Radio Review: 7 March

In the mid-1990s, it seemed that the comedy world consisted of Chris Morris and then, some way behind, everybody else. Although I was a little late becoming a Morris devotee compared to some, having bypassed On The Hour. But then I heard a compilation over a year after the last show and I made up for lost time with my fervid evangelism.

Back then, Radio 1 was a major outlet for comedy (if you’re interested, read the excellent Fun At One by Tim Worthington), and Morris was a semi-regular fixture on the network, beginning with his demented deconstruction of the music show format in 1994, a controversial run during which he killed off Michael Heseltine. Then, in 1997, he came back with an ‘ambient’ comedy series, broadcast late at night, called Blue Jam.

Here he assembled a cast of fine actors, including Amelia Bullmore, Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap and David Cann, all skilled improvisers, and gave them bizarre situations such as a plumber being called in to fix a dead baby. The sketches drifted in and out of an eclectic soundscape including everything from Ivor Cutler to Stereolab via Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. The shows were best heard in complete darkness, and I complied happily.

Seventeen years on, Radio 4 Extra is repeating the lot, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s not for everyone, but if you have a broad mind and a darkly silly disposition, it’s well worth a go.

The only question is whether Morris’s satirical edit job on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s address at the funeral of the Princess of Wales will be intact. On the original transmission, someone panicked and switched to a substitute tape. Here’s hoping. 

Blue Jam, BBC Radio 4 Extra, Fridays 11pm.

Louis on Twitter: @LFBarfe or email: wireless@cheeseford.net