''Live and Sweaty'' was an Australian
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
, broadcast on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
from 1991 until 1994. Hosted by
Andrew Denton
Andrew Christopher Denton (born 4 May 1960) is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie-nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program ''Enough Rope'' and ...
(and later
Elle McFeast
Elle McFeast is an Australian television character created by comedian Libbi Gorr. The character appeared in several shows during the 1990s, beginning with the ABC series ''Live and Sweaty'' in 1991. The character became the host of the show in 19 ...
), the show was part panel-based, part
talk show
A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
and part
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
, and predated ''
The Footy Show'' which has a similar format.
''Live and Sweaty'' regulars
Andrew Denton
Andrew Christopher Denton (born 4 May 1960) is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie-nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program ''Enough Rope'' and ...
was the show's host, and this was Denton's third series for the ABC (after ''
Blah Blah Blah
Blah, blah blah etc. may refer to:
Music
* ''Blah-Blah-Blah'' (Iggy Pop album), 1986, or its title song
* ''Blah Blah Blah'' (Blahzay Blahzay album), 1996
* ''Blah Blah Blah'' (EP), 2018 by Armin van Buuren or the title song
* ''Blah Bla ...
'' and ''
The Money or the Gun
''The Money or the Gun'' was an Australian comedy/talk-show on the ABC network. It ran from late 1989 to mid-1990, with occasional specials until 1994. It was written by Andrew Denton, Simon Dodd, Bruce Griffiths, and George Dodd, directed b ...
''). Comedian
Libbi Gorr
Lisbeth Joanne "Libbi" Gorr (born 24 March 1965) is an Australian broadcaster working in both TV and radio. Gorr is also an author, voice artist, writer and performer. She first came to prominence with the satirical television character that sh ...
(in her
Elle McFeast
Elle McFeast is an Australian television character created by comedian Libbi Gorr. The character appeared in several shows during the 1990s, beginning with the ABC series ''Live and Sweaty'' in 1991. The character became the host of the show in 19 ...
persona) was a roving reporter, panellist and eventual host of the show when Denton left in 1993.
Other regular panel members were actor
Lex "The Swine" Marinos (always introduced with a ''
Zorba the Greek
''Zorba the Greek'' ( el, Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by the Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek int ...
'' style musical theme),
Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...
presenter
Debbie "Skull of Rust" Spillane, former
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
player
Rex "The Moose" Mossop, and
Peter "Crackers" Keenan. A sports news segment was presented by ABC sportscaster
Karen Tighe
Karen Anne Tighe (pronounced "tie") is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio and television sports presenter. She grew up and was educated in Sydney, and completed a Bachelor of Arts in communications and psychology at Macquarie Universit ...
.
Notable stunts
In 1992, Denton challenged the
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...
,
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
, to a game of
ten-pin bowling
Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll ...
. Keating made no comment, but Denton continued to up the ante over the course of the year, protesting outside
Parliament House and organising petitions urging the Prime Minister to accept the challenge. Keating eventually relented, not to the game, but appeared in a live interview with Denton.
In the lead up to the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
, Denton and the rest of the regular cast of the show recorded the song "
I Don't Care As Long As We Beat New Zealand
"I Don't Care As Long As We Beat New Zealand" is a song by Andrew Denton and the Cast of Live and Sweaty. The single was released in August 1992 peaked at number 38 on the ARIA Charts.
At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993 the song was nominated for th ...
" parodying the sporting rivalry between
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. It was released as a single and reached #38 on the Australian charts.
Discography
Singles
, -
! scope="row", "
I Don't Care As Long As We Beat New Zealand
"I Don't Care As Long As We Beat New Zealand" is a song by Andrew Denton and the Cast of Live and Sweaty. The single was released in August 1992 peaked at number 38 on the ARIA Charts.
At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993 the song was nominated for th ...
"
(with Andrew Denton)
, 1992
, 38
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
are a set of annual ceremonies presented by
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...
(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the
music of Australia
The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...
. They commenced in 1987.
!
, -
, rowspan="2",
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, , "I Don't Care As Long As We Beat New Zealand", ,
ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release
The ARIA Music Award for Best Comedy Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording Indu ...
, , , ,
, -
See also
*
List of Australian television series
Future shows
Seven
* ''The 1% Club'' (Seven Network game show 2023–)
* ''Apartment Rules'' (Seven Network reality 2023–)
* '' Animals Aboard with Dr Harry'' (Seven Network reality 2023–)
* ''Armchair Experts'' (Seven Network sports ...
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, tt0244909
Australian sports television series
Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
1991 Australian television series debuts
1994 Australian television series endings