Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Villa Memories => Topic started by: tomd2103 on February 21, 2020, 10:09:24 PM
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Came across this the other day and it brought some memories back:
The first caller could have been a time traveller from this season!
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Great memories, thanks for sharing that.
George sounds more like Mike Parry than I remembered (May or may not be a compliment)
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Butler anchoring the show in the the studio, Gavin following The Villa, Ross following Small Heath and Tony Trethewey following Albion. Butler was a natural wind up merchant but it was too forced when Gavin tried to follow in his footsteps and be controversial. There is a chapter about all of those BRMB phone in characters in one of Jasper Carrott's books (A Little Zit On The Side I think). The chapter is entitled 'Allo Tone, 'Arry Here'.
"I'll tell you something Tone Keith Bertschin headed the ball at St. Andrews today and if it had gone in the net it would have been a goal" I think Tony Butler lost his job after an altercation with Brian Savin who did the country music show.
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Butler anchoring the show in the the studio, Gavin following The Villa, Ross following Small Heath and Tony Trethewey following Albion. Butler was a natural wind up merchant but it was too forced when Gavin tried to follow in his footsteps and be controversial. There is a chapter about all of those BRMB phone in characters in one of Jasper Carrott's books (A Little Zit On The Side I think). The chapter is entitled 'Allo Tone, 'Arry Here'.
"I'll tell you something Tone Keith Bertschin headed the ball at St. Andrews today and if it had gone in the net it would have been a goal" I think Tony Butler lost his job after an altercation with Brian Savin who did the country music show.
Was that something to do with Savin being disabled or am I completely losing it? I definitely remember a row between two presenters over something to do with disability, it could have been over here mind. It has definitely struck a chord with me.
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I think the story was he pushed him out of his wheelchair after they had an argument on air (?) during a handover between shows. It’s probably an urban myth but....
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Wiki
In 1984, Butler was sacked from BRMB after a row with fellow broadcaster Brian Savin, who is disabled. Savin had sent a note to Butler complaining about coverage of a cricket match over-running into his show; Butler was said to have found the content of the note offensive and confronted Savin, pulling him out of his chair during the ensuing argument. The dismissal of such a high-profile personality was front-page news in Birmingham, and programmes on BRMB were severely affected as some of Butler's former colleagues walked out on strike.
Butler later commented that the matter had been blown out of all proportion, claiming that he remained friends with Savin. He preferred to attribute the sacking to a general falling-out with BRMB management.
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Other Butler moments
Butler was still unable to shake off his controversial image though; in 1989 Radio WM's reporters found themselves banned from covering Wolverhampton Wanderers games after the club accused Butler of making racist comments about one of their black players, Shane Westley.
Tony Butler courted additional controversy on a BBC West Midlands radio programme, broadcast on 28 March 2007. He stated that women should not be in war zones and, commenting on kidnapped British sailor Faye Turney, said that were she decapitated, "it would serve her right."
His outburst prompted a barrage of complaints from listeners, and led the BBC to issue an apology.
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Thanks PWS, it's a comfort to me that I'm not going around the bend, well not too quickly anyway.
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Great memories, thanks for sharing that.
George sounds more like Mike Parry than I remembered (May or may not be a compliment)
Parry is a pretty smart operator. He shows his extensive knowledge and journalistic experience when he is discussing things seriously. In his more light hearted role he deliberately plays the clown/oaf.
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Great memories, thanks for sharing that.
George sounds more like Mike Parry than I remembered (May or may not be a compliment)
Parry is a pretty smart operator. He shows his extensive knowledge and journalistic experience when he is discussing things seriously. In his more light hearted role he deliberately plays the clown/oaf.
That’s the first time I’ve heard the words Mike Parry and smart used in the same sentence. Is he still polluting the airwaves on Talkshite as rentagobshite?
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For the first few years Butler was a great, innovative presenter but instead of moving on he got increasingly outspoken - his attacks on Tony Barton, for example, were disgraceful. Then from about 1995 onward he was just a sad old caricature forever going on about the good old days and wrapping his views up in a barely-disguised layer of xenophobia.
George Gavin was just a prick.
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We’ve done this one before but does anyone remember a bloke ringing up Gavin and accusing him of shagging his mother? The callers mother that is.
It was excruciating.
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From 19:48 minutes, Heroes and Villains fanzine get a mention from George Gavin. Shame he went on to call it a gutter rag and would only be of use if he ran out of Andrex.
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From 19:48 minutes, Heroes and Villains fanzine get a mention from George Gavin. Shame he went on to call it a gutter rag and would only be of use if he ran out of Andrex.
Would that be the time when he went through pages 2,3, 4, 5 and 7, not mentioning page 6 that was about him?
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From 19:48 minutes, Heroes and Villains fanzine get a mention from George Gavin. Shame he went on to call it a gutter rag and would only be of use if he ran out of Andrex.
Would that be the time when he went through pages 2,3, 4, 5 and 7, not mentioning page 6 that was about him?
Dave I don't know what page it was on but according to George it was a sub-human attack on him. Perhaps he was peeved as it wasn't long after someone came on and called him a bastard.
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From 19:48 minutes, Heroes and Villains fanzine get a mention from George Gavin. Shame he went on to call it a gutter rag and would only be of use if he ran out of Andrex.
Would that be the time when he went through pages 2,3, 4, 5 and 7, not mentioning page 6 that was about him?
Dave I don't know what page it was on but according to George it was a sub-human attack on him. Perhaps he was peeved as it wasn't long after someone came on and called him a bastard.
Dishing it out and not being able to take it was a Gavin trait. He had rants about us a few times, and every time our sales went up.
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I'm sure there was at least 1 piece in the fanzine about Gavin and his rants about it, I'm sure I remember reading it/them.
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From 19:48 minutes, Heroes and Villains fanzine get a mention from George Gavin. Shame he went on to call it a gutter rag and would only be of use if he ran out of Andrex.
Would that be the time when he went through pages 2,3, 4, 5 and 7, not mentioning page 6 that was about him?
Dave I don't know what page it was on but according to George it was a sub-human attack on him. Perhaps he was peeved as it wasn't long after someone came on and called him a bastard.
Dishing it out and not being able to take it was a Gavin trait. He had rants about us a few times, and every time our sales went up.
I seem to recall your pithy editorial thanking him for the free adverts. He was a laughable goon.
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Other Butler moments
Butler was still unable to shake off his controversial image though; in 1989 Radio WM's reporters found themselves banned from covering Wolverhampton Wanderers games after the club accused Butler of making racist comments about one of their black players, Shane Westley.
Tony Butler courted additional controversy on a BBC West Midlands radio programme, broadcast on 28 March 2007. He stated that women should not be in war zones and, commenting on kidnapped British sailor Faye Turney, said that were she decapitated, "it would serve her right."
His outburst prompted a barrage of complaints from listeners, and led the BBC to issue an apology.
Tony Butler may have had his faults, but he's streets ahead of the planks they have on WM now.
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For the first few years Butler was a great, innovative presenter but instead of moving on he got increasingly outspoken - his attacks on Tony Barton, for example, were disgraceful. Then from about 1995 onward he was just a sad old caricature forever going on about the good old days and wrapping his views up in a barely-disguised layer of xenophobia.
George Gavin was just a prick.
Butler was one of the few local journalists that weren't fooled by the MON spin
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From 19:48 minutes, Heroes and Villains fanzine get a mention from George Gavin. Shame he went on to call it a gutter rag and would only be of use if he ran out of Andrex.
Would that be the time when he went through pages 2,3, 4, 5 and 7, not mentioning page 6 that was about him?
Dave I don't know what page it was on but according to George it was a sub-human attack on him. Perhaps he was peeved as it wasn't long after someone came on and called him a bastard.
Dishing it out and not being able to take it was a Gavin trait. He had rants about us a few times, and every time our sales went up.
I seem to recall your pithy editorial thanking him for the free adverts. He was a laughable goon.
He was a nasty piece of work, and him and Tom's arguments weren't exactly staged.
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I remember being at a tenth birthday party for BRMB in Cannonhill Park around 1984. George Gavin was all fake tan and three quarter length tracksuit bottoms. He seemed to really fancy himself.