Iain Lee

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Roddy
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Re: Iain Lee

Post by Roddy »

I know this show wins awards but the competition must be dreadful.
The whole show seems to revolve around that other failed comedian Alex Lowe phoning in while Diamond uses his grating fake laugh to the maximum.
In between talking like Arnold Schwarzenegger and generic American voices there is some left field, off the cuff really funny stuff but that's few and far between.
They say callers make the show but jeez the dregs of the underclass and the working class phone in and at least 3 times a night people who have reached or breached the drunken state of melancholy phone in to say they need help and Iain nearly goes all cod-Jamaican accent and starts calling them "brother", "big love" and "i love you man."

His aggressiveness towards towards Kath which is at least once every show is quite disturbing to listen to as it is not ego driven like "I'm the talent here dahhling" but something much deeper.
Whenever Kath gets flustered or overly excited her northern accent comes to the fore which she has tried to bury for many,many years as she feels intimidated/ inferior to born in London media types.
In that respect she is like Kenneth Wolstenholme in his famous commentary at the end of the World Cup final in 1966.

I know you read this forum Diamond and have posted in the past so feel free to comment on any aspect of my critique of your show,that's if your not busy meditating,crying or playing call of duty with your little online groovy gang.
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MrTea
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Re: Iain Lee

Post by MrTea »

Roddy wrote:I know this show wins awards but the competition must be dreadful.
The whole show seems to revolve around that other failed comedian Alex Lowe phoning in while Diamond uses his grating fake laugh to the maximum.
In between talking like Arnold Schwarzenegger and generic American voices there is some left field, off the cuff really funny stuff but that's few and far between.
They say callers make the show but jeez the dregs of the underclass and the working class phone in and at least 3 times a night people who have reached or breached the drunken state of melancholy phone in to say they need help and Iain nearly goes all cod-Jamaican accent and starts calling them "brother", "big love" and "i love you man."

His aggressiveness towards towards Kath which is at least once every show is quite disturbing to listen to as it is not ego driven like "I'm the talent here dahhling" but something much deeper.
Whenever Kath gets flustered or overly excited her northern accent comes to the fore which she has tried to bury for many,many years as she feels intimidated/ inferior to born in London media types.
In that respect she is like Kenneth Wolstenholme in his famous commentary at the end of the World Cup final in 1966.

I know you read this forum Diamond and have posted in the past so feel free to comment on any aspect of my critique of your show,that's if your not busy meditating,crying or playing call of duty with your little online groovy gang.
I really like Lowe's calls as Barry, even as the 'professor' he's quite funny. Shame he only calls in when he's desperate for exposure, like now. I also think Angelos is funny.

Regarding callers; Alan Caddick being allowed on still is baffling - he doesn't listen to the show and is just plain annoying, as is David Babcock, who comes across as an arrogant dick to anyone but Iain, plus who told him he's funny?

As for his treatment of Kath, I think that's just banter, but he knows she's reliant on him now to further her career, so he's got the power and that's how he likes it. They've been pushing for her to have a solo show, but it's obvious she's nowhere near strong enough to be a radio presenter.

It's a good show compared to what else is on, though Howard Hughes was a nice break when covering.

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Re: Iain Lee

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I agree about Alex Lowe - the Barry From Watford character isn't funny, though he's very good as Clinton Baptiste.

Iain Lee's show is definitely unique on radio right now, and I like it 80% of the time. It can get tooo self-indulgent, but it's better than almost everything else on any of the 'talk' stations.
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Re: Iain Lee

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Is anyone still listening? It seems like the listening figures have gone down this quarter so presumably people are starting to get bored of it. I've been a regular listener since he started at TalkRadio, but I think it's probably time to stop now. It hasn't been above about a 5/10 for the last month or two. The nature of the show is that there'll be good nights and bad nights, but the best nights lately are still nowhere near as good as past average nights. I know it must be difficult broadcasting from outside the studio and at a time when there's not much news to fall back on, not even the silly stories, but you can tell that his heart is no longer in it. A lot of the more enjoyable callers stopped phoning in too, and now it's almost entirely drunks, racists or bores. There are a few good ones still (Alistair and Thomas come to mind, Sonia before she stopped calling), but even Barry from Watford who I mostly enjoyed in the past has become dull. It shouldn't make any sense why there would be such a change in callers since he started from home, but there is. Maybe that's down to the tone of the show changing.

His Twitch streaming has never taken off because he's too inconsistent with both content and the schedule. The 11 O'Clock Show commentaries were brilliant to watch, but he stopped doing them after what... five episodes? The Come Dine Me With commentary was also great. He should have stuck with that - watching episodes of things he's been in and discussing how they were made or what people were like or little stories from them, and doing that at a regular time when people would know he's going to be on. He always seems to get excited by a fresh idea and then quickly get bored of it and move onto something else. That's probably why his Twitch views are generally quite poor, but they rocketed up when he started putting out good content at regular times. People will tune in every week if they know he's live every Sunday night doing a commentary, but won't if they get an alert at 10:30am on a random Tuesday when he could be lying in bed after just waking up, tidying his CD shelves, or playing Call of Duty.

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Re: Iain Lee

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Jon Gout wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 1:43 pm Is anyone still listening? It seems like the listening figures have gone down this quarter so presumably people are starting to get bored of it. I've been a regular listener since he started at TalkRadio, but I think it's probably time to stop now. It hasn't been above about a 5/10 for the last month or two. The nature of the show is that there'll be good nights and bad nights, but the best nights lately are still nowhere near as good as past average nights. I know it must be difficult broadcasting from outside the studio and at a time when there's not much news to fall back on, not even the silly stories, but you can tell that his heart is no longer in it. A lot of the more enjoyable callers stopped phoning in too, and now it's almost entirely drunks, racists or bores. There are a few good ones still (Alistair and Thomas come to mind, Sonia before she stopped calling), but even Barry from Watford who I mostly enjoyed in the past has become dull. It shouldn't make any sense why there would be such a change in callers since he started from home, but there is. Maybe that's down to the tone of the show changing.

His Twitch streaming has never taken off because he's too inconsistent with both content and the schedule. The 11 O'Clock Show commentaries were brilliant to watch, but he stopped doing them after what... five episodes? The Come Dine Me With commentary was also great. He should have stuck with that - watching episodes of things he's been in and discussing how they were made or what people were like or little stories from them, and doing that at a regular time when people would know he's going to be on. He always seems to get excited by a fresh idea and then quickly get bored of it and move onto something else. That's probably why his Twitch views are generally quite poor, but they rocketed up when he started putting out good content at regular times. People will tune in every week if they know he's live every Sunday night doing a commentary, but won't if they get an alert at 10:30am on a random Tuesday when he could be lying in bed after just waking up, tidying his CD shelves, or playing Call of Duty.

+1 Good summary.
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Re: Iain Lee

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Jon Gout wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 1:43 pm Is anyone still listening? It seems like the listening figures have gone down this quarter so presumably people are starting to get bored of it. I've been a regular listener since he started at TalkRadio, but I think it's probably time to stop now. It hasn't been above about a 5/10 for the last month or two. The nature of the show is that there'll be good nights and bad nights, but the best nights lately are still nowhere near as good as past average nights. I know it must be difficult broadcasting from outside the studio and at a time when there's not much news to fall back on, not even the silly stories, but you can tell that his heart is no longer in it. A lot of the more enjoyable callers stopped phoning in too, and now it's almost entirely drunks, racists or bores. There are a few good ones still (Alistair and Thomas come to mind, Sonia before she stopped calling), but even Barry from Watford who I mostly enjoyed in the past has become dull. It shouldn't make any sense why there would be such a change in callers since he started from home, but there is. Maybe that's down to the tone of the show changing.

His Twitch streaming has never taken off because he's too inconsistent with both content and the schedule. The 11 O'Clock Show commentaries were brilliant to watch, but he stopped doing them after what... five episodes? The Come Dine Me With commentary was also great. He should have stuck with that - watching episodes of things he's been in and discussing how they were made or what people were like or little stories from them, and doing that at a regular time when people would know he's going to be on. He always seems to get excited by a fresh idea and then quickly get bored of it and move onto something else. That's probably why his Twitch views are generally quite poor, but they rocketed up when he started putting out good content at regular times. People will tune in every week if they know he's live every Sunday night doing a commentary, but won't if they get an alert at 10:30am on a random Tuesday when he could be lying in bed after just waking up, tidying his CD shelves, or playing Call of Duty.
Some good points well made.

I've actually been a listener since the early LBC days (missed Absolute Radio and 3 Counties Radio), so it's fair to say I've been a fan of his, but like you I've stopped listening. It went downhill massively and the RAJARs did indeed reflect this.

The constant back stroking between him and Kath makes for nauseating listening. The callers have dried up because people are put off by their ganging up on anyone who isn't famous or up their asses, hence the ones who do still bother to call are too drunk to care.

He's far too sensitive, yet gives it out left right and centre, and she's there to play along with him as always.

I also enjoyed the 11 o'clock show stuff he was doing (only watched on YouTube), but unfortunately he seems to only do things that are paid there and then (live shows and Radio) rather than building something, or creating something special/niche. He's always better solo too, I know people don't like to mention that, but it's true. Kath makes the show worse.

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Re: Iain Lee

Post by The End »

Again, good summary. I agree with the bulk of it, especially regarding the standard of callers - the occasional nutter is funny, but when they outnumber the decent ones, it's a bit shit.

I don't follow his Twitch or anything, but I can see where you're coming from regarding the slapdash nature of how it is promoted.
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Re: Iain Lee

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MrTea wrote: Fri May 22, 2020 12:38 pmSome good points well made.

I've actually been a listener since the early LBC days (missed Absolute Radio and 3 Counties Radio), so it's fair to say I've been a fan of his, but like you I've stopped listening. It went downhill massively and the RAJARs did indeed reflect this.

The constant back stroking between him and Kath makes for nauseating listening. The callers have dried up because people are put off by their ganging up on anyone who isn't famous or up their asses, hence the ones who do still bother to call are too drunk to care.

He's far too sensitive, yet gives it out left right and centre, and she's there to play along with him as always.

I also enjoyed the 11 o'clock show stuff he was doing (only watched on YouTube), but unfortunately he seems to only do things that are paid there and then (live shows and Radio) rather than building something, or creating something special/niche. He's always better solo too, I know people don't like to mention that, but it's true. Kath makes the show worse.
I find it odd how they accuse people of "not getting the show" whenever someone criticises them for something. I believe I get it, as in I understand when they're "doing a thing", when callers aren't getting it, etc. But a few times recently I've noticed that they've misheard what someone has said and then had a go at them for it, or someone has been trying to reach out and they've been rude to them for a cheap laugh, or someone is a new listener and instead of trying to welcome them they act like they're not wanted. I can't agree with you about Kath since I enjoy hearing her and I actually prefer her solo shows to Iain's solo shows (but my preference is them together). Every listener has a different opinion though. It's interesting how they both appear kinder when on their own, which suggests them "being mean" to callers is influenced by each other. It wasn't always like that, if you listen back to shows from 2016 and 2017 the vibe was a lot different between them and the callers.

Did you hear about the falling out with David Babcock? He did a live show on Twitch when Iain was off that was meant to be a pastiche of TLNA (a similar background to the studio and taking breaks for adverts and news and stuff like that). It was pretty good, better than listening to Howard Hughes covering anyway, and Iain even called in to speak to David. Then the next night Iain got angry about it and blocked David on Twitter and WhatsApp, telling him to change the format of his Twitch show a couple of hours before he was about to go live. David hasn't phoned in since and a few of Iain's regular callers who watch David on Twitch haven't either. Iain could get paid through doing "free" stuff on Twitch which would lead to donations and subscriptions, but as I said, that takes routine and discipline, which he doesn't seem to have. Maybe that's why he fell out with Babcock - it must feel weird to have someone that started as a caller to your show and looked up to you then become more successful than you in something you also want to be successful in. I remember subscribing last year for a month, but in the month I was subscribed he only did two videos, both of which were just him sat in Costa barely talking. Meanwhile, David is on every day at 3pm doing something entertaining.

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Re: Iain Lee

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Interesting. Didn't know about the Babcock thing. Come to think of it, you're right - haven't heard him ring in for a while.
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Re: Iain Lee

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Jon Gout wrote: Fri May 22, 2020 1:43 pm
MrTea wrote: Fri May 22, 2020 12:38 pmSome good points well made.

I've actually been a listener since the early LBC days (missed Absolute Radio and 3 Counties Radio), so it's fair to say I've been a fan of his, but like you I've stopped listening. It went downhill massively and the RAJARs did indeed reflect this.

The constant back stroking between him and Kath makes for nauseating listening. The callers have dried up because people are put off by their ganging up on anyone who isn't famous or up their asses, hence the ones who do still bother to call are too drunk to care.

He's far too sensitive, yet gives it out left right and centre, and she's there to play along with him as always.

I also enjoyed the 11 o'clock show stuff he was doing (only watched on YouTube), but unfortunately he seems to only do things that are paid there and then (live shows and Radio) rather than building something, or creating something special/niche. He's always better solo too, I know people don't like to mention that, but it's true. Kath makes the show worse.
I find it odd how they accuse people of "not getting the show" whenever someone criticises them for something. I believe I get it, as in I understand when they're "doing a thing", when callers aren't getting it, etc. But a few times recently I've noticed that they've misheard what someone has said and then had a go at them for it, or someone has been trying to reach out and they've been rude to them for a cheap laugh, or someone is a new listener and instead of trying to welcome them they act like they're not wanted. I can't agree with you about Kath since I enjoy hearing her and I actually prefer her solo shows to Iain's solo shows (but my preference is them together). Every listener has a different opinion though. It's interesting how they both appear kinder when on their own, which suggests them "being mean" to callers is influenced by each other. It wasn't always like that, if you listen back to shows from 2016 and 2017 the vibe was a lot different between them and the callers.

Yes I agree, they seem to bring out the worst in each other, like playground bullies, but alone they both act a lot nicer.

Mind you Kath seems to act short and sharp on social media, I think she tries to give a hard-nosed image of herself, which anyone who listens knows is a false image - she practically comes to tears anytime a caller slightly insults her style/role of presenting.

They just seem to have such high standards of how they like to be treated, yet think nothing of verbally ripping apart anyone who dares disagree with them.

That's certainly no recipe for a good phone-in show.


Did you hear about the falling out with David Babcock? He did a live show on Twitch when Iain was off that was meant to be a pastiche of TLNA (a similar background to the studio and taking breaks for adverts and news and stuff like that). It was pretty good, better than listening to Howard Hughes covering anyway, and Iain even called in to speak to David. Then the next night Iain got angry about it and blocked David on Twitter and WhatsApp, telling him to change the format of his Twitch show a couple of hours before he was about to go live. David hasn't phoned in since and a few of Iain's regular callers who watch David on Twitch haven't either. Iain could get paid through doing "free" stuff on Twitch which would lead to donations and subscriptions, but as I said, that takes routine and discipline, which he doesn't seem to have. Maybe that's why he fell out with Babcock - it must feel weird to have someone that started as a caller to your show and looked up to you then become more successful than you in something you also want to be successful in. I remember subscribing last year for a month, but in the month I was subscribed he only did two videos, both of which were just him sat in Costa barely talking. Meanwhile, David is on every day at 3pm doing something entertaining.
Just had a look at Babcock's Twitter and it's all there, it ties in quite well with the point I was making above - Iain comes across like a spoilt brat.

I had a quick look at Iain's Twitter and he's just apologised after launching a public attack at a theatre club owner over a "couple of hundred pounds".

He's a diva, and I'm glad I stopped listening to his nonsense after all these years.

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Re: Iain Lee

Post by dingdongthewitchisdead »

gone right off it lately.not a lot else to tune into at that time either.
i never listen now .

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Re: Iain Lee

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Re: Iain Lee

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Re: Iain Lee

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Re: Iain Lee

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Has Eastie had a stroke?
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