The audio from A Very Maynard Xmas 2024 for those that find all those colours hurt their eyes.
Broadcasting from the main arena at Maynard International Studios, just opposite the Gilmore Girls Memorial Auditorium, it will bring the magic of Santa’s grotto back into our lives. Hopefully in the good way.
Feature guests in A Very Maynard Xmas 2024 include Lesley Fountain/Glenn Keenan, Roy Darby, Chris Kelly of Ship o Fools. With Christmas greetings from Mari Wilson, Rob Darby, Christopher Laird of Radio Nowhere, George Hrab with The Christmas Sweaters, Brigitte Handley, Tony Push and his poinsettia, even Paul Field and Bronwyn Mulcahy of Countdown Live wave hello in this most awkward of Xmas variety shows.
In the Thermopylae of modern life, occasionally you encounter someone who is beyond a journeyman, way past a Renaissance man. In fact, George Hrab has gone straight through the Renaissance, leapt over the Napoleonic Wars, and now has his head currently right up the Jazz Age.
I first met and listened to George Hrab in 2010 when he was still a teenager. His podcast, The Geologic Podcast, once you get over the fact he never once mentioned, uh, igneous rocks, it’s actually a pretty good bath time listing. His latest funk fest of an album, Terpsichore, despite being named after the Olivia Newton John character in Xanadu, has not one single reference to roller skating.
Maynard: In fact, there is a mystery about your album that you’ve deliberately put in there. There’s a secret involved.
George: There is, there’s a little bit of a puzzle throughout my history of listening to records and you always get these myths and these urban legends arise. Did Pink Floyd consciously synchronize Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz? Because when you put those two on at the same time, a lot of interesting coincidences happen.
Was this foreplanned? Was it on purpose? Usually the answer is no. So I wanted to have something not quite as trippy as that, but I wanted to have something incorporated into the album that was a purposeful kind of puzzle. So far, only one person has figured it out.
M: Well, you can jump that number up to two because I have figured it out, George.
G: Have you?
M : First I thought, okay, it’s something about the time signature in the linking rhythms between the tracks. Then I thought, no, it’s obvious. You’ve basically redone Duran Duran’s Rio album.
G: I can’t answer if you’re right or not, you know, I don’t want to give it away to the audience, but that’s a damn good answer. That’s a damn good answer…
“Very smart people being very silly is incredibly appealing to me.” – Geo
Here’s the audio version of the Xmas show this year. To enjoy the full immersive cheapo experience, watch the show on the previous page. But enjoy both, it’s Shatmas.
A Very Maynard Xmas is the highlight of the year for people who don’t get out a lot. It’s just like an old style Xmas variety show, but without the style, or the show.
Our guests dropping by this year include Tim Ferguson getting a surprise gift, Lesley Fountain dancing with a choir, Brigitte Handley hanging out with some creepy German dolls, Christopher Laird eating some sort of donut, Tony Push reading his Bowie inspired Xmas poem, George Hrab becoming a super hero, Rob and Roy Darby supplying some quality original music and other people who should have something better to do at this time of year.
A Very Maynard Xmas 2023 promises you almost an hour of Xmas entertainment that you will only have yourself to blame for. Musically the show has everything from David Essex to The Gibson Brothers and Lulu. Plus a monkey washing a cat.
30 years ago this week, on a Sunday far, far away Sunday Afternoon Fever blasted across the 1993 landscape of Australia on Triple J…
Kirk Pengilly, world famous saxophonist from INXS was my special guest taking questions from live callers Molly, Lance, Rick, Damien, Jenny, Claire (Darwin), Fran (Syd), Melissa (Melb), David, Liz (Melb), Craig, Claire (Manly Vale), Erika, Elaine (Melb), David (Syd), Elvis Presley (Newcastle), Big Dave (Kempsey), Sam, Melissa, Luke, Vanessa and Paul (Brisbane). INXS latest album at the time was Full Moon, Dirty Hearts.
Their questions for Kirk Pengilly range from “What new bands do you like?” (Juice & You Am I) to “Do you remember what happened at the Kempsey RSL that night you supported Richard Clapton in 1980?”. (Let’s just say no bands were allowed there for a few years after the “incident”). Kirk turns up on the show 1 hour 55 minutes in.
Other world altering events that afternoon include Steve in Adelaide forgetting to tape The Late Show last night. Lance & The Hollywood Kids gossiping about George Micheal, Rosanne, Corey Ham, Sharon Stone plus the shocking revelation that Brooke Shields was seen buying a book.
Crappy New Releases from Dr Ektomy and Mario Lanza. While Maynard’s mastermind finds Andrew wiping the floor with all the other contestants to win not only the new Duran Duran album, BUT also a picture of Nick Kershaw.
Always in step with international politics, I put in a call to order some new furniture for Boris Yeltsin. You know, just to be helpful.
I report on the Soloway sisters latest production from the opening night in LA Not Without My Nipples. Starring Janeane Garofalo, who was nice enough to give me a lift back to my hotel. Thanks for that.
But what snappy tunes are on the show Maynard? I hear you ask.
Pet Shop Boys – Normally I Wouldn’t Do This Kind of Thing Weddings, Parties, Anything – Mondays Experts Electric Hippies – It’s Cool General Public – Tenderness Ren & Stimpy – Happy Happy Joy Joy Special AKA – Free Nelson Mandela Mr Floppy – Wuthering Heights New Order – World Hoodoo Gurus – The Right Time Weird Al Yankovic – Jurassic Park Cocteau Twins – Iceblink Luck Kate Bush – Eat The Music Salt N Pepa – Shoop Tom Jones – It’s Not Unusual Pet Shop Boys – Go West Freaky Realistic – Leonard Nimoy Ice Cream Hands – You Can Smile Now Prince – Peach Denis Leary – Asshole Strange Tenants – Soldier Boy Weird Al Yankovic – Bedrock Anthem Radiohead – Creep Barbara Feldon – 99 Violent Femmes – Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? Terence Trent D’Arby – Delicate Juice Masters – Brady Bunch Miki Howard – Ain’t Nobody Like You INXS featuring Jenny Morris – Jackson Donny Hathaway What’s Going On INXS – Need You Tonight (Ben Liebrand remix) Guy Delandro – Old Country Lanes INXS – Simple Simon Trey Lorenz – Wipe All My Tears Away Fits Of Gloom – To Love Yothu Yindi – World Turning Stan – Suntan Weird Al Yankovic- Achy Breaky Song Apache Indian – Boom Shak A Lak Weird Al Yankovic – Bohemian Polka
Bunga Bunga 74 answers the eternal question “what is art?” with Tim Ferguson and Maynard. “It’s on the wall you goose”, is the only answer you need.
“Art is problematic Maynard. Let’s face it. It doesn’t fucking go with anything.”
Wendy Harmer
Tim Ferguson has been making art, while Maynard has become a librarian. We find out what fridge magnets have to do with painting as Paul Livingston & Tim go big on the cask wine at their big arty opening at The Sheffer Gallery in Darlington. Hear from Wendy Harmer, Andrew Denton, Gretel Killeen, Russell Cheek and plenty of people who actually know what “outsider art” and “gestural” actually mean.
Come for the insults to an iconic Canadian mammal, stay for Herb Alpert’s maracas in your left ear.
Bunga Bunga 74 is the intersection that proves both Oscar Wilde and Wendy Harmer may be right. You don’t get that every day. But what you do get every day can’t be put on a wall with accent lights. It mightn’t be the Bunga you want, but in these contemporaneous times, it’s the Bunga Bunga you need.
30 years to the month after the original broadcast, here’s Sunday Afternoon Fever, Maynard’s Triple J show from a public toilet in Ultimo for no apparent reason with The Andy 500, Rob Clarkson, and Melissa Tkautz. Even Simon Day sticks his head in.
There’s live music in front of a live studio audience. We even get into some True Crime (at 35 minutes) with a heartfelt plea from Simon of Redfern for his stolen trombone. A very emotional moment for all.
The Andy 500 dressed up smart and wowed the live audience with their smooth sounds (at around 1 hour 7 minutes). They played four songs including Too Close For Comfort, I Love Your Brain and Touch Me.
Lance of The Hollywood Kids (40 minutes in) goes to the opening of new LA club Babylon and spots Cher, Shannon Doherty, Tori Spelling and James Woods. And you’ll never guess who his dinner date was…..
Melissa Tkautz was about to have a guest stint on Paradise Beach as the resident bitch character. She joins us for a chat (about 1 hour 57 minutes in) and you can imagine how the live audience was wary of a soap star coming on a Triple J show. But a really interesting phenomenon happened as I noted many times in my career. As soon as Melissa entered the studio and talked off air to the audience and was as highly professional as she always is, the crowd fell silent. No smarty bum comments, no looking down their noses at a pop star. It’s as if they realised she was actually talented as well as an actual person. She and Simon Day had a great old chin wag in the green room. She introduces her new single, Is It?
There’s Crappy New Releases (1 hour 50 minutes in), Maynard’s Mastermind Quiz (in which you can win a bow and arrow set to injure the child of your choice) and group Love Boat karaoke. It was a mint afternoon all round.
Join us in this show, the day when Pray by Take That was number one in the UK. In Australia, it was UB40 with Can’t Help Falling in Love. Neither of which are played on this show. But the Triple J feature album is from Paul Westerburg.
You WILL hear music from Matthew Sweet, Def FX, XTC, Straitjacket Fits, Phunk Junkeez and even Jimeoin.
Also the regular (very) odd couple segment of Richard Kingsmill dropping in live ( at around 1 hour 35 minutes) to give a hot take on a very early Burt Bacharach tune from his personal collection.
This tape doesn’t even cover all the show. Digital audio tapes were expensive in 1993, but I recorded this myself because Triple J wasn’t (and probably still isn’t) in the business of archiving most of their content.
So, get down in your underpants and pray to the Church of the Funky Chicken. It’s time for Sunday Afternoon Fever, July 11th, 1993.
Thanks to all our studio guests and especially the live studio audience for singing along with the Loveboat Theme.
Special thanks to the very professional Triple J Producer Anne-Maree Sargeant, Justine Lynch, Scott Whyte, all the studio 227 engineering crew and all at Triple J in 1993.
30 years to the day after the original broadcast, here’s Sunday Afternoon Fever, Maynard’s Triple J show for no apparent reason with Kate Ceberano, Anthony Morgan, Lance & The Hollywood Kids, Crappy New Releases, Warren Coleman, Richard Kingsmill’s Hot Tip and Getting Your Goat.
Kate Ceberano calls us from her Melbourne sauna to let us know about her upcoming mini tour. She also has a problem with the audience applause audio on her Kate Ceberano & Her Septet album.
Lance and the Hollywood Kids segment reports on the hot new sex club in LA and who Whitney is suing this week. Lots of people calling in from around Australia. Bronwyn in Tasmania is using a new fangled mobile phone on a chairlift while Kevin Markwell in Paddington, Sydney has a farting Ren doll he thinks we need to hear. Jose calls in with news that Kate Ceberano’s 1989 Brave album has just been released in Argentina and is selling well.
Melbourne comedy legend Anthony Morgan is back on the stand up circuit after a bit of time away. He’s talking personal poverty and marching bands.
Join us in this show, the day before Absolutely Fabulous went to air for the first time in Australia. A show that asks the eternal question, “why can’t Dire Straits make music as good as the Magilla Gorilla theme?
Also the regular (very) odd couple segment of Richard Kingsmill dropping by to give a hot take on the upcoming release from Urge Overkill.
This tape only covers about half the show. Digital audio tapes were expensive in 1993, but I recorded this myself because Triple J wasn’t (and probably still isn’t) in the business of archiving most of their content.
So, get down in your underpants and pray to the Church of the Funky Chicken. It’s time for Sunday Afternoon Fever, July 4th, 1993.
Thanks to all our guests and callers.
Special thanks to the very professional Triple J Producer Anne-Maree Sargeant, Justine Lynch and all at Triple J in 1993.
30 years to the day after the original broadcast, here’s Sunday Afternoon Fever, Maynard’s Triple J show in all its unlikely glory with Tlot Tlot, Mrs Sinatra, Sultans of Ping FC and Anthony Ackroyd. Set your dial for plenty of 1993 goodness.
“When radio shows were properly and lovingly put together and interviews were entertaining.”
Jane Gazzo 2023
This is very much a regular sounding Sunday Afternoon Fever (SAF) show from my final year at Triple J with mostly contemporary music, plenty of comedy and relatable retro thrown in.
Regular Mrs Fred Sinatra showcases a new pair of purple shorts. Lance and the Hollywood Kids segment reports on the MTV movie awards with Duran Duran, Whitney Houston and Rod Stewart gossip.
A few King Missile inspired comedy moments turn up with Molly Meldrum Was Way Cool and Detachable Trombone.
My Australian guests on this show are Tlot Tlot, one of my favourite 90s bands, who came into the studio to promote their pistolbuttsatwinkle’atwinkle album which included a guest vocal from Angie Hart. I had witnessed their “reverse stage diving” at their Hobart gig and still stand by my conclusion during this show that they are “the future of Australian music”.
We enter the confusing world of Sultans of Ping FC. I had been playing them for about a year on import and in 1993 they still hadn’t been released locally. Their drummer Morty McCarthy had phoned into SAF the previous week and after I quizzed him on air as to his identity with Ping trivia questions, I invited him onto the show.
Jane Gazzo called the studio during the show, I gave her his number and they are still great friends to this day. So if this SAF show achieved anything, there is that – and maybe we also convinced Sony to eventually release their music in Australia.
Anthony Ackroyd was fresh off the release of the Yahoo Serious movie Reckless Kelly, and announced his Reckless Ackroyd tour across Australia with Haskel Daniel supporting. We discover where he got those loud shirts from and learn he was “just to big for that movie”.
Also the regular (very) odd couple segment of Richard Kingsmill dropping by to give a hot take on the upcoming release from Fishbone.
And this tape only covers about half the show. Digital audio tapes were expensive in 1993, but I recorded this myself because Triple J wasn’t (and probably still isn’t) in the business of archiving most of their content.
So, get down in your underpants and pray to the Church of the Funky Chicken. It’s time for Sunday Afternoon Fever 1993.
Thanks to all our guests.
Special thanks to the very professional Triple J Producer Anne-Maree Sargeant, Justine Lynch and all at Triple J in 1993.
Jon English was a towering professional in the Australian theatre and music world from his first national appearance as Judas in the 1972 production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
I first met Jon when he was working on his musical Paris and he dropped in to the Triple J breakfast show a number of times. Always up for a laugh.
I last spoke to him in 2002 when he was touring a revival of Pirates of Penzance, shortly before his press conference at the Civic Theatre, Newcastle.
Jon talks about his early TV work and missing out on that zombie role he always wanted to play.