Fist Of Fun is the series that Lee &
Herring are possibly best known for.
Running over three series & four years, spanning radio
& television, it drew material from the duo's previous
works and live shows as well as a number of new ideas.
Starting
life on BBC Radio One in late 1993, it ran for six episodes
and maintained a similar delivery & performance style
that the duo had already established within their previous
radio show, Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World.
However, the content of the show was vastly different.
Whereas "Nimrod" set a theme for each show,
thus creating a context, Fist Of Fun's only context stipulation
was that the material should fit into the format of a
"Lifestyle show presented by two blokes in their
mid 20's who live in separate, but equally unpleasant,
rented accommodation in South London'".
That
meant that pretty much anything was allowed to be included,
giving Rich & Stew more freedom in their material,
and the incessant talk of daytime TV and other mundanities
coming from two people who were clearly very intelligent
struck a chord with the nation's listeners.
Maintaining
a stay of only one series on radio one, as the station
moved away from the half hour comedy show format. Fist
Of Fun returned on BBC2 television in early 1995.
Broadcast over six weeks, going out at 9pm on Thursday
nights throughout April & May, it was an immediate
success, although not an instant rating winner, and Lee
& Herring enjoyed a brief tenure as media darlings
while they were hailed as the next big thing.
A
tour on the back of the first series saw Rich & Stew
taking in a number of venues across the country before
they returned to the airwaves in November '95 for the
third & final series of "The Lee & Herring
Radio Show". A selection of Lee & Herring merchandise
was released around this time too, in time for the Christmas
cash-in period. A recording
of a live show from the tour made it's way onto BBC
video, an edited compilation of the radio incarnation
of Fist Of Fun was put out & a tie-in
book was released.
Shortly after the third radio series aired, Fist Of Fun
burst back onto BBC2, this time as part of the prime Friday
night comedy line up going out opposite the Channel 4
American heavyweight of the time, Roseanne. It performed
well in terms of ratings, but suffered from lack of budget
(a third of the previous series) timescale (the series
was only commissioned the previous November) and advertising
(the BBC's trails for the show were minimal).
However,
as rushed as the production was, the material & performances
in the show were certainly up to the same standard as
the previous year's outings. Regular contributors to all
three series included Kevin Eldon - who performed as a
one man supporting cast throughout the radio series, and
brought hobby king Simon Quinlank to life, Peter Baynham
was a collaborator of note who provided his character
"Peter" to the Lee & Herring universe, and
a revolving door of female contributors - including Sally
Phillips, Rebecca Front, Jo Unwin, & Ronni Ancona.