Podcast Corner: Josh Widdicombe gets trivial in Museum of Pop Culture
Josh Widdicombe's latest podcast is Museum Of Pop Culture.
English comedian and presenter Josh Widdicombe is no stranger to podcasting. with Rob Beckett is into season 11, while he also hosts the 1990s football show which is four seasons deep.
He’s diving further into nostalgia with his latest effort, Running since the turn of the year, it comprises four-episode mini-series alongside pals well versed in the subjects.
Thus far they’ve covered The Rise and Fall of Mr Blobby and Noel Edmonds; The Hit Factory: Stock, Aitken, and Waterman; and David Hasselhoff and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Here are some nuggets of pop culture that we’ve learned so far. Was ‘zig-a-zig ah’ inspired by Pete Waterman?
“I always thought he was the man who the Spice Girls were singing about,” says comedian Matthew Crosby, a friend of Widdicombe, who suspects he’s interested in Stock, Aitken and Waterman and their output - but also not really a fan either.
He explains that when Spice Girls were recording their first few songs, there was an 1980s record producer who used to smoke noxious cigars and do some “quite noxious toilets” - his nickname became “Shit and Cigar”, which morphed into “zig-a-zig ah”.
Crosby says: “In my head it was Pete Waterman because he was famous for chomping on cigars.” However, he admits he can’t quite corroborate the story.
There’s a long explainer about pirate radio in the UK and the launch of BBC Radio 1, where Edmonds features from the beginning. One April Fools’ Day, he told listeners he was broadcasting live from a plane travelling from Gatwick to Aberdeen.
The show even “hired” an air hostess to deliver links, with airplane sound effects played throughout. Around 700 people reportedly gathered at Aberdeen Airport to watch for the plane landing — a prank which, as Widdicombe notes, showed just how popular Edmonds and his show were.
Crosby returns for the four-parter on the Hoff - “no one’s a fan and everyone’s a fan” - who he worked with on a short-lived TV project. The former and star told Crosby about when he checked into rehab under a false name while he was at the height of his fame.
Rehab is anonymous and first names only, so at the first group session when everybody sits around and introduces themselves, Hasselhoff says, “Hello, I’m Michael.” Crosby explains: “As it comes out of his mouth, you realise he’s checked himself in as the name of his character on he just hadn’t made the connection.” Crosby adds: “He was very happy to share these stories.”
