We have classified (objectively) the legendary radio shows from the 1990s-2000s, those which would perhaps be banned from the air today

During the 1990s and early 2000s, it was normal to stay locked in your room to listen to free radio. In the absence of Internet, the FM band remained a good way to access programs where slippages could occur at any time. To remember old memories, we decided to rank the most memorable radio shows of the time. And some would undoubtedly be banned from the air today.

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As we will see, radio in the 1990s and 2000s was a lot of free radio and listeners who fell in love on the air. But not only that. Between 1998 and 2003, Oüi FM broadcast an audio fiction which was to have its small success: Mr. Fred’s Worldor LMDMFto pronounce “She likes girls”. From Monday to Friday, from 11 p.m. to midnight, Frédéric Martin writes and hosts the adventures of Fred and his friends in the magical forest on Oüi FM. For the curious, episodes are available on YouTube. Not the 661 shows but already enough to give you an idea.

Twenty-nine years on the air is no small thing. Broadcast from 1977 to 2006, the show probably does not speak to the youngest but remains one of the most emblematic of the French airwaves. With her calm tone and deep voice, Macha Béranger welcomed listeners – nicknamed the “sleepless” – every night between half past midnight and 3 a.m. But, let’s be honest: Hello Machait wasn’t often a big joke. Lonely, isolated, depressed people called the caring facilitator to confide, talk about their lives and, sometimes, their desire to end it. Not always very joyful, but essential.

Radio has always been a springboard for comedians. And Kad and Olivier are just part of the long list. Well before the Kamouloxand to make himself known to the public on Comédie!, in The Big Showthe duo cut their teeth on Oüi FM. From 1992 to 1997, in Rock’n’Roll CircusKad and O performed sketches on the air: the Gaillard family, Teddy pig faithful, the songs of Philippe Jantrel, the stunts of the Logan brothers. It was also on the Oüi FM channel that the biggest police investigation of all time was created: Who killed Pamela Rose? You understand, if you want to break into humor, do radio.

Supernana, or Catherine Pelletier of her real name, remains the queen of free radio stations in France. After her debut on the very subversive – and very quickly disappeared – radio Carbone 14, the host will make a place for herself on the airwaves thanks to her big mouth and her provocative tone.

In 1992, Supernana arrived on Skyrock to host the free Saturday evening broadcast, Heaven, my rock!. Because yes, Skyrock really broadcast rock one day. Given the success of the program, Sky offered it a bigger show: get confused. The program mainly revolves around sex. And even if Supernana takes care to portray the words a little too daringly, the Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA) finds get confused too raw. Yes, it rhymes. A listener’s slip-up on the subject of rape definitively dooms the show, which disappears quite quickly. Radio a little too free.

“It’s me Quack Quack, the friendly little duck from Baghdad.” If this sentence already speaks to you, it is because you are not far from 35 years old, and in 2002 you were listening Accord parental indispensableon NRJ. At the head of the show, we found Maurad, a host “provocative and sulphurous” as he described himself. The principle of the program remained classic, with listeners who told their shameful stories on the air, prank calls and slogans that smacked of the 2000s: “You have the balls, you have the glands, you have the boogers that hang. Call Maurad!”

But the story will be cut short. From the end of 2003, the CSA targeted the show for remarks “pornographic and offensive” held live by a listener and the host against women. “Provocative and sulphurous”that’s the polite term for misogynist.

“Hello, who’s going there, please?” This sentence can only mean one thing: you are on the air with Maurice. And from there, absolutely anything can happen. In the 1990s, the bespectacled host wandered between Oüi FM and Skyrock and established himself as one of the kings of free broadcasting with his broadcasts. Maurice, it’s night et Maurice is here.

His little secret? A rather aggressive tone, a delicious casualness and a total lack of scruple when jostling the listeners, cutting them off, or even hanging up on them. Better think twice before calling the radio to tell your life story.

When we talk about Max, one question immediately comes to mind: when does this man sleep? An emblematic and omnipresent presenter since the very beginning of the 1990s, he is particularly known for a cult FM show: the Star Systemon Fun Radio.

From 1996 to 2001, every evening, we found recurring listeners, like Françoise de la Courneuve, Alain the stutterer, Stéphane the alcoholic, Jean-Pierre Sauser or a certain Gérard who we will talk about later. Music, games, improbable calls, a few slip-ups… in short, a happy mess.

Before becoming the influential presenter and producer we know, in a distant era Arthur called himself “the stupidest presenter on the FM band”. It was in 1992, and Jacques Essebag, his real name, had just been signed by Europe 1 to rejuvenate the station’s late afternoons.

Successful bet with Arthur and the Pirateswhere the host is accompanied by a large team: Manu Levy, Alexandre Devoise and Princesse Jade. Arthur will quickly make a name for himself (well, a first name) thanks to the immense success of the show, notably marked by games that are also very stupid. For example, listeners had to break things in their homes or imitate orgasms on air to earn money. As it turns out, it wasn’t necessarily better before.

The legendary Gérard de Suresnes was one of the recurring listeners of the Star System by Max. This former trucker, with a chaotic and drunken life, regularly called Fun Radio to read his poems. Such a prominent character on the show that he was entitled to his own program, on Thursday evenings, from 1997 to 2002. On the surface, the principle is very simple: Gérard connects listeners who debate around a social theme quite wide.

But in reality, Gérard’s Debateswhose history is also recounted in the book The Midnight Con by Thibault Raisse, was nothing other than a giant dinner for idiots. Repeat listeners called to make fun of the host and make him angry live. An atmosphere that is both funny and unhealthy which largely contributed to the success of the show. Totally unbroadcastable today.

How could the most memorable radio show of the 1990s not be ranked number 1? Between 1992 and 1998, Lovin’ Funit was THE radio meeting place for teenagers with bubbling hormones. The strength of the program obviously comes from its duo of hosts. On the one hand, Difool for the young and a little provocative side. On the other, Christian Spitz, aka the Doc, who provides his professional answers to the young listeners’ questions.

Love, sexuality, drugs, mental health: all subjects were covered in the show, without any taboo. An emblematic show, often parodied, which undoubtedly helped hundreds of young people who telephoned in secret to find out whether to turn their tongue to the right or to the left. “It’s not dirty. Your body changes.”