Rudy's Rare Records - Radio 4 Sitcom - British Comedy Guide (original) (raw)
Genre
Broadcast
Channel
Episodes
Creator
Stars
Lenny Henry, Larrington Walker, Joe Jacobs, Natasha Godfrey, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Jeffery Kissoon, Claire Benedict and Andrew Brooke
Writers
Producers
Lucy Armitage and Katie Tyrrell
Company
Rudy's Rare Records is a tiny, down-at-heel reggae and ska record shop in Birmingham. It is one of a dying breed, a place with real soul and stacked with piles of vinyl where the slogan is "If we don't have it - them don't mek it."
The shop is owned by the charismatic, irrepressible Rudy Sharpe (Larrington Walker), who is reluctantly helped out by his long-suffering, neurotic-divorcee son Adam (Lenny Henry).
Adam has moved home to help look after Rudy and run the shop following a heart attack scare. Having left behind his life in London, he finds himself trapped in the confines of his father's dusty old record shop, sharing the miniscule flat upstairs with his dad and his 17-year-old son Richie, who is a constant source of worry for Adam.
While Rudy and Richie get on well, bonding over a shared love of music and ladies, Adam is the odd one out - a classical music fan trapped in a world of funk, reggae and soul. With Rudy's approach to filing - "If it ain't on the shelf, it's on the floor" - clashing with Adam's post-breakdown need for calm and order, the shop is a constant battleground as both men want to run things the way they think it should be done, leaving Richie and work-shy shop assistant Tasha to keep the peace.
A tale of three people forced into finding a way to survive each other's company on a day-to-day basis, Rudy's Rare Records celebrates an old man, one in the midst of a mid-life crisis and a young man, bickering, snickering, breaking up and making up - all day, every day.
In Series 3, with Rudy's chaotic approach clashing with Adam's post-breakdown need for calm and order, the shop becomes a battleground with both men wanting to run things their way. Adam's found himself a supportive ally in the form of Rudy's calm and canny, sixty-something girlfriend, Doreen.
Additional details
Production
Studio
Soundtrack
The theme music is Miss Jamaica by Jimmy Cliff.
Broadcast details
First broadcast
Tuesday 26th February 2008 at 6:30pm on BBC Radio 4
Most recent repeats
- Monday 16th September 2024 at 10:30pm on Radio 4 Extra - Series 2, Episode 4
- Monday 9th September 2024 at 10:30pm on Radio 4 Extra - Series 2, Episode 3
- Monday 2nd September 2024 at 10:30pm on Radio 4 Extra - Series 2, Episode 1