Blowers Off - no longer on the air

Bigtomfu · Jun 23, 2017

A legend in his own lifetime without whom Test Match cricket and TMS won't be the same.

Gone are the days when a bright young thing could land in such a job, now they'd have to have done a PhD in journalism and have taken the 'quirky' module to be considered as viable for radio.

I believe Blowers was working for the foreign office before being introduced to Aunty and literally falling into the TMS gig.

The only hope for me is that Ed Smith, Graham Swann and now James Taylor get the chance to grow old on the show as they stand a small chance of being half as eccentric and good if left to do so.

Sometimes right, sometimes wrong but ALWAYS certain

The Large One · Jun 23, 2017

hans kraay fan club said:
Terrific list that, but may I please score out Motson and replace him with Peter Alliss?

Add Alliss by all means, but Motson of yesteryear was also a fine narrator. Sadly, he has now become a parody of himself, but that doesn't change that he was once a somebody.

Must add Kenneth Wolstenholme, Brian Moore and Alan Weeks too.

Trying to work out who the best of the current crop are.

Behind Enemy Lines · Jun 23, 2017

The Large One said:
It's the enthusiasm of the amateur, combined with the gift of the professional, separated by a great unknown; an undefined craft. And it's that unknown which marks the difference between a commentator and a narrator.

Blowers, of course.
John Arlott
Brian Johnston
Richie Benaud
John Motson
Barry Davies
Bill McLaren
Murray Walker
Even Aggers has that 'unknown' about him.

This isn't wistful pining for an previous time; a time of youth and fun, nor an era which no longer exists - these were/are genuine narrators.

Good list, To that I'd add: David Coleman, Harry Carpenter, Brain Moore & Hugh Johns. From the present day, 5 Live's John Murray and John McEnroe, who talks about tennis better than anyone.

The Large One · Jun 23, 2017

Bigtomfu said:
A legend in his own lifetime without whom Test Match cricket and TMS won't be the same.

Gone are the days when a bright young thing could land in such a job, now they'd have to have done a PhD in journalism and have taken the 'quirky' module to be considered as viable for radio.

I believe Blowers was working for the foreign office before being introduced to Aunty and literally falling into the TMS gig.

The only hope for me is that Ed Smith, Graham Swann and now James Taylor get the chance to grow old on the show as they stand a small chance of being half as eccentric and good if left to do so.

Sometimes right, sometimes wrong but ALWAYS certain

His father was a friend of Ian Fleming. It is him who is believe to be the inspiration for Bond's nemesis' character name.

hans kraay fan club · Jun 23, 2017

Bigtomfu said:
The only hope for me is that Ed Smith, Graham Swann and now James Taylor get the chance to grow old on the show as they stand a small chance of being half as eccentric and good if left to do so.

Agnew is the obvious heir-apparent to the Johnners-Blowers legacy. He has an effortless charm and a dash of the required eccentricity. TMS is in decent hands.

On the actual INSIGHT side of things Ed Smith is really excellent. Very intelligent man.

The Large One · Jun 23, 2017

Behind Enemy Lines said:
Blowers, like Jonners before him, were old school, of course they were, but I hope there's still going to be a place for the eccentric and distinctive voice on the radio. Far too many commentators now sound the same. I think he was a wonderful narrator of the game; one of the great voices of cricket in my life-time. A tough act to follow. Like Benaud and Jonners, he will be missed.

Literally. Both went to Eton.

hans kraay fan club · Jun 23, 2017

Bigtomfu said:
I believe Blowers was working for the foreign office before being introduced to Aunty and literally falling into the TMS gig.

Blofeld was a merchant banker, before quitting to become a (print) journalist, and then progressing to broadcasting.

Johnston was an officer in the army, who won the Military Cross for his bravery in the Allied advance into Germany in 1945. Literally one year later he was commentating on his first Test Match at Lords, for the BBC.

Bigtomfu · Jun 23, 2017

The Large One said:
His father was a friend of Ian Fleming. It is him who is believe to be the inspiration for Bond's nemesis' character name.

Yep, this I knew.

Think the FO link was noted on his Desert Island Discs appearance

Sometimes right, sometimes wrong but ALWAYS certain

Bigtomfu · Jun 23, 2017

hans kraay fan club said:
Agnew is the obvious heir-apparent to the Johnners-Blowers legacy. He has an effortless charm and a dash of the required eccentricity. TMS is in decent hands.

On the actual INSIGHT side of things Ed Smith is really excellent. Very intelligent man.

Absolutely re Aggers but even he has slowed down recently - only covering Tests and or big competitions and so forth - so was purely thinking about the future.

My only other hope is that Greg James doesn't somehow get the gig once Aggers moves on (hopefully not for many a year yet). The logical move suggests Daggers gets it but I'm yet to fully warm to him!

Sometimes right, sometimes wrong but ALWAYS certain

Is it PotG? · Jun 23, 2017

Good listen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009375w

hans kraay fan club · Jun 23, 2017

Bigtomfu said:
Absolutely re Aggers but even he has slowed down recently - only covering Tests and or big competitions and so forth - so was purely thinking about the future.

My only other hope is that Greg James doesn't somehow get the gig once Aggers moves on (hopefully not for many a year yet). The logical move suggests Daggers gets it but I'm yet to fully warm to him!

Completely with you on that. Haven't warmed to Dagnall one little bit. His voice / tone grates.

clippedgull · Jun 23, 2017

to add to the legendary commentators list:

Horse Racing:

Peter O'Sullevan

Bigtomfu · Jun 23, 2017

hans kraay fan club said:
Completely with you on that. Haven't warmed to Dagnall one little bit. His voice / tone grates.

Yeah he's NORTHERN*

*think actually a midlander but what the hell its north of Watford

Sometimes right, sometimes wrong but ALWAYS certain

GT49er · Jun 23, 2017

John Arlott, Brian Johnson, Richie Benaud, Fred Trueman, Christopher Martin-Jenkins all gone, and now Blowers (although thankfully he's only retired, not died).

I'm suddenly feeling very old this morning...........

hans kraay fan club · Jun 23, 2017

Bigtomfu said:
Yeah he's NORTHERN*

*think actually a midlander but what the hell its north of Watford

He's definitely Northern (Bury) but its not that, that is the issue. I like Michael Vaughan.

ManOfSussex · Jun 23, 2017

He'll be sadly missed.

I know a few of people who've met him down the years and they all said he's an absolutely lovely bloke, so happy retirement to him.

hans kraay fan club · Jun 23, 2017

ManOfSussex said:
He'll be sadly missed.

I know a few of people who've met him down the years and they all said he's an absolutely lovely bloke, so happy retirement to him.

I'm sure he is. You can tell that when people like Vaughan and Tufnell are bantering with him, that they have a very genuine affection for the man. I'd like to meet him, but never have.

I met Brian Johnston though - he was sat at the back of the Gilligan Stand, with a friend, in May 1988 watching Sussex play the touring West Indies (he was eating, I recall, a slice of GALA PIE, which seems entirely appropriate). I politely asked him to autograph his picture in a book of cricket caricatures, which I'd brought along in the hope of getting Sir Viv to sign his. Its a beautiful book, but the caricatures are not all entirely flattering so not everybody asked, signed them in good humour. Johnston, inevitably, was lovely about it - an absolute GENT. He was very frail though, which was a little sad to see.

As an aside, the match itself must have been one of the biggest mis-matches in First Class cricket history. The Sussex bowling attack was led by Andy Babbington and Rod Bunting. The West Indies team was as follows:

Desmond Haynes
Gordon Greenidge
Richie Richardson
Carl Hooper
Gus Logie
Viv Richards
Roger Harper
Winston Benjamin
David Williams
Curtley Ambrose
Ian Bishop

The match was actually drawn, as the West Indies treated it as a net session, racking up about 1,000 runs, either side of bowling Sussex out cheaply. Harper got a double ton and Richards and Haynes big hundreds. What a privilege to watch though :clap2:

loz · Jun 23, 2017

The Large One said:
It's the enthusiasm of the amateur, combined with the gift of the professional, separated by a great unknown; an undefined craft. And it's that unknown which marks the difference between a commentator and a narrator.

Blowers, of course.
John Arlott
Brian Johnston
Richie Benaud
John Motson
Barry Davies
Bill McLaren
Murray Walker
Even Aggers has that 'unknown' about him.

This isn't wistful pining for an previous time; a time of youth and fun, nor an era which no longer exists - these were/are genuine narrators.

I will probably get banned or sent to the naughty step , but I always loved listening to Stuart Halls match round up on the wireless...Tin hat put on

LlcoolJ · Jun 23, 2017

Can't understand why Brian Moore is always included in these lists of legendary commentators. He was useless.

JC Footy Genius · Jun 23, 2017

loz said:
I will probably get banned or sent to the naughty step , but I always loved listening to Stuart Halls match round up on the wireless...Tin hat put on

I will join you then. Peter Alliss was another great listen.

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