One of the delights of living in the UK is the quirky comedy programmes provided by Radio 4 and its rotating cast of quick-witted comedians and writers. The News Quiz has been my favourite programme for many years, it even used to regulate the time of my journeys home from work.
There was always a sense of expectation when Jeremy Hardy was on duty. He seldom disappointed, his incisive polemic was laced with tantalising touches of humour. His untimely death from cancer at the age of 57 has been mourned by radio listeners, his collaborators and audiences around the UK. Despite his strongly held political views, he had the ability to entertain and educate people of all ages, backgrounds and political persuasions.
Listening to some Jeremy Harding clips this morning reminded me why the radio is the best of all media. His parodies on the News Quiz or Just a Minute captured the hypocrisy of government and its damnable agencies like ofgem with chilling accuracy. On so many occasions he narrates the way that public services like Utilities have been destroyed. He had strong principles that were injected into his passionate rants as when he coruscated the use of PFI and New Labour for its love affair with neoliberal policies and the financial sector.
He was also a genius at self-deprecation and could also hold a good note as in this rendering of Hallelujah in the style of George Formby
There was always a sense of expectation when Jeremy Hardy was on duty. He seldom disappointed, his incisive polemic was laced with tantalising touches of humour. His untimely death from cancer at the age of 57 has been mourned by radio listeners, his collaborators and audiences around the UK. Despite his strongly held political views, he had the ability to entertain and educate people of all ages, backgrounds and political persuasions.
Listening to some Jeremy Harding clips this morning reminded me why the radio is the best of all media. His parodies on the News Quiz or Just a Minute captured the hypocrisy of government and its damnable agencies like ofgem with chilling accuracy. On so many occasions he narrates the way that public services like Utilities have been destroyed. He had strong principles that were injected into his passionate rants as when he coruscated the use of PFI and New Labour for its love affair with neoliberal policies and the financial sector.
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| He bequeathed a lifetime of laughter to live audiences and on air |
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