Awkward Laughter (oringally Jamie & Oli on URY) was a radio show written and presented by Oliver Howlett and I. It was inspired by my love of the Ricky Gervais Show (XFM), and pretty much a poor tribute act to this – but we had some fun.
It originated on URY, but later we played on Off The Chart and BURST radio stations.
The show included comedy jingles, pre-recorded skits, live interaction with the audience (via web chat), and for a period, a topical ‘intro’ to the show, which satirised university life, and the news. This was in the style of drunk ramblings with incessant swearing bleeped. Each one started with a distinctive door squeak of ‘Jamie entering the room’.
These mock-adverts were featured on our show in 2012. They are designed to satire the lower forms of advertising. Trashy magazines, profiteering from celebrity deaths, and the Titanic 100 year anniversary were just a few of the topics we did over time.
Regular Features
Question Oli
Oliver would be presented with increasingly absurd scenarios, asking what he would do.
Mystery Song
A feature inspired by a bargain bin of CDs in the York designer outlet. Random number generators would determine CD number and track number resulting in odd songs.
A Slice of Pie on URY
Pretty much a competition where the audience could win a pie. I don’t think we ever actually gave away any pie.
Lie Your Way Out of This
Not a million miles away from Question Oli; Oliver would be presented with a pickle of a situation he had ‘got himself into’ and explain what he would do.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA 
Ian Britton 
Mockbusters
Lovingly ripped off of Karl PIlkington’s Rockbusters (which in turn was ripped off Blockbusters), this feature gave a ‘cryptic’ clue for audiences to solve.
Oli’s Mash Up Of The Week
It’s all in the name. Oli made mashups that we played out.
News to Amuse
A round up of the week’s funniest articles where we commented on, and riffed with them.
Oli’s Impression of the Week
Oli has almost no good impressions. This recurring feature explored them one by one.
Example Skits & Comedy Jingles
We prided ourselves on fresh, new comedy jingles every week to give an interesting take on something that can easily become samey. These are some of our joint favourites, including one where we recorded ourselves (Queen style) to become a whole church choir. Because that’s what university is for! We also wrote several more absurd skits, like the ‘Layers’ one.