Radio station sparks row with Kay

Peter Kay has become embroiled in a row with the community radio station whose name he used for the mock channel on Phoenix Nights.

Kay now has a lucrative line in merchandise branded with the fictional Chorley FM’s logo and slogans including ‘coming in your ears’. The range includes £15 T-shirts, mugs and car stickers.

Now the real Chorley FM has claimed Kay’s management company tried to buy the company and its website – which is bombarded with up to 100 emails a day from fans desperate for merchandise – for a paltry £80.

Station director Christian Moss - himself a stand-up comic who performs under the name The 1 Like Fish - told Chortle: "We do not want Kay to continue with his risque catchphrases which will confuse our listeners, he has already tried to buy the company to trade off our name. He now needs to talk to us and collaborate.'

However, there is some confusion over who came up with the name Chorley FM first - the comic or the community radio station. The company name was registered at Companies House in November 2001 - three years after Kay first used the name in That Peter Kay Thing, but only months after it found popularity in Phoenix Nights.

Also, in an interview with The Guardian, Chris Mellor, cultural services manager of Chorley Borough Council, which backs the community station, said: ‘[Kay] based the last Channel 4 programme around Chorley FM and he wants to sell T-shirts, mugs and merchandise. We are trying to fight off these guys who want to buy the company and the name.’

Mellor said he had approached Phoenix Nights star about supporting the station, but that the comic declined.

‘Peter Kay could be a keen investor but he obviously thinks he doesn't need the publicity in this area,’ he added. ‘He's apparently looking to come and live in Chorley but unless he helps the radio station he'll not be welcome.

‘We are not going to be put off. It's a chance for Chorley to raise its artistic levels and show Mr Kay what artistic life is all about.’

The real Chorley FM – aimed at the Lancashire town’s 15- to 25-year-olds as well as at gay listeners – was last week given a permanent licence to broadcast, and hopes to go on air next year.

Kay's managers, Phil McIntyre Entertainment, once tried to register Chorley FM as a company name, but was beaten to it. However, it has registered its fictional logo for broadcasting services and merchandise.

Moss said the confusion was made worse with Phoenix Nights spin-off Max and Paddy's Road To Nowhere, supposedly sponsored by Chorley FM.

He said: 'It clearly wasnt sponsored by our station but our listeners instantly started asking questions and it all got very confusing.  We asked Kay's people to at least tell the Channel 4 viewers that the sponsorship isnt our Chorley FM, but our request wasnt taken seriously.'

And to add to the confusion, Phoenix Nights co-star and co-writer Dave Spikey, who no longer collaborates with Kay, is patron of Chorley FM.

Published: 14 Sep 2005