Martin/Molloy was an Australian radio program starring Tony Martin and Mick Molloy, both formerly of The D-Generation and The Late Show. It was broadcast nationwide on 54 radio stations for two hours on weekday evenings between 1995 and 1998.
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Hosts | Tony Martin and Mick Molloy |
| Producer/Panel Operator | Peter Grace |
| Assistant Producer | Sancia Robinson |
| Announcements | Pete Smith |
| Sketch Production | Vicki Marr |
The program was known for its wit and satire, but also, as both performers constantly admitted, a large degree of toilet humour. The use of such low-brow comedy was frequently mocked by the hosts themselves. They caused occasional controversy, such as when they made repeated fun of Mal Colston's son for shouting at the media camped outside Colston's family home.[citation needed]
Much of the show consisted of banter between Martin and Molloy, interspersed with music and sketches. These sketches frequently lampooned celebrities, with impersonations provided by Martin. The show's announcer, Pete Smith regularly participated in sketches, often lampooning his own image as a former Sale of the Century announcer.
The pair would also interview celebrities, often bringing the guests to fits of laughter. Samuel L. Jackson was declared their favourite guest.
Each show would end by thanking the cast, crew and audience.
The show was most successful when satirising Australian society and individuals. One example is a pretend episode of 60 Minutes in which young people were portrayed as evil in typically one-sided fashion. Another was a supposed newsreel concerning the political popularity of a bag of sawdust, a thinly-veiled and scathing attack on Pauline Hanson.[original research?] Another memorable sketch was the performance of the Spice Boys (a parody of the Spice Girls) singing a song with lyrics including "I've got graphic footage of Laurie Oakes eating a chocolate éclair", and was just an example of the biting satire that Martin/Molloy provided.
Martin/Molloy received several radio industry awards and produced three ARIA Award-winning albums The Brown Album (1995), Poop Chute (1996) and Eat Your Peas (1998).
The show ended in December 1998 when both performers claimed exhaustion. On the final show (Dec. 4, 1998), Martin and Molloy were to play the final song on their playlist, "Cruel" by Human Nature, but rejected this in favour of more highlights of previous shows. The last skit was given to news presenter Jim Waley, whose soundbites were arranged so he sang a song called "Crazy lesbians full of Beans" to the tune of "Voodoo People" by The Prodigy. The last words, played at the end of a montage, was a recording made earlier in the show of Rob Sitch saying "Martin Molloy have left the building" through a megaphone.
The theme song to this radio show was "Eighteen Strings" by Tinman.[1]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [2] | |||
| The Brown Album |
|
17 | |
| Poop Chute |
|
10 |
|
| Eat Your Peas |
|
27 |
|
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Martin/Molloy won three awards, all in the category of ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release.[4]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Brown Album | Best Comedy Release | Won |
| Highest Selling Album | Nominated | ||
| 1997 | Poop Chute | Best Comedy Release | Won |
| 1999 | Eat Your Peas | Won |
Martin and Molloy paired up for other projects, such as the films Crackerjack (2002) and Bad Eggs (2003) and the documentary Tackle Happy (2000), while Molloy starred in BoyTown (2005).
Martin played a small role in Molloy's controversial and short-lived 1999 TV series The Mick Molloy Show on the Nine Network. In 2004, Molloy returned to national radio, in Tough Love with Mick Molloy on the Triple M network, which ended in late 2006; Martin made regular guest appearances on this show. Molloy made another return to television on Nine in 2007 hosting another short-lived program, the satire-based news and current events show The Nation.
Martin has published two books based on humorous events and unorthodox situations throughout his life called Lolly Scramble (2005) and A Nest of Occasionals (2009), and hosted Get This with Ed Kavalee and Richard Marsland on the Triple M network from 2006-2007. Molloy was an occasional guest on this program prior to the pair's falling out in 2007.
Martin and Molloy had a falling out over a mockumentary Martin made for the DVD release of Molloy's BoyTown movie in February 2007. The 90 minute mockumentary, BoyTown Confidential was not included on the DVD, due to a claimed lack of time and money to finish it, and despite Martin offering to pay the costs himself. Martin was highly offended, claiming it was one of the best things he had ever done, and that people would assume it was not included because it was "terrible". Other prominent comedians backed Martin's claim that the mockumentary was outstanding comedy. The pair have not spoken since.[5]
In February 2013, Tony Martin gifted the original recordings of the show to the National Film & Sound Archive. The best of's — 185 audio cassettes — will be transferred to digital files for permanent storage at the NFSA.[6]
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