Song Wars
Adam and Joe composed a song on a given theme (often using the program GarageBand). Listeners voted for their favourite.[8] Both Adam and Joe occasionally made videos for their songs.[9][10]
An album of the first 12 pairs of songs was released on 23 June 2008 exclusively on iTunes entitled Adam & Joe, Song Wars volume one.[11][12] The album was reviewed by The Times and given 4 out of 5 stars.[13]
A second album, Adam and Joe's Song Wars Volume 2 was released in December 2010.[14]
"Video Wars" was a competition set by Adam and Joe for listeners to create a music video for two Song Wars songs: either Adam's song 'Jane's Brain' or Joe's song 'Meatballs'.[15] Reviewing the show in the Telegraph, Gillian Reynolds noted that the hosts described the videos as, "so good they surpassed what is on TV" and Reynolds adds, "They were right".[16] The winner was Chris Salt for his Lego animation of 'Jane's Brain.'[17][18]
Text the Nation
Listeners texted or emailed anecdotes or ideas on a subject given by Adam and Joe, which they referred to as 'The Nation's Favourite Feature'[19]
A "Retro Text the Nation" segment was introduced as a podcast-only feature, in which listeners who did not listen live could contribute to Text The Nation. It was first introduced in February 2009 but from 12 September 2009, this was incorporated into their live show as it exceeded the limit of "new material" allowed to be produced on a BBC podcast.[20]
Black Squadron
People who listened to the first half hour of the show live were known as "Black Squadron" – a title bestowed upon them in recognition of their ability to rise early on a Saturday morning – and were often given a task to do.[21][22]
The emergence of "Black Squadron" gave rise to a number of variants on the theme:
- People who listened live and abroad were known as "Globe Squadron", however they could still consider themselves equivalent to a Black Squadron member in terms of operational duties.
- People who listened later in the week on iPlayer were known as "Phantom Squadron" or "Slack Squadron".
- People who listened to the podcast were known as "Pod Cats"; the original term "Slack Squadron" was considered derogatory.
- Listeners invited to the show recorded at the Camden Crawl were known as "Elite Squadron".
- Listeners called Caley were known as "Caley Squadron".
Pirate interludes
Adam and Garth Jennings also produced a series of pirate radio-style interludes with which they interrupted songs; as the radio station is DAB only, this was presented as a charming relic of the analogue listening experience.[24] The clips were also used to cover up swearing in songs.
Stephenage
Stephenage, was a call-and-response game, whereby listeners shout out 'Stephen!' in a public place, and other listeners would reply with 'just coming!'.[25][26] Thereby listeners could identify each other.[27] This happened particularly at music gigs, though other situations were reported, such as a cinema and a museum, and recordings were sent in to the show.[27]
The origins of "Stephen!" came from one of the show's 'Text the Nation' stories about juvenilia, submitted by a listener called Steve Curran. Curran related his youthful creation of a self-referential magazine, depicting him in the style of an "Action Force" soldier. The title of the magazine was "STEPHEN!".
Boggins
Voiced by Adam, Boggins was a friendly but filthy dog who arrived in the studio after Adam 'left', and went on to tell Joe how much he loved him but also what he had been rolling in and eaten. There was an ongoing debate as to whether Boggins should be put down or not. In the course of the Christmas show (broadcast 19 December 2009), a panto completed the Boggins story by revealing that he had been re-homed with a London street urchin. Joe was of the opinion that living on the street would result in the dog's death. During 2011 it became apparent that the child had a home and a family, who were desperate to get rid of Boggins as he was "tearing them apart as a family." Adam and Joe then took him to Glastonbury, and after the assembled listeners voted not to kill him, he was released into the mud and smells of the festival site.
Jingles
The show's idents and jingles were mostly created by Adam. Jingles were used to introduce the different sections and features of the show. From late 2008, listeners were invited to send in original or cover versions of existing jingles.[20] Despite Adam's producing the vast majority of the jingles, a running joke was that Joe's Retro Text the Nation jingle was by far the most popular.
