Lyric fm's Breakfast show presenter - Marty Whelan.

doomed · 25-12-2012 8:11pm

Yvonne23R wrote: »

......

Why does Marty Whelan lower himself to this?

......

I'm sort of struggling with this concept. Seems like a contradiction.

Yvonne23R · 28-12-2012 11:09am

Friday morning and no sign of Neven Maguire on the Breakfast Show on Lyric. Just good music. Thank you Trish!

mbur · 29-12-2012 3:49am

born2bwild wrote: »

Haven't read through the thread but I listen to Marty every morning going to work in the car.

I really like his style - his taste in music is terrible but I really get a positive start to the day listening to him.

What else is there at that time of the day? Coke fuelled mouthpieces, gift-grub-style morons and hoity toity pro-establishment w@nkers?

I love Marty in the Morning.

For some of us there was a time when Lyric was a welcome refuge from these lovable loudmouths. Sadly with the arrival of 'El P' tis no more.

Methinks himself would fit well with any of the personages you describe.

Yvonne23R · 31-12-2012 11:07am

Trish Tailor presented Marty's programme this morning and it was good. The music was nice and light with Gershwin; the Jurassic Park Suite and Only Men Allowed / Only Boys Allowed - the double Welsh choir. When she announced that she was going to end with a great Welsh singer I knew it couldn't be Shirley Bassey but I guessed Katherine Jenkins! It turned out to be Bryn Terfel. She pronounced his name Brian Tervelle, but you can't get everything right I suppose.

If Trish had a little bit more of Marty's personality for the morning she could be very good if he decides to hang us "his cans". But maybe on the day the listeners were not getting onto the programme in the same way as usually.

PODboy · 31-12-2012 11:10am

I dont listen to Lyric anymore - Classic FM is where my ears are now - and what a station - excellent quality recordings and no yes no inane, banal eighties style banter - oh yes no Marty

Knutsack · 31-12-2012 12:09pm

Haven't read through the thread but I listen to Marty every morning going to work in the car.

I really like his style - his taste in music is terrible but I really get a positive start to the day listening to him.

What else is there at that time of the day? Coke fuelled mouthpieces, gift-grub-style morons and hoity toity pro-establishment w@nkers?

I love Marty in the Morning.

If,born2bwild, you had shown the courtesy to other posters of reading the often thoughtful contributions on the subject of MITM or 'EL Prat', it might have occured to you that whether you like it or not is really immaterial to the greater debate.
Is it not the case that this load of crapola could be on any station and you would still listen?
Would you still feel all positive and warm and fuzzy wuzzy inside if he was giving you his Grade A 'banter' on 98FM or Radio One?

The real point is that in an ideal Public Service Broadcasting environment, Whelan, the production staff who feed this monster and management who allow it to happen wouldn't even be let in to Lyric to clean the toilets.

At some point, there must be a minimum standard imposed on the broadcasters, production staff and management at Lyric.
No more three hour infomercials for cook books for Neven Maguire, no more 'hilarious' letters and observatons from random eejits and no more Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers duets.

Public money is running this thing and it was set up to do something different to commercial radio.
The arts and quality classical music is not for everyone and unfortunately probably will never have mass appeal. That doesn't mean it should not be aspired to.

So,born2bwild, I suggest that you and the other Marty lovers pass round the hat, raise a million euro and ask the BAI for a commercial licence for a format based on Marty's unique selling point and see how ye get on. Or maybe Denis O'Brien could find a place for him on one of his stations, if it's so great.
I'm really glad he gives you a positive start to the day, but it is at the cost of the very fabric of Public Service broadcasting and it is nothing less than a shameful rip off by RTE that MITM is broadcast every morning on Lyric FM.

doomed · 31-12-2012 12:09pm

Yvonne23R wrote: »

If Trish had a little bit more of Marty's personality for the morning she could be very good if he decides to hang us "his cans". .

Don't wish that on Trish please. She seems both professional and intelligent as well as having some musical taste. Why change?

Dirigent · 31-12-2012 2:54pm

I heard a plug for a New Years Day special where El Prat will stroke egos with (sorry, interview) Andre Reiu, we can of course expect a large number of mentions of his new DVD, "Johann Strauss and the Prancing Violinist"

Yvonne23R · 31-12-2012 3:10pm

I think I started this so I'd better finish it. The only thing wrong with Marty Whelan is that he can let himself get used by outside people. Neven Maguire is all very well in his place. And just because Marty CAN do something well does not mean that he should have to do it. Having a cookery spot makes sense with Mary Kennedy on Live at 3 on TV, but it makes no sense on radio. It really makes no sense at all on a music radio show at all.

But the rest of programme appals to most people. He interviews the stars when they're coming to Dublin. I would not have heard a lot of this music without him. Sure there are snobs but Andre Rieu is really good - and he's good fun. And there is Vladimir from Russia who Marty spotted even before he hit the bigtime. And I had never even heard of the Australian girl who makes those funny yodelling records without Marty Whelan. The contact with the listeners is important too by email and text. Most normal people love the jokes, stories, poems, and letters that he gets in and makes up. The lunatic listeners bring the show to life. It's like Terry Wogan or Les Dawson or Dick Emery at that time of the morning and it gets us out and happy. (But please if you're watching Marty, no more Neven Maguire?)... And! Marty Whelan knows his stuff about opera. He's involved with the Met Opera showings so he's no musical fool and he's no snob either.

Dirigent · 31-12-2012 3:14pm

Yvonne23R wrote: »

He's involved with the Met Opera showings so he's no musical fool and he's no snob either.

One of our esteemed fellow posters summed it up very well when he pointed out that El Prat doesn't know his Tesco from his Tosca.

born2bwild · 31-12-2012 3:38pm

Knutsack wrote: »

If,born2bwild, you had shown the courtesy to other posters of reading the often thoughtful contributions on the subject of MITM or 'EL Prat', it might have occured to you that whether you like it or not is really immaterial to the greater debate.
Is it not the case that this load of crapola could be on any station and you would still listen?
Would you still feel all positive and warm and fuzzy wuzzy inside if he was giving you his Grade A 'banter' on 98FM or Radio One?

The real point is that in an ideal Public Service Broadcasting environment, Whelan, the production staff who feed this monster and management who allow it to happen wouldn't even be let in to Lyric to clean the toilets.

At some point, there must be a minimum standard imposed on the broadcasters, production staff and management at Lyric.
No more three hour infomercials for cook books for Neven Maguire, no more 'hilarious' letters and observatons from random eejits and no more Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers duets.

Public money is running this thing and it was set up to do something different to commercial radio.
The arts and quality classical music is not for everyone and unfortunately probably will never have mass appeal. That doesn't mean it should not be aspired to.

So,born2bwild, I suggest that you and the other Marty lovers pass round the hat, raise a million euro and ask the BAI for a commercial licence for a format based on Marty's unique selling point and see how ye get on. Or maybe Denis O'Brien could find a place for him on one of his stations, if it's so great.
I'm really glad he gives you a positive start to the day, but it is at the cost of the very fabric of Public Service broadcasting and it is nothing less than a shameful rip off by RTE that MITM is broadcast every morning on Lyric FM.

Keep your precious, self-righteous accusations of 'discourtesy' to yourself, pal.

What makes you think that you know what 'the very fabric of Public service broadcasting' is?

I pay my TV licence and I say Marty in the Morning is fine by me - moreover he's fine as a Lyric FM broadcaster.

His taste in music is awful - I can't defend him there but I'd rather listen to his positive inanities than your pathetic whinging and thinly-veiled elitism.

PODboy · 31-12-2012 6:41pm

Look how many people listen to Lyric - 10.000 - why don't they just divide the cost of the station by the number of listeners - and give them all an Internet Radio = this would mean the FM transmitters could be used for a BBC Radio 2 style MOR Radio station =do the same with the 2.850 Rna G listeners and we could have another National FM Channell. Its time to realise that less and less are listening to these stations and as they are structured at the moment they are going nowhere. How can Classic FM in UK have 5 million listeners - almost as many as BBC Radio Five Live? Does anyone on these boards ever listen to R naG?

Knutsack · 01-01-2013 10:13am

born2bwild wrote: »

Keep your precious, self-righteous accusations of 'discourtesy' to yourself, pal.

What makes you think that you know what 'the very fabric of Public service broadcasting' is?

I pay my TV licence and I say Marty in the Morning is fine by me - moreover he's fine as a Lyric FM broadcaster.

His taste in music is awful - I can't defend him there but I'd rather listen to his positive inanities than your pathetic whinging and thinly-veiled elitism.

Let me just paraphrase your attitude towards MITM for a second, born2bwild:

'I couldn't give a crap about this debate or what it's really about but I'd like to say that Marty in the Morning is great. The music (95% of the show) is awful but he's so positive, it's worth it. And he's just great for Lyric FM. I pay my licence fee, so it's a valid view.'

Now, read it out aloud and listen to yourself. Mad stuff isn't it?

Then from you, I get the predictable and lazy, lazy accusation 'thinly veiled elitism'
Ah yes, just like the person who criticises Israeli serurity policy is an anti-semite, the person who points out that Whelan can't say the names of many composers or works after 5 years on Lyric is a snob.

Whelan will be able to tell you what Nelson Riddle had for breakfast on a given recording day or the colour of Ennio Morricone's underpants the day he wrote The Mission (thanks to Wikipedia) but he chooses not to give even the most basic flying fcuk about classical music.

How's about I pay your licence fee next time it's due if you promise not to share your astonishing 2 cents on this topic or listen to Lyric anymore?
I'll also throw in a mix tape of Marty's greatest Tesco ads to keep you positive in the mornings.

Knutsack · 01-01-2013 10:20am

PODboy wrote: »

Look how many people listen to Lyric - 10.000 - why don't they just divide the cost of the station by the number of listeners - and give them all an Internet Radio = this would mean the FM transmitters could be used for a BBC Radio 2 style MOR Radio station =do the same with the 2.850 Rna G listeners and we could have another National FM Channell. Its time to realise that less and less are listening to these stations and as they are structured at the moment they are going nowhere. How can Classic FM in UK have 5 million listeners - almost as many as BBC Radio Five Live? Does anyone on these boards ever listen to R naG?

Where did ya get the listening numbers, PODboy, from your rectum?

Last time I checked Lyric has a weekly audience of around 250,000 and R na G is not in the JNLR.
If you want to get an anorak hard on for a BBC Radio 2 style FM service, listen to 4 FM, that's what it billed itself as. IF you're not happy with this, ask the BAI why it rolls over and allows it's belly to be tickled so easily by commercial radio operators and when the licence next comes for renewal, be sure you're in there with your consortium and many hundreds of thousands of euro and you do it. Coz it's not RTE's business.
A properly run R na G and Lyric is RTE's business.

Ceslovas · 01-01-2013 2:49pm

Knutsack wrote: »

Where did ya get the listening numbers, PODboy, from your rectum?

Last time I checked Lyric has a weekly audience of around 250,000 and R na G is not in the JNLR.
If you want to get an anorak hard on for a BBC Radio 2 style FM service, listen to 4 FM, that's what it billed itself as. IF you're not happy with this, ask the BAI why it rolls over and allows it's belly to be tickled so easily by commercial radio operators and when the licence next comes for renewal, be sure you're in there with your consortium and many hundreds of thousands of euro and you do it. Coz it's not RTE's business.
A properly run R na G and Lyric is RTE's business.

To Clarify:

"RTÉ lyric fm has stabilised its seven day weekly reach at 8%, with year-on-year growth for key programmes. This book sees year-on-year gains for Marty Whelan, The Lyric Concert, Trish Taylor's Daybreak, The Lyric Pitch with Cynthia Morahan, The Blue of the Night (Sat/Sun) and Aedín Gormley's Sunday Matinée. Meanwhile there were book-on-book gains for George Hamilton's Full Score and The Blue of the Night (Sat/Sun).

Says Aodan Ó Dubhghaill, Head of lyric fm: "We're delighted to gain 1 percentage point year on year to 8% weekly reach. That alongside other year-on-year gains is encouraging once again for lyric. Noteworthy is the wonderful gain for The Blue of the Night, up 8000 listeners on Sunday."

Quote: http://www.liveradio.ie/rte-lyric-fm

PODboy · 01-01-2013 5:25pm

This information Ceslovas is not accurate - lets go to the book on an hour against hour basis - Lyric's audience is down - please do not try to confuse posters - even though we should be impressed that someone in RTE is actually taking note. I have studied the JNLR's forensically and I can assure you that Lyric' audience is continuing to fall. A question for Ceslovas how many listeners has Marty Whelan on average in the hour 7.30am to 8.30am each weekday morning?

born2bwild · 01-01-2013 7:34pm

Knutsack wrote: »

Let me just paraphrase your attitude towards MITM for a second, born2bwild:

'I couldn't give a crap about this debate or what it's really about but I'd like to say that Marty in the Morning is great. The music (95% of the show) is awful but he's so positive, it's worth it. And he's just great for Lyric FM. I pay my licence fee, so it's a valid view.'

Now, read it out aloud and listen to yourself. Mad stuff isn't it?

Then from you, I get the predictable and lazy, lazy accusation 'thinly veiled elitism'
Ah yes, just like the person who criticises Israeli serurity policy is an anti-semite, the person who points out that Whelan can't say the names of many composers or works after 5 years on Lyric is a snob.

Whelan will be able to tell you what Nelson Riddle had for breakfast on a given recording day or the colour of Ennio Morricone's underpants the day he wrote The Mission (thanks to Wikipedia) but he chooses not to give even the most basic flying fcuk about classical music.

How's about I pay your licence fee next time it's due if you promise not to share your astonishing 2 cents on this topic or listen to Lyric anymore?
I'll also throw in a mix tape of Marty's greatest Tesco ads to keep you positive in the mornings.

You're full of it - how you manage to get the Arab-Israeli conflict into your last post I can't say.

Here's my latest two cents:

I'd bet Marty knows more about classical music than you do.

I'd bet you know more about hysterical ranting than he does.

Go on, pay my licence fee, please.

'Every little helps'.

:P:P:P:P

Yvonne23R · 01-01-2013 7:37pm

What I would love to know is if Marty Whelan's audience goes above or falls below 8% of the population in the hours when Neven Maguire is his guest? The problem with Marty Whelan is that he is trained as a broadcaster and is "the willing horse" for whatever inappropriate tasks The Producers force on him. He is perfectly suited to spinning discs and chatting to the listeners at our own level but this other thing with cooking dinners on the radio at breakfasttime is like DanJoe's old Dancing on the Radio. Moreonic!

born2bwild · 01-01-2013 7:39pm

Who is this Neven Maguire? I've been listening to Marty for at least a year now and I have not heard him being mentioned - I drive to work between 7.30 and 8.00 am.

Frank Grimes · 01-01-2013 7:44pm

born2bwild wrote: »

Who is this Neven Maguire? I've been listening to Marty for at least a year now and I have not heard him being mentioned - I drive to work between 7.30 and 8.00 am.

He's a chef, I think he has/had a programme on RTE. I've heard Marty going on about him a couple of times, I've heard him on Lyric once too (talking to Whelan).

Knutsack · 02-01-2013 11:11am

Yvonne23R wrote: »

What I would love to know is if Marty Whelan's audience goes above or falls below 8% of the population in the hours when Neven Maguire is his guest? The problem with Marty Whelan is that he is trained as a broadcaster and is "the willing horse" for whatever inappropriate tasks The Producers force on him. He is perfectly suited to spinning discs and chatting to the listeners at our own level but this other thing with cooking dinners on the radio at breakfasttime is like DanJoe's old Dancing on the Radio. Moreonic!

Marty's audience as far as I can tell - and I could be wrong - never rises above 1% of the available audience in each quarter hour. A looong way off 8% of the adult population of the State. In fairness this seems to be the same all day on Lyric, with maybe the execption of a quarter hour or two during drivetime.

The point being bringing in a very well known and TV profiled presenter and throwing out a balanced music policy in favour his daily dogs breakfast of ****e has made NO DIFFERENCE to Lyric's audience.

I see Yvonne, you're blaming the producers for the crapola music and items on MITM. I sense it might be the other way round. That in fact his producers are the best paid runners in Irish media for their master.

There is no other explanation for people who can make programmes of the quality of Gloria or Nova or Lyric Features and then be responsible for Daniel O Donnell and Dick Van Dyke tracks and off course the awful beyond words letters from Hugo. Maybe you know him Yvonne?

Yvonne23R · 02-01-2013 7:19pm

I suppose you mean do I know Marty, and No I don't but I would like to meet him some day? I like his "Hugo" letters and Marty writes them. They're really funny / amusing although they don't seem to be on every day anymore. There is a lot of "Double meaning" in them like Brendan Grace or Frank Kelly's and I think I don't get it all always. But it's very good to have it and I think he does it very very well. It was never on when Liz Nolan or Paul Herriott did the morning show. And Trish Tayler doesn't have them her days wither.

I thought someone said here that Lyric gets 8% of the country turning in? It has to be one thing or the other. It gets me off to a flying start, especially on school days I can tell you. But I'm hoping to listen on Friday to see if Trish Taylor has Neven Maguire on.

Dirigent · 02-01-2013 8:02pm

Yvonne23R wrote: »

But I'm hoping to listen on Friday to see if Trish Taylor has Neven Maguire on.

Sadly the Xmas season of goodwill to all men is over, El Prat is back in the chair tomorrow. Probably dying to tell us how long it takes Andre Reiu to play the Minute Waltz.

born2bwild · 02-01-2013 10:08pm

Ok - Andre Reiu - is he respected in the world of classical music? I watched this concert on tv over the break where he was the conductor...

Now, the only reason why I even stopped flicking the remote at that point was because....Marty had been talking about him.

Some of you may not like Marty but surely he's doing his 'public service' duty by bringing the likes of me to listen to classical music.

Almaviva · 02-01-2013 10:56pm

born2bwild wrote: »

Ok - Andre Reiu - is he respected in the world of classical music?

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

born2bwild · 02-01-2013 11:09pm

Almaviva wrote: »

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Is that yes or no?

Come on, I hate google.

Almaviva · 02-01-2013 11:20pm

born2bwild wrote: »

Is that yes or no?

Come on, I hate google.

That would be a he's not in the world of classical music in the first place.

Great hair though. Great grin too.

doomed · 02-01-2013 11:35pm

born2bwild wrote: »

Is that yes or no?

Come on, I hate google.

I think that would be a no.

Actually Andre Rieu is an interesting example. Like EP he is pretty cheesy but with a much greater musical appreciation and can play an instrument. If you were looking for a CD of Strauss music though you wouldn't touch him with a 40 foot pole, not when you can have the Vienna Philharmonic playing the same repetoire way way better. However he could bring people into classical music as a halfway house and his concerts are very successful in their own way and good luck to him.

All of that said, no major Orchestra would for a moment consider Andre Rieu as its principal conductor any more than a self respecting classical station would offer the likes of EP a gig as a presenter.

born2bwild · 03-01-2013 12:04am

doomed wrote: »

I think that would be a no.

Actually Andre Rieu is an interesting example. Like EP he is pretty cheesy but with a much greater musical appreciation and can play an instrument. If you were looking for a CD of Strauss music though you wouldn't touch him with a 40 foot pole, not when you can have the Vienna Philharmonic playing the same repetoire way way better. However he could bring people into classical music as a halfway house and his concerts are very successful in their own way and good luck to him.

All of that said, no major Orchestra would for a moment consider Andre Rieu as its principal conductor any more than a self respecting classical station would offer the likes of EP a gig as a presenter.

Looking at that concert I was thinking Andre Rieu was the 'Simply Red' of the classical world. It looked hideous, to be honest: the Maastricht bourgeoisie sitting on their fat arschen smugly enjoying their classical 'greatest hits'.

Doodah7 · 03-01-2013 9:53am

born2bwild wrote: »

Looking at that concert I was thinking Andre Rieu was the 'Simply Red' of the classical world. It looked hideous, to be honest: the Maastricht bourgeoisie sitting on their fat arschen smugly enjoying their classical 'greatest hits'.

I was thinking he is more the James Last of the last few years. However if he encourages more people to listen and enjoy classical music, then I have absolutely no issue with him continuing with his 'cheese'...

Lyric fm's Breakfast show presenter - Marty Whelan.

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