User:Candlewicke/Deleted Articles/The Blast

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

< User:Candlewicke | Deleted Articles

You have new messages (last change).

The Blast

For other meanings, see Blast.

Former presenters Ray (front) & JP (behind)

The Blast was a popular night-time show broadcast on Irish radio station Today FM , presented by Ray Foley and his best friend JP. The two-hour show gained cult status among its listeners for its obscene and sometimes offensive style thanks in no small part to the controversial relationship between the presenters (In the early days Ray would refer to JP as his "bitch"). It was broadcast from Sunday to Thursday and began at 10pm, lasting until midnight. Ray and JP left "The Blast" on Thursday 9 November 2006, after two and a half years as its faithful hosts citing reasons of a deferment to daytime radio. This was proved when on Monday November 20 2006 the duo took to the airwaves for their new show The Ray Foley Show, broadcast at the earlier time of midday on Today FM. The show, lasting for two and a half hours, is a half hour longer than The Blast. A new addition, Adelle was also brought in. Tim Kelly has taken on the role of presenter of The Blast in its new form.

1 Regular Features
2 Presenters
3 Catchphrases
4 Songs
5 The Last Blast
6 External links

[edit] Regular Features

The Oldie But A Goodie Guessing Game (Later The Oldie But A Goodie Guessing Game... Strikes Back!) - The original game at 11:30p.m. which perhaps out of boredom or maturity on behalf of Ray and JP was axed for The Big Game but later returned as The Oldie But A Goodie Guessing Game... Strikes Back!. The game began with Ray and JP singing the theme tune The Bitch's Box of Shite in unison. A caller would come on the air and be asked where they were from. Ray would reply: 'Beautiful part of the world' to which JP would say: "Beautiful indeed, Ray", before proving this by pouring out facts about the caller's hometown. The caller would take turns with JP to ask questions of Ray in relation to a classic song. The catch was they could only ask questions with a 'yes' or 'no' answer, a common example being JP's question: "Is it a band, Ray?" When the song was finally guessed correctly the caller would receive a prize (usually a CD) which had been pulled by JP from The Bitch's Box of Shite and the song would be played.
The Big Game - This replacement for The Oldie But A Goodie Guessing Game also took place at 11:30p.m. A caller would receive a prize with a minimum challenge. Ray would usually delay the game for a sustained period of time while JP would urge him to hurry up with cries of: "It's against the clock!!!" as the clock was ticking in the background. Eventually Ray would decide to start the game only to be interrupted half way through the first question by the sound of a klaxon signalling the end of the game. Ray and JP would express their annoyance as the next song began.
The Last Request - The last caller of the show just before midnight gets to hear the song of their choice. The lines would have been opened roughly twenty minutes previously with Ray announcing: "Open up the lines" and JP bellowing out the number, followed by his catchphrase: "Last Request lines are open - NOW!!!"
Tricky Dick - "A tricky little mick". The Blast's own resident leprechaun would appear just before the 11pm news to put a riddle to the listeners. He would return after the news to reveal the answer. In the meantime the listeners could text their answers to the show. This game involved no prize.
Your Entertainment Update - This was one of the later additions to the show and involved Ray and JP taking the role of newsreaders with a twist. They would reveal the latest celebrity stories (usually three) with a comic outcome throwing in puns, irony, sarcasm and biting wit. This feature usually took place at 10:30p.m. with a warning of its impending arrival occurring at around 10:15p.m. It has since moved to The Ray Foley Show in the afternoons and occurs at approximately 1:45p.m. each weekday. Adelle is also featured in the new version.

[edit] Presenters

Ray Foley (2004-2006) - Ray was born on September 21 1980 in Ballina, County Mayo. He first came into the radio scene when he was 16 after winning a competition run at the time by another Today FM presenter, Tony Fenton. Ray left his home for Dublin in 1998, to do a journalism course in DIT. It was in DIT that he met his new best friend JP who would later join forces with Ray on "The Blast". After several years reading radio news in 98FM and Lite FM, and presenting for such stations as 98FM and SPIN 1038 Ray started working on Today FM in 2004. At the age of 23 he became presenter of "The Blast". He left in 2006 when offered his own show at an earlier time of day.
JP (2004-2006) - JP presented The Blast alongside Ray Foley, having met him at university. He is from County Louth. Small in stature but blessed with a wicked sense of humour, JP left to join Ray on his new show.
Tim Kelly (2006- ) - Tim is the newest presenter of The Blast, having taken on the job at Ray and JP's departure. He has spent many years working on Today FM and has presented the Today FM Top 40 on Sundays.
Derek Flood (2004- ) - Floody has filled in regularly on The Blast when the regular presenters are absent. His regular show is Planet Hits which is broadcast on Saturday nights.

[edit] Catchphrases

"Beautiful part of the world."

Ray

"Beautiful indeed, Ray."

"Is it a band, Ray?"

"It's The Bitch's Box of Shite"

(x4) Ray & JP

"Open up the lines."

Ray

"1850 715 100. Last Request lines are open - NOW!!!"

[edit] Songs

Ray and JP would often create parodies of popular songs which they would play on their show. Some of the most famous are included below. From Cork To Roscommon has even made it onto the internet in the form of a video.[1]

"From Cork To Roscommon"[2] - Parody of From Paris To Berlin by Infernal.
"I Will Revise" - Parody of I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. A song played around exam time to encourage younger listeners to study.
"JP's Mom" - Parody of Stacy's Mom by Fountains of Wayne.
"Dinnertime" - Parody of Everytime by Britney Spears.
"Lazy" - Parody of Crazy by Gnarls Barkley.
"So Sick Of This Song" - Parody of Ne-Yo So Sick

Ray also recorded a spoof radio advert for Britney Spears' Massive Hits, which featured such gems as "Dinnertime" and "I've Had A Baby".[3]

[edit] The Last Blast

The Last Blast was broadcast on November 9 2006. One of the most commonly repeated questions asked by listeners to the show was what JP stood for. Finally, in his last show, he revealed that he stood for many things, the national anthem; older people on buses; judges entering court-rooms; truth, justice and the American way. [3] Below is the playlist from the final show with Ray and JP.

Hour One