stick it up possibly later today with the GLR show and two new Harpoons.

[Entropy Balsmalch]

I think the appology had to be made because it was a private phone call and no agreement to broadcast it was made.

All the interviews could go out and escape appology even if the star involved was furious because the very fact your turn up to a studio to do an interview (down ISDN or not) is tacit agreement to broadcast.

[alan strang]

I think the appology had to be made because it was a private phone call and no agreement to broadcast it was made.

All the interviews could go out and escape appology even if the star involved was furious because the very fact your turn up to a studio to do an interview (down ISDN or not) is tacit agreement to broadcast.

I don't think it's that strict. From what I've been told you don't actually need any such agreement as long as one person participating in the call knows it's going to be broadcast. Morris did, and thus it was.

For the Music Shows he never sought broadcast-permission from anyone he duped over the phone, or indeed ever called them back to reveal it was a joke - except in the case of the exam hotline students where he phoned each of them afterwards and gave them some genuine non-bollocks exam advice.

[Entropy Balsmalch]

It is that strict.

It is an offence to even record a phone conversation without the other person's consent unless you have a warrant.

You can argue for serious journalistic reasons you had to secretly film or record people in a matter of public interest, but you could still face a civil prosecution.

It's why adverts with phone numbers in them have to say "Calls may be recorded or monitored" - therefore you are giving your consent to be recorded by phoning up.

I presume Morris was chancing his arm with many of the phone calls, because he doesn't actually identify most of the people involved in random prank calls - and in the case of the ones to America - are they ever going to here them to complain?

In the Call 1FM sections he will have made the caller aware he was recording, all be it for different reasons than they thought.

[Entropy Balsmalch]

Just to satisfy my own curiosity I've found this brief synopsis of UK law on taping phone calls:

The interception, recording and monitoring of telephone calls is governed by a number of different pieces of UK legislation. The requirements of all relevant legislation must be complied with. The main ones are:

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ("RIPA"). · Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice)(Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000 ("LBP Regulations"). · Data Protection Act 1998.
Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999.
Human Rights Act 1998.

Recording Private Calls

The relevant law, RIPA, does not prohibit individuals from recording their own communications provided that the recording is for their own use. Recording or monitoring are only prohibited where some of the contents of the communication - which can be a phone conversation or an e-mail - are made available to a third party, i.e. someone who was neither the caller or sender nor the intended recipient of the original communication.

According to Oftel, you do not have to let people know that you intend to record their telephone conversations, provided you are not intending to make the contents of the communication available to a third party. If you are you will need the consent of the person you are recording.

So you can record a call without asking - but you can't play it to anyone, unless you get their consent.

[alan strang]

It is that strict.

It is an offence to even record a phone conversation without the other person's consent unless you have a warrant.

You can argue for serious journalistic reasons you had to secretly film or record people in a matter of public interest, but you could still face a civil prosecution.

In which case I can only assume they've tightened the rules a bit since 1994...

[Aha - just noticed your last posting in the topic review bit - looks like they have - 1998, 1999, 2000 - amendments presumably.]

Anyway, what I originally wrote before that was:

...I spoke to a few comedians back then who'd participated in such calls - Baynham being one of them - and they insisted there were no strict rules governing the set-up and that legally it was allowable without consent from the other party. Perhaps the "one person who knows it was to be broadcast" agreed to take full responsibility for any outcome?

I found all this a bit surprising myself since Victor Lewis-Smith had always been made to get permission from hoaxees before broadcast (Brian Sewell refused, although the call still made it to the 'Tested On Humans...' CD).

Coincidentally I was watching an old tape of Edinburgh Or Bust 2000 last night in which Noble and Silver are filmed making a terribly weak prank phonecall to a receptionist. The interviewer points out that what they're doing is 'illegal', and the voice of the receptionist has been re-dubbed (a caption saying 'actress's voice' or somesuch pops up onscreen).

And all for a measly conversation in which either Noble or Silver says the word "fuckup" and the receptionist says "I'm sorry?"

[Entropy Balsmalch]

I'm pretty sure it's been illegal for longer than a few years and was back in 1994.

The reasoning behind this is my dad got an answer phone around 15 years ago - for various reasons that I can't be arsed going in to, I know the date to be pre-1994.

It allowed you to record conversations too, but let out and audible beep every 5 seconds - the reason was given in the handbook as it was illegal to record conversations without the participants consent.

[Dirty Boy]

I've been picking through these shows again in the last few weeks and have a couple of questions...

1) if the later shows were recorded does anyone know roughly how much stuff was chopped from broadcast? I'm thinking of the xmas show, why would they allow it to go on in the early afternoon when they know full well that some of the interviews are fairly profane and are aware how much trouble Morris caused them in the past?

2)Is that Enoch Powell thing for real?

That's it for now.Feel free to add some more.

[Purple Tentacle]

2)Is that Enoch Powell thing for real?

Definitely. I remember watching the batshit mad old cunt on a documentary the night before the CM show went out, and my dad and I were delighted to hear Morris sampling it, that he'd been as entertained by it as we were.

Britain without a monarchy is like an elephant without a trunk.

[kidsick5000]

What did happen to the Exam Line episode?

[Pinball]

Britain without a monarchy is like an elephant without a trunk.

Britain without the monarchy would be like a serf without a ball and chain.

90% of the people of the UK live on 10% of the land, thanks to the fucking aristocrats. Feudalism is dead? I don't think so.

[Purple Tentacle]

I'm not Enoch Powell.

[mayer]

Sure you're not, you can't fool me.

[23 Daves]

The taping of phone calls has always been something of a grey area to my knowledge, though strangely I did get into an argument with the sales staff at Tandys back in the late nineties.  They wouldn't sell me a device to record phone conversations until I told them what my 'journalistic intent' for it was - which they really don't have to know, the man serving me was just being incredibly snide and arsey.  "What you are doing is illegal, mate".  Oh piss off, not if I speak to the interviewee beforehand and let them know I'm crap at shorthand and mention that I plan to record it's not (see the "Calls may be recorded for monitoring purposes" line - it's fine once permission has been granted).

Anyway... so far as I know you can still get mic line-out devices to do it, many journalists use them, and it's not totally illegal, but it has to be handled carefully.

[chimpoo]

I did get into an argument with the sales staff at Tandys back in the late nineties...

Fucking hell.  How long has this been festering away inside you?

[Daaaaaaan]

I didn't want to start a new thread for this but I've got a question about a song in one of these shows. Incidentally, would it be a good idea to have a sticky thread specifically for minor Morris questions?

Well, anyway, my question is, on episode 10 at 14.30, what's the name of the song?

[Neil]

Kirsty MacColl - Walking Down Madison

The songs are listed in TJ's guides, click

[Daaaaaaan]

Ah, fantastic. Cheers.

[James Christopher]

Kirsty MacColl - Walking Down Madison

With the legendary Johnny Marr on guitar, who co-wrote the track.