“Who do I complain to about my own show?”; Christian O’Connell laughs off first day technical difficulties

Former Assistant Editor

Christian O’Connell‘s long-awaited debut on Gold104.3 Melbourne got underway this morning, but show number one didn’t exactly go off without a hitch.

Early in the piece Christian attempted to play a song, only for nothing to happen.

“I was asked to not point out faults so I’m just going to sit here in silence,” remarked his sidekick Cacklin’ Jack Post, who settled into his new role well.

“That fault isn’t mine,” insisted Christian. “I’m pressing the button.”

“I’ve been doing buttons a long time, I love to call non-user error and just blame the machines,” responded Jack wryly.

But the “technical difficulties” didn’t end there, and after accidentally cutting off a George Michael song after 15 seconds, Christian said, “who do I complain to about my own show?”

“You elected to be behind the buttons,” pointed out Jack, again.

Once they got the music back on the artist list included Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, Queen, Counting Crows and Tears For Fears, more rock leaning and less pop than in the past on GOLD.

Topics discussed during the show included smuggling alcohol into sporting events, some AFL results and banter, Pauline Hanson and Aussie road rules. But no mention of Barnaby, one of the biggest stories of the day.

Hamish Blake also called in to chat to Christian and former Drive sidekick Jack.

Overall the first show had a good family feel to it, with Christian projecting a friendly and relatable tone, despite his old-school British accent which may not resonate with all listeners.

He does sound ‘posh’ and you do wonder wether he will ‘connect’ with Footy loving suburban listeners in Chadstone and Dandenong.

There was less content and not much humour, less than what you expect for a much hyped debut show, but it will take time for Christian to find his feet.

Having no female in the cast will definitely narrow the show’s appeal and with super strong female performers in the Melbourne market like Chrissie Swan and Fifi Box.

You can’t help but think the show would have been a lot better if ARN had at least kept Jo Stanley on board.

Towards the back end of the show, Christian announced that he was going to call back everyone who texted into the show – and was informed that he and Jack would be making 131 calls in total.

The show surprisingly runs until 10am. No doubt this is to try to get listeners to trial the show, however this is usually a tactic reserved for highly successful long running shows like Kyle and Jackie O or Eddie and Mick Molloy, so it could be a risky move up against Triple M’s commercial free hour at 9am.

The show appears to be geared towards a slightly older demo than Jo & Lehmo, so audience could be lost to Fox, Triple M, smooth or Nova.

The Christian O’Connell show will be a long slow build and its fair to say they will lose some breakfast listeners before they gain any.

Listening this morning reminds you that this is a very bold move and bold moves pay off sometimes.

Did you listen to Monday’s show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Recent comments (15)
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Andy
4 Jun 2018 - 10:11 am

Christian sounds lovely but he’s like a fish out of water.
May get better but if I was at TRIPLE M and FOX I would be rubbing my hands with glee.

Rob
4 Jun 2018 - 10:12 am

Good one for radio boffins and the radio insustry sadly will be tough for listeners to get into.

Grant
4 Jun 2018 - 11:33 am

SCA must be thrilled with Hamish showing up on ARN.

IAN WRIGHT
4 Jun 2018 - 11:39 am

He’ll be fine.

Anna
4 Jun 2018 - 11:57 am

Sorry I really wanted to like this but it just didnt work this morning. Ive heard him on podcasts and my UK mates have mentioned they listen to him but doesnt fit here in Melbourne town. Sorry but it just doesnt. Cant put my finger on why it doesnt sound right.

Fred
4 Jun 2018 - 1:09 pm

Feels like a pretty damming report of a first show.

I suspect the lack of “a female in the cast” was down to Christian. I’ve a feeling he doesn’t want to go down that clichéd route.

I can’t imagine he relocated on a whim (with the whole family), so you’ve got him now. That show ain’t going anywhere. Between them they’ll make it work.

Steve Visscher
4 Jun 2018 - 4:39 pm

And it was just a coincidence then, that the weekend promos were posing questions about his ability to operate the panel….

Troy Boon
4 Jun 2018 - 7:31 pm

Awesome job Christian this coming from a disc jockey myself loved it.
Cheers .

Ian
4 Jun 2018 - 8:07 pm

Honestly was expecting more from Christian I hope he finds his mojo.

Michael
4 Jun 2018 - 8:34 pm

I listened for about 30 mins to see what it sounded like. I think it sounded okay. I like his self-deprecating humour. One thing I didn’t like was the off-mic person laughing in the background when something humourous was said. Guys, we don’t need people to tell us something is funny or not. Either get that person out of the studio or tell them to shut up.

Helena
5 Jun 2018 - 7:04 am

Can’t handle the tone. Will be surfing for a new station

Steve
5 Jun 2018 - 8:02 am

So much talent here and they import some English hack…turned off mornings on gold.

Simon
5 Jun 2018 - 2:07 pm

Come back Christian. We miss you and Ritchie on the Breakfast show already in the UK . This Dave fella they’ve replaced you with .
Not much good..

Bec
5 Jun 2018 - 10:59 pm

He needs to get his old mate David Tennant in and he’ll soar

Anthony
6 Jun 2018 - 7:05 pm

“Having no female in the cast will definitely narrow the show’s appeal …
You can’t help but think the show would have been a lot better if ARN had at least kept Jo Stanley on board.”

What crap!
What is this obsession with having to have a female ‘team’ member?
Professionals like Christian don’t need to have a studio full of people … unlike the waffling bods we now call radio personalities, who’d die if left to do a program by themselves.

Jobs

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