Hamish & Andy (radio show)

This article is about the Hamish & Andy radio program. For the comedy duo of the same name, see Hamish & Andy.
The Hamish & Andy Show
Other names The Hamish & Andy Show
Genre Comedy
Running time

4:00 - 6:00 pm weekdays - Live Show (2 hours w/commercials)

6:00 - 7:00 pm weekdays - Déjà vu Hour (1 hour w/commercials)
Country Australia
Language(s) English
Home station Fox FM (Melbourne)
Syndicates Hit Network
(including Sea FM, Star FM and Hot FM)
Ace Radio FM Network
ZM
Hosted by Hamish Blake
Andy Lee
Starring Hamish Blake
Andy Lee
Created by Hamish Blake
Andy Lee
Executive producer(s) Sam Cavanagh
Recording studio Melbourne
Air dates since 2006 (2006)
Audio format Stereo
Opening theme "A Hard Day's Night" by The Beatles
Website Hamish & Andy
Podcast Hamish & Andy podcasts

The Hamish & Andy Show (Hamish and Andy), is an Australian radio show created by and starring comedic duo Hamish Blake and Andy Lee. It began on Fox FM in 2006 and by 2007, was broadcast on the Hit Network to every state in Australia as well as the ACT for two hours in the key weekday afternoon drive time slot until the end of 2010. It has since taken on a variety of timeslots and formats. It is also broadcast in New Zealand and Dubai as a weekly highlights package. In late 2009, a 3-hour special entitled 'Hamish and Andy's Midwinter Warmer' was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC6 Music.[1]

The show is the highest-rating radio series in Australian history, consistently gaining up to 20% market share in the crucial Melbourne market.[2] The show has approximately 2.7 million listeners, and has over 1 million podcast downloads each week.[3]

Blake and Lee announced in August 2010, they would be cutting down to a weekly show in 2011, to allow them time to pursue other projects. The final daily program aired on 3 December 2010 in Melbourne as part of their Thank You Tour.[4]

The show aired weekly on Fridays during 2011 and 2012. In 2013, it moved to Mondays, with Hamish & Andy's Business Brunch airing Tuesday to Friday mornings. From July 2013 until December 2014, Blake and Lee hosted Hamish & Andy's Happy Hour each weekday afternoon from 3pm to 4pm.

In 2015, the show returned to the drive home time slot between 4pm and 7pm each weekday.

In December 2016, Hamish and Andy announced that they would be leaving radio at the end of 2017 to focus on their television careers. [5]

Team

The Hamish & Andy Show team is made up of:

  • Hamish Blake
  • Andy Lee
  • Cacklin' Jack (Jack Post)
  • Web Geezer Jez (Jeremy Carne)
  • Horgs
  • Brad Blanks
  • Moosie
  • Grumpy Dave
  • Gigglin' Ben
  • Kamahl
  • Eliza
  • Sam Cavanagh - Producer
  • Brent the Mixmaster

Past team members

Guest hosts

The show has been hosted by a special guest filling in for one of the duo on several occasions. Stephen Curry and Ryan Shelton filled in for Hamish when he was sick with pneumonia, and on 16 March 2010 Andy's now ex-girlfriend Megan Gale filled in for him while he had an operation to replace his two front teeth which were lost during an attempt to play ice hockey during "training" for the bi-bi-tri-bi-athlon (24 sports in one weekend).

Drive show (2006-2013)

The Hamish & Andy drive show's opening theme was a combination of The A-Team opening titles, and "Turn It Up" by hip hop group Ugly Duckling (the latter also signifying the end of the show).

Notable activities

The People's Chip

Hamish & Andy ran a competition to invent a new flavour of potato crisp. They eventually invented gravy flavour. 495 packets were manufactured and distributed for free. After the flavour became popular, a further 60,000 packets of the crisps were manufactured and again distributed for free.

It was later announced that the gravy chip would be sold in stores all around Australia for a two-week trial period starting from 11 August for people who did not receive a packet of gravy chips.

The People's Greyhound

In September 2006, the duo purchased a greyhound and named it Fred Basset, after the comic strip character of the same name.

Afghanistan

In April 2008, the duo travelled to Afghanistan and performed their show live (except for the Friday show) alongside Australian soldiers.

The trip to Afghanistan was first instigated when the duo received an email from an Australian soldier serving overseas, excited about hearing The Hamish & Andy Show at his base.[6] The letter opened discussion of whether the show should go overseas and broadcast with the troops.

Hamish & Andy, after contacting the Australian Defence Force several times, were told that they would be able to broadcast in an overseas location where the troops were serving.

Caravan of Courage

In October 2007, Hamish & Andy set out on their Caravan of Courage trip in an attempt to "hug" Australia, with the intention of travelling from Perth to Brisbane and visiting many small towns that do not typically receive tourist recognition along the way. They broadcast their radio show from wherever they were at 4 pm AEST each day.[7]

Broadcast points:

Caravan of Courage 2: Who Dares Dar-Wins

In October 2008, Hamish and Andy were challenged by an e-mailer to 'hug' Australia again. After first hesitating on travelling Australia again, the duo decided, after much argument with their boss, Fox FM's Program Director Dave Cameron (AKA 'Grumpy Dave') that they would set out on 27 October for the 'Caravan of Courage II: Who Dares Dar-Wins' trip starting from Melbourne and heading up to Darwin. As they had previously travelled across Australia, they wanted to head "up the guts" of Australia.

Caravan of Courage 3: Yes We Van

Hamish and Andy announced (via a "family meeting") on the 5 August 2009 show that they wanted to go on a two-week caravan trip in America, driving from Miami to Los Angeles. They then decided that America isn't big on caravans and are looking at getting a camper van instead and, after three shows, settled on the name "Yes We Van" as a pun on the iconic quote by Obama, "yes we can", dubbing the vehicle "Abravan Lincoln" (after Abraham Lincoln). Other names included "We Come From A Van Down Under", "The United States of Ameri-Caravan", "RV There Yet?" and "American We Do It, Yes We Van". Grumpy Dave initially said no to the idea but after his job was threatened by his boss, "The Chairman", on air he then gave the green light. The duo also got written approval from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and a blessing from the United States Embassy to travel across America. The unofficial purpose of the trip was to win $9,000 in Las Vegas playing Blackjack in order to buy a Hoverboard. They raised $1,000 in pledges by enlisting the help of 10,000 people donating a maximum of 10 cents each, doing so by hosting a mock 'pledge drive'. However, they did not end up winning the money.

Caravan of Courage 4: Great Britain and Ireland

On 10 May, Hamish and Andy announced they were taking the caravan out for a fourth time for a "family holiday" to Great Britain and Ireland. They first completed a lap of Ireland and then visited England, Scotland and Wales. The caravan they travelled in was decided by Hamish throwing a dart at a dartboard with pictures of four different vans. The dart landed on the Renault CI Cipro 85. They named it Sir Vancelot after Sir Lancelot, a character in the Arthurian legend.

Hamish & Andy left on 27 May 2010. After they finished the trip, they each took breaks before returning to regular broadcasting.

Check Ya Temps

In 2009, the boys started a campaign called "Check Ya Temps" to raise awareness of foods that may be too hot to eat on the first attempt. The website, checkyatemps.org, was established to promote the FBFT (First Bite Food Temperature) and ensure no more burnt mouths for food lovers.

The Tall Ship Adventure; Open Your Buccaneers Tasmania

In March 2009, to commemorate the show beginning broadcasting to Tasmania, Hamish and Andy traveled in a tall ship from Melbourne to Hobart crossing the Bass Strait. They traveled on the Windward Bound (renamed the "Taully Shore" by Hamish), a 200-year-old tall ship. During the crossing off Bass Strait they encountered heavy storms and seas reaching 8 metres. They chose Naval ranks out of a hat. Hamish picked Rear Admiral while Andy picked Commodore. Hamish was known to often give commands to Andy one of which was to marry a rat. The pair dressed up in 18th century uniforms consisting of a cutlass each and a uniform. To commemorate the occasion, the two put together a "treasure chest" of collectible items such as recordings of their shows and other miscellaneous items like pieces of leather and a poker set. The chest was later given to the Hobart Council, who later auctioned off the chest with its contents and the money was donated to charity. The chest is now owned by a private collector.

Annual Logies Spit Roast Party

Each year, from 2007 through 2013, Hamish & Andy hosted a spit-roast party on the last Friday afternoon before the annual TV Week Logie Awards. Listeners were invited to the Fox FM rooftop to join the party, and many Australian TV personalities appeared as guests. The boys normally ended up in a food fight with Austereo colleague and TV personality Jules Lund, culminating with the boys launching a preemptive strike on Jules in 2013. (NB: There was no Spit Roast party held in 2014 due to the ANZAC Day public holiday falling on the Friday before the Logies.)

BYO Pool Party

On 4 December 2009, Hamish and Andy celebrated the final show of the year with a BYO Pool Party. The free event was located at Dawes Point, Sydney. The entire pool party was streamed via the internet for listeners who were unable to attend, marking the first live Hamish and Andy video stream. The John Butler Trio and Powderfinger were house bands at the event.

The Peoples' Bull

Hamish & Andy announced on 20 January 2010 that they had found a competition in the newspaper "Stock & Land" to win a bull worth $6,000. They have enlisted the help of the listeners to collect the 4 weekly coupons required to enter, for the winner to share the bull with the listeners. On 22 February 2010, it was discovered that the two didn't win the bull, nor did anybody else who committed to collect coupons to represent Hamish & Andy.

Conjoined Twins

Hamish and Andy accidentally offended a listener when talking about conjoined twins and thus took on the challenge to be physically conjoined by a specially made outfit for nearly a week which ended on a Rove episode in 2007. Hamish was on the right side and Andy was on the left side.

Freeating

The duo decided to eat only free food for a week in 2009 as they noticed that there was a lot of free food around. They could not purchase food, receive food from family or friends, steal food, or eat food already in their houses. They finally were allowed to finish the challenge on an episode of Rove on 12 July.

Ghosting

Hamish and Andy invented a new sport "Ghosting", where they walk as close as possible to a target person for as long as possible. They have incorporated this sport in many different countries including Great Britain and Ireland, and China when they attempted to ghost a soldier. The boys knew that they had created a huge hit sport, and their enthusiasm for it crossed borders. Currently in America the Twin Cities Ghosting League[8] in Minnesota is supporting Hamish and Andy as well as helping troubled youths in the Minneapolis/St.Paul metro area.

Hungry, Hungry Heroes

Hamish and Andy along with a team of food-lovers attempted to do a challenge where they will find certain restaurants that serve a special meal that is so big that if the person finishes it completely, their name will be put on a plaque or on the wall in the restaurant. Of the five people that competed in the challenge none succeeded.

Bi-Bi-Tri-Bi-athlon

Hamish and Andy decided to compete in 24 events throughout the weekend of 6 & 7 March. They set rules that they can complete no less than 51 percent of a sport before moving on to the next, in order to have a chance at influence the outcome of the game and only compete in official sanctioned leagues or competitions of the relevant sports. The Bi-Bi-Tri-Bi-athlon was held throughout the country. Originally planned for the weekend of 6 and 7 March 2010, on 2 March Hamish and Andy were training with coach Shane Warne when Andy split his chin and knocked his two front teeth out whilst playing ice hockey, after which it was announced that the event would move to the weekend of 13 & 14 March due to the injury. To prepare for the event, Hamish had a full body wax and added a new Olympic rings tattoo to his arm. They completed the event on Sunday evening the 14th with a final tally of nine wins, one draw and fourteen losses.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil

After watching the movie of the same name starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, the pair decided to go 50 hours without the use of one of their 5 senses. For the weekend of 6 & 7 February 2010, Andy went without his sight and Hamish went without his hearing. This was achieved through the use of eye patches and dark glasses for Andy and specially moulded earplugs for Hamish.

The premise was that each would accommodate for the other's missing sense. Hamish became Andy's eyes, leading him when the pair were walking, or describing what was happening during other activities, including a cooking class. Conversely, Andy became Hamish's ears, writing down what he and others were saying so Hamish could follow the conversation.

Gap Year Green Room

During the shooting of Hamish and Andy's Gap Year in 2011, the weekly Friday drive show was broadcast live from Andy's apartment (referred to as Andy's Lair) in New York City.

In addition to the Friday drive show, the boys hosted a separate pre-recorded Thursday afternoon show from 3pm-4pm. It was broadcast from backstage at their Brooklyn studio (a disused plastics factory) for 10 weeks in 2011, prior to each episode Gap Year on the Nine Network that evening at 8:30pm. This show often interviewed any celebrity guests appearing in the episode of Gap Year that evening, or teased location stories with audio previews.

Thank You Tour

To celebrate the end of the show in the regular format, Hamish and Andy broadcast their final five shows to live crowds in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne between 29 November 2010 and 3 December 2010.[9] The shows were free and all featured live bands, including INXS with Dan Sultan and Guy Sebastian at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, and U2 at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne.

Regular segments

These are former regular segments to the show when it was in its original 2 hour format, however some segments have returned on the newer hour-long "Happy Hour"/"Business Brunch" format if the segment and the content fits the topic of the day.

Blast from the Past

Every Wednesday, a pre-recorded phone prank is played. Formerly, the challenge was simply to keep the other person on the line as long as possible. Presently, the challenge is for one of the boys to convince the person who answers that he is someone from that person's past. A challenge is typically added in which the prankster has to use a specific topic or request in their conservation with their purported "old buddy".

PA System

Every Friday, The PA system is where Hamish & Andy take callers that have something to say to a certain person or group that they deem important. There are often a range of announcements from "I'd like to tell Ben that dinner's on the table and come now please" to "The bowling party is changing to 7pm". It recently became "International" for podcasters who want to participate.

Fred Basset

At the end of the show on Friday, Hamish, much to the disdain of Andy, reads the Fred Basset comic on air. (This is not to be confused with the show's purchase of The People's Greyhound of the same name.) Andy has tried many different ways to prevent Hamish from reading this comic, including:

In 2011, the segment of Fred Basset was ended due to the lack of time on the new show. However to keep the public able to have the "Basset Experience" Hamish started a section on the website called the "Brotherhood of Basset" where he uploads a comic a week then writes underneath the comic how he would present it on the show.

Tell 'Em They're Dreamin'! (The Trading Post Game)

Every Thursday, Hamish & Andy play a pre-recorded segment in which they take turns to telephone someone who has placed a classified advertisement in the Trading Post newspaper to sell a particular item (the advertisement having been selected by the other person). The task is for the caller to ask five questions about the item, and try to work out what item is being sold. The name Tell 'Em They're Dreamin' is a reference to the film The Castle. This was an idea given to Hamish and Andy via an email by one of their listeners, Nathan Lauterbach.

Hey, Get Us an Autograph!

Hamish & Andy ask their celebrity reporter, Brad Blanks, to obtain an autograph from, or arrange an interview with, various New York celebrities. On several occasions he has tried to interview Robert De Niro only to receive abrupt, often monosyllabic answers. Celebrities will often comment on his appearance, in particular Ricky Gervais, who has made jokes about Brad's "sweaty" appearance, and well as Clive Owen who mentioned Brad's penchant for arriving at Red Carpets under the influence of alcohol.

Trivial Claims Court

A listener calls in with a trivial question. One example is 'Do penguins have knees?'. Other callers then provide their response to the question. Usually twelve callers are taken, simulating a criminal jury.

Race to find celebrities; "Old School" Celebrity Crush Hunting

On occasions Hamish and Andy battle against each other to find famous celebrities for different purposes. Two of the most popular searches were to find:

A Celebrity Endorsement for their Greyhound, Fred Basset. The two celebrities were Paris Hilton and John Travolta. But by the end of the competition, Hamish gave up on finding Paris Hilton, and instead found Mike Whitney. Two famous celebrities whom two listeners had a crush on when they were younger. The celebrities were Taylor Hanson and Jennie Garth. Titled Celebrity Crush Hunt, Hamish and Andy were still neck and neck in finding their celebrities but on 24 May 2007, Hamish won the competition by finding Taylor Hanson.

In 2009, Hamish & Andy battled against each other to make contact with celebrities, so that two listeners could interview their 'old school' celebrity crush as a teenager. Andy tried to track down Brian Austin Green while Hamish was after Steven Seagal. The boys employed several different strategies in order to get them onto the show. Andy pretended to be the owner of a jewellery chain in Australia named 'Cactus Fire', in an attempt to convince Brian Austin-Green's niece to get Brian onto the show. Whilst Hamish bought five cases of Stephen Seagal's energy drink Lightning Bolt, which cost him $250 and has never arrived to him. Eventually, Andy won the race to get Brian on the show, and his young fan Becky was able to speak to him.

Experimental as Anything

Once a week Hamish and Andy do odd experiments to see if any truth comes out of it. One example is testing to see if it was possible to dry a black thong under a public bathroom hand dryer. Another segment involved them eating biscuits and potato chips, and then proceeding to 'send a toffee down' in order to get the remaining food stuck in their teeth out. After concluding it had a 100% success rate, Hamish joked at a later date that most chewing gum companies entire selling point is the fact that they serve an almost identical function. A running joke at the beginning of the segment is a comment on the unusually long length of the opener, the opener is about 10 seconds longer than the opener of other segments.

Forced Connect

Hamish and Andy call two phone numbers (usually of celebrities) at the same time to hear the conversation occur as the victims try to figure out what is happening, then Hamish and Andy then reveal themselves as the pranksters. Celebrities that have been called include Kyle and Jackie O, Jules Lund and Kamahl, Warrick Capper and Stephen Curry, Hamish's housemates, John and Haydo, as well as connecting Horgs with a McDonalds in the hope that amidst the confusion Horgs would try and order food.

If You're Single And You Know It Pat Your Head

Once a week Hamish and Andy invite listeners who are single and in cars to pat their heads (Hamish & Andy also pat their heads, although Hamish is in a relationship). They also invite listeners to call in and tell them the results of the patting.

Two Become One (2 Person Prank)

This segment is based on the fact that Hamish and Andy's voices sound very similar on the phone. Hamish and Andy ring up a store or hotline, and have a conversation with that person trying to fool them into thinking it is one person. After each sentence a bell that the person on the other end cannot hear sounds and they trade sentences. After a while a longer bell will ring and they will trade words. Notable victims include Andy's Mum and Megan Gale (but she cottoned on almost immediately).

Family Meeting

When Hamish and Andy want to present an idea to the listeners they announce a "family meeting". Previous family meetings have included discussions about trips overseas, such as "The Caravan of Courage; Yes We Van", "The Caravan Of Courage; Who Dares Dar-wins","The Caravan of Courage; Great Britain & Ireland" on 5 May 2010 and a week-long trip to Japan in order to interview Tom Hanks.

Bring Out Your Dead

On the last Friday of every month, the guys announce a new segment that was originally deemed to be not good enough for radio by the producers of the show. An example of one of the segments ran was "Radio Crimestoppers" (a radio version of Crimestoppers) which was simply a segment created by Andy in which he described a 'crime' he witnessed (in this instance littering) and described the perpetrator verbally. Several callers rang-up claiming to know who they were, including one man who rang up to say that he fit the description, and whilst innocent, was being yelled at and pointed out by passing drivers.

Hot or Not Bots

Each week, Hamish picks out a robot which the guys then decide it is hot or not. One example was a small robot designed to clean up crumbs.

HB:BC

Originally was HB:HT which stood for Hamish Blake's Hot Topic, but after presenting two Hot Topics Hamish decided it was too hard to determine if his topic was hot enough for the show (Andy disagreed his second topic was actually hot) Hamish decided to close that segment and replace it with HB:BC which was Hamish Blake's Big Call. Examples of a big call are:

Minus One Letter Movie Trailers

As the title describes, the boys take one letter out of a famous movie title, and record a spoken trailer about that film instead, so far they have had:

  • An Inconvenient Ruth
  • Roundhog Day
  • Dude, Here's My Car
  • Lice in Wonderland
  • Bravehear
  • Finding Emo
  • Lady and the Ramp
  • Petty Woman
  • Green Car
  • The Man With The Ron Mask
  • Old Finger
  • Ambo
  • 1 Things I Hate About You
  • Dad Poet's Society
  • Failure to Lunch

Live Ringtones

Briefly done during March 2013. Each week Hamish and Andy bring in a musician to play a live version of a popular phone ringtone. Examples include the "piano riff," "strum", "harp" and "marimba" ringtones, as well as Bernard Fanning recording the "bark" ringtone.

Random John

Random John was a segment that involved the boys calling a phone number at random, and hoping for a John. If they were to get a John, they would earn one John Point; in the event that the recipient was named John Johnson, it would be worth fifty John Points, and in the event that the call was picked up by a John Johnny Johnson, they would earn one hundred and twenty John Points. If, on the other hand, the call recipient was named Rob, they would lose a John Point, as an email from a podcaster that stated they would never get a John lead them to believe that Robs were the nemeses of Johns. After it emerged that the Manchester-based Key 103 radio station had picked up the segment and were separately playing for John Points, Hamish & Andy declared the start of a Random John World Cup; since this, a number of additional radio shows also started playing Random John. Hamish & Andy eventually scored their first John Point on 27 May 2011. This led to some jubilation in the studio, as Hamish put it: "...somebody hand me poison cordial because I want to die, I've lived it all..." Upon becoming the leaders in the Random John world cup on a John Streak of one, the duo decided to stop playing the game indefinitely, as the risk of calling a Rob and losing their John Point was too high. The segment may restart if another Random John World Cup partipant gets a John point.[10]

Horgs' Inventions

Occasionally, Andy's friend Horgs is asked to talk about his latest ideas for inventions. Horgs also interviewed Tom Cruise with Andy while Hamish was at a wedding. Horgs is Andy's ex-roommate and high school best friend. His day job is selling children's books. His wife's name is Katie and he is famous on the show for beginning his segment with a whistle, a sound the guys joke is a 'signal for investors to get out their chequebooks' to invest in his idea. Listeners are then invited to call into the show if they had any questions, suggestions, or comments for Horgs about the idea. Very often, listeners may suggest improvements to the ideas, or even point out that similar inventions were already being sold on the market.

Some of Horgs' inventions include:

On the show, Horgs' is well known for frequently using the catchphrase, '(Insert product) have done well over the years'. The other running joke is that most of his 'unique' ideas have actually been invented, mostly on the Japanese market.

Jazz Chat

After changing from a daily to a weekly show, Hamish & Andy created the segment Jazz Chat to give quick bullet point topics in the last 3 minutes of the show to make up for the lack of time they have on the new show. The Roger Clark Quartet played the background jazz music live during the segment on the 11 March 2011 show.[11]

The Subway Song/Musical Eavesdropping

Started in 2011 during their time in America and now recurring occasionally, Hamish & Andy relay an amusing conversation that they overheard somewhere (originally on a subway, hence the name) word-for-word in song. Jack Post is the narrator during the segment.

Hamish & Andy's Business Brunch (2013)

Business Brunch logo

Hamish and Andy returned to daily radio in early 2013 with a new show, originally called “Business Brunch”, airing 9am to 10am Tuesdays to Fridays (except in Sydney, where it would air from 10am-11am, following The Kyle & Jackie O Show). This complimented their regular drivetime show which had moved to Mondays. Rather than having recurring segments each day, it aimed to cover every single topic in the world, focusing on one topic per show. Listeners were invited to contribute their expertise on a wide range of topics via their website, rather than through the traditional radio phone-in method. This allowed the show to be pre-recorded when necessary to facilitate filming for Gap Year. During each episode, Hamish and Andy read out and respond to listeners' contributions, who were addressed on air as "Company Man" or "Company Lady". Occasionally, the pair called listeners with interesting or humorous contributions to share more. This format was based on a series of "Boardroom" podcasts the pair recorded in 2012. The late Nine Network news personality Peter Harvey provided the voice of the introduction, even after his death (as it was the wish of him and his family).

Notable activities

Business Brunch Mugs

As a reward for listeners who made exceptional contributions to the show, the boys ordered a shipment of 50 coffee mugs with the Business Brunch logo on them. The "Mug God" (a character voiced by Hamish) had the final say on who received a coveted mug. A series of "Mug Commandments" were developed by the Mug God, mostly to prevent people who expressly asked for a mug from being eligible to receive one.[12] Some listeners attempted to trap the boys into giving them a mug, while many were given away as reward for games developed by Hamish & Andy. One such game resulted in a caller receiving a mug for correctly guessing that a Babysitter's Club plotline, in which two of the girls were faced with a werewolf that they had to chase down a time portal to Roman times, armed with only an M16, was, in fact, made up by Hamish. Other games were harder. A much larger shipment of Business Brunch pencils was also ordered, for lesser but still notable contributions. If the contribution did not warrant a whole pencil, one might be snapped in half and sent out. A dedicated pencil-based award - 'the puncil of honour' - was given to contributors who sent in amusing puns. In the final episode of the Business Brunch on 21 June 2013, "The Promotion", the remaining mugs were donated to the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra as part of radio history.

Hamish & Andy's Happy Hour (2013-2014)

Happy Hour logo

The pair announced on 21 June 2013 show that they had been “promoted" to the early drive slot of 3pm to 4pm weekdays. The show was renamed “Happy Hour” and continued the aim of discussing every topic in the world. The move to this slot signaled a hiatus from their weekly 4-6pm drive show.[13] They briefly returned to the drive slot for two weeks in July 2014 to fill in for current drive hosts Dan & Maz during radio survey break.[14]

Some of the old drivetime segments do occasionally feature on Happy Hour, when the boys go “off topic”. For example, Jazz Chat continues to round the show off every Friday, regardless of the main topic of the day. Listeners contributing to the show via email or phone are now referred to as "Happy Chappy" or "Happy Lassie".

Notable activities

Gold-Coloured Watches

The Happy Hour Gold-Coloured Watch replaced the Business Brunch Mug as the reward for outstanding contributions to the show. 100 watches were ordered, and the first few were pillaged by Hamish, Andy and their team. As well as being issued as rewards for challenges (or blackmail), there were 19 secret ways in which to earn a watch. These included licensing an animated character you designed to the Happy Hour, or being Hamish's newborn son. Receiving a watch was considered rare, but in the extremely unlikely situation that a single listener received three Gold-Coloured Watches, they would receive a Happy Hour Sombrero, the official hat of the Happy Hour. As of May 2014, a total of 20 watches and zero sombreros had been issued.

A batch of 1000 Happy Hour Coasters was also ordered, and these were given away as consolation prizes for contributions not quite worthy of a watch.

In the 2 June 2014 edition of the Happy Hour, it was revealed that a gold-coloured watch had been placed on auction website eBay by its recipient, a listener named James. The boys were displeased with this, as it is impossible to assign a value to such a priceless object. In order to prevent an existing watch owner from purchasing an additional watch and getting closer to the coveted Happy Hour sombrero, the boys offered to pay James $300 cash to buy back the watch. The watch was deemed cursed and blown up (in a wheel barrow full of watermelons) using explosives. An attempt to record this event in super slow motion, thus justifying the watermelons, was bungled. In spite of this, a largely intact watch was recovered by a listener of the show some time later, at the site of the explosion. The boys then speculated that the curse could be broken by cutting the watch into several pieces and separating them forever. These pieces were then shipped to listeners deemed 'remote' enough, to prevent the watch, and hence curse, from ever being reassembled.

Brent the Mixmaster

First featured on the 23 April 2013 edition of the Business Brunch discussing Recipes, Company Man Brent the Mixmaster contacted the boys with his own recipe for "Drink X": a soft drink combining one part Vanilla Coke, one part Schweppes Brown Creaming Soda and one part Kirk's Pink Creaming Soda. A sample of the drink was created by Hamish, and was met with rave reviews. Brent's recipes, normally combining existing foods to "make the world a yummier place", continued to be featured regularly on the Happy Hour and he was awarded with a gold-coloured watch for his contributions to the show.

Tyreright Book of Records

In late 2013, the boys launched their own book of world records to rival the Guinness Book of World Records. The difference with this book is that you don't need anybody to clarify or check your record, you merely need to be the first to post it on the Hamish & Andy website. Labelled the "XXXX Book of Records", the boys were open to any sponsor (alcoholic or otherwise) to purchase naming rights to the book. A Tyreright franchisee from Brisbane paid $1200 (to cover the cost of a dinghy to access the People's Island) in early 2014 and thus the book was renamed to reflect its new sponsor.

Timomatic Autograph Business

In 2014, Hamish started selling Timomatic's autograph on the show's website hamishandandy.com and promoting the business on the Hamish & Andy show. Hamish maintained that the autograph on sale had not been personally scribed by Timomatic, but was indeed Timomatic's autograph (the shape and style being the same). A single autograph started at a sale price of $10, but the price went through various 'sale' and 'special promotion' stages. Hamish deemed that though his business amounted to forgery, he was above being 'blown wide open', as it was a 'homage' to Timomatic. Before the Happy Hour ended in 2014, Hamish and Andy had Timomatic as a guest on the show. After testing that Timomatic could sufficiently reproduce the reproduction of his own autograph (albeit not as well), Hamish passed the business on to Timomatic, enabling him to legally sell his own autograph.

Radio Survivor

One day on the show, the topic of the day was Survivor, which among other topics, covered the popular reality game show of the same name. Hamish and Andy chose to play a game of Survivor over the course of a 15 minutes radio segment with callers of their show. The "Challenge" were simply arbitrary question (such as "What is your name?" and "what is your job?"). After the challenge, the contestants could strategise for the upcoming Tribal Council vote with the other but only for 10 seconds. At tribal council each contestant will say they vote, with the others on hold to ensure the votes are private. The 5 contestants for this game Josh, Laura, Steph, Nick, Mathew. The game resulted in Nick being voted by the jury to be the winner over Mathew. Later in November, Josh (who was voted out due to a "vote count error") returned to Radio Survivor for Radio Survivor All-Stars with a selection of Australian celebrities, where he won.

Regular segments

Hamish Blows It Wide Open

Hamish finds a cover up, a lie, a half truth, a scam, a cyber troll, a bad apple/orange/pear, a misconception, etc., and "blows it wide open". Famously, Hamish will procrastinate by adding to the list of things he blows wide open. Andy claims this is because all of the "blow wide open"-ees are insignificant. Hamish often describes how he is snowed under with all of the cases he is sent; he nevertheless reassures listeners that if they have any injustices/scandals/crackpots/forgers (unless they're doing an autograph, in which case it can be considered 'homage')/etc. for him to blow open, they should still send them in. Hamish hunts the petty thief/despot/quarter-truth/etc. down using the 'truth eagle', which shines its justice lasers on the relevant deception/scandal/swindler/crony/etc. The truth eagle had its own theme tune, played in the 25 August 2014 episode, which Andy thought was dreadful. The 6 November 2015 episode was completely dedicated to blowing things wide open, allowing Hamish to work through some of his backlog of cases.

Friends Galore

Cackling Jack gives Hamish and Andy the names of two similar sounding people / organisations / brands / television shows / things, and they have to decide who has a greater number of friends on Facebook. If they do not guess at least two out of the three pairs correctly, they must send a Happy Hour Coaster to the show's nemesis, Tony Barber (who stood them up for a song-writing session in late 2013). Having realised that if they lose six times, Barber will have a full set of 6 coasters, the boys decided the game would probably be retired after their 5th loss. On August 11, 2014 the Friends Galore iPhone app was released into the Apple App Store by a fan.[15]

Which Star Do You Think You Are?

Hamish and Andy each choose a male and female celebrity, and then call somebody at random to ask which celebrity they think they resemble. Should the caller name one of the celebrities selected by Hamish or Andy, whoever named that celebrity is declared the winner. The loser must get that celebrity on the show before the end of the year.

Winds Of Glory

A segment where Hamish and Andy talk to a listener who has 'let it rip' in a noteworthy place or situation.

Am I Naked?

A segment where Hamish and Andy talk to a listener and guess whether the listener is naked or not.

Jazz Up Your Anecdote

A listener tells a story from their life that has a great start but a mundane ending. Other listeners then offer false but more exciting conclusions to the original anecdote. The owner of the story then chooses their favourite new ending and agrees to change the story to include the new ending and tell it as fact from now on.

The Hamish & Andy Drive Show (2015-present)

The pair announced on 29 October 2014 that the show would return to the national drive slot (4 - 7pm) on the Hit Network.[16] They also publish a podcast that is a condensed version of their daily show, excluding ads and songs. On December 2, 2016 the pair announced 2017 will be there final year on air.

Notable activities

Race That Slows Down The Nation

In 2015, Hamish & Andy ran a horse suit race in the country town of Wedderburn, Victoria, on the Monday before the Melbourne Cup. The premise of the race was to slow down the nation safely in preparation for "The race that stops the nation"; Melbourne Cup.[17] The race was originally designed to include horses, but as more and more people started to write to the show asking if they could enter the race in a horse outfit, Hamish & Andy, later changed the rules to be a horse suit only race, including single and double outfitted racers.

Sliding Championship

In late November 2016, the boys announced they would be hosting a sliding championship at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Five competitors where chosen from five of the Australian states, with the Victorian participant winning.

Regular segments

Layla's Loot Chute

One of the most highly anticipated segments in recent memory, Hamish designed, and had made for him, the bottom half of a chicken suit. Inside the suit is a pipe with a plunger that an egg is placed and "layed" by Layla. If the perfectly created chicken suit is not enough, there are no losers on Layla's Loot Chute, contestants (one per week) can win a beer or money. Contestants pick a number between one and six, which correlates to the plastic egg that is placed in Layla's chute. The money grows by $1,000 each week if the egg that the contestant picks awards them a beer. As of November 14, 2016 there have been no winners and the jackpot is up to $4,000.

Tell Me Someone I Haven't Thought Of

A listener calls in and says a famous person or character's name that the boys have not thought of in a while (generally accepted to be in the last 6 months). If Hamish or Andy has not thought of the person or character then the person wins a hat that has been sent in by various companies around Australia. If the person is not known by either Hamish or Andy, the caller is disqualified.

The Duping Game

A listener calls in and talks briefly about a special item that they are in possession of, the boys ask them questions about the item to try to guess if the caller really has the item or is attempting to dupe them. The winners sometimes receive a 6 inch, slight beveled, Hamish and Andy branded ruler.

Upset Andy

First started in April 2016, Hamish started a weekly Tuesday segment where listeners call up and explain things that may "Upset Andy". In response to the caller, Andy will explain how much this everyday action upsets him, from 'Not at all' to 'Peri Peri Hot'. This segment often gets the hashtag of #upsetandy trending, in addition the hashtag #fastandloose.

Many things have upset Andy on the show, including:

  • Forks upside down in fork compartment.
  • Random placement of items in dishwasher.
  • Non matching lids in tupperware draw.
  • Not hanging clothing smart on a clotheshorse, i.e long items at bottom.
  • Tearing a bag straight open that is designed to be resealable.
  • Ring stains from drinks on table.
  • Mobile numbers provided not in the conventional 4-3-3 pattern.
  • Throwing out the spare button that comes on a shirt.
  • Not carrying your passport in a passport holder.
  • Letting a crusty chunk on the end of toothpaste tube form.
  • Turning the car off before the windscreen wipers have been reset.
  • Half peeling the top paper off a tub a margarine.
  • Tearing open biscuits and not re-sealing the package.
  • Duct taping a hole in a tarp and leaving in crinkly.
  • Not using the plastic bread clip to re-seal the bread.
  • Throwing food in bins before a bin liner has been put in.
  • Leaving one square of toilet paper on the roll.
  • Squeezing a tube of toothpaste at the top.
  • No order on how you store old plastic bags.
  • Writing the time down as 10:50, when it is really 10:49.
  • Not putting your left shoe on the left side of the right shoe.
  • Throwing the lid from a deodorant can straight in the bin (nude nozzles).
  • Putting a book in binder first on a book rack.
  • Not chiseling out the hing spot on a door so it doesn't close properly.
  • Cutlery not organised in the cutlery draw.
  • Not correctly fitting the sheet to the bed and leaving it.
  • Mixing up coloured lids on texta.
  • Stamps randomly distributed throughout a passport.
  • Sloppy cropping when editing photos.
  • Uneven cords in a hoodie.
  • Hanging cloths backwards in the wardrobe.
  • Not cleaning the bottom of your golf shoes before leaving the course.
  • Odd socks.
  • Not 'Ejecting' a USB before pulling it out.
  • Saving everything to the desktop on your computer.
  • Never shutting the microwave door.
  • Putting your toothbrush in upside down.
  • Hooks hanging above photos on the wall.
  • Bread sideways in the toaster.
  • Writing across blocks on forms.
  • Putting items in the dishwasher so they don't wash properly.
  • Not untangling head phones.
  • Not using your own toothbrush in the bathroom.
  • Closing the lid on a water bottle, with its shape not back as a cylinder.
  • Cutting fingernails and leaving any unaccounted nails until next vacuum.
  • Leaving the neck of a spoon slip into the pasta and get covered in sauce.
  • Uneven shoe laces.
  • Filling a photo album and leaving a page blank.
  • Stabbing the foil layer on a Milo tin with a spoon.
  • Never closing a browser tab when starting something new.
  • Touch screens covered in finger prints.
  • If you accidentally drop your soap, leave it there until you use it next time.
  • Uneven dig with a knife in a butter tub.
  • Leaving the mouse & bottom bar on when watching a YouTube video.
  • Opening a second carton of milk before finishing the first.
  • Opening a milk carton with later use-by date than other ones available.
  • Writing on the sticky side of a post-it note.
  • Cooking eggs on heat element stove top, with no frying pan.
  • Folding washing, even when it's inside out.
  • Pulling price tags off clothing items, but leaving plastic clip.
  • Binder rings that are not spaced out correct.
  • Referring to the segment as "things Andy hates".
  • Leaving old parking tickets on dash.
  • Driving into a carpark but not pulling through to the spot in front.
  • Scribbling something different every time a signature is needed.
  • Mugs and glasses on same shelf, mixed up.
  • Back to front light switches.
  • Leaving your windscreen washer liquid empty.
  • Naked pens.
  • Putting old egg shells, back in carton once cracked.
  • Crossing over cords, near power points.
  • Pistachio shells back in the bag with all the others.
  • Favourite Chocolate wrappers back in the box.
  • Starting a new roll of toilet paper, leaving old one on roller.
  • Constantly re-pumping a tyre instead of getting it repaired.
  • Having the Tuesday segment on a Wednesday.
  • Leaving store receipts in a plastic bag, before stuffing it away.
  • Putting your toothpaste perpendicular to the brush bristles.
  • Keeping all your cards in your pockets, not in your wallet.
  • Not servicing car when check engine light comes on.
  • Rolling your socks back up into each other before washing.
  • Leaving socks in jean leg pockets.
  • Leaving bag stickers/tags on luggage bags until you need to use it again.

There has also been numerous that have not upset him, including:

  • Shredding paper off a birthday gift.
  • Opening a chip packet upside down.
  • Mixing up coloured paper clips.
  • Mixing coloured lids on water bottles.
  • Creative tooth picking.
  • Overlapping lines in text.
  • Mowing the lawn with no catcher.
  • Scraping toothpaste off sink, if toothpaste has dropped off brush.
  • Leaving air conditioning on before turning engine off.

Album releases

Hamish & Andy have released two ARIA Award-winning double-disc compilation albums, featuring highlights from The Hamish & Andy Show.

Title Details AUS Album
Chart Peak		 AUS End of Year
Album Chart Position		 ARIA Certification ARIA Awards
Unessential Listening 4[18] 22[19] Platinum[20] 2009 Best Comedy Release Winner[21]
Celebrating 50 Glorious Years 6[22] 56[23] Gold[24] 2011 Best Comedy Release Winner[25]

Awards

The Hamish & Andy Show has won 14 Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) from 34 nominations.[26]

Year Nominee Award Result
2005 The Hamish & Andy Show: 1st Ever Battle of the Sexes Best Station-Produced Comedy Segment (Metro) Nominated
2007 The Hamish & Andy Show Best Networked Program (Metro) Won
Sam Cavanagh Best Show Presenter - Entertainment/Music Won
The Hamish & Andy Show: Hamish & Andy with Robbie Williams Best Music Special (Metro) Won
Hamish & Andy Best On-Air Team (Metro) Nominated
The Hamish & Andy Show: The Fred Basset Promotion Best Station Promotion (Metro) Nominated
2008 Hamish & Andy Best On-Air Team (Metro) Won
Sam Cavanagh Best Show Presenter - Entertainment/Music Won
The Hamish & Andy Show: Caravan of Courage Best Station Promotion Won
The Hamish & Andy Show: Ribena Berry Apology Best Station Produced Comedy Segment Nominated
The Hamish & Andy Show Best Networked Program Nominated
Hamish & Andy's Caravan of Courage Best Multimedia Execution Nominated
2009 Hamish & Andy Best On-Air Team (Metro) Won
Sam Cavanagh Best Show Producer - Entertainment/Music (Metro) Won
The Hamish & Andy Show Best Networked Program (Metro) Won
The Hamish & Andy Show: Tall Ships Best Multimedia Execution Won
The Hamish & Andy Show: Tall Ships Adventure Best Station Promotion (Metro) Won
Fox FM/Triple M Bushfire Appeal Best Community Service Project (Metro) Won
Hamish & Andy Go Totally Nuts in Beijing - James Bayes and Julie Anne Longano Best Sales Promotion (Metro) Nominated
The Hamish & Andy Show Best Station Produced Comedy Segment (Metro) Nominated
2010[27][28] Hamish & Andy Best On-Air Team (Metro) Won
Sam Cavanagh Best Show Producer - Entertainment/Music (Metro) Won
The Hamish & Andy Show: Guy Sebastian vs Every other Artist on our Playlist. Best Music Special (Metro) [29] Won
The Hamish & Andy Show: Hamish & Andy 2 Person Prank Best Station Produced Comedy Segment (Metro) Nominated
The Hamish & Andy Show Best Networked Program (Metro) Nominated
Hamish & Andy's BYO Pool Party - Jeremy Carne Best Multimedia Execution (Metro) Nominated
Hamish & Andy's American Caravan of Courage - Jeremy Carne & Angus Stevens Best Multimedia Execution (Metro) Nominated
Hamish & Andy's American Caravan of Courage Best Station Promotion (Metro) Nominated
2011[30][31] The Hamish & Andy Show: The Thank You Tour Best Station Promotion (Metro) Won
Hamish & Andy Best On-Air Team (Metro FM) Nominated
Sam Cavanagh Best Show Producer - Entertainment/Music (Metro) Nominated
The Hamish & Andy Show: Chilean Miners Best Station Produced Comedy Segment (Metro) Nominated
The Hamish & Andy Show Best Networked Program (Metro) Nominated
Hamish & Andy's Frank Stallone - Jeremy Carne Best Multimedia Execution - Station (Metro) Nominated
2012 The Hamish & Andy Show Best Networked Program (Metro) Nominated
The Hamish & Andy Show: Chumsgroup.com - Jeremy Carne Best Multimedia Execution - Station (Metro) Nominated
2013[32] Hamish & Andy Best On-Air Team (Metro FM) Nominated
Kerri Jones - Fifi and Jules & The Hamish & Andy Show Best Show Producer - Entertainment/Music (Metro) Nominated
The Hamish & Andy Show: The Best iPhone in the World Best Station Produced Comedy Segment (Metro) Nominated
Euro Gap Year: Jeremy Carne Best Multimedia Execution - Station (Metro) Nominated
2014[33] Hamish & Andy's Happy Hour Best Networked Program Nominated
The Hamish & Andy Show: Jazz Chat Best Station Produced Comedy Segment (Metro) Nominated

References

  1. ↑ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/confidential/radio-duo-hamish-and-andy-beam-into-britain/story-e6frf96o-1225811894156
  2. ↑ Media Release: Austereo’s Today Network wins the year for FM in Sydney and Melbourne
  3. ↑ http://www.austereo.com.au/index.php?id=42&option=com_content&task=view
  4. ↑ "Hamish and Andy quitting daily radio show". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
  5. ↑ "Hamish and Andy to leave radio to focus on TV careers - Mumbrella". Mumbrella. 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  6. ↑ http://www.fox.com.au/shows/hamishandandy/australian-troops/email Email from Australian soldier fox.com.au
  7. ↑ http://www.fox.com.au/shows/hamishandandy/caravan/ofcourage/ Caravan Of Courage. fox.com.au
  8. ↑ http://twincitiesghostingleague.yolasite.com/ Twin Cities Ghosting League
  9. ↑ Hamish & Andy go out with a bang 12 November 2010. smh.com.au
  10. ↑ http://randomjohn.org/ Random John - founded by Hamish and Andy
  11. ↑ "Jazz Chat Live". hamishandandy.com. 2011.
  12. ↑ http://www.hamishandandy.com/2013/mug-commandments/
  13. ↑ "Hamish & Andy drop Today Network's Monday drivetime and shift slots for daily show". Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Hamish and Andy return to drive". Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "FriendsGalore on the App Store". FriendsGalore on the App Store. Apple.
  16. ↑ "Radio shake-up: Hamish & Andy coming back to drive, Dan & Maz to take over 2Day FM breakfast". Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  17. ↑ http://www.hamishandandy.com/race-that-slows-down-nation-information/
  18. ↑ "Hamish & Andy - Unessential Listening". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  19. ↑ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-albums-2008.htm
  20. ↑ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accreditations-2008Albums.htm
  21. ↑ http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/2009
  22. ↑ http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Hamish+%26+Andy&titel=Celebrating+50+Glorious+Years&cat=a
  23. ↑ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-albums-2010.htm
  24. ↑ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accreditations-2010Albums.htm
  25. ↑ http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/2011
  26. ↑ http://www.acras.com.au/archive-1029.cfm
  27. ↑ http://www.commercialradio.com.au/index.cfm?page_id=1305&news_display_year=2010&display_news_id_5517=1846
  28. ↑ http://www.commercialradio.com.au/index.cfm?page_id=1305&news_display_year=2010&display_news_id_5517=1864
  29. ↑ Hamish and Andy win top honours third year in a row. Commercial Radio Australia. 16 October 2010. Archived from the original on 24 January 2012.
  30. ↑ http://www.commercialradio.com.au/index.cfm?page_id=1305&news_display_year=2011&display_news_id_5517=1908
  31. ↑ http://www.commercialradio.com.au/index.cfm?page_id=1305&news_display_year=2011&display_news_id_5517=1924
  32. ↑ http://www.radiotoday.com.au/news/acras/3151-the-acras-2013-finalists-announced1.html
  33. ↑ http://www.radiotoday.com.au/news/whats-new/5272-finalists-announced-for-2014-commercial-radio-awards.html

[1]

External links

  1. ↑ Brad Blanks, Hamish & Andy contributor interview
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