Elis James and John Robins

The Elis James and John Robins show is a weekly radio show presented by British comedians Elis James and John Robins. Formerly broadcast on commercial radio station Radio X, the show now airs on BBC Radio 5 Live on Friday afternoons from 1:00pm–3:00pm. Highlights from the show are released as a weekly podcast. John has described the show as "a commercial indie radio show that has got wildly out of hand".[1]

Elis James and John Robins
James and Robins at the 2018 British Podcast Awards
GenreComedy, chat
Running time180 minutes (1:00-4:00pm Saturdays on Radio X), 120 minutes (1:00-3:00pm Fridays on BBC Radio 5 Live
Country of originUK
Language(s)English
Home stationRadio X 2014-2019, BBC Radio 5 Live 2019-
Hosted byElis James
John Robins
Produced byDave Masterman (2014-2017, 2019-) Vinay Joshi (2017-2019)
Recording studioGlobal Radio, Leicester Square, London (2014-2019)

The Comedy Store, Soho, London (One-off, 250th episode special recorded with a live studio audience in 2018)

Broadcasting House, London (2019 - present)

James and Robins' homes (temporarily during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic)
Original release16 February 2014 – present
Audio formatStereophonic sound
WebsiteElis James and John Robins - Radio - Radio X, Elis James and John Robins on BBC Radio 5 Live
PodcastThe Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Podcast, Elis James and John Robins on BBC 5 Live podcast

History

Elis and John have been friends since meeting on the comedy circuit in 2005 and fantasised about making a radio show together. XFM had a tradition of having weekend shows hosted by male comedians and after their agent submitted a demo Elis and John were granted a weekend slot, following in the footsteps of Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant, Adam and Joe, Jimmy Carr, Russell Brand and Josh Widdicombe.[1] The Elis James and John Robins show debuted on XFM on Sunday 16 February 2014 in the 10:00am–1:00pm slot and was produced by Dave Masterman. The show moved to a Saturday 10:00am–1:00pm slot on 17 August 2014 before moving to Saturday afternoons from 1:00pm–4:00pm on 23 April 2016.[2] Following Dave Masterman's departure from Radio X in April 2017, Vinay Joshi, who had been alternating production duties with Dave, took over as lead producer.[3]

It was revealed on 27 March 2019 that Elis and John were leaving Radio X and the show would be ending after 5 years on air stating that they've "not left under a cloud of unproduceability".[4]

On 2 April 2019, it was announced that Elis and John would begin broadcasting on BBC Radio 5 Live on Friday 31 May, reuniting with their original producer, Dave Masterman.[5] The new show airs from 1:00pm–3:00pm on Fridays, and features a number of segments carried over from the Radio X show, such as 'John's Shame Well' and 'Made Up Games', as well as new features plus the usual chat and anecdotes. With no music or advert breaks on 5 Live, almost the entire show is released in the subsequent weekly podcast. Additionally, beginning in February 2020, numerous mid-week bonus episodes have been recorded and released on the podcast feed.

Format

The show opens with John introducing Elis with a dubious fact based on his Welsh heritage, for example:

I am John Robins, and to my left is Abergavenny's most decorated mime... Mr Elis James.[6]

At Radio X, John would usually lead the main links during the show with Elis co-hosting.[1] The show is mainly conversational and comedic with anecdotes based around John's obsessions (Frank Zappa, the rock band Queen, farthing collecting, bushcraft, session ales, pubs, Bristol) and Elis's obsessions (the Wales football team, Swansea City, the past, Welsh Socialism, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals) forming a backbone of material. Producers Dave Masterman, Vinay Joshi and other stand-in producers regularly join in with conversation.

Show Features
  • Are you on email? (formerly Email Of The Species) - A segment of the show where Elis and John read out and respond to listeners correspondence via the increasingly popular medium of email.
  • John's Shame Well - John reads emails from listeners confessing actions in the past that have caused anxiety and regret ever since.[7]
  • Made Up Games - Listeners send in details of games they have invented with family or friends and Elis and John play some of them live on air.
  • Up Your Region - Elis reads his favourite stories from local newspapers.
  • Unsung Hero - Elis and John interview a person who has done something extraordinary that would otherwise not have been reported in the media. During the Coronavirus pandemic, this was changed to individuals helping in some way during the pandemic.
  • The Good-Deed Feed - Elis and John read out you good deeds that listeners send in to lighten up the COVID-19 lockdown.

Retired features
  • Potato Potato - John and Elis continually say the word Potato to each other like a game of tennis. The person to say, Birdseye at the correct time was declared the winner. The correct time to say, Birdseye was decided on the general vibe of the game. This would take place before playing a Made Up Game.
  • Clarkson's hyperbole - Elis selects and reads out excerpts of over the top passages written by newspaper columnists.
  • Humblebrag Of The Week - John and Elis read out brags found on social media that are disguised as moans. The feature has been adapted to Humblebrag Of The Day when the duo have stood in for Johnny Vaughan on the weekday drive time show. This feature wasn't retained when the duo transferred to Radio 5.
  • Tick Off A Taste - Elis and John taste live on air a food item that has been sent in by listeners.
  • The Light Hearted Paper Review with Elis James - Elis, backgrounded by muzak, reads lighthearted local, national and international news stories from the week
  • John Googles The Traffic - A feature used during Elis and John's stand-in coverage of Johnny Vaughan's drivetime slot where John uses search engine Google to help listeners avoid traffic build ups on their commute home.
  • John's Gig Diaries - Excerpts from John's diary from when he first started comedy (circa 2005–2006).
  • Welsh Word of the Week - Elis picks and explains one of his favourite words from the Welsh language.
  • Sacred Cow - A musical artist or band would be discussed for either entrance to the 'paddock of the sacred cow' and earn their right to be critically acclaimed, or be banished to the 'abattoir' for over hyped music acts.
  • Winner Plays On - Elis and John would face 5 questions each on their chosen subject, with the winner awarded the right to play a music track of their choosing.
  • Textual Healing - Listeners would email or call in with a comedic problem for the lads to solve. Calls were taken live on air and sometimes featured comedians in disguise.[8]
  • Teenage Fanclub - A short lived feature where Elis and John invited listeners to write in about tales of teenage bands and music fandom.[9]
  • John Reads Aloud From Tony Blackburn's Autobiography - John read excerpts from Tony Blackburn's autobiography Poptastic! My Life In Radio.[10]
  • A Robins Amongst The Pigeons - John read from his autobiography 'A Robins Amongst The Pigeons' written in the style of Tony Blackburn's 'Poptastic! My Life In Radio'.
  • Judge Robins - John assumes the character of Judge Robins and rules on a dilemma submitted by a listener, dispensing what he believes to be a suitable punishment.
  • Elis' Gig Diaries - Excerpts from Elis' diary from when he first started comedy.
  • Super Texts (and tweets) - John's naming of a segment to cover responses to tweets and texts with a jingle set to the theme tune of children's cartoon series Superted.[11]
  • Every Cloud - Tales of the small everyday things that had given listeners a reason to be cheerful (dubbed 'Silver Linings' by Elis).[12]
  • BetaBet - A replacement for long running feature 'Winner Plays On'. John and Elis compete to name as many examples of a chosen subject in alphabetical order in 30 seconds.[7]

Achievements

John's persistent support of Queen paid dividends in 2017 when their single "Bohemian Rhapsody" was voted Radio X's Best Of British.[13][14] John achieved a life goal in May 2017 as Elis and himself interviewed Brian May as part of his promotion of the Queen in 3D book. The interview was broadcast during the pair's coverage of the drive time slot on 23 May 2017.[15]

Elis and John won gold for funniest show in the 2020 ARIA awards.[16]

Cover

Elis and John have covered the weekday drive time slot (4:00pm–7:00pm) from 2–6 January 2017, 6–17 March 2017, 10–13 April 2017 and 22 May-9 June 2017.[17]

Podcast

Since the show began, a podcast of the show has been released soon after broadcast. The podcast begins with an introduction from Elis and John that has evolved into a response to email correspondence with regular podcast listeners, styled by Elis and John as PCDs (Podcast Devotees). Podcast listeners who have listened since the start of the podcast release have been named 'Oners' and listeners who have been late adopters but have listened to the whole back catalogue have been named 'Retro-Oners'. In correspondence listeners announce themselves via their status (Oner/Retro-Oner), and indicate when they started listening to the podcast (i.e. a '34er' for someone who stated listening at Episode 34).

Following the highlights of the radio broadcast Elis and John return for a closing segment called the "Keep It Session Sessions". In this segment they take turns to play a sample of a band or artist that they recommend or may have mentioned during a show.[18]

In total, there are 264 'proper' episodes of the podcast from the Radio X show, plus a number of bonus episodes from when Elis and John covered other slots in the Radio X schedule. When Elis and John started a new show on BBC Radio 5 Live in May 2019, it marked the start of a new podcast beginning at episode 1.

How Do You Cope

In October 2019 Elis and John launched a new podcast "How Do You Cope?...with Elis and John" on 5 Live.[19] It features Elis and John talking to celebrities about mental health issues they have faced.

Live shows

Following the broadcast of the A Robins Amongst The Pigeons book, live readings were played at selected venues in 2015. In late 2016 Elis and John took a version of their show on a tour of England, Scotland and Wales. Named The Elis James and John Robins Experience, the show began in October in Norwich and finished in the Kentish Town Fourm in November.[20] Listeners who have attended the live shows have been christened 'live vibe tasters'. Upon releasing their book, The Holy Vible, the pair undertook a nationwide book tour, including an extended show at the Hammersmith Apollo featuring former producer Dave Masterman and Nish Kumar. On 28 July 2018, Elis and John broadcast the radio show live from the Kendal Calling music festival, which was put out as episode 230 of the podcast.[21] It was announced that the 250th episode of the radio show would be broadcast in front of a live audience at the Comedy Store London on 22 December 2018.[22]

On 26 April 2020, during the Coronavirus lockdown in the UK, Elis and John live-streamed An Evening With Elis and John (hosted by fellow comedian Ivo Graham), each broadcasting from their respective homes. The broadcast was a light-hearted “look back at their life, work, loves, regrets and cans”.[23]

Awards

The show won the Chortle Radio award on 20 March 2017.[24] In 2020, the show won a Gold Award at ARIAS in the category of 'Funniest Show'.

References
  1. "The Comedian's Comedian Podcast Episode 195 - Elis James and John Robins (Live from Soho Theatre)". Podbean. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  2. "XFM Announces New Weekend Shows". Radio X. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  3. "Dave Masterman moves from Global to Bauer". RadioToday. RadioToday. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  4. "John Robins announces Radio X show to end". Twitter. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  5. "BBC press release announcing new Elis James and John Robins show on Radio 5 Live". BBC website. 2 April 2019.
  6. "Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Podcast Episode 7". Podbean. Radio X.
  7. "Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Episode 155". Podbean. Radio X. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  8. "Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Episode 90". Podbean. Radio x. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  9. "Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Episode 40". Podbean. Radio X. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  10. "Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Episode 23". Podbean. Radio X.
  11. "Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Episode 140". Podbean. Radio X. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  12. "Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Podcast Episode 143". Radio X. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  13. "Radio X's Best Of British - The Countdown". Radio X. Radio X. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  14. @nomadicrevery (17 April 2017). "#BestOfBritish @RadioX" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. @nomadicrevery (23 May 2017). ".@DrBrianMay Best of luck for the..." (Tweet). Retrieved 30 May 2017 – via Twitter.
  16. "The ARIAS, Winners 2020". www.radioacademy.org. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  17. "Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Podcast Page". Radio X. Radio X. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  18. "Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Episode 98". Podbean. Radio X.
  19. "How Do You Cope?... with Elis and John". BBC. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  20. "elisandjohn.com". elisandjohn.com. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  21. "Elis James and John Robins on Radio X Podcast Episode 230". Podbean. 14 November 2018.
  22. "Elis James and John Robins announce live Christmas show". Radio X. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  23. "Tweet by Show and Tell advertising 'An Evening With Elis and John'". Twitter. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  24. "Who won at the Chortle Awards 2017". Chortle.co.uk. Chorlte. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
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