Smashie and Nicey

Mike Smash and Dave Nice were two characters played by Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield respectively in the latter's early 1990s TV sketch shows.

Related Topics:
Paul Whitehouse - Harry Enfield - 1990s - Sketch show

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Smashie and Nicey" were two disc jockeys working at Radio Fab FM, a parody of BBC Radio 1. Australian-accented aging rocker Dave Nice was an obvious parody of the then Radio 1 Rock Show presenter Alan Freeman (whose radio persona deliberately bordered on self-parody anyway). Mike Smash was loosely based on Mike Read, with a voice seemingly based on pop star Cliff Richard. Each sketch would involve the two "jocks" talking nonsense, reminiscing about their careers, modestly shrugging off their many works of "chairidee", and generally being bland and irrelevant, before putting on their favourite record, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by Bachman Turner Overdrive.

Related Topics:
Disc jockeys - BBC Radio 1 - Alan Freeman - Mike Read - Cliff Richard - Chairidee - Bachman Turner Overdrive

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The sketches proved very popular, partly because they genuinely reflected the image that Radio 1 had at the time. Much of the station's output was widely considered dull and unchallenging, and the average age of both listeners and presenters had risen above thirty, an embarrassment for what was supposed to be a station for young people. When Matthew Bannister arrived at Radio 1 with a mission to rejuvenate the station, he stated that his goal was to rid it of its "Smashie and Nicey" image.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A final 1994 TV special, Smashie and Nicey: The End of an Era, reflected the events of Bannister's "revolution". The DJs were sacked from Fab FM, in a manner that deliberately mirrored Simon Bates' departure from Radio 1, and replaced with young, irreverent DJs such as Chris Evans. Washed-up and unwanted, they were left to reminisce about the good old days and try to pretend to themselves that they were still a powerful cultural force.

Related Topics:
1994 - Simon Bates - Chris Evans

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although the characters have now been retired, and Radio 1 was ultimately successful in shaking off the image that they represented, the terms "Smashie and Nicey" and "Radio Fab FM" have become part of the British vernacular, used as shorthand to describe any style of music radio seen as bland, self-aggrandising and unchallenging.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~