Mark Radcliffe and Marc ‘Lard’ Riley were the unlikely lads of 90s radio. Twenty years after their final show, they’re back, touring the UK with tales from the wireless’s wildest ride
You’ll remember Mark Radcliffe and Marc “the Boy Lard” Riley from their riotous Radio 1 shows in the 90s and early 00s, first late night on the graveyard shift in 1993, then in a short, ill-fitting turn as bleary-eyed DJs on the Radio 1 breakfast show in 1997, before conquering early afternoons from 1997 to 2004. (Riley’s nickname came after a back injury when he made the mistake of admitting he needed to “shift some lard”.) They brought us memorable catchphrases – “Stop … carry on!”, “by Jovi” and “wickedy wickedy warp” – as well as characters such as Fat Harry White (who was really just Radcliffe doing a Barry White impression into a vocoder). And they cared about the music, championing new bands, just so long as it wasn’t (as they pronounced it) the Stere-Ophonics.
The pair haven’t appeared together on the radio since 2004, with Radcliffe going on to find a new chum in Stuart Maconie on Radio 2 and 6 Music, and Riley hosting his own show on 6, before teaming up with Gideon Coe. But now they’re back for Carry on: An Evening With Mark and Lard, which promises chat, music and plenty of reminiscing. We caught up with the pair while they were getting suited up at the tailors to chat Kylie, Bowie, where it all went right … and where it all went horribly wrong. Biggedy biggedy bong!
