PRESENTERS LOOK BACK
The Of f the Bal l presenters are celebrating 25 years of Saturday afternoon laughs with a documentary looking back at their time at the forefront of Scottish sports radio.
And former Channel 4 executive and Late Show arts host Stuart described their relationship as being like the classic BBC sitcom about a crotchety old father and his pretentious son desperate to escape the scrapyard they run.
He said: “The double act developed quite organically. I was at Channel 4 and involved in arts programmes so was kind of in a world that was more pretentious than the world Tam was in. So playing up my pretentiousness and playing up Tam’s more streetwise Scottish perspective became the way the double act developed.
“The closest thing to Off the Ball is Steptoe and Son. Harold, the son, which is me as we reverse the ages, wants to find a perfect European life, go to the opera, get out of the junkyard and find the higher things in life, while Tam is like the dad, eating pickled onions out of bottles, and in lots of ways for me that was the formation of the double act in my mind.
“The more I became pretentious, the more Tam could laugh at me and the more that became funny for the audience.
“In lots of ways, we are trapped in Scottish football. If we tried to escape, the show wouldn’t work.”
The first incarnation of the show was launched in 1994 with Tam – who wrote a comedy footbal l column – joining then unknown comics Greg Hemphill and Sanjeev Kohli for an irreverent fanzine- style show poking fun at everyone in the Scottish game.
Despite making headlines – and narrowly avoiding a lawsuit from then SFA chief Jim Farry in their first episode – the show failed to live up to the combined talents of the three men and it was binned in the first year.
BBC Scotland, refusing to give up on the idea, approached Five Live DJ and TV producer Cosgrove for the gig. His book Hampden Babylon, all about the comic underbelly of the Scottish national game, convinced producers he was the man for the job. He streamlined the show and retained only Cowan from the original starting team.
The half-hour format became two hours and, while Tam was originally a guest with Stuart as presenter, their chemistry was strong and the double act emerged quickly. St Johnstone fan Cosgrove, from Perth, and Motherwellloving Tam, from the Lanarkshire town, also represent the huge swathes of fans who do not follow Celtic or Rangers and make a point of celebrating and mocking football in every corner of Scotland.
With Stuart now 67, and mostly retired from Channel 4 after helping secure the station’s new creative hub for Scotland, and Tam, now 50, they say their 25 years together have flown in.
And Tam knows one of the reasons for their success. He said: “It’s like the classic case of a couple who have been happily married for 50 years because they’re not living in each other’s pockets.”
Some of their favourite guests include lottery winner Jane Park and TV host Lorraine Kelly.
Tam said: “Jane was the perfect guest – she’d just won a million quid on the lottery and was a Hibs fan but what we loved is that she was a genuine Hibs fan – she’s a season ticket-holder.
“And with Lorraine, you see the amount of times she talks about Dundee United and has been captured on camera sitting with her scarf on.”
The presenters are keen to continue with the show for another 25 years if allowed.
And the quarter-century mark, as celebrated in
BBC Scotland tribute Off the Ball: Petty and Ill-Informed this Wednesday at 10pm, has not made them delve into the past too reflectively.
Tam said: “Sometimes folk tend to over-analyse things. But it’s just a couple of hours having a laugh on the radio.”
If that’s what keeps them fresh, it’s their outlook on football that keeps the audiences tuning in or, sometimes, their lack of it.
Tam said: “One of the most common bits of feedback I get tends to be from females who say,
‘ I don’t know anything about football footb but I love listening to Off the BBall.’ That shows we never try to alialienate anyone in the audience.
“If it was a choice between discussing discu who your favourite baldy person perso is in every walk of life, I’d always alwa sooner do something like tthat than ask someone how they think Livingston’s diamond formation form in midfield has been working work out this season.”
With W 25 years of perfected comic com timing, Stuart jumped in: “TaTam, I don’t think Livingston are playing play the diamond system this season sea – I think you’ll find they are strict str 4- 4-2…”