The Strawberry Alarm Clock
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The Strawberry Alarm Clock is a PPI award winning breakfast programme on Dublin Independent Local Radio station FM104. The show is presented by Jim McCabe and Niamh Crowley. The Strawberry Alarm Clock broadcasts weekday mornings from 6-10am, with "Best Of The Strawberry Alarm Clock" Saturdays from 9am-12pm. The show podcasts weekly through iTunes. The Strawberry Alarm Clock is currently sponsored by Dublin Bus.
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[edit] History
The show began in 1995, and was originally presented by Timmy Ryan, Justin McKenna and Joan Lea. Colm Hayes took over from Timmy Ryan in1996, and the show quickly became a success. In 2000 Justin McKenna left the radio business while Joan Lea moved to drivetime programme "The Jam". Jim Nugent joined Hayes and they became known as the duo "Colm & Jim-Jim", however the pair left FM104 on January 12th 2007 and moved to 2FM where they now present 2FM's morning show The Colm & Jim Jim Brekfast Show. Andy Matthews took over the show on an interim basis on 15 January 2007, however he was replaced by the new team of Jim McCabe and Niamh Crowley from 13 February 2007. Niamh previously hosted the show with Colm and Jim until 2004. Under the presentation of Colm & Jim-Jim and Niamh and Jim, the show has released numerous songs which have become instant hits, most notably Sexy Joe which also entered the Irish charts. In 2007 an advert of a young man running naked through Dublin was shown,as if he was in a dream, confirmed by the catchphrase at the end,"You haven't woken up until you`ve woken up to The Strawberry Alarm Clock, on FM104!!"
[edit] Features On The Show
Kids In The Car
This involves a kid on their way to school coming on air to play a game. The Kid wins a prize if Jim & Niamh fail to guess what they're thinking.
Pop Life
This is a music quiz on Friday mornings. Two listeners come on air to compete and win lunch for their office. The quiz involves identifying clips of music played in reverse. The winner of the day wins lunch for their company.
Uncovered Unplugged
Uncovered Unplugged is the live music segment. This usually happens after 9am when a band or artist come into studio, performing one original track and one cover version. As part of FM104's "Help A Dublin Child" appeal, a charity cd was released in November 2007 featuring the best Uncovered Unplugged tracks of the year. This cd reached no.2 in the Irish compilation charts.
The Word
The Word is a daily quiz where 3 listeners come on air to guess the missing words in a sentence. The prize fund increases each morning. On two occasions in the past, The Word was extended to be played throughout the day on FM104. In September 2004, the prize fund reached over €60,000.
The Wake Up Call
At 6.30am, Niamh rings a listener to wake them up on air.
[edit] Characters On The Show
The show features several unique characters, such as:
Tomo
Tomo is a Dublin Taxi Driver who calls the show every Friday to chat with Jim and Niamh. Tomo is famous for his catchphrase "Are You Parking Or Driving?", which he is heard shouting at passing motorists while on the phone to Jim & Niamh. Tomo recorded a special Dubs song for the 2007 GAA Football semi-final. This was a parody of Hellogoodbye's "In Your Arms", and was called "Sam In Your Arms".
Pierre
Pierre is a camp male model who features regularly on the show. Pierre's bits on the show include prank phone calls, sketches of popular TV shows and parody songs of various chart hits. Pierre also presented the Big Brother update every morning. In September 2007, Pierre recorded a series of songs about different parts of Dublin. These songs featured as a bonus cd to the "Uncovered Unplugged" album.
Psychic See-More
Psychic See-More is the resident psychic on The Strawberry Alarm Clock. Unlike most psychics, See-More has yet to correctly predict anything. Listeners who come on air for a psychic reading are usually left confused as See-More bluffs his way through the persons problems.
Tommy Tabloid
Tommy Tabloid is a Fleet Street hack who joins Jim & Niamh every week reporting the real dirt behind the headlines, while occasionally mentioning his wife Tallulah. Tommy usually ends his call to the show while coughing loudly.
Damien
Damien is the work experience guy on The Strawberry Alarm Clock. He regularly interviews guests to the show and then posts them to the Strawberry Blog. Damien's interviews include Keith Duffy, James Blunt, The Coronas and Elliot Minor. Damien also tries to track down old celebrities as a weekly challenge.
[edit] Previous Characters On The Show
Uncle Ned
Niamh's Uncle Ned calls the show every Thursday with tales of his country life.
Big Mama
Big Mama, who chats with celebrity guests on the show. Guests are interviewed in Big Mama's Strawberry Bed. Previous stars include Keith Barry, Simon Delaney and Keith Duffy.
Mad Mike
FM104 Presenter Mike Hogan featured on the show until Summer 2007. Along with doing outdoor stunts for the show, Mike would play his funny bits on the show every morning.
Dangerous Deano
Dangerous Deano plays his funny bits every morning and is also the show's on street presenter.
