DJ Profiles

Many names have surfaced during Overflow's chequered career, some of which are mentioned in the Overflow History pages. Eventually, there will be profiles listed for them all, and this page will be updated as the information is gathered. Read on to see who we have added so far.......

GARRY LEE (by Tim Rice)

Well Garry could hardly write his OWN profile - I mean come on! Ok, where would we be without him? Garry has put his WHOLE life into the Overflow, and I’ve lost count of those periods in his life when he really felt like throwing the towel in. Effectively Garry steers the Overflow ship – all 50,000 tons of it. Its what he does best and I’ve told him this on NUMEROUS occasions.

His commitment to what is the most innovative of all Alternative radio stations is often staggering. I’m just chuffed to bits that I was able to lend my voice to the ‘deep voice’ Overflow jingle that stamped its identity on Overflow in the early years. Garry has been councillor, Manager, Fix-it man and all-round Music Guru. He has undoubtedly set the whole style that is Overflow, and kept a tight reins on it - when DJs were in danger of running off the Overflow rails. He's the only DJ I know that can hold his own under the kind of pressure that most DJ's fear most and I can only bow to his abilities on a live show. He is a firm friend and someone I feel priviledged to know. Long live the Overflow – man!


THE GREEN WIDOW

Environmentally friendly sister of The Black Widow, although you'd never believe it......

Messy moose used to leave chocolate wrappers wherever she went! Also known over the years as 'GW', 'The Marrow',  'Mazza' & Marooooooooooooooow!!!! She earned the nickname 'Marrow', by Marrowing out (a local term for people who crashed out at parties) although nowadays she can drink most of us under the table.

GW first appeared on Overflow at a very young age, doing her first full programme at the age of 13. She also took on the BRAVE task of taking over the Christmas breakfast show from L.Blitz - we all thought No one could follow that, but she did a marvellous job! Her vocal talents were heard on air between 1992 - 2000.The only down-point was having to put up with both the Widow sisters at once - a nightmare that thankfully is fading...



THE BLACK WIDOW

A scatty Essex girl with a severe culinary skills handicap, The Black Widow (or BW as she was later known), could knock out a mean radio show given a chance! She was first thrown on air on christmas day 1989 after having to bribe her with lots of Vodka & chocolate. In return she brought us music from the likes of The Damned & Gaye Bykers On Acid.

Through the nineties,the Black Widow's HOT GOSSIP COLUMN was a popular feature.She was more than happy to 'Dish the dirt' on us Overflow jocks, at any & every available opportunity! Between 1989 - 2000, BW was an endless source of jolly japes, music for students and charred offerings from the Overflow kitchen. These included burnt cakes, dumplings, pitta bread & meat pies to name a few. We even had a mass-food fight with a burnt chocolate sponge,at one of the Overflow parties in 1990! It's only now (some years later), that the smell of smoke no longer invades the Overflow studio (other than when the LV18's 'Mystery Man' visits)!

TIM RICE

Tim (or 'Timbo' as he is affectionately known behind the scenes), was an old friend by the time Overflow began. We had worked together on several radio projects and he had always proved to be a great inspiration with his often outrageous sense of humour and alternative command of the english language.

Tim's programmes were an interesting mixture of music & comedy clips, dispersed by gardening tips, short stories & the odd recipe provided by his mother. He has also (as webmaster), threatened to display embarrasing photographs of me on this website inless I say nice things about him. So, to sum up.....A lovely chap and personally my favourite Overflow presenter (other than me)!!!

SHLEPPAL THE BOGIEMAN

Interesting name, cant remember how he got that..... though we can tell you that he named himself - the mind boggles! Later we shortened his name to Shlepps (shhh..uno who) and sometimes to Shleppal TBM, although neither of these were what we called him off air! Description : an outright punk through & through. Favourite sayings of his included: 'got any pistols' , 'got any clash' & the old favourite 'got any Ramones'???

Shleppal was part of The Overflow Posse between 1995 - 2000. In recent years the clever bastard has gained a degree, a doctorate & several letters after his name! He is now known as Dr.Shleppal W.N.K.ER (gynaecologist to the elite)!

REGGAE RAY (aka Cochise)

This man was with us from the very early days of Overflow. He even made a one-off appearance on Radio Freedom, moaning about the music! When I first met Ray, he was heavily into reggae and listened to nothing else. Dillinger, U-Roy,Aswad & Eek-a-mouse all being favourites on his programme, which he named 'The Black Sounds Of Freedom' after the Black Uhuru song. 'Reggae' (as we called him), later left the reggae music behind and went into Hawkwind mode.I blame myself, as it all happened after I dragged him to 'Acid Daze 87' at Finsbury Park in London, where Hawkwind were headlining. He was never the same again (twice)! Reggae Ray programmed for the Overflow between 1987 - 1993, then after a brief break re-appeared as 'Cochise' in 1994, playing a wider variety of music such as Blues, Rock  and of course.....a little bit of reggae!

PAUL WINDSOR

Had it have been the 60's and there was an Overflow South & Overflow North service, Paul Windsor would have most certainly been the main man behind Overflow North! I first made contact with Paul in 1990, as we were both programming for King Radio in Portsmouth. His first shows aired on Overflow, were in fact carefully edited King programmes. He then joined us officially in 1991 and has presented for the Overflow ever since. Paul started off by specialising in offbeat 60's psych, calling his show 'The Psychedelic Snarl'. He later progressed to several other programmes including 'The Planet Of Sound', a mix of Rock, Psych, Industrial, Metal.....you name it, it was in there! Check out the Paul Windsor page, found on Deck 5 in the Overflow manual index.

MYSTIC SISTER

This young lady was the first female voice to be heard on The Overflow. Although she was often heard in the background in the early days, she only ever presented one, possibly two programmes in 1987. Looking back, it was quite hilarious as all the male members of the Overflow were practically falling over each other trying to impress the young blonde Mystic Sister. We were broadcasting from above a pub at the time, so I decided to do my bit and go and fetch a round of drinks for everyone (surely my generosity would impress her).

So, I endeavoured to climb the 3 flights of stairs back up to the studio, carrying a tray containing 9 pints. Merrily spilling them everywhere, I eventually got to the studio door, having got left, just two pints on my tray. I then tripped over the top step, fell through the Overflow studio door, soaking the Mystic Sister who was sitting opposite! Bollox & bollox again!

L.BLITZ (with all the Hitz)!!!

.....& what a catch phrase! Most sarcastic,as he never played a hit record ever (gladly)! This fellow appeared on & off between 1987 - 1997. The show I will always remember him for was the hilarious 'Breakfast with Blitz', heard christmas day 1987 between 8-9am - What a way to wake up - Frightning! Tunes included: Wombling merry christmas (with L.Blitz singing),The Happy Monsters - Clap Your Tentacles & The Red Squares - The Russians are coming... so we'd all be better dead! The Mystic Sister allegedly burnt L.Blitz (as the guy on Nov 5th) at our Firework night party after chasing him up the A12 and inserting a rocket in an apropriate place.

Later on... Christmas 1989, there was The L.Blitz crisis at christmas appeal on Overflow, as all he had at home was a tin of spam. Then at Halloween in 1990, L.Blitz was heard narrating the ceremonial splitting of the final pumpkin, I shall spare you the details!

Next.........

JAY 'JINGLE' JONSON

He was never really an Overflow presenter, as he hated the music! But Jay Jonson appeared a handful of times between 1987 - 1989, after following on from the Radio East FM & Radio Freedom Top 40 services. His taste in music was chart pop, dance,pop & chart dance music, so there wasn't really a place for him! He did try (bless him), but after much thought & deliberation we sacked him, as we got fed up with him taking the piss out of the music we were playing! Despite this unfortunate episode, Jay Jonson is still a good friend of the Overflow to this very day, even though his music taste has'nt improved a jot!

IVOR THE DRIVER

Another Overflow character, who originally got his title by working for British Rail. His dulcet tones would sometimes delight his audience by introducing Nina Hagen, Hawkwind & The Psychedelic Furs and on other occasions put them to sleep by bringing on a droney tune by Caberet Voltaire! Either way, Ivor was a major player on Overflow, presenting programmes (on & off) between 1987 - 1997. Through the nineties Ivor found another lease of life through house music. He gained a residency at Essex University, mixing, MC'ing & regularly filling the dance floor. He now lives just up the road from me, I often see him wobbling home late at night, after a brief visit, a few slurred words and an empty bottle of JD! Oopsie - hic!

CAPTAIN CHAOS

The Overflow roadshow was providing the sounds as usual for the local bikers rally, when Mr.Chaos took to the stage (first time on a microphone), to present the silly games &competitions (a regular ritual). He was so funny that night, that we regarded him a natural for the job & recruited the man immediately! These days, the Captain is a very qualified historian & lecturer at the local Institute of higher education, which reminds me......

He once turned up at the Overflow studio wearing battle armour & waving an enormous sword! The Captain is an Essex chap as far as we know, originating from the mud flats of Mersea Island. He provided music & wit between 1987 - 1992.

DINGO VIRGIN

Probably one of the most hilarious names out of the Overflow presenters. Dingo took his I.D.from the Gong - Flying Teapot trilogy of the 1970's. When I first met him, he looked exactly like Tommy Chong (of 'Cheech & Chong') and had similar habits (but worse)!
Then suddenly,after a couple of years,he turned up at the studio & I didn't recognise him at all! Dingo had shaved off ALL his facial hair (Yes,all of it)! What on earth had brought this on? (we never did find out). Despite being the all new 'Dapper Dingo',he was still much the same on air though, mumbling and stumbling through his programme, which usually contained : Caravan, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa & The Bonzo Dog Band.

Personally I loved the music on his show, but as for the presentation - couldn't make head or tail of all that mumbling (sorry Dingo). Dingo Virgin - A fine asset to The Overflow (on & off) betwen 1987 - 1992.

DAVID LEE

No relation to me (Garry Lee), Dave joined The Overflow in 1992. As with Paul Windsor, we met by both working for KING RADIO in Portsmouth. I always thought DL should have been a black man, as to this day he sports one of the finest natural afro's that I have ever seen! Poor chap has taken some stick over that for years from me, including the bogus David Lee hair care advert. But despite all this, he remains a very good & valued friend.

DL is obsessed with organs.We know what you're thinking, but it's not the case folks - I'm talking HAMMOND ORGAN'S! Although his programmes contained a variety of Prog Rock & album tracks, there was always a distinct hammond sound in there somewhere. DL's all time favourite band are ELP. He kindly took me to see them play at the Royal Albert Hall, as a birthday present in 1992 and what a fantastic night out that was. DL hasn't been dealt the best hand of cards (health-wise) in recent years, so had to take a short break from radio. But the man is now back in business once again. David Lee programmed for The Overflow (on & off) between 1992 - 2001.

COMMANDANT CHEMICALS

Now that's a name and a half & quite proud of his title he was! The Commandant appeared on The Overflow on a handful of programmes in 1987 and then dissapeared up his own existence, never to be seen again. My favourite memory of this chap, happened one hilarious friday night.We had been indulging in mindless drinking games in the pub below the studio and the (now legendary) FRIDAY NIGHT CHALLENGE had been concocted! We challenged each other (in front of an amused audience) to the most ridiculous of things.The last and most stupid of which, was to run round St.Botolphs Roundabout (in Colchester) at 2am, wearing nothing but a pair of pants! We both agreed to this (not wishing to lose the tournament) and the Commandant was first to take his turn. After completing his mission, it was my turn next. Half way round the roundabout I noticed a car travelling very slowly beside me, with lots of laughing coming from it. It was two girls that I knew inside a taxi-cab, giggling hysterically. Holding the studio microphone (and wearing the female panda's knickers on my head - another part of the challenge), I then interviewed the taxi driver as he wound his window down. Shortly after, as we were pulling our trousers back on (the audience had grown considerably by now), a police car arrived. 'Ello ello ello, have you people seen any phantom Y-front flashers'? Said PC Plod.....'No - definetely not' we replied innocently! A round of applause & hysterical laughter filled the air, as the police left. The Commandant - Great on air, but caused me a lot of bother when he wasn't!

THE GIANT PANDAS

After escaping from Colchester Zoo and learning some local dialect,The Giant Pandas were found chewing some old leaves (in the undergrowth at the back ofthe Bakers Arms beer garden). We only noticed they were there as L.Blitz was caught trying to lure out the female panda by singing Clash tunes whilst merrily spraying everyone else in the garden with Guiness froth that had stuck in his moustache! The female panda - Ling Ling (the dominant one) became a good friend of The Black Widow. Whereas the male panda - Yum Yum was rather more submissive and just did as he was told. To begin with the pandas only appeared with Captain Chaos or L.Blitz, but were later given a slot of their own. The highlight of their short-lived radio career must have been 'The L.Blitz Crisis At Christmas Appeal' of Christmas 1989, where they called for donations of anything from american express to Milk Tokens! The Pandas provided music & merriment here & there, between 1987 - 1990.

THE MODERATOR

How can I describe this man? In a word - STRANGE! When we first moved the Overflow studio on the top floor above the pub, The Moderator was living in one of the rooms on the floor below (level 2). On passing his room early one evening, I heard these weird high pitched noises from inside. Being naturally inquisitive, I stopped to listen for a moment. But as I did, he just happened to come out of his room, which made for an interesting meeting & introduction ceremony. The noises I refer too, were in fact coming from a tape of whale sounds (which in a way was quite relieving). We struck up a friendship, as he also liked 'The Oroonies' and I had never met anyone else who did! The Moderator sat in on 2 or 3 of our broadcasts, before plucking up the courage to do his own show. So, in the autumn of 1987 we gave him a tryout. Other than one other gentleman, this was the strangest and most unusual programme ever to be broadcast by The Overflow. A mixture of the weirdest offbeat music ever, with interuptions from the several personalities & voices of this crazy fellow. His programme was a one-off and still bemuses me to this day. Somehow, I just know it would please him to know that!

MR CHIPS

Unfortunately, this chap only ever did one programme for The Overflow. I wish it had been many more. His was the last show before closedown at Midnight, on the Christmas Day TX of 1987. Introduced to The Overflow by Tim Rice, I had only ever seen Mr.Chips a handful of times before. We crossed paths now and then, as he was a chef at a local hotel, where I provided the music back in the days of Radio East/Freedom. On air, the man had a great voice,played some wonderful old album tracks from the 60's - 80's and also had that sarcastic wit, imperitive to The Overflow. After all these years, if your'e out there Mr.Chips,get in touch! The porthole is still open......

MAD MAX

Back in 1989 times were hard. I met Mad Max, whilst working in a factory, which I had to do to fund The Overflow (It was ghastly)! Max used to eat the contents of his daily lunchbox quite early each morning, so by T-break was usually starving hungry. The Black Widow used to pack my lunchbox,s o there were always at least two homemade Rockbuns inside (which didn't ROCK at all)! I just couldn't stomach these,so used to slip them into one of the factory bins. One morning Max caught me. 'Dont throw that away, i'll eat that' he cried. From then onwards, Mad Max would ask each morning if there were any spare rockbuns. He had no idea of the colossal favour he was doing me (taking these things off my hands). Regularly at 10.30am, my mate the forklift driver would arrive and transfer the rockbuns from my lunchbox to Max's. It was only fair to offer him a slot on Overflow for that. Max was worse than useless on air but we had some great laughs through his brief time with us. Mad Max - Part of the crew between 1989 - 1990 (+ a one-off comeback appearance in 1991).

GORDON GANJA

Any ideas what type of music this man played.........er......YES! Gordon Ganja was the second person to present 'THE BLACK SOUNDS OF FREEDOM'. This was the late night Reggae show,originally given it's name by Reggae Ray. Gordon had a wonderful Somerset or Bristol type accent and an amazing collection of reggae music,so made a valid contribution to The Overflow. Sir Ganja was also a severe Overflow anorak! I once did a test transmission at 3.30am (tuning up our transmitter),and Gordon even heard that. Apparently,he used to leave a radio turned on all the time,tuned to our frequency,with a button pressed to mute out the hiss when the transmitter was turned off.It would only activate,if we fired up! Gordon Ganja had a passion for Vodka,Ganja,Reggae,Eggy sandwiches and not a lot else. He programmed for The Overflow between 1989-1991,then dissapeared to the South of France. Hope you doing well GG,wherever you are!

OLD MAN GHENGIS

Another employee of British Rail (although not a train driver this time),OMG made a handful of appearances on The Overflow in 1989. We were forced to move to new studios that year to BARRINGTON ROAD! (quite a wide road - as it was designed after a fat friend of mine who lives on a platform)! Old Man Ghengis lived in one of the bedsits in the same building. He was an odd fellow,who got picked on repeatedly by 'The Mormons' amongst others. A lovely bloke though,who had a serious problem with being assertive.He would listen for hours,rather than just say 'Get thee behind me satan' or another simularly polite term. OMG's favourite recording artists were The Andrews Sisters. Although he could adapt to most audio extremities,it was those ageing babes that really got his goat! He enjoyed nothing more than a good 'Rum & Coca-cola' or a little 'Boogie Woogie' with the local 'Bugle boy' (from company B). Old Man Ghengis - a brief worry in the year of 1989.

ROAST BEEF

This guys real name is Keith. His nickname is Beef (or beefy),so for some reason we decided to call him Roast! Henceforth (if that's the term),the name ROAST BEEF was born. Good ol'Roasty made a few appearances back in 1989. Firstly in the background whilst sitting in on live shows,then later with a programme of his own. Beefy was a Gong freak.So the music he played at the time was very psychedelic. He also loved the Bonzo Dog Band (as we all did - or still do)! It wasn't until 2001 that I met up with Beefy again,although we had crossed paths a few times at Astralasia/Hawkwind & Gong gigs in between. Since then we have kept in contact,as well as having a few lairy nights out that I would rather not go into! My favourite memory of Roast Beef,is having to shout & shout until he eventually got up and came to our rescue in Oct 1989. Myself & The Black Widow had been out partying until a silly hour of the morning. I proceeded to push her home in a shopping trolley.One of us ( I'm sure it was The Black Widow),had the idea that we should take the shopping trolley upstairs with us,so that it would be safe. Halfway up the stairs,the trolley got lodged between the staircase and the wall. She was on one-side,I was on the other,neither of us could move and at that point the hysterics started. Beefy eventually got up,brought a crow-bar (uncanny that he should have one to hand at that time of night),and extracted us from our devastating dilemma! Roast Beef was shortly to move away from our happy home......Cant imagine why???

HERMAN THE GERMAN

This chap only appeared on Overflow three times,but certainly left his mark.The first time we let him on air,he said the F-Word! He was in fact the first person to use unacceptable language on air and immediately sacked the following day. He was known on this appearance as Didi The German,but later made a comeback as Herman The German. Again,I have not seen this fellow for years,but recently met up with him and Commandant Chemicals. On air,he spoke a mixture of German & Pigeon English,which along with the track titles made for some hilarious programming. The highlight of Herman's time on air,was the Overflow Indoor Festival of 1989. Rushing around from stage to stage, Herman caught up with Jimi Hendrix,Andy White & The Blue Aeroplanes amongst others. Herman The German is another presenter that I wish had done more for The Overflow,but I guess it wasn't to be. Still,he taught me a few interesting german phrases that I wont forget in a hurry!

MILKO MARK

This fellow was never an Overflow DJ as such, but he was definetely part of the crew for while. A friend of Mad Max's, he was heard on air several times through 1989/90 mainly complaining about his teacup being empty. I thought Tim Rice to be an obsessive tea-drinker, but this guy was taking the biscuit! (Incidentally, he complained about those too)! He earned his name through his job, as that was exactly what he did! Now picture this.... Mark had very long black hair, wore jeans with holes & a leather jacket with a cutdown over the top, covered in heavy-metal patches and delivered milk in the tiny village of Wivenhoe!!! I wonder if any of his customers ever dared to ask for a loaf of bread?

NB: Milko Mark took a massive 6 SUGARS!!!

MR.FRISK

I'm not too sure where he got the name? We found Mr.Frisk in 1989, when myself & The Black Widow moved to a massive shared house, which was to become the home of the Overflow for a year or so. Mr.Frisk made a handfull of appearances in 1990, usually either singing or shouting! This was largely due to the amount of lager he consumed, but also partly to do with his identity crisis............. He thought he was Alf Garnett! Many a time would we hear football songs drunkenly sung in the early hours, hence my ongoing dis-regard for West Ham!!! Up the 'ammers - NOT!

THE MANAGER(S)

The original Manager, only appeared on The Overflow once, way back in 1987. He previously appeared a few times on Radio Freedom in 1985/86. He did'nt really have much input at all, just the odd sarcastic comment! I bumped into him in a pub recently and he has'nt changed a bit - just older & fatter (but then are'nt we all)! Mark The Manager was the other one, a real character. He appeared a number of times in 1989/90 moaning about the programme output in his brilliant upper crust voice and sacking DJ's Live on air! The most memorable occasion, was his hilarious presentation of the official 'Radio Operators Certificate' (whatever that may be), given to The Black Widow in Spring 1990.

RICHARD GRAHAM

Richard was running an FM pirate station in Portsmouth called King Radio back in 1990, which is how we first met. He had a fantastic collection of 60's records (some quite rare), so was invited to programme for The Overflow in 1991. Although RG had great taste in oldies, the problem was, he only had one turntable and recorded his programmes on cassette tapes, long before the luxury of digital media arrived. So there were some terrible clicks & unfortuatous joins which I often found myself editing before the shows were aired. Despite this, we muddled through and Richard provided music for us between 1991 - 1994 and again for a few months in 1997. Myself, BW & DL payed RG a visit in 1996... I'm NOT going to mention the 'filled' sample pot sitting on top of his TV set, which doesn't haunt me to this day! (Was that an MSN nudge or a minor titter arriving)?

DJ BLODWYN

Once again, only a handfull of appearances on The Overflow between 1991/92. This chap kept turning up with box loads of home brewed wine which he pinched from his Dad's shed, so was always welcome in the studio! His most memorable Overflow moment has to be the unfortunate 'Weather Incident' of early Boxing Day morning 1991. As usual the christmas day festivities were coming to a close, there was only myself & Blod still up (apart from BW who was sprawled across the settee - merrily)! We were so drunk, neither of us could barely speak, yet one of us must have come up with the idea of doing the weather forecast (I hope to post an mp3 clip of this at some point). Myself & DJB plotted as too where we were going to put the old fashioned magnetic weather signs on the UK map. We traded each other snow for sun and thunderstorms for fog etc and generally buggered up most of the country in the process. But then, looking back.... Its a lot more buggered now than it was then and I dont think it's down to the Overflow weather!

ROBERT MAXWELL

Mouth on a stick - Mr.Maxwell only made one appearance on The Overflow, I kind of wish he had made more! It was actually 'Paul', landlord of the Rising Sun, where both the now legendary Overflow 5th Birthday Bash & The Greenpeace All-dayer were held (see 'Overflow posters' page). Paul had a tendency to shout about whatever was on his mind - LOUDLY! So Robert Maxwell was a fitting name. His one-off show proved popular, heard early evening of Christmas day 1991.

ROCKIN' BILL (aka) WILLIAM JAY (aka) MUDDY FIELDS!

The only bloke on Overflow to change his name twice! In all honesty I did'nt want Bill on air in the first place. We met when The Overflow Club was happening (1992), at the Colchester Hippodrome. Bill pestered me for weeks to let him on air, so eventually I thought anything for a peacefull life. His programmes consisted of Metal, stellla artois, metal, stella, stella, more metal & a whole lot more stella! To begin with, his programmes were atrocious, so bad that I took him off air until he had improved. Later though, things were looking up (briefly)! The highlight of Bill's terminal Overflow career, was his short time as Muddy Fields. He mucked in on Live broadcasts and I must say, came out with some hilarious gags. There were only three things that slighted Bill's performance.. 1. Lack of confidence 2. The Stella dripfeed & 3. The Overflow control panel! In fact remove 2 & 3 from the equation and you were guaranteed some amusing moments. Rockin Will Fields : 1991-1996 (on & off)!

CLARE BEAR

At the time, Clare was the other half of Shleppal T.B.M. She originally appeared on The Overflow as Moonflower.What prompted the name change I really cant recall? Moonflower was probably a more fitting name, as Clare Bear was a proper hippie girl. She lived in a make believe land of pixies, rainbows & things that only Clare could understand - 'Clare Bear Land' we called it (though we should'nt mock the afflicted)! Her music taste ranged from Melanie to Woodstock and back again, with all things hippie inbetween or betwix. She earned the nickname 2D Clare, as whenever her photograph was taken, she came out looking 'Flat' (like a cardboard cut-out) as if she only had two dimensions. One night a bunch of us went out to see Hawkwind at a local venue. Imagine our amusement when they played a new song called 'To Declare! That was it, we spent months singing it at her! Her finest and funniest moment on air was the mis-pronounciation of Gregory Isaacs..... calling him Gregogory Izeraacs! Mass hysteria followed on (or 'through' in Shleppals case)!!!

BERT BEAN ( & MRS.BEAN)!

I'm giggling already thinking about this guy. It took us almost a year to coax the rather quiet Bert Bean onto the airwaves, but once we got him there he came out with a number of classic cracks. I remember the night we sat trying to think of a name for him. Oh sod it said I, just keep your real name & put a different surname on the end. Whats the first thing that comes into your mind? BEANS! said Bert (hungrilly).... and a star was born! His other half didnt really ever say anything on air,although she was often heard gossiping & cackling in the background (both of which she was amazingly good at )! We always referred to her as Mrs.Bean. The Beans : 1994 - 1996 They were good for the heart.

DR. ZACHARY SMITH

Named after the temperamental fellow in the Classic 60's sci-fi serial : Lost In Space, the good doctor made two appearances on The Overflow in 1988, then nothing further until 9 years later in 1997! Nothing much to report on this chap, other than his ridiculously infectious laugh. It could be an ordinary night, then suddenly Zak would get the giggles.... If you were in the same room, you did'nt stand a chance!

DES RAY

Introduced to The Overflow by Paul Windsor, Des was a record collector, specialising in 60's psych & 70's prog-rock. He had never done any radio work before, but it was clear to me that this guy was a natural. Des played a selection of rare tunes, dispersed by fascinating musical facts & sarcastic wit with a voice sounding very similar to Steve Lamacq!!! Unfortunately though, he suffered a lack of self-confidence and did'nt stay with us for long. I tryed to tempt him back on several occasions, the last of which was to come aboard the LV18 and join the Overdrive crew in 2002. But alas & a lack, it was not to be. Des, if you are reading this, you could still cut it mate & are welcome back anytime!

STEVE FRANKLIN

I first met Steve (aka Gary Fosster) at the preparation meetings for Southend / Canvey Island RSL station Supanova Radio, back in 1995. Having very similar music taste & a distinct need to party, we hit it off immediately and have worked together on several radio projects since. His programmes for The Overflow were always quite heavily psychedelic, often introducing us all to amazing offbeat bands never before experienced on radio. Mr.Franklin programmed for us between 1998 and the end of the pirate days in 2001 and was even heard on the very last FM broadcast. He later joined us as part of the Overdrive 1503 team, on the LV18 in August 2002, where he gained the title 'Suicide' (given to him by crew member 'Mystery Man'). These days you can hear Gary Fosster on internet station Spyda Radio (but only when The Overflow is not on air - got it)?

THE RED WIDOW & PIPPA THE BEAUTICIAN !

As if two 'Widows' was'nt bad enough, GW decided to bring round her dozey mate one day. Let me tell you, dozey would be an understatement! We are talking typical Essex-girl here in every sense of the term. After pondering for an hour and a half on what to call herself, she came up with the ingenious and 'Oh-so' original idea of The Red Widow' (what concentration and pure genius it took to exogitate such a name)! She made two apearances on The Overflow, both in 1994. The second of which was with GW's other mate ( YES - She had two), Pippa The Beautician. Pippa was by far the more intelligent of BW's friend-mass & the better looking of the bunch (hang on - Is two a bunch? Well - a little bunch)! Although Pippa only made the airwaves once, our fondest memory, is of GW & Pippa on all fours, drinking coke from a saucer on the Overflow kitchen floor! Luckily GW's butt was facing North & we were looking on, from a southerley direction. Thank heavens for LARGE mercy's!!!

MR & MRS ROTTWEILER  / 80's BOY

Although we had known them for years, The Rottweiler's first appeared on The Overflow in 1994. Mr.Rottweiller was the main character, taking the family name from the episode of the first TV series of 'Bottom' (Mr.Rottweiler was Eddie & Richie's no-nonsense skinhead neighbour)! Mrs.Rottweiler was'nt nearly as frightning, never going anywhere near the Overflow microphone, although we caught her voice on air a good few times.You can see her mugshot in the photo gallery on the Halloween piccy (middle row - far right). After a three month break (& a number of Overflow parties), it occured to us that Mr.Rottweiler had an amazing knowledge of the 1980's (sad fellow)! He then re-appeared on air, after we gave him his new name - 80's Boy! (Not so) fascinating facts from the eighties became a regular feature in late 1997 thanks to 80's Boy, the fashion, the music, anything & everything - this guy remembered all the stuff most of us would rather forget, from an era that minged beyond all other known possibilities of mingness! The Rottweilers / 80's Boy 1994 - 2000 (on & off)!

A MAN CALLED 'TIME'!

In 1987, I were but a young boy and had considerably less sense than I was born with! Myself & Reggae Ray had been out for the night, to Essex University where all the best gigs were held then (though dont ask me who we saw - I have no idea)! We got talking to some bloke we met at the bar, who invited himself back, as he was keen to get into radio. No problem, we had a great night. He toddled off back to the uni around 6am, after a night of what I thought was intellectually stimulating conversation - I thought no more of it.  2pm the following afternoon - He was back (complete with guitar)! Babbling a load of supposedly philosophical nonsense that turned out to be nothing more than unsanity (found just a little further around the corner from Insanity)! We put him on air for an hour, as he was keen to play his guitar.Yeah, that'll be cool thought I (having never heard him play). Well, he could'nt! Not a note! For 60 mins he would babble his non-philosophical muddled up garbage, dispersed by out of tune warbling's and accompanied by flat guitar strumming and random finger-picking (if you could call it that)! No two notes or vocal warble corresponded in a whole hour! Although this happened nearly 20 years ago, I still have all the recordings back as far as 1983. Sadly though, this recording is one of  4 tapes that I know of, to be missing from the archive. So inless anyone out there happens to have this rare recording, or maybe you are A Man called 'Time', my many questions about this hour of The Overflow will remain un-answered.  It's for the best - I know!