This anniversary Johnny is bouncing his huge adulation baton again, this time while cutting a hardboard bow tie, attached about his abutting with a covering belt. That’ll be Danny Baker, then…
Why the Love?Danny’s had a continued career on radio and telly, but this Adulation Letter is for his assignment in football broadcasting, rather than for Pets Win Prizes or the BBC4 shows.
Let’s say this appropriate from the get-go. He’s admired because he is actually altered and has pursued his own aisle through radio and TV, both uncompromising and consistent. He’s a trickster, a joker, and a subversive. And, oh, how he has fabricated so abounding of us beam and beam and beam bottomward the years.
In 1991 he presented 6-0-6 for the aboriginal time and would go on to present abounding shows, all of which were based about bidding callers to buzz in belief and recollections. He absorbed up in 1993 with Danny Kelly and in accomplishing so they formed one of the finest and best affectionately remembered partnerships in any across of broadcasting. They went sailing on the seas of absurdity, surrealism and absolute silliness, best abnormally in Baker & Kelly Up Front from 1996. Alike now afterwards all these years, he’s still advancing up with a amaranthine agitate of account to try and affect bodies to arena in. Callers or admirers absent to allocution about the day’s amateur accept consistently been disappointed. That wasn’t and still isn’t what the shows are all about.
Along the way there accept been rants, a abstruse bathrobe allowance “tape,” adjudicator coursing and at atomic one arresting on-air abandonment (“We abide amidst pin-headed weasels who apperceive alone timid, the all-encompassing and the abacus.”) forth with fallings out, sackings and resurrections and that’s actually how it should be for one of the absolute few 18-carat anti-establishment broadcasting mavericks. Admirers adulation his apparent aboveboard attitude and his romantic, charming, about adolescent affection for football and his basal aesthetics that alone by not demography it actively can you absolutely booty it seriously.
The beck of accusation he unleashed on Cheep afterwards England’s avenue from aftermost year’s Euros was a anatomy of sweary poetry. Alike if you anticipate it was over the top, it was about uncompromising and unflinching, and will accept reflected abounding a fan’s animosity at the time: “You f*cking abominable chicken base disgrace. Go on you f*ckers aces up your PL accomplishment you bargain sh*ts. You worms. F*ck you.”
Sadly, the absolute things we adulation him for seems to accept austere too abounding bridges to get him a lot of football assignment on the BBC. But his abrupt actualization at the 2010 World Cup shows us what we could’ve won, if the association had been a little added ambitious.
He’d be cool as an ad-lib football TV regular, alike if he’s there with the cap and accretion on. Bodies booty football too seriously, Danny doesn’t, but that doesn’t abate his amusement of the game, absolutely the opposite. His complete alienation to the statistics of football, to the discussions about formations etc, is added bare than anytime in an era which risks atrophying the animalism for the bold with banking greed, over-analysis and spreadsheet philosophies.
He additionally presented abundant admired Own Goals and Gaffs VHS videos afterwards which abounding a Xmas would not accept been complete.
Latterly on BT Sport he and Danny K absorbed up afresh for their Vaguely Sporting Phone-Out appearance which ran for two seasons afore actuality cancelled. Rambling and captivated calm with ancestor tape, it was aggregate their admirers accept consistently loved, up to and including admiration the after-effects of amateur appliance aloof two toasters. Of advance they did.
Superhero SkillsHe’s an abundantly articulate, angry alive chic intellectual. This was recorded in 1977 and is still as accordant now as it was 40 years ago. The arduous f**k you attitude is magnificent.
Yes he will consistently be divisive. And that’s good. The amaranthine chase of balanced antithesis aural a alabaster no-offence culture, creates absolute addled broadcasting. Yes he ability go too far sometimes, but that doesn’t matter. In following of accomplished broadcasting, you charge to be able for the consequences, but not anguish about them and not be inhibited by them.
Has been admirable at absolution the bodies he works with shine. I’m cerebration abnormally of his 5live Saturday morning appearance with Lynsey Hipgrave, which charcoal a account joy, alike admitting the never not baroque LH has confused on.
I’ve consistently anticipation the key to his shows was his 18-carat absorption in the public’s contributions. It acutely amuses and entertains him, and so by extension, us too. You can’t affected that for as continued as he’s been accomplishing it. He lives for the moments back a addition delivers, out-of-the-blue, article amusing and remarkable.
His phone-ins with or afterwards Danny K accept consistently been a anniversary of a by-the-people-for-the-people humanity. Warm afterwards actuality cloying, aboveboard afterwards any smarm. He has backbone while the punters speak, consistently alert for hidden gems of funny that alike the addition hasn’t anticipation of. And this is how you end up with moments of actually amusing accuracy such as this from Gordon, about his bowtie. It unfolds in four account with such absolute clip and timing, that it couldn’t accept been scripted better.
And this is aloof one of abounding abounding calls that accompany joy and lift the spirits. The Baker and Kelly affiliation is artlessly one of the finest anytime to accept graced the airwaves. It’s account revisiting the treehouse from time to time, aloof to revisit the around-the-clock ball they conjured out of attenuate air.
Pronounces “after” as “ar’er” as admitting we’re active in a achievement of Oliver and which somehow sounds like it has appear from an absolutely altered era. It is a acceptable throw-back to time afore bodies began starting sentences with “so..” and artful the ascent inflective of Australia and the San Fernando Valley.
I’m not absolutely abiding how or why, but he has a beam which in itself is entertaining. Part of the acumen to acknowledgment to the old clips is to apprehend him and Danny K in paroxysms of amusement over a man who refereed a bold appliance a harmonica, or whatever. Such communicable amusement is consistently a joy.
Style Guru?Wears a Fez. Has a taily covering and top hat. Likes a bedrock t-shirt. Clothes usually fit area they touch. And accurately so.
Proper Football Man RatingConfused.
I’ll accept a pint of what he’s drinking. It’s like he knows everything, Jeff. Literally, everything. Everything, Jeff. Literally. It’s alarming the way he can aloof say words y’know one afterwards addition and it makes sense. How is that accessible if you’re not a professor?
But the boys are worried. Normally they can calculation on the alive chic to be one of their own. But Danny seems too clever, and knows far too abundant actuality about far too abounding things to be a PFM. But they like that he acclimated to go on the alcohol with Gazza and they acquisition any man who can get in someone’s face, a little erotic. Go on, my son, accord it ‘im..
He’s been befuddled off the BBC and has formed on TalkSport too – both of which are boxes you charge beat for any PFM appliance to be successful. Likes a alcohol and would accept no botheration downing a few of Reidy’s toilet duck, nitroglycerin and Agent Orange shandies. Addition absolute tick, as is the long-standing, oft-vigorously bidding animosity of Glenn Hoddle, who the PFMs accede to be a aberrant hippie.
But then, he is a big fan of P.G. Wodehouse, whom best PFMs would accept was a cricketer in the 1920s or a woman who accomplished dogs on the telly. And what’s all this affair about breeze bedrock and records? Every PFM thinks CDs are absolutely modern. I bet he doesn’t alike like Johnny Hates Jazz, Jeff.
And yer PFM doesn’t accept to the radio because it doesn’t accept any pictures and if there are no pictures how can you see what’s activity on, Jeff? It’s mad. Radio is aloof a talking box and they’re awe-inspiring and Danny makes my arch feel like it’s activity to burst, Jeff. And I sometimes charge my head.
What The Bodies Say– Addition with such a notable, able personality is apprenticed to be bisect assessment and it would be odd if it didn’t. But those of us who accept admired his assignment for so continued now, feel he is criminally underused, that administration is a bit afraid of him, and that addition with such a appropriate affectionate of ability absolutely should be celebrated.
– Me and mates were commendation Own Goals and Gaffs for years. Radio appearance on 5 additionally a charge listen. He’s been underused over the years.
– Own Goals and Gaffs on video his annotation was funny and a appropriate apprenticeship to how bits some football was
– The anchorperson I dream of being, if alone I was alone a hell of a lot smarter than I am!
– I bethink travelling to football and alert to him accepting a 5 Live adviser too Hoover up basics and bolts for a acumen I can’t recall. It wasn’t decidedly abominable or amazing but it ashore with me and summed up why he’s so good.
– He’s too politically incorrect for the establishment. He’s too abrupt and adamant accordingly a bit of a ‘wild cannon’.
– No advisedly in because him a hero in music and football.
– Genuinely funny, agreeable and knowledgeable. His and Kelly’s strapline: “sometimes right; generally wrong; consistently certain” is absolutely the fan.
– He realises that the absolute amateur are boner and soap opera and concentrates on applesauce & fan idiosyncrasies. Uniquely accomplished broadcaster
– His cheep rants back England comedy absolutely abominably are a affair of beauty.
– He’s a absolute antitoxin to the accepted po faced advantage of football in the media. Fantastically quick witted , funny, and absolute knowledgeable.
– I adulation my radio. I adulation my football and for me, Danny is aloof The Best.
– He’s formed for big corporations, but never seems corporate, which agency he has opinions which are alfresco the mainstream, but are generally aberrant and about consistently reflect interests abundant added than the Premier League, which generally don’t get airtime…
– Nothing excites our 12 anniversary old babe added than my bodice featuring the awning of Sniffin’ Glue (no.8) – around-the-clock journalism, top man
– I could accept to him allocution about football, activity and music ad infinitum. He aloof sees and speaks amazing joy.
– For the fans, by a fan, and it shows. Gets that admirers would rather allocution about trivia and eg coldest area than formations and tactics.
– His voiceover of Own goals and gaffs is still quoted by me and my mates.
– He’s a able fan – not one of those “celebs” who abutment the fashionable clubs.
– Met Danny in M&S recently. Despite an armful of wine/sandwiches he stood and chatted about his tour. Appropriate sort.
– He’s a genius. Incredible broadcaster, hilarious, artistic and surreal yet a accustomed fella who absolutely loves and understands football.
– Slightly random, but I still do the toaster predictions from the Baker & Kelly Appearance on BT Sport during the 2014 World Cup
– Imagine an absorbing phone-in, about about football, afresh replacing it with David Mellor et al and “red hot soccer chat.” (and afresh by Richard Littlejohn!)
– A man who is added for the body and beneath for the stats. Appreciates that football is as admirable for its amusing amount as for its spectacle.
– The Bielsa of football broadcasting. Outrageously accomplished abstracted who scares the active daylights out of boilerplate employers
– In a altered alliance to any added football anchorperson and has been for 30 years.
– The accident of the two Dannys on BT Sport was a bent decay of abundant talent.
– One of those guys who aloof gets it. Somehow manages to abduction the acquaintance of actuality a football fan by not talking about football
– The man is a broadcasting ability who invented a accomplished new cast alone to see inferior imitations abort the brand.
– He terrifies the producers on TV because he’s smarter and knows the way TV works. So we’re denied a genius
– Recognises the bold is cool and admirable at the aforementioned time.
– Did you apperceive the aftermost anytime addition on his football phone-in was a Boro fan who said “Up the Boro” in his closing line? UTB!
– Brilliantly accustomed broadcaster. He and Danny Kelly were, and remain, affection makers and trend setters.
– 25 years back he did 6-0-6 and Own Goals and Gaffs. Both formats accept been affected so abounding times and cipher has appear abutting to his quality.
– Innovative, surreal, acutely bonkers, artistic and has a 18-carat absorption in what admirers are saying. Genuinely loves football, music & life
Future DaysWhen we heard he had throat blight – conceivably the cruellest for a raconteur and anchorperson – we all feared the worst, but acknowledge god and the NHS, he got through it. We charge some added Danny in our football lives. Not article normal, obviously. Article improvised because he’s at his best afterwards a script.
His bequest will be that he ploughed a channel that no-one abroad had ploughed afore abundantly because he invented the channel himself. Afterwards Danny, football phone-ins accept all been about admirers calling for a administrator to be sacked etc etc and not about arena football in alarming places, not about pigs jumping off a diving board, not about bodies assuming to be a club’s scouts, and it is worse for that. The beeline football phone-in, in the age of amusing media, seems dated. I’m not alike abiding anyone wants to apprehend what added admirers anticipate about annihilation anymore, or absolutely not on the radio.
The actuality he’s not been affected is a attestation to the altered attributes of the aptitude he brought to the concept. It is as admitting artlessly no-one has the joy of the off-the-beaten-tracks of activity and conceivably aloof doesn’t accept the arduous across of acuteness and airs to cull it off.
It is still on radio area his artform seems to acquisition its best expression. We charge all achievement that one day some anchorperson will relaunch the acceptable address Baker & Kelly Upfront and already afresh we can absolute the abiding words “Any added pie?”
John Nicholson
