Sketches.

Writing radio sketches isn't easy. Writing good ones is even harder, as the sketch writing team for Wake Up With Bods found out. Even harder than this, is writing good sketches and actually getting a good cast to act them out. Unfortunately, on Wake Up With Bods there were neither good sketches, nor good sketch writers...

Eastwood

When we look at Mancunian rap DJ legend, Eastwood, it is perhaps worth noting that Eastwood appeared on Purple FM in Durham literally about six months before Ali G appeared on TV. This is worth remembering... Alas, Eastwood never made it to TV, unlike Ali. And with actors and scripts like these, is it surprising?

Despite the fact that five sketches were written, only two were ever broadcast. A third would have been done if we could have got the Queen to star in it... You can hear both number one and two in real audio, or read the transcripts. Eastwood was written by Catherine Redfern, with Andrew Bowden taking the roll of Eastwood.

The Love Spot (with That Madge Woman From Neighbours)

No radio station would be complete without a soppy record played for some soppy couple who are just so overwhelmingly in love. In 1998 this roll was fulfilled by Dr Love with his Love Show which came directly after The Anti-Climax, but when Dr Love hung up his stethoscope and white coat, his mantle was passed on to the Wake Up With Bods team, who flew in, at great expense, That Madge Woman From Neighbours with her seductive voice, to help the team out... Unfortunately, her professional quality acting had no chance of saving this feature...

You can hear the first or second Love Spots in real audio, or read the transcripts. Both sketches were written by Andrew Bowden, and performed by Andrew Bowden and Catherine Redfern.

The Bill

Perhaps one of the finest sketches ever wrote for the wireless... Unfortunately it was violently spoilt by technical incompetence. Which is why the whole thing was repeated the following week in an attempt to actually get it right... You can listen to the screwed up version and then compare it with the slightly better performed correct version. In both cases, the joke is just as bad...

Jingles

Jingles aren't exactly sketches, but some of them were so bad, that this seemed the most logical place to put them. It should be noted that neither of the two shows had their own pre-recorded jingles, and those used, and shown below, were created by the experts on the Purple Jingle Team... Jingles like this one featuring a woman. Others featured some strange person singing, like in this phone number jingle, or the sheer voice over experience of Radio One DJ, Mark Goodier. Or perhaps you prefer this alienesque version... We know we do.

So with no specific show jingles, it often came down to the team to do live jingles, like this example for Bods's Big One. But if you're going to do a live jingle, do it in a true northern style...

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