Cocks of the Walk

Red FM’s flagship breakfast show The Red Rooster scooped the gong for Best Breakfast Show at the Phonographic Performance Ireland (PPI) radio awards, held recently in Kilkenny. Presented by KC and “Lenny from Blarney”, The Red Rooster is now the most popular breakfast show in Cork for listeners in the 15-34 year age group. But the win still came as a shock – albeit a very pleasant one – according to Keith Cunningham (aka KC), one half of the popular morning duo.

“We had stiff competition,” he says. “With stations like Galway Bay, City Beat, Cool FM, 98FM and of course Colm and Jim Jim on 2FM all up for the award, we knew we had our work cut out for us. We had already decided that whatever happened we were going to enjoy the night and get drunk. Then, when the announcement came through that we’d won, we were stunned. It was unbelievable. Colm and Jim Jim were the first to come up and congratulate us, which was lovely, as we’re huge fans of theirs.”
According to KC – who has been involved in radio since he was 13 – the secret of the duo’s on-air success is down to the synergy between the two presenters.
“Myself and Lenny are best friends,” he says. “We’re really good mates, which is important if you’re working together. If you’re on the radio with people you don’t get on with it, it’s going to be obvious to everyone. There are some duos – not mentioning anyone in particular – and you just know they’re killing each other behind the scenes.”
The format of the show is tightly organised and includes a host of popular features, including Rooster Funny Bits, Celebrity Swear Jar, Lenny’s Link, Showbiz bits, TV bits with Sheena from entertainment.ie, Kids in the Car, Bridie Mary, Pat the faker, and the Munster Munchkins. The Red Rooster also features celebrity guests and live music sessions, as well as the usual news and traffic reports. Breakfast shows with this kind of format – originally known as “morning zoos”– were pioneered in the US but have become increasingly popular with listeners in this side of the water.
“I actually hate those wacky, zany, breakfast shows in America with the really overweight DJ’s with their bicycle horns. They rip the piss out of that format,” KC says. “But you have to have a little bit of fun, on the air. Or I think you do anyway!
“Sometimes there’s stuff we do that annoys people,” he adds. “But there’s no secret or magic formula to it really. It’s the mix of stuff that we do that makes it work. You just talk to people the way you’d talk down the pub. It’s all about eavesdropping, or letting people eavesdrop on us! You’re a tiny part of someone’s life for a portion of the morning. People tend to have a routine at that time of the day and they’re going about their business in and out of the shower, leaving the kids to school and so on.
“If you can tap into that routine,” he concludes, “you’re doing it right.”
And so, clearly, they are...