Good Morning Nantwich: Adventures in Breakfast Radio

Written by Phill Jupitus

Narrated by Phill Jupitus

What possesses a right-minded comedian to quit the day job for life as a breakfast radio DJ?

The opening DJ on the Beeb’s new alternative radio channel, 6Music, Phill Jupitus was a maverick on the flat landscape of inane commercial breakfast radio. Disregarding the prescriptive chart-led schedule and showing no fear in the face of BBC management, this ex-performance poet’s personal crusade against the bland, the predictable and the smug self-satisfaction ensured that he never had any trouble practising what he preached.

Not one to pull punches, Phill recounts with acerbic wit, honesty and more affection than he would care to admit, his encounters with petulant band members, tedious showbusiness jargon, colossal salaries and four-letter firewalls.

Inviting world-weary media cynics and radio enthusiasts to sit back and revel in a heady dose of painful banter ensuing from the absent interview technique, The Clash, the perils of idols as on-air guests, Black Umfolosi and The Coasters, Nantwich remorselessly dissects the limply beating heart of breakfast radio and reconstructs it one playlist, anecdote and transcript at a time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Aug 5, 2010
• ISBN: 9780007357567

Reviews for Good Morning Nantwich

[pdcread · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very amusing trawl through the mind and music collection of Phill Jupitus.

[heikem_13 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I awaited this book with anticipation because you see, Phill Jupitus has a special place in my heart. When he presented the breakfast show on 6music (more in the book) he chose our house for an outside broadcast. It was one of the greatest fun days for me and catapulted me into the world of gigs and festivals. And yes, I do feature in the book, three times to be accurate. (Beaming proudly) But lets put that very important factor aside and just talk about the book. Although it isn't high literature it is nevertheless great fun. Reading it feels like sitting opposite Phill while he tells you of his life and mainly his life as a Breakfast Radio Presenter. Peppered with anecdotes, openly laughing at his own shortcomings (and those of other people) - you can feel the excitement about music he discovers, hear him groan when he meets somebody annoying and watch him cry if things get a bit emotional. It is a very fast read, smoothly written and as a little extra you get a special playlist after every chapter - I like that. Some things have become a bit clearer now, if I listen to 6music (still my favourite station) I now find myself saying things like *ah, that is what Phill was talking about*. It's a brilliant book to devour on a rainy afternoon and it brings radio and its strange inhabitants a bit closer to you.

[msnikki · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Really great book for anyone who's thought of presenting radio or really loves the genre. Phil is a music snob and his book is a wonderful critique of the lazy mindlessness of commercial radio. He does get quite overbearing at times with his rants and music snobbishness. What's great about the book is that he details his own comeuppance and seems to come to the realisation, though never explictedly said, that your show can't be great if you don't consider your audience. Also, being a music lover and a radio presenter are two different things. Sometimes they meet, many times they don't. That said, I liked his approach to radio, he very almost got it right.