Lyric fm's Breakfast show presenter - Marty Whelan.

Dirigent

Coleyoscar wrote: »

I can remember when Lyric FM started a dozen years ago or so. I remember thinking what a pleasure it was to have lovely music and knowledgeable presenters (anyone remember that great guy from the US who used to present the original breakfast show?).
Now we’re reduced to RTE’s version of a cheesy game-show host playing Peter blessed Gabriel and Rod blinking Stewart interspersed with third rate witless Terry Wogan impressions .
I have literally given up: he’s driven me from Lyric completely.

+1 NAMA to a googleplex.

pinkypinky

I heard 3 mins of some story that seemed to have no end from "Hugo" this morning on MW. I had to turn it off then. Yesterday, I heard a sport bulletin during their drive time show. Grr.

Dirigent

Coleyoscar wrote: »

anyone remember that great guy from the US who used to present the original breakfast show?

It's been nagging me all morning, but at last I remembered! Tom Crann. Excellent broadcaster, although he never learned how to pronounce "baroque"!

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/about/people/mpr_people_display.php?aut_id=13

ziggyman17

it has got really bad the last few months.. he use to play some classical music, when he first started on the breakfast show, but now the classical music has more or less disappeared, all this american song book crap, crooners, this is all that he plays now.. and why has that hugo got a 5 minute slot every morning.. does he really think anybody wants to listen to hugo's silly stupid ramblings..

doomed

ziggyman17 wrote: »

.. and why has that hugo got a 5 minute slot every morning.. does he really think anybody wants to listen to hugo's silly stupid ramblings..

Just another cozy day in Montrose.

Maggie McGaggie

ziggyman17 wrote: »

it has got really bad the last few months.. he use to play some classical music, when he first started on the breakfast show, but now the classical music has more or less disappeared, all this american song book crap, crooners, this is all that he plays now.. and why has that hugo got a 5 minute slot every morning.. does he really think anybody wants to listen to hugo's silly stupid ramblings..

I have pretty much given up on Lyric, along with many others on here. Getting rid of Paul Herriott from presenting his own show was the last straw for me. Why not put Marty Whelan on the Lyric concert? It would be a more suitable position for him, if they are so intent on giving him a job.

Difficult as it is to believe but i have to agree that the show has worsened. I logged onto his lyric fm mainly to get the link for music played during the week and this is what caught my eye.

Arrivederci means 'see you again soon' in Italian

I posted here before that i believe Hugo's nonsense is written by Marty. MW reminds me of a man who likes to laugh at his own jokes and his giggling gives the game away. Hugo is supposed to be an erudite character yet he never mentions anything beyond the mainstream, a mainstream where MW sits very comfortably. He has spent too long listening to Wogan and now has Sir Terry's style down to a tee.

ntlbell

I think from 8 to 8.25 this morning we had adverts (I don't recall hearing adverts on lyric before?) then some awful love song from movie. The traffic. some nonsense about MW's mother and then the news. why bother?

TimmyTarmac

Yes, i do believe that it's actually getting worse. The mindless patter between the presenter and traffic person is reaching crisis levels. It's doing no favours for that young wan from AA Roadwatch who clearly believes that playing Marty's twee little game will lead to a nice presenters gig somewhere. It won't. She'll just be remembered as that anoying woman from the AA.

The music selection continues to go down into the sewers, and without the invention of the calendar, the programme makers would actually have to think about the music content as opposed to their plan of playing a load of jumbled up musical shoite with some classical lollipop afterthoughts fired in as well.

It's time to think about the Jobsworths who work in a production capacity and collaborate with the presenter in creating this offensive garbage on a daily basis. They are, at best, sincere people with profound learning and hearing difficulties or at worst, lazy lazy cynical 'ah shur it'll do' merchants. How do they sleep at night?

Maggie McGaggie

TimmyTarmac wrote: »

Yes, i do believe that it's actually getting worse. The mindless patter between the presenter and traffic person is reaching crisis levels. It's doing no favours for that young wan from AA Roadwatch who clearly believes that playing Marty's twee little game will lead to a nice presenters gig somewhere. It won't. She'll just be remembered as that anoying woman from the AA.

I meant to mention the AA presenter. Every bulletin seems to be made up of two minutes traffic and three or four minutes of rubbish on what they are doing for the day. It's not just one AA person who is doing it, they are all at it now even Ronan Gilligan, who did the traffic for years on the Carl Corcoran breakfast show, and never said a word, has fallen into Marty's trap. As for the music selection, unbelievably it has degraded. Timmy, what is your opinion on Hugo? I think Marty writes that garbage but i could be wrong.

TimmyTarmac

It is my view, Margaret, that the Hugo who's unfunny claptrap is broadcast each morning around 9 am on MITM is the same Hugo Brady Brown who frequented this area for a while (till the unfortunate double personality business took hold). He also now has a Twitter account . Although how he can keep it to 140 characters, I'll never know because I don't follow. I know he denied being the Hugo of MITM on this thread but I believe him to be one and the same person.
As for Marty Whelan himself writing it? I don't think so.
To do something like this for so little popular or monetary reward, it requires discipline, application, being able to concentrate for more than 2 seconds and a pathetic craving to be appreciated be anyone - anyone at all.
Marty and Hugo only share the last characteristic.

TimmyTarmac

Dirigent is right about the wonderful tones of Tom Crann. Very fine presenter. Knows when enough is enough. He sadly has moved into talk radio on Public Radio in Minnesota, but they (MPR) have a fantastic classical music service. It's on an App for those smart phone types.

Long works, short works,early, baroque, classical, romantic, modern -it's all on their classical service. Pleasant informed presenters who get on with it. No Rumour, Ella Fitz, Carly Simon, celebrity chefs, 'funny' e-mails or texts or inane chatter.
Do yerselves a favour and hear how a service of this type should be run, bearing in mind there is no licence fee to run it.

Maggie McGaggie

TimmyTarmac wrote: »

It is my view, Margaret, that the Hugo who's unfunny claptrap is broadcast each morning around 9 am on MITM is the same Hugo Brady Brown who frequented this area for a while (till the unfortunate double personality business took hold). He also now has a Twitter account . Although how he can keep it to 140 characters, I'll never know because I don't follow. I know he denied being the Hugo of MITM on this thread but I believe him to be one and the same person.
As for Marty Whelan himself writing it? I don't think so.
To do something like this for so little popular or monetary reward, it requires discipline, application, being able to concentrate for more than 2 seconds and a pathetic craving to be appreciated be anyone - anyone at all.
Marty and Hugo only share the last characteristic.

I disagree with this. The "Hugo" who posted here was taking the p. out of Marty and Lyric whilst the Hugo on MITM is merely, in my opinion, a character. I think the similarity with MW is significant. Is there anyone out there who knows the truth of the matter? I looked at the HBB twitter and would advise people not to waste their time snooping at his smug quips and puns. Lets keep this serious.

Coriolanus

TimmyTarmac wrote: »

Dirigent is right about the wonderful tones of Tom Crann. Very fine presenter. Knows when enough is enough. He sadly has moved into talk radio on Public Radio in Minnesota, but they (MPR) have a fantastic classical music service. It's on an App for those smart phone types.

Long works, short works,early, baroque, classical, romantic, modern -it's all on their classical service. Pleasant informed presenters who get on with it. No Rumour, Ella Fitz, Carly Simon, celebrity chefs, 'funny' e-mails or texts or inane chatter.
Do yerselves a favour and hear how a service of this type should be run, bearing in mind there is no licence fee to run it.

I usually listen to the Washington State service, for no other reason than it came up first in a search on my phone, I'll give Minnesota a try as well though.

doomed

Maggie McGaggie wrote: »

I disagree with this. The "Hugo" who posted here was taking the p. out of Marty and Lyric whilst the Hugo on MITM is merely, in my opinion, a character. I think the similarity with MW is significant. Is there anyone out there who knows the truth of the matter? I looked at the HBB twitter and would advise people not to waste their time snooping at his smug quips and puns. Lets keep this serious.

Not sure Maggie

I am operating at a disadvantage here since I cannot force myself to listen to MW, even in the interests of research. Imagine being Marty Whelan's sidekick though. You would have to want to be on radio really badly. Frankly my dear I don't give a damn. How much worse could the programme get. If you find a huge pile of s***e on your best carpet the presence or absence of a fly buzzing around it is not that important.

ntlbell

Just started brewing up a fantastic rwandan coffee when hugo arrives.

Followed by he's a dedicated follower of fashion, E.T and then Mary Poppins :mad:

Why do I do this to myself.

Dirigent

ntlbell wrote: »

Why do I do this to myself.

Do I gather that the Eurovision is coming up soon (it's not something I follow!). With any luck MW will politely f*k off for a month's research into Eastern European pop music, and allow a real presenter take over.

TimmyTarmac

Some illustrations from recent online playlists showing how the national music and arts channel continues it's slow descent into hell thanks to the good people at MITM.....
Should these tracks or artists be played on Lyric ever?
Track Name: I Remember You
Complete Work Name: I Remember You
Composer: Schertzinger/Mercer
Soloist: Bette Midler (Vocal)

Track Name: One of Us must know
Composer: Dylan, Bob
Soloist: Mick Hucknall
Album Title: Chimes of Freedom - 50 Years of Amnesty International/Songs of Bob Dylan

Track Name: To Sir with Love
Complete Work Name: To Sir with Love
Composer: London/Black
Soloist: Lulu (Vocal)

Track Name: Suddenly
Soloist: Oliva Newton John & Cliff Richard
Album Title: Xanadu Featuring Electric Light Orchestra and Oliva Newton John

Track Name: The People That You Never Get To Love
Complete Work Name: The People That You Never Get To Love
Composer: Holmes, Rupert
Soloist: Frank Sinatra Jr. (Vocal)

Track Name: It's Too Late
Complete Work Name: It's Too Late
Composer: King/Stern
Soloist: Carole King (Vocal)

This is not including the over and over again American songbook, crooners and bland, talentless 'crossover' schlok which is now the main diet of that show. The crediting of the repetitive standard classical 'lollipops' that are squeezed into the playlist as well (if there is a pre-ordained playlist) are so badly mangled by the presenter as to be unintelligible to me at any rate.

Seriously RTE. You're taking the money to run a (mainly) classical music and arts channel. Nobody expects it to have a 40% share of the listening market. If the dream has failed, would you mind telling us and refund our licence fee accordingly?
Thanks

Dirigent

Speaking of playlists, one thing I've noticed recently is the quality of the music in the presenter-free "Lyric through the Night" program which precedes Whelan's crap. Someone (or is it a computer program?) picks a wide variety of good music, up until 7am. So there is some appreciation of quality in Lyric!

My dog knows all about the changeover, she knows when I hear his awful gingle and "You're listening to Marty in the Morning" on my earphones, I'll shout "Oh no, I'm f*ing not!!!" and she knows to stay out of kicking range!!!

ntlbell

Dirigent wrote: »

Speaking of playlists, one thing I've noticed recently is the quality of the music in the presenter-free "Lyric through the Night" program which precedes Whelan's crap. Someone (or is it a computer program?) picks a wide variety of good music, up until 7am. So there is some appreciation of quality in Lyric!

My dog knows all about the changeover, she knows when I hear his awful gingle and "You're listening to Marty in the Morning" on my earphones, I'll shout "Oh no, I'm f*ing not!!!" and she knows to stay out of kicking range!!!

I have to agree previously I was listening to classic fm prague at night.

Recently I've been up late/early and noticed the "machine" in montrose bar liz and a few others seems to be one of the best DJ's RTE has.

I would be more than happy for this machine to continue right through untill 10am and save the license fee paying public a few bob.

Rebelheart

I hate what this individual has done to this station. He gives nothing to us. He enriches my musical and spiritual world in no way. He is full of nonsense talk - stupid, dim, obtuse talk lacking in elegance, purpose, style, wit and most of all appropriateness.

When I get up in the morning I am sharp, as most of us have to be when going to work. I want people who offer me something equally sharp, concise and succinct. Cathal Mac Coille, Crowley and the others on Morning Ireland offer that in serious conversational terms. Ivan Yates and that other waffling tabloid clown on Newstalk do not. When the talking fails to stimulate, I turn to some calm music, namely LyricFM.

In musical terms, Whelan offers no personal enrichment and on the very, very rare occasion that he chooses a singularly spiritual piece of music, he ruins it by waffling and waffling and waffling. And waffling. And then he plays a piece of music that has no thematic relationship in musical or spiritual terms to the previous one. No professionalism, none at all. No sensitivity to his audience. No empathy with them. Marty Whelan has made this Lyric time slot so horribly bad, insensitive, crude, careless, lazy and lacking in every conceivable way.

My kind words about the man in previous posts no longer stand because he has done nothing to accommodate us by limiting his waffle, by finding a musical coherency and continuity, a calmness in the morning, and by putting himself in the background and the music in the foreground.

doomed

Dirigent wrote: »

Speaking of playlists, one thing I've noticed recently is the quality of the music in the presenter-free "Lyric through the Night" program which precedes Whelan's crap. Someone (or is it a computer program?) picks a wide variety of good music, up until 7am. So there is some appreciation of quality in Lyric!

By coincidence the same thought came to me this morning. I happened to be up fairly early and listened to music without mindless presenter drivel. It is great. Then he arrives. Aaaaggghhh.

As for MITM, when it started out I thought "what an awful prospect" but at the same time I couldn't blame him for taking the gig. All sympathy is gone however since it became obvious that he just loves being back on national radio and the classical remit can get stuffed. Its all about Marty, RTE personality. He has abandoned any pretence of presenting a classical programme and has turned the slot into a Radio 1B magazine programme. Why? Because he can and no one in RTE has the self respect to call a halt.

Shame.

bureau2009

By accident I tuned into Marty's Breakfast show this morning.

Frank Sinatra's "Stranger's in the Night" was playing and when finished Marty continued humming "Do be do be do, scooby do be do be do be do".

"Great film that, Scooby Doo" said Marty.

I tried not to vomit while immediately retuning my radio.

Scary, and even scarier that management in RTE think he is a fit person.

:mad::mad::mad:

ntlbell

bureau2009 wrote: »

By accident I tuned into Marty's Breakfast show this morning.

Frank Sinatra's "Stranger's in the Night" was playing and when finished Marty continued humming "Do be do be do, scooby do be do be do be do".

"Great film that, Scooby Doo" said Marty.

I tried not to vomit while immediately retuning my radio.

Scary, and even scarier that management in RTE think he is a fit person.

:mad::mad::mad:

What you missed was a fantastic comp to win a trip to the zoo.

A listner who introduced himself in an email as marty's "other listener"

and straight into that soulful ensemble bare necessities.

I'm finding myself tuning in more and more now just for the comedy value of listening to this buffoon.

Dirigent

bureau2009 wrote: »

I tried not to vomit while immediately retuning my radio.

Your restraint is admirable. I would be inclined to use the nearest heavy object to achieve an instant retuning.

Is there any other "Arts" station on the planet where behaviour like this would be tolerated?

TimmyTarmac

One man's vomit inducing broadcast is another man's excuse for a plug for his old mate and colleague......

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/martys-hugo-letters-make-my-mornings-3038873.html

The old boy's Network is alive and well.

bureau2009

Rebelheart wrote: »

I hate what this individual has done to this station. He gives nothing to us. He enriches my musical and spiritual world in no way. He is full of nonsense talk - stupid, dim, obtuse talk lacking in elegance, purpose, style, wit and most of all appropriateness.

When I get up in the morning I am sharp, as most of us have to be when going to work. I want people who offer me something equally sharp, concise and succinct. Cathal Mac Coille, Crowley and the others on Morning Ireland offer that in serious conversational terms. Ivan Yates and that other waffling tabloid clown on Newstalk do not. When the talking fails to stimulate, I turn to some calm music, namely LyricFM.

In musical terms, Whelan offers no personal enrichment and on the very, very rare occasion that he chooses a singularly spiritual piece of music, he ruins it by waffling and waffling and waffling. And waffling. And then he plays a piece of music that has no thematic relationship in musical or spiritual terms to the previous one. No professionalism, none at all. No sensitivity to his audience. No empathy with them. Marty Whelan has made this Lyric time slot so horribly bad, insensitive, crude, careless, lazy and lacking in every conceivable way.

My kind words about the man in previous posts no longer stand because he has done nothing to accommodate us by limiting his waffle, by finding a musical coherency and continuity, a calmness in the morning, and by putting himself in the background and the music in the foreground.

Thank you for putting into words what 95% of the listening public thinks.

Maggie McGaggie

Maggie McGaggie wrote: »

Looking around on the net i see that Marty is great pals with John Masterson, who produced Open House, and now has a PR company. Guess who is on the list of company clients. Only the bould Neven along with Marty's co-presenter of Open House Mary Kennedy. God almighty as if his outrageous salary and undeserved position are not enough he has to do a favour for mates as well. Talk about an insult to the integrity of the station.

The name of the company is Purcell Masterson

Timmy, i posted about Marty's relationship with Neven Maguire and John Masterson back in October. I would bet on RTE Lyric Fm management being linked with Masterson as well, i see no other way that it would have been possible for MW to get such a prestigious job.

The last time i posted this it was lost among the Hugo Brady Brown nonsense that went on for a few weeks.

doomed

Maggie McGaggie wrote: »

Timmy, i posted about Marty's relationship with Neven Maguire and John Masterson back in October. I would bet on RTE Lyric Fm management being linked with Masterson as well, i see no other way that it would have been possible for MW to get such a prestigious job.

The last time i posted this it was lost among the Hugo Brady Brown nonsense that went on for a few weeks.

You were spot on Maggie.

Incestuous stuff. Sod the listener. This is RTE and we will do what we want. If my mate wants to present a third rate magazine show on a classical station, well that's fine. A slot for our favourite chef. No problem. If Mart wants to have some of his fans do a turn then, hey, let's start with that long winded bloke. Mind how hugo.

Coriolanus

I don't suppose comreg have ethics guidelines for radio broadcasting or is that not their thing.

ntlbell

Nevore wrote: »

I don't suppose comreg have ethics guidelines for radio broadcasting or is that not their thing.

The only thing comreg have is a kettle with an overused element.