Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Give our heads peace..
Tim to front new series delving into celeb guests’ worst records
IF you’ve ever wanted to know why Carl Frampton bought Barbie Girl by Aqua or how Holly Hamilton was scarred for life by the Spice Girls, then Tim Mcgarry has the answers.
The North Belfast comic, 57, is fronting BBC Radio Ulster’s brand new six-part series Criminal Records, dubbed Desert Island Discs in reverse.
It’s a light-hearted comedy chat show with a difference, where the celebrity guests get to choose their favourite “worst” records.
Yes instead of talking about music they love, Tim wants to discover the songs his guests can’t stand, the tunes that make them want to scream and the records that are so bad in their opinion, they are actually criminal.
Tim told the Mirror: “The idea for Criminal Records has been knocking about for a couple of years. We were delighted to get the chance to see if it would work or not and we had a ball making it.”
During the recording, Tim sat down with boxer Frampton, country music Queen Philomena Begley, Peaky Blinders star Packy Lee, TV presenter Holly, Northern Ireland football captain Marissa Callaghan and broadcaster Colin Murray.
He trawled through their record collections and found out all the horrors that lurk in their musical history, including their worst childhood albums, the most embarrassing ones they bought, the songs that they hate to hear and the worst gigs they ever attended.
Tim, who played Da in Give My Head Peace, said: “It’s not a show with bad music, it’s a show about different musical tastes.
”The guests get to let off steam, talk about what they hate and stimulate the endless debates about what constitutes good and bad music.
“People like to talk about the things they hate and you get more out of them than if they were talking about what they like. I really enjoyed being able to dig a bit deeper and getting to know the guests a little better. Just like comedy, music allows people to open up more and chat away about their career and life experiences.”
Tim also revealed the worst record he ever played as a kid which has scarred him for life, adding: “It was ‘Two Little Boys’ by Rolf Harris – me and brother were made to sing it when we were about six years old.”
He added: “Holly Hamilton tells a great story about being made to sing a Spice Girls song in the middle of Connswater Shopping Centre when she was around 10. I’m not a big country music fan but Philomena Begley is a lovely woman with great stories including the time someone died at one of her gigs. She changed my view of her and I have a lot more admiration for her.
“She was at the forefront of country music at a time when there weren’t many women on the scene and travelling around Ireland in a battered van while the Troubles were on.
“I can see why Philomena is the Queen of country music because she’s tough but brilliant.”
But like Desert Island Discs, there are some emotional moments during the series too. Tim said: “Philomena was quite emotional talking about the death of her brother while Colin Murray revealed that he can’t listen to ‘Have I Told You Lately’ by Van Morrison because it reminds him of when his grandfather died.”
Tim is also best-known for the panel game show comedy, The Blame Game, where’s he been the host for over 15 years.
It will make a welcome return later this autumn for another series.
Tim said: “We hope to back on November 4 and to be allowed to have a live studio audience again.
“The last few series have involved the audience joining us over Zoom, which was brilliant but there’s just not the same atmosphere. We really need to get the bodies back into the studio.
“While the viewers may not have noticed much difference, from a performer point of view it was hard but also great that we kept going during those dark days.”
Criminal Records, a Hole in the Wall Gang production, begins tomorrow on BBC Radio Ulster at
6.30pm.
I enjoyed digging deeper and getting to know the guests TIM MCGARRY YESTERDAY