Kevin Greening
A significant working relationship was forged between McGibbon and GLR disc jockey Kevin Greening around the time that he jumped ship for Virgin Radio in April 1993. His interest was piqued by the Eric the Gardener record, desperate to know if the character was real or make believe. McGibbon was soon contributing sketch material to the show. Additional characters in these early days included Welworth Moore, David van Donkin, Inspector Steeping of Scotland Yard, Raymond Sinclair and Creighton Wheeler.
Transferring to BBC Radio 1 in January 1994, Greening initially fronted the weekend breakfast show, moving to lunchtimes between November 1994 and October 1995. Fixtures during this period include a regular two-part story from Eric the Gardener and three adverts per show by Raymond Sinclair’s insalubrious associates Blo Chap. Musical departures comprised the work of the Sinclair Singers, a satirical four-part jazz harmony group again mixed and produced by Danton Supple, as well as a parody of Morrissey smuggled in during guest host slots for Simon Mayo and known in fan circles as Oh Melanie.
McGibbon was sacked from the show upon the move back to weekend breakfast in October 1995, although returned to assist during the depleted airtime available in Greening’s drive time slot from February – October 1997.
October 1997 saw the partnering of Greening with Zoe Ball for the Radio 1 breakfast show, which lasted just one year. Here, McGibbon debuted Major Holdups, a terrifying former air pilot prone to barking out travel updates inter-cut with surreal storylines. These items were co-written with Rob Colley. This period also saw the return of Raymond Sinclair in the regular item Ray’s Organ.
With a move to Sundays in September 1998, McGibbon was dropped once again from Greening’s show. A final edition on 16 January 2000 comprised a nostalgic look back at old sketch material, ending with a swansong appearance by Eric the Gardener.
Read more about this topic: Andrew McGibbon
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