The Archers Rich (piano) and Norman Parker (percussion). Robert Robinson once compared the tune to "the genteel abandon of a lifelong teetotaller who has suddenly taken to drink". On April Fool's Day 2004 both "The Independent" and "The Today Programme" claimed that BBC executives had commissioned composer Brian Eno to record an electronic version of "Barwick Green" as a replacement for the current theme, while comedian Billy Connolly included in his act the joke that the theme was so typically British that it should be the national anthem of the United Kingdom. In 2009, comedian Rainer Hersch conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra in
The Russell Brand Show (radio show) investigation. The BBC originally only received a few complaints but after the involvement of the tabloids the BBC received 30,500 complaints by Thursday morning, 30 October 2008. When the show was broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Music, Brand's show was downloaded 140,000 times in September 2006, the only programme from a digital station to appear in the BBC's top 10 podcasts. In January, 2007, the show reached the number one spot on the iTunes podcast charts and held that position until April 2007 when it was overtaken by "The Apprentice" podcast and continued to go up and down the charts