Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 22, 1974 |
| Occupation(s) | Radio and Television Presenter |
| Known for | The Chris Moyles Show, Contestant on The X Factor: Battle of the Stars |
| Website | Chris Moyles Radio 1 Profile |
Christopher Moyles (born February 22, 1974 in Leeds) is an English DJ and presenter of The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1.
Career
Pre-Radio 1
Chris Moyles started his career in radio as a hospital DJ in Wakefield at age 14, later becoming a DJ for "Radio Topshop" (the in-store radio) at the Briggate branch of Topshop in Leeds City Centre.[1] From this early experience, Chris went on to join Aire FM at the age of 16, where he occasionally served as a stand-in presenter. His success there resulted in a more permanent role as a presenter at RTL Luxembourg until its closure, where he was known as the presenter "Chris Holmes". Moyles went on to work at various local radio stations in the UK, including The Pulse of West Yorkshire, Chiltern Radio, Horizon Radio, Signal 1, GWR FM (Bristol), and in 1996, joined London's Capital FM, where he presented a Friday & Saturday Evening show.
Radio 1
In 1997 Moyles was voted one of the Faces for 1997 by SKY magazine. Later in the year, on July 28, 1997, he joined Radio 1 as a presenter of the 4-7am Early Breakfast show. Within months he found out that he had a load of letters from his biggest fan who goes by the name Abigail Wells-Day he said she was one of his best fans, she gave him an award for best Radio presenter ever he was so thrilled by this. When he got presented it on national television he found out she was presenting it, Chris had said it was the best time of his life and hers aswell, he even let her come on the Radio with him which she had said was most exciting.
His next promotion came in October 1998 when he took control of the Drivetime show from 4-5.45pm. The show then went out from 3-5.45pm in Early 2001.
Moyles took with him the show's writer and his sidekick David "Comedy Dave" Vitty. His show also included regular guests such as impressionist Jon Culshaw. He and his team soon attracted considerable attention and notoriety.
After five years on drive time, on January 5, 2004, Moyles started presenting Radio 1's flagship programme The Breakfast Show, switching places with Sara Cox. He had been appointed to increase the ratings for the show and did so, putting on an extra 700,000 listeners to the audience in the first quarter of 2004. After a successful first year, Moyles was awarded 'DJ of the Year' by readers of The Sun.
By 2005, Moyles and his team had succeeded in vastly increasing the morning audience, with his programme's audience swelling to 6.5 million. This was coupled with an increase in the overall Radio 1 listenership. With 895,000 listeners in London in the third quarter of 2005, he succeeded in overtaking Johnny Vaughan to take the position of the capital's most listened to youth breakfast show. Moyles' listener count is still increasing each week, which has lead to him winning a gold Sony Radio Award in 2006 for best entertainment show.
With the release of the latest RAJAR listening figures on August 3 2006, it was announced Moyles had added a further 470,000 listeners to the Breakfast Show, taking the average listenership up to 6.79 million.
Without co-presenters alongside in his shows, Moyles' unique style was more noticeable and was arguably more creative than in his current Radio 1 role. His usual mocking of callers and over-the-top phone-cutting-off sound effects were still heavily used.[citation needed]
Features in his shows included 'Throwing sugarcubes at the studio clock', 'The ABC Game' and 'True or False'. Regular characters such as 'Agony Kid' (a young child creating spoofs of an Agony Aunt column) and a high-pitched 'Little Fella' also made appearances on the shows. Over the years on local radio, Moyles has had production talents such as Daryl Denham lending a hand in producing the goods before each show was put on air.[citation needed]
Already known as 'The Saviour' to his listeners, 'The Early Evening Bit', 'The Late Bit', or just the 'xxx bit', in general, were common names used for his shows on the various stations.
Show format
Features
Moyles' style of delivery juxtaposes fast speech with long pauses. He is generally loud and overbearing; regularly 'cutting in' or speaking over his co-hosts. Moyles' humour relies mainly upon observational material, although commenters have suggested the whole persona he portrays on-air may well be a 'character'.[citation needed]
Moyles uses co-hosts and audience participation in games and quizzes as other sources of comedy. He is renowned for his sharp manner, quick temper and put-downs, which are directed at seemingly everyone in a constant barrage[1]. However, he generally accepts counter-attacks in the same manner and routinely derides his being overweight in the lyrics of jingles and directly, washing out any tone of sycophancy from his broadcasts.
Regular competitions he has hosted include Viaduct, which was based on a Two Ronnies sketch (itself based on Mastermind, with a specialist subject of "answering the question before the last"); and more recently Car Park Catchphrase, featuring voice samples from the Ulster comedian Roy Walker. This was replaced in January 2006 with a spoof on the quiz Blockbusters called Beep Beep Busters, which disappeared from the show during March 2006 without explanation. Car Park Catchphrase however returned in January 2007. His Saturday morning shows often contained slightly bizarre competitions, including one where Chris and Dave made predictions on how long people's marriages would last (entitled May Divorce Be With You).
Numerous other features in Moyles' shows include Girls Going to Football, in which Comedy Dave predicts the scores of football matches to which female listeners are going; Rob DJ's Monday Night Pub Quiz, where the team answers a selection of questions from a local pub quiz; Frog Or Dog, where listeners had to do an impression of either a frog or a dog; Guess Who, a Twenty Questions-style game, in which the team members try to guess the name of a celebrity spotted by another of the team; and many more.
The most recent addition, in February 2006, is Celebrity Tarzan, in which listeners have to try and guess which celebrity is hollering like Tarzan, in order to win various prizes.
The team
Moyles' show follows on from the likes of Steve Wright and Chris Evans in that it relies on a number of on-air contributors. Of these, Comedy Dave (see above) has worked with Moyles the longest; though since 2002 he has also presented a separate show alongside Mark Chapman. Many of the other contributors have been the news reader Dominic Byrne and sports reader Carrie Davis from the show, broadcast assistants and show producers Rachel Jones & Day Producer Aled Haydn-Jones; though Moyles' friends such as Longman and impressionist Jon Culshaw have also been involved.
Work outside of radio
Moyles has also branched out into television. In 2002, his own Channel 5 show, Live With . . . Chris Moyles, was a flop in the ratings, with audiences as low as 200,000 viewers. Chris was soon replaced by Christian O'Connell, before the programme was shelved altogether. [2]
He and sidekick Comedy Dave also had a short-lived 1999 TV show, also entitled The Chris Moyles Show, on the now-defunct UK satellite and cable channel UK Play. Moyles also voiced the fourth and last series of Sky One show "The Villa". He has also occasionally presented Top Of The Pops and has worked for Comic Relief.
In October 2004, Moyles and the The Chris Moyles Show team replaced U2's Vertigo at number one in the UK Official Download Chart with their download-only charity song Dogz Don't Kill People (Wabbitz Do), under the name 'Mouldie Lookin' Stain'. The song was a spoof of Goldie Lookin' Chain's Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do (itself a spoof) and proceeds went to Comic Relief. At the time of its release, it was the fastest selling download on UK charts.
The February 2006 edition of Viz featured two recognisable radio personalities in a feature called Jo Whiley Coyote, with Moyles standing in for Road Runner in an allegorical race for Radio 1 listeners. 'Whiley Coyote' stopped him in his tracks using traps such as a pile of artery-blocking cheeseburgers placed on the edge of an overhanging cliff.
Moyles made an ill-judged appearance on the BBC panel game show 'Never Mind the Buzzcocks' in which he bore the brunt of presenter Mark Lamarr's sharp wit and harsh criticism. Rumours of a personal dislike of Moyles by Lamarr were further fueled by his continuing references to 'that fat cunt, Moyles' in subsequent editions of the show.
Moyles appeared on the ITV1 show The X Factor: Battle Of The Stars. He was voted out of the show on June 4 2006 in the semi-final. Following this appearance, stories in the New Statesman and The Sun both reported that Moyles was looking to relaunch his television career. The New Statesman reported that he is due to play himself in an episode of the drama Hotel Babylon due for air in 2007, whilst The Sun claims that he has been offered his own show by ITV. Moyles has spoken of a desire to transfer the format of his radio show to the stage, but otherwise has thus far stayed clear of a conventional TV format, in particular avoidance of the abysmal ratings of his previous failed attempt on UK Channel 5. [3]
Moyles' autobiography, 'The Gospel according to Chris Moyles: The Story of One Man and His Mouth' was released by Ebury Press on October 5, 2006. Despite official BBC impartiality guidelines expressly forbidding advertising, the book has received a minimum of ten 'plugs' on his radio show each day since its launch. Moyles makes light of any complaints made about his actions on the show, even joking about OFCOM, the regulating body for broadcasters, immediately after breaching guidelines in his broadcast on October 9, 2006.
Controversies
Moyles, following on from Chris Evans and American "Shock jocks", derides listeners who enter the phone-in competitions he hosts. In his earlier days, he would sometimes ask female callers the size of their breasts, and has always made light of young lads with a strong south-east England or Cockney accent. He remorselessly mocks people who he considers have dull, repetitive jobs with obvious sarcasm.
When starting at Radio 1 on the 4 - 7am shift, he played soundtracks of passionate encounters in pornographic films, over which female newsreaders tried to read the weather forecast. Unsurprisingly, he has had dealings with the Broadcasting Standards Commission and Ofcom. These have occurred during his time at both Capital FM (now Capital Radio) and Radio 1. For example, these regulatory bodies upheld complaints when Moyles threatened Dr Fox in October 2002 with the claim that 'I'm gonna tear his head off and poo down his neck';[2] also in early 2002 when he said he would take the virginity of Charlotte Church, when she reached sixteen. [3]. Many of his fans claim that such jokes were made in obvious jest; indeed, he and Charlotte Church are now good friends and she has been a guest on his show several times. Moyles' Christmas 2005 show was broadcast from her mother's pub. More recently Moyles has been involved in further controversies.
When he arrived at the station, the late John Peel took an immediate dislike to Moyles and accused him of being a "DLT-in-waiting". Moyles retorted that Peel was a "Kenny Everett-in-waiting, because Kenny Everett’s dead and it’s only a matter of time before John pops his clogs"[4]. Later, Moyles and John Peel became very close friends, with Peel appearing on his show a couple of times, and Moyles being one of the DJs to broadcast an emotional show on 26th October 2004, the day after Peel's death.
Accusations of sexism
As Moyles' profile grew during 2005 and 2006, his actions were increasingly called into question. In November 2005, when handing over to a female news presenter on his breakfast show, Moyles referred to the presenter as a “slut” and then went on to make other comments about her as he attempted to defend his comment. Four listeners complained that this was offensive. [5]. In February 2006, Moyles apologised, along with the BBC, after swearing at a caller live on air. He made the outburst while teasing a mother-of-three from Newcastle during an on-air feature which her children had interrupted. "You've got three kids from some fucking...." he blurted out, before apologising profusely for his mistake. He apologised, and continued to do so for another minute after the event[6].
The BBC issued an apology, adding that such "slips" could occur during live broadcasts such as Moyles' show. The BBC was later cleared by broadcasting regulator Ofcom over the incident.
In July 2006, Radio watchdog Ofcom found Moyles in Breach of rule 1.5 of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code Rules for an incident in which he referred to female listeners as "dirty whores". A listener objected to an item in which the presenter discussed people who urinated in the shower. He considered that the presenter’s reference to women who did this as “dirty whores” was unacceptable at this time of the morning[7] [8].
Pay controversies
Alongside a number of other Radio 1 and Radio 2 DJs, Moyles crossed a strike picketline in 2005. BBC staff were striking over recently announced job cuts. Although Moyles claimed that he would be sympathetic to the strikers on his show, he made no mention of the strike[9]. This was followed a year later by claims in The Sun newspaper. They were given information that Moyles has signed a contract worth £630,000, more than double the second-highest earner on the station, Jo Whiley[10].
Accusations of racism
Moyles was asked if he was "having a racist moment" by the actress Halle Berry over an imitation of a "Big Black Guy" during an interview with her and Hugh Jackman for the film X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Moyles was pretending to be James Bond’s double. He put on an American accent and told Halle and Hugh Jackman: “Put your hands up in the air.”
Moyles: (in American accent) Put your hands up in the air.
Hugh Jackman: You're a Brooklyn Bond?
Moyles: I’m a black American guy. A big, black, fat guy. Put your hands in the air — don’t wanna be shootin' yo' ass.
Halle Berry: Are we having a racist moment?
Moyles: No! Not at all. I can’t do American voices. [11][12] [13]
Accusations of homophobia
Moyles was accused of homophobia in May 2006, when he rejected a ringtone by saying "I don't want that one, it's gay." live on air. This led to a number of complaints to the BBC. They argued that the use of the word gay in this context was homophobic. The BBC governors said that Moyles was simply keeping up with developments in English usage.
The programme complaints committee said that, “The word ‘gay’, in addition to being used to mean ‘homosexual’ or ‘carefree’, was often now used to mean ‘lame’ or ‘rubbish’. In describing a ringtone as gay, the DJ was conveying that he thought it was “rubbish” rather than “homosexual”. Moyles was not being homophobic". The panel acknowledged, however, that this use of the word “gay” in a derogatory sense could cause offence to some listeners and counselled caution on its use.
Subsequently in June, LGBT charity Stonewall marched with placards demanding the dismissal of Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles during Europride in London. According to Stonewall, “Chris Moyles is not helping young LGBT people struggling to come out through his comments.” [14]
Those defending Moyles have noted that Aled Haydn-Jones, his show's producer who has worked with Moyles since 2001, is openly gay and that Moyles enjoys close friendships with people such as Scott Mills and Will Young; [15]. However, he has also been quoted in The Guardian as saying, "Yeah, I'm homophobic, I don't like the gays. Sorry, it just does my head in. We have a token gay on the show!"[16]
Moyles is quoted as defending comments labeled as homophobic by saying "It was just an act, it's what I do, it's entertainment" and that "I have a lot of gay friends; I'm not homophobic". [17] Others have retorted to this that although Moyles' may not have intended in any offence, his use of language on a national radio broadcast should be much more considerate of possible problems; indeed, the BBC acknowledged this in their statement.
Accusations of transphobia
In August 2006, Moyles was also accused of transphobia due to his sketches involving a character by the name of "Tranny Rachel", a crude impersonation trans person pertaining to a negative stereotype[18] [19][20]. Press For Change, an organisation campaigning for greater respect and equality for transgender and transsexual people, described the sketches as "a prima facie example of discrimination financed by the BBC" in a mailing from its news list and gave advice on how to effectively complain to the BBC and Ofcom if subscribers to the news list felt "angry enough to want to DO something"[18].
Soon after, PFC reported that "a person" had received a response to a complaint about the issue, which was "clearly intended for a wider audience" and "constitutes a sort of apology"[21].
On September 9th 2006, PFC proceeded to report that a subscriber to its news list had filed a complaint about the show with the Metropolitan Police[22]. According to the PFC news article, the "allegation, complete with a crime reference number, has now been forwarded to the Community Safety Unit, who will investigate further."[22] No further information on the status of the complaint has been given by PFC, and so it is unknown at this time whether the allegations filed to the police have been dismissed or not.
On 21st of December 2006, PFC issued a message on their news list announcing that one of the complainants to OFCOM had recieved a response, with the full reply from OFCOM pasted below. OFCOM, after listening to all broadcasted sketches involving the character, found that the show was not in breach of "section 2 of their code relating to harm and offence", though appreciating that some transsexuals might find the use of the term in such a context unacceptable and the intended humour, on this occasion, ill-judged.
References
- ^ Phil Norris (2006-01-22). "Observer Music Monthly (CITED), January 2006". ChrisMoyles.net. Retrieved 2006-10-14.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "October 2002 Personalities: Chris Moyles". RadioNewsWeb.com. 2002-10-31. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "The Chris Moyles A to Z". ChrisMoyles.net. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "I'm no sexist lardy-mouth". TimesOnline.co.uk. 2004-06-22. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin #56". Ofcom. 2006-03-20. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "Moyles apologises for outburst". BBC News. 2006-02-21. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "Moyles could be taken off air". DigitalSpy.co.uk. 2006-06-13. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin #62". Ofcom. 2006-06-12. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "TV stars: why we crossed BBC picket line". Guardian Newspapers Limited. 2005-05-23. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "TV stars: why we crossed BBC picket line". DigitalSpy.co.uk. 2006-04-13. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "Audio of Chris Moyles' 'racist moment'". ChrisMoyles.net. 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "Halle Berry's 'stand' against British DJ". Rabercom Enterprises. 2006-05-22. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "Moyles 'racist' Halle slur". The Sun Online. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ ""Gorgeous" gay community fills London with EuroPride". PinkNews.co.uk. 2006-07-01. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^
Lusher, Tim (07-06-06). "Straight talk?". The Guardian. Retrieved 30-12-06.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^
The Guardian (06-11-06). "Tide turns against homophobia". The Guardian. Retrieved 02-01-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^
Huddersfield Daily Examiner (04-07-06). "Chris Moyles, not that bad". icHuddersfield. Retrieved 30-12-06.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ a b "PFC News archive; "UK: BBC Radio 1 - Chris Moyles and Tranny Rachel"". Press For Change. 2006-08-18. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|publisher= - ^ "Audio clip of Tranny Rachael on BBC Radio 1's Chris Moyles show". Press For Change. 2006-08. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|publisher= - ^ "Chris Moyles - The saviour of Radio One". ChrisMoyles.net. 2006-08-24. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ "PFC News archive; UK: BBC Radio 1 Executive On "Tranny Rachel"". Press For Change. 2006-09-06. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|publisher= - ^ a b "PFC News archive; UK: Tranny Rachel Faces Police Investigation". Press For Change. 2006-09-09. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|publisher=