Shaun Keaveny to narrate Absolute Radio's first scripted comedy
- Rockanory - starting on Absolute Radio on Monday 6th September - is the station's first scripted comedy
- Narrated by Shaun Keaveny, the episodes focus on apocryphal rock'n'roll stories
- Creator Jon Holmes says making Absolute Radio's first scripted comedy "is a dream come true"
Shaun Keaveny is to narrate Rockanory, Absolute Radio's first scripted comedy series.
The station explains: "Each story is based on an apocryphal rock'n'roll legend and will be split across the week into 5-minute episodes. Broadcast (Monday-Thursday) at 11pm, Rockanory launches on Monday 6th September with an omnibus podcast released every Friday.
"Expect a good amount of high drama and out-loud laughter as Shaun recounts the very silly and utterly absurd fictional dramatisations of Status Quo and the Kangaroo, Trying To Get Blood Out Of A Stone, Stairway to Hell, Taking Libertines, Aporkalypse Sow and The Kiss and the Cow."
The episodes have been created and produced by Jon Holmes, based on his 2008 book Rock Star Babylon. Holmes has written the episodes with Gareth Ceredig, with additional material supplied by Charlie George.
The characters are voiced by Alasdair Beckett-King, Jon Culshaw, Naomi McDonald, Alex Sievewright and Jake Yapp.
Shaun Keaveny announced in June that he'd be leaving BBC Radio 6 Music after 14 years. Talking about his new project, he says: "The poetical confluence of real and imagined, the nexus betwixt fantasy, fallacy and fckin silly, rock and roll myth exploder... it is an hilarious pleasure to be part of Rockanory, especially since I'm not deemed sexy enough to do the CBeebies Bedtime Stories gig after Tom Hardy."
Unusual Productions have made the episodes, with financial support from the Audio Content Fund.
Jon Holmes comments: "To be able to bring proper, built, scripted comedy to Absolute Radio for the very first time is a dream come true. To be fair, all of my dreams involve Shaun Keaveny, but neither the Audio Content Fund nor Absolute Radio were willing to get involved in any of the others."
Absolute Radio producer Paul Sylvester adds: "Absolute Radio has built its reputation as the home of comedy on commercial radio and this expansion into scripted comedy is something we've always wanted to do. As ever, I'm grateful to the Audio Content Fund for supporting ambitious ideas and to Jon for such a brilliant concept. Shaun was our first-choice as narrator, after years of enjoying him announce Fi and Jane on the Fortunately podcast (oh and listening to him on the radio)."