The Human Zoo (radio)
Encyclopedia
The Human Zoo was a radio
programme on talkSPORT
, presented by Tommy Boyd
, with his engineer Asher Gould effectively acting as co-presenter. It was broadcast from May 2000 until Boyd's dismissal in March 2002, and took its name from a 1969 book of the same name
by Desmond Morris
.
' format, except that callers were unscreened, went straight to air, and could say whatever they wanted, broadcasting regulations permitting. This unique radio experiment attained cult status, and quickly became the most popular programme on AM radio in Britain
. At the peak of its popularity in the summer
of 2001 up to a million calls were received over the course of a four-hour programme.
While not the most original format for radio, the Human Zoo was wildly successful. This has been attributed to the particular style of its presenter, who encouraged a very wide variety of callers to contribute, including some who called in to give short performances, play pieces of prepared audio or just shout out catchphrases. "Can I pleasure your wife?" was an oft-repeated slogan. Therefore, the mainstay of the programme for its listeners was the unpredictable nature of where the discussion would lead next. Very weighty issues not often discussed by mainstream phone in radio (which Boyd derided as all about "points missed in the debate so far") could be juxtaposed with frivolous, light-hearted or comedic items. Boyd divided opinion between devoted fans, many of whom considered him to be an extremely wise man, and critics who viewed him as arrogant or mad, often taking the opportunity to phone up to launch personal attacks or deride his ideas with the aim of starting heated and vitriolic arguments.
Boyd attributed the popularity of the show to the ability of its anarchic nature to strike a chord with people on a Sunday night, and elaborated on this theory many times, proposing that Sunday evenings induced a widespread and overwhelming mood of either resignation or defiance, and that the programme provided an outlet to those who felt trapped by the prospect of work the following morning.
An important part of the production of the programme was the need to prevent the broadcast of offensive or illegal material by callers who knew that they were being granted an open platform for whatever they had to say before a national audience. This was achieved by a facility known as the dump button, often employed in phone in radio for this purpose. The station's output was actually broadcast several seconds after it was produced in the studio, allowing a small amount of time for the station to be silenced after unwanted comments had been made.
On Saturday 30 March 2002 the death of the Queen Mother
was announced. The unscreened part of the programme began as normal at 10.00 pm, and inevitably the subject was brought up quickly. At approximately 10.15 pm a caller came on to attack the royal family
, including in his comments the phrase, "I think we should shoot the fucking lot of them. How does that sound on national radio? Fuck you, pal." Boyd responded with, "Yeah, and you, pal," and cut off the call. However he made no attempt to 'dump' the comments. He distanced him self from the caller saying "it's unfortunate that on a night like tonight, people like that come up with things like that".
One listener (of the 3 million listening) subsequently made a complaint about what had been broadcast. However, large numbers of complaints were far from rare for Boyd and his fellow presenters James Whale
and Mike Dickin
. The following day Boyd presented his Sunday programme as normal, but was absent from the airwaves the following weekend, although this absence had been announced previously. On 11 April it was announced by a talkSPORT spokesman that Boyd had been dismissed in connection with the incident, along with the programme’s producer and technical operator who were in the studio with Boyd at the time. The reason given for the sackings was failure to monitor the output of the station, leading to the broadcast of offensive comments. The single complaint received was held up as evidence of the offence that had been caused.
It was widely believed that the stated reason for Boyd's sacking was merely an excuse to remove him and his production team from the station. Speculation was (and remains) rife about the interminably convoluted internal politics of talkSPORT, specifically the troubled relationships between the big names on the station's line-up and owner Kelvin MacKenzie
. A variety of petition
s and internet
campaigns were launched with the aim of forcing Boyd's reinstatement - along with his team, but these ended in failure.
from September 2004. Regular callers included a Johnny Vegas
soundalike, someone reading the results of the day's games in the Premier League, someone doing an impression of Darth Vader
breathing, "The Duck", and "Quarter-to-One Mick", a Northern accented gentleman who each week would recite the lyrics of well-known songs towards the end of each show.
In 2007, Tommy Boyd joined Play Radio UK
to co-host a sunday night phone-in show with Duncan Barkes. Calls went unscreened, and as the station is internet-only and not regulated by Ofcom, there was no need for a dump button and callers were allowed to say things not usually permitted on most UK radio stations that broadcast on regulated mediums. Having left the station towards the end of 2007 for a brief spell, Boyd returned to the station in mid-2008 with a similar format.
took calls straight to air in a segment calls the "Lightning Round". Iain Lee
began a segment on his afternoon show known as "Triple M" which was given its own 3 hour slot in the LBC
Sunday night schedule until the format fell out of favour with new station management. "Triple M" is still part of Iain Lee's show on Absolute Radio which is also on a Sunday Night. LBC's late-night host Clive Bull
also had a straight-to-air section at the end of his show, which was also ended under LBC's new management, with an aim to move the station to more serious news topics.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
programme on talkSPORT
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
, presented by Tommy Boyd
Tommy Boyd
Timothy Leslie Boyd , better known as Tommy Boyd, is a British radio and television presenter who now lives in Chichester, West Sussex.-Early career:...
, with his engineer Asher Gould effectively acting as co-presenter. It was broadcast from May 2000 until Boyd's dismissal in March 2002, and took its name from a 1969 book of the same name
The Human Zoo (book)
The Human Zoo is a book written by the British zoologist Desmond Morris, published in 1969. It is a follow-up to his earlier book The Naked Ape; both books examine how the biological nature of the human species has shaped the character of the cultures of the contemporary world.The Human Zoo...
by Desmond Morris
Desmond Morris
Desmond John Morris, born 24 January 1928 in Purton, north Wiltshire, is a British zoologist and ethologist, as well as a popular anthropologist. He is also known as a painter, television presenter and popular author.-Life:...
.
Format
The programme had a straightforward 'phone inPhone in
In broadcasting, a phone-in or call-in is a programme format in which viewers or listeners are invited to air their live comments by telephone, usually in respect of a specific topic selected for discussion on the day of the broadcast. On radio , it is common for an entire programme to be dedicated...
' format, except that callers were unscreened, went straight to air, and could say whatever they wanted, broadcasting regulations permitting. This unique radio experiment attained cult status, and quickly became the most popular programme on AM radio in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. At the peak of its popularity in the summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
of 2001 up to a million calls were received over the course of a four-hour programme.
While not the most original format for radio, the Human Zoo was wildly successful. This has been attributed to the particular style of its presenter, who encouraged a very wide variety of callers to contribute, including some who called in to give short performances, play pieces of prepared audio or just shout out catchphrases. "Can I pleasure your wife?" was an oft-repeated slogan. Therefore, the mainstay of the programme for its listeners was the unpredictable nature of where the discussion would lead next. Very weighty issues not often discussed by mainstream phone in radio (which Boyd derided as all about "points missed in the debate so far") could be juxtaposed with frivolous, light-hearted or comedic items. Boyd divided opinion between devoted fans, many of whom considered him to be an extremely wise man, and critics who viewed him as arrogant or mad, often taking the opportunity to phone up to launch personal attacks or deride his ideas with the aim of starting heated and vitriolic arguments.
Boyd attributed the popularity of the show to the ability of its anarchic nature to strike a chord with people on a Sunday night, and elaborated on this theory many times, proposing that Sunday evenings induced a widespread and overwhelming mood of either resignation or defiance, and that the programme provided an outlet to those who felt trapped by the prospect of work the following morning.
Demise
In its latter stages the Human Zoo became increasingly repetitive and at times descended into farce. Despite Boyd's efforts to reinvigorate the format it became dominated by a small coterie of callers.An important part of the production of the programme was the need to prevent the broadcast of offensive or illegal material by callers who knew that they were being granted an open platform for whatever they had to say before a national audience. This was achieved by a facility known as the dump button, often employed in phone in radio for this purpose. The station's output was actually broadcast several seconds after it was produced in the studio, allowing a small amount of time for the station to be silenced after unwanted comments had been made.
On Saturday 30 March 2002 the death of the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
was announced. The unscreened part of the programme began as normal at 10.00 pm, and inevitably the subject was brought up quickly. At approximately 10.15 pm a caller came on to attack the royal family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
, including in his comments the phrase, "I think we should shoot the fucking lot of them. How does that sound on national radio? Fuck you, pal." Boyd responded with, "Yeah, and you, pal," and cut off the call. However he made no attempt to 'dump' the comments. He distanced him self from the caller saying "it's unfortunate that on a night like tonight, people like that come up with things like that".
One listener (of the 3 million listening) subsequently made a complaint about what had been broadcast. However, large numbers of complaints were far from rare for Boyd and his fellow presenters James Whale
James Whale (radio)
Michael "James" Whale is a British radio and television host. He is known for his plain-speaking, often ascerbic and confrontational, broadcasting style; during phone-ins he frequently hangs up on callers he disagrees with or who do not make their point quickly enough.-Early life:Whale was born...
and Mike Dickin
Mike Dickin
Mike Dickin , was a late-night host on the British radio station talkSPORT. Dickin used to present the 1am to 6am slot at weekends on Talk Radio UK from 1995 to 2001. He returned filling in for James Whale during James' battle with kidney cancer...
. The following day Boyd presented his Sunday programme as normal, but was absent from the airwaves the following weekend, although this absence had been announced previously. On 11 April it was announced by a talkSPORT spokesman that Boyd had been dismissed in connection with the incident, along with the programme’s producer and technical operator who were in the studio with Boyd at the time. The reason given for the sackings was failure to monitor the output of the station, leading to the broadcast of offensive comments. The single complaint received was held up as evidence of the offence that had been caused.
It was widely believed that the stated reason for Boyd's sacking was merely an excuse to remove him and his production team from the station. Speculation was (and remains) rife about the interminably convoluted internal politics of talkSPORT, specifically the troubled relationships between the big names on the station's line-up and owner Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin Calder MacKenzie is an English media executive and former newspaper editor. He is best known for being editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994, an era in which the paper was established as Britain's best selling newspaper.- Biography :MacKenzie was educated at Alleyn's School...
. A variety of petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
s and internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
campaigns were launched with the aim of forcing Boyd's reinstatement - along with his team, but these ended in failure.
Revival
The Human Zoo would be revived to a lesser extent when Boyd began presenting a late Saturday night show on BBC Southern Counties RadioBBC Southern Counties Radio
BBC Southern Counties Radio was the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Surrey and Sussex. The station also covered a large part of North-East Hampshire. It was the first BBC Local Radio station to introduce a controversial all-speech format...
from September 2004. Regular callers included a Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his angry rants, portly figure, high husky voice and support of St Helens rugby league club. More recently he has moved into dramatic acting.-Early life:He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of four children of Laurence...
soundalike, someone reading the results of the day's games in the Premier League, someone doing an impression of Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
breathing, "The Duck", and "Quarter-to-One Mick", a Northern accented gentleman who each week would recite the lyrics of well-known songs towards the end of each show.
In 2007, Tommy Boyd joined Play Radio UK
Play Radio UK
Play Radio UK was a British internet radio station based on the South Coast of England. Its output comprised two mainstream music radio streams, a talk radio stream, and several other genre-specific music streams...
to co-host a sunday night phone-in show with Duncan Barkes. Calls went unscreened, and as the station is internet-only and not regulated by Ofcom, there was no need for a dump button and callers were allowed to say things not usually permitted on most UK radio stations that broadcast on regulated mediums. Having left the station towards the end of 2007 for a brief spell, Boyd returned to the station in mid-2008 with a similar format.
Similar Formats
Similar straight-to-air formats have been used in British radio. Nick AbbotNick Abbot
Nick Abbot is a British radio presenter, who has presented on numarious radio station in the uk for past 20 years.-History:Nick Abbot was born 22 August 1960, and was educated at George Heriot's School, Edinburgh and Brunel University in Uxbridge where he gained a degree in psychology. Abbot's...
took calls straight to air in a segment calls the "Lightning Round". Iain Lee
Iain Lee
Iain Lee is a British comedian, and a television and radio presenter. His career began when he performed stand-up comedy gigs across venues in London. He subsequently became co-presenter of the comedy current affairs show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4 and RI:SE...
began a segment on his afternoon show known as "Triple M" which was given its own 3 hour slot in the LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
Sunday night schedule until the format fell out of favour with new station management. "Triple M" is still part of Iain Lee's show on Absolute Radio which is also on a Sunday Night. LBC's late-night host Clive Bull
Clive Bull
Bull Clive is an award-winning radio talk show host, best known for presenting a late-night show on LBC 97.3 in London, England.-Background:...
also had a straight-to-air section at the end of his show, which was also ended under LBC's new management, with an aim to move the station to more serious news topics.