Looks Unfamiliar: Bob Fischer – False Flag Giant Hogweed

Can't Get A Ticket (For The World Cup) by Peter Dean (Portrait, 1986) - listen to Bob Fischer and Tim Worthington chatting about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

Looks Unfamiliar is a podcast in which writer and occasional broadcaster Tim Worthington talks to a guest about some of the things that they remember that nobody else ever seems to.

Joining Tim this time is broadcaster Bob Fischer, who’s saying ‘aaaaahld up to anyone who doesn’t remember BBC Daytime variety show The Tom O’Connor Roadshow, a media panic about hazardous plant Giant Hogweed, EastEnders spinoff single Can’t Get A Ticket (For The World Cup) by Peter Dean, rum-favoured confectionery Glee Bars, J. Edward Oliver’s ‘Abolish Tuesdays’ campaign and How To Be A Wally by Paul Manning. Along the way we’ll be finding out the difference between ‘spectators’ and ‘fans’, blowing the whistle on The Brexit Party’s sinister links to Giant Hogweed, working out how to get from Peter Dean to David Bowie in three moves, and learning far too much about the industrial action practices of school dinner ladies.

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How To Be A Wally by Paul Manning (Futura, 1983) - listen to Bob Fischer and Tim Worthington chatting about it in Looks Unfamiliar.

About Bob

Bob Fischer is a broadcaster and writer; you can find his website The Haunted Generation – and a selection of Giant Hogweed badges – here. Wiffle Lever To Full, Bob’s book about sci-fi fandom, is available from Amazon here. You can follow Bob on Twitter at @Bob_Fischer.

Alternately, if you’re just feeling generous, you can buy me a coffee here. Extra points if you can source some sort of Glee bar-flavoured syrup.

Buy A Book!

You can find more about the musical exploits of the early cast members of EastEnders – and many more bizarre television-related records besides – in Tim’s book Top Of The Box – The Story Behind Every BBC Records And Tapes Single, available in paperback here or from the Kindle Store here.

Alternately, if you’re just feeling generous, you can buy me a coffee here. It would probably go very nicely with a Glee Bar.

Further Listening

You can find Bob on Looks Unfamiliar talking about Eighties ‘Tabloid Celebrities’, Accidentally Kelly Street by Frente!, The Two Ronnies’ ‘Mileaway’, Rude Food, Suggs On Saturday and School Folk Songs here, Tucker’s Luck, Pookiesnackenburger, We Wanna Be Famous by Buster Gobsmack And Eats Filth, game show contestants’ jobs being booed by the audience and paper plate and shaving foam Custard Pies here and signs that Christmas was coming that you just don’t seem to get any more here.

There’s more about another even more long-forgotten EastEnders spinoff single – a vocal version of the 1993 remake of the theme music – in Looks Unfamiliar with Shanine Salmon here. Giant Hogweed’s dubious ally the Colorado Beetle was warned against in Looks Unfamiliar with Joanne Sheppard here.

Bob also appears in The Best Of Looks Unfamiliar alongside Gillian Kirby on Teletext After Dark, Chris Shaw on Rock School, Paul Putner on Treborland, Andy Lewis on Vintage Anti-Enoch Powell Graffiti and Tim on Round The Archives talking to Lisa Parker and Andrew Trowbridge about Chigley, which you can find here.