Iain Lee Has Quit His Show On LBC Radio
Iain Lee has been one of my favourite radio presenters for the past 2 years, ever since my brother told me I should check out his show on LBC Radio. So I was gutted to find out yesterday that he had quit LBC, and won’t be on the radio for at least a few months.
When I started listening to Mr Lee, he had an afternoon show on the station, and had a lot of freedom to experiment with the talk format, which he continually did very successfully. Most of the show would consist of a free form approach with the odd topic thrown in here and there. Although this sometimes lead to a lack of callers or the odd off show, most of the time it lead to very funny callers and classic shows which I could listen to time and again.
There was also the beauty of Triple M, a half hour segment on the weekday show, and a full show on a Sunday night, which saw Iain take calls straight to air. Even with the 7 second delay, some gems could be heard, and it was often the best part of the show.
At the end of last year, Iain was moved to an evening slot of 7pm until 10pm, for reasons which I still can’t understand, but which were explained at the time as to reach the niche audience better. Unfortunately, most of us (although not me) are doing other things between those times: watching crappy soaps like Eastenders and Coronation Street; eating dinner; putting their kids to bed, and so some callers disappeared never to ring again.
And then in July Global radio bought Chrysalis Radio (owner of LBC), and they had different ideas for the station. When LBC managing director David Lloyd (a supporter of Iain) left in September, most fans, especially those die hards that frequent the Digital Spy forums, saw the writing on the wall for Iain, and so it has come to pass.
The show was changed almost immediately, with straight to air going, as well as the Sunday night Triple M show being canned altogether. Iain was forced to talk topics rather than letting people just ring up for a chat, the whole appeal of the show. I could hear Iain was getting increasingly pissed off, but was still hopeful he’d stick it out until next year.
At the same time, Iain began his Shindiggery podcast, a way of continuing his experimentation, and freedom to do what he wanted.
Friday’s show turned out to be his last, with Nick Abbot taking over from him immediately. He wasn’t fired, but left on his own accord, which is at least some consolation.
Iain Lee said:
“I’ve had a fantastic three years at LBC 97.3 and was given the creative freedom to make the show I wanted, and for that I will always be grateful.”
Jonathan Richards, programme director at LBC 97.3 said:
“We want to thank Iain for all his hard work and the original style he has brought to early evenings on LBC 97.3. Iain is a talented broadcaster and we wish him all the very best for the future.”
Iain, you will be missed, now please get yourself a new show on a radio station somewhere asap so I don’t have to start taking drugs or drinking heavily for my daily fix.
November 10th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
let’s boycott LBC
November 17th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
[...] | Shindiggery Podcasts & Video Update by Dave Parrack Almost two weeks ago, lanky funnyman Iain Lee left his job as a talk show host on LBC Radio, and I wrote a long post telling the story of his time there, and [...]