Al Porter to get his own show on 2fm

Cliff Walker

Who in their right mind will listen ?

Tilikum

Sweet mother of God.

He is an abomination. Not even in the slightest bit funny.

DavyD_83

ah here!
Who finds this guy entertaining and/or funny? (i'm sure they're out there, but I just don't get it)
And to me his voice is the definition of 'not suitable for radio'

squonk

Am I missing something (I probably am) but this guy seems to have come out of nowhere straight into a gig with Colm on 2FM, and now has his own show!! I saw him on the Late Late at some stage. Funny as having a basketball pulled out of my knob while also having all my finger and toe nails yanked out.

squonk

squonk wrote: »

Am I missing something (I probably am) but this guy seems to have come out of nowhere straight into a gig with Colm on 2FM, and now has his own show!! I saw him on the Late Late at some stage. Funny as having a basketball pulled out of my knob while also having all my finger and toe nails yanked out.

I don't listen to 2 FM, so I doubt I've never heard him on his radio show.

But he was on Derek Mooney once, he was a friend of that show. I believe he previously worked with June Rogers.

Cut from the finest cloth in comedy, I'm sure we all agree.

JoeA3

in the same way I find it incredulous that people find Mrs Browns Boys funny, I also struggle in a big way to see the appeal of this guy. Absolute garbage. But clearly some don't share my view....

neris

Que lots of camp gay innuendo, his comedy is about 40 years old when comedians were still in the closet and playing up to the stereo type as an act.

Effects

I know who he is but never bothered watching him. Just checked him out Live at the Apollo.
He appeals to that middle of the road, gen pop crowd. Easy to see how he'd get a radio show.
Probably really good at telling people how amazing they are.

Realt Dearg Sec

With the financial troubles the station has had lately it's great to see some leadership and solid, revenue orientated decision making in place. This should right the ship...

Zimmerframe

He is dreadful, but then again Brendan O Carroll and Michael McIntyre make millions every year.
I am totally confused, I thought comedians were supposed to be funny !

Not sure if it's just the glass of wine I had earlier, but this was quite good actually

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=strrrxoFxA4

Boardz Fiend

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Not sure if it's just the glass of wine I had earlier, but this was quite good actually

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=strrrxoFxA4

.....it was the glass of wine ;-)

ButtersSuki

Can't post a link but he's basically a reincarnation of Arthur Atkinson from The Fast Show (YouTube if you haven't seen it). What he's forgetting is that WAS the joke, and that was 20 years ago.

hullaballoo

He does seem to have a following, though. It's a bit like Brendan O'Carroll - many, many people hate what he does with a passion but he appeals to some people and has made a success out of it. There are plenty of others too, even on the British comedy circuit that have absolutely no appeal for me but who seem to be doing ok.

He was a guest this morning on Down To Business along with Alison Spittle. He was grand.

Bobby Kerr and Alison Spittle in the same room, though. A pneumatic jackhammer would make for less painful radio.

Alison is heading off the Edinburgh Fringe. This can be our revenge for the Plantation of Ulster.

siblers

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

He was a guest this morning on Down To Business along with Alison Spittle. He was grand.

Bobby Kerr and Alison Spittle in the same room, though. A pneumatic jackhammer would make for less painful radio.

Alison is heading off the Edinburgh Fringe. This can be our revenge for the Plantation of Ulster.

For a second I thought she was given her own show, I don't get why she appears so often on Today FM, what's the average sized crowd she plays to..20 people?

L1011

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Not sure if it's just the glass of wine I had earlier, but this was quite good actually

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=strrrxoFxA4

You can be a decent stand up (or sit down there - trying to be Dave Allen possibly) comedian and not very good at radio

Very few people have done standup and broadcasting well. Dara O'Briain is a notable exception but doesn't mean every Irish comedian can!

childsplay

In these times of modern enlightenment and political correctness, everyone must have a token gay friend. Al Porter is 2fm's token gay friend. He's "famous" (and l am using the term very loosely) just because he's gay, not because he's funny (which imo he isn't.) 2fm are just jumping on the band wagon after the whole marriage equality thing.

hairyslug

It's almost as if they want the station to fail,
They remove Hayes, who doesn't fit in at all with the station and he himself says, the station doesn't fit in with him and replace it Porter

Have they stopped and thought to themselves, what do people want to hear or are they trying to tell us what they want us to hear.

ButtersSuki

hairyslug wrote: »

It's almost as if they want the station to fail,
They remove Hayes, who doesn't fit in at all with the station and he himself says, the station doesn't fit in with him and replace it Porter

Have they stopped and thought to themselves, what do people want to hear or are they trying to tell us what they want us to hear.

The latter, and it has always been thus.

2fm/RTÉ as a whole actually think the definition of state broadcaster should be taken from the Communist rather than western world view of same.

TheLonelyOne

The mind truly does boggle when it comes to Al getting his own show.

I would say he has about ten minutes of humourous content and that is about it.

I do not even think the 2fm knows what it wants to be.

I reckon they see him as Tubridy 2.0: irreverent and well-spoken young fogey who is capable of setting his face to 'serious' now and again.

So I guess they're hoping for something like 'The Full Irish'. That was a great breakfast show in fairness.

ButtersSuki

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I reckon they see him as Tubridy 2.0: irreverent and well-spoken young fogey who is capable of setting his face to 'serious' now and again.

So I guess they're hoping for something like 'The Full Irish'. That was a great breakfast show in fairness.

Goes to show you it's all a matter of taste; personally I thought "The Full Irish" was appalling radio, utterly faked jollyness and rappartie from a completely safe (in the worst possible way) host which led to aural blandness on a scale seldom reached previously on RTÉ. Manufactured to a level most boy bands would be embarrased of, it was so generic that to apply the term lowest common denominator to it would be an affront to the lowest common denominator. There weren't enough types of people it tried to be all things to.

ButtersSuki

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Goes to show you it's all a matter of taste; personally I thought "The Full Irish" was appalling radio, utterly faked jollyness and rappartie from a completely safe (in the worst possible way) host which led to aural blandness on a scale seldom reached previously on RTÉ. Manufactured to a level most boy bands would be embarrased of, it was so generic that to apply the term lowest common denominator to it would be an affront to the lowest common denominator. There weren't enough types of people it tried to be all things to.

Perhaps my judgment was clouded by the fact I was about 15-years-old at the time, but I loved it. Dinny O'Brien had recently introduced Ireland to the 'text message' and I got a right buzz off texting Ryan, mustering all the 'wit' I had been carefully stockpiling in my 15 years... Mainly boob jokes.

I'm not sure if I'd still like it today, in any event, I'm guessing that's where RTÉ are hoping to go with Al Porter.

padd b1975

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Goes to show you it's all a matter of taste; personally I thought "The Full Irish" was appalling radio, utterly faked jollyness and rappartie from a completely safe (in the worst possible way) host which led to aural blandness on a scale seldom reached previously on RTÉ. Manufactured to a level most boy bands would be embarrased of, it was so generic that to apply the term lowest common denominator to it would be an affront to the lowest common denominator. There weren't enough types of people it tried to be all things to.

It was probably the best they've managed since Dempsey left in the late nineties.
So basically we're talking the thick end of twenty years of almost uninterrupted mediocrity in the most important slot of the day.

No wonder that station is dieing.

buckfasterer

Al Porter given his own show.

Some people in RTE just want to see the world burn don't they.

Cliff Walker

Has anyone else heard the rumour that Porter will in fact be going 5 days a week 9am till 11 ?:mad:

ButtersSuki

Cliff Walker wrote: »

Has anyone else heard the rumour that Porter will in fact be going 5 days a week 9am till 11 ?:mad:

WTAF? Seriously?

wnolan1992

Cliff Walker wrote: »

Has anyone else heard the rumour that Porter will in fact be going 5 days a week 9am till 11 ?:mad:

Any source for this "rumour"? Because honestly, I can't see that happening given 2FM have only very recently rejigged the daytime schedule to get rid of the 9-11am show that Tubridy was doing...

deadybai

The 2fm revamp has been a disaster . Unfunny and obnoxious presenters and horrible , horrible music.

Every ad break has ''Ssss-sound of the nation, sound of the what? Sound of the- . This is the sound of the nation!'' in a really annoying voice .

Al porter will suit the station. Annoy the fcuk out of you until you want to punch some one.

Hopefully it will be the final nail on 2fms coffin

ford fiesta

........and what's with the "hear it, see it, live it" tagline. What are they referring to?

the music on 2FM, other 'youth' stations at least play some 90's songs.

wnolan1992

ford fiesta wrote: »

........and what's with the "hear it, see it, live it" tagline. What are they referring to?

the music on 2FM, other 'youth' stations at least play some 90's songs.

Hear what 2FM are playing/saying, see it on Twitter and Facebook and out and about, live the lifestyle they're selling.

At least that's what I get from it...

colinod0806

ford fiesta wrote: »

........and what's with the "hear it, see it, live it" tagline. What are they referring to?

the music on 2FM, other 'youth' stations at least play some 90's songs.

I think you need to just get over 2fm, you're obviously not their demographic.

Cliff Walker

ford fiesta wrote: »

........and what's with the "hear it, see it, live it" tagline. What are they referring to?

the music on 2FM, other 'youth' stations at least play some 90's songs.

In fairness 2fm have had worse imagining and taglines in the past, remember their LIVIN THE LIFE LOVIN THE MUSIC days ?

smurfs5

"Hear It, See It, Live It" is a good tagline but a bit of a rip-off from the one BBC Radio 1 were using up until recently- "Listen, Watch, Share".

I think "Sound of the Nation" is their official tagline though.

I do have to laugh at all of the people moaning about what 2FM has become. Most likely it's just because the station is now aiming at people younger than you and is no longer interested in targeting those over the age of 30. It's trying to become a credible youth station and find an identity, which it hasn't had for years. It must be given credit for that and time (more than a year) to let the changes bed in, run some ad campaigns to get the word out and try and make 2FM a success. Dan Healy has made some huge errors as head of the station, no denying that, but at least they seem to be finding an identity and making a go of it.

Cliff Walker

Can you give examples of the errors you think he has made ?

smurfs5

Cliff Walker wrote: »

Can you give examples of the errors you think he has made ?

Not running an ad campaign to promote the new line-up, not establishing a dedicated 2FM news team (the news sounds like it could be on Radio 1- no sense of it being snappier or aimed at a young audience).

Giving Colm Hayes and Al Porter that ill-fated drivetime show.

Keeping Game On even though it's been an unmitigated ratings disaster and doesn't fit on the station at all.

Failing to establish much of an online presence- no YouTube channel with video content from the station.

He's made mistakes but the changes he's made recently are overall very positive ones IMO.

Cliff Walker

If it wants to be an irish bbc radio 1, then i think putting a washed up 40 year old ex boyband member on the schedule has been the biggest mistake, you wouldn't see bbc radio 1 doing that.

drunkmonkey

He used to annoy me a bit but said i'd go see him in chaplins a few month ago only about 30 of us in front of him, he was very funny in fairness to him and I don't think i'd enjoy it as was expecting him to over do the carry on camping thing but he didn't and was genuinely funny.
I think he could be good on radio and will no doubt stick his foot in his mouth with style at some stage.
I used to go to comedy gigs the whole time and nearly everyone one i've seen starting off that's stuck with it is now on TV or in adverts, even the chap who introduces them is now a household face.

smurfs5

smurfs5 wrote: »

It's trying to become a credible youth station and find an identity, which it hasn't had for years. It must be given credit for that and time (more than a year) to let the changes bed in

The 'shake-ups' at 2fm have been bedding-in for years.

I'm still in my 20s and probably within the 2fm target audience, but I just don't listen to it. None of my friends do. This isn't an age thing. It's manifestly a shite radio thing, and the JNLRs reflect that.

She should be dismantled and sold for parts, in my view. No sense in taxpayers funding Lottie & co.

evolving_doors

Ouuuuu matron!

Mc Love

I'm so glad I found this thread. I thought I must have been the only one who didnt like this fool. He is the least funniest irish comedian, even worse than Karl Spain!

DopeTech

Mc Love wrote: »

I'm so glad I found this thread. I thought I must have been the only one who didnt like this fool. He is the least funniest irish comedian, even worse than Karl Spain!

Ah now let's not get carried away! I find him funny any of the standup I've seen. Problem is that doesn't make him any good at being a DJ. Too many of the stations are going down the celeb route these days instead of hiring actual DJs who know music/ how to present etc.

smurfs5

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

The 'shake-ups' at 2fm have been bedding-in for years.

I'm still in my 20s and probably within the 2fm target audience, but I just don't listen to it. None of my friends do. This isn't an age thing. It's manifestly a shite radio thing, and the JNLRs reflect that.

She should be dismantled and sold for parts, in my view. No sense in taxpayers funding Lottie & co.

I don't think you can say the shake-ups have been bedding in for years as it's only really this year that Dan Healy's been able to establish the daytime schedule he wants. Before that, it was a mishmash of everything with some contracts still to run.

I agree with the 2nd bit- I'm also in my 20s and neither me nor my friends listen to the station. I do think the changes will slowly attract younger people back, though, with proper advertising and a coherent strategy. Realistically, our generation has grown up with strong local CHR stations like SPIN, Beat, iRadio etc and a 2FM that wasn't appealing to a young audience. They'll have to hope that 10 and 11 year olds now will like what they hear and grow up with the station, eventually leading to a cultural change about 2FM and a future growth in listeners.

It shouldn't be disbanded- if it turns into a youth station which offers something different to the regionals, it will be a valued public service station. Also, Dan Healy's reported to the RTE board that 2FM will be profitable by the end of the year.

Give it time....

Cliff Walker

But he reported to the rte board last year that it would break even but it ended up making a loss of 5 million.

TheRiverman

2FM is now worse than IRadio and that takes some doing.Horrendous "music" and awful presenters have made it a shambles.It should be closed down.

colinod0806

TheRiverman wrote: »

2FM is now worse than IRadio and that takes some doing.Horrendous "music" and awful presenters have made it a shambles.It should be closed down.

Iradio is an excellent youth station though.

Cliff Walker

http://www.breakingnews.ie/showbiz/al-porter-confirms-takeover-from-colm-hayes-on-2fm-747234.html

Cliff Walker

smurfs5 wrote: »

Not running an ad campaign to promote the new line-up.

But they did run a tv ad campaign a few months ago, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yFySJmRlc7c

_feedback_

Breaking news link wrote:

“I have been taught how to run a desk in the radio centre and I’ve been given lessons in radio presenting."

That says it all really. Feel sorry for genuine talent that are struggling to progress in the radio industry..

Welsh Megaman

Guardian review of his Edinburgh show...

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/aug/26/al-porter-review-edinburgh-festival