Name Guffy Roberts | Role Singer | |
Guffy Roberts (born Guffy David Roberts, August 23, 1965) is an American radio personality, singer, songwriter, and keytarist.
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In March 1977, Roberts and fellow synth-player Trevor Science formed the band German Police Car, holding auditions for two remaining keyboardist positions in the gymnasium of Miami Killian High School. These auditions turned out to be fruitless, however, and they ultimately were forced to let Roberts' former girlfriend Olga Kraskavenovich in the band due to an upcoming performance at a Little Havana nightclub. There, the three bandmates found their fourth and final member, keyboardist Jamal Jenkins. The band was renamed "Trevor and Roberts" for a brief period in early 1978 but was ultimately renamed "German Police Car" due to wishes of the remaining band members.
After early success with 1978 radio single German Police Car from the album of the same year and name, German Police Car, the band toured across Europe for two years before being dissolved due to differences between Roberts and the rest of the band.
Guffy Roberts released five solo albums (two more than German Police Car released) before the age of 22, when he broke his contract directing instructional videos for Wendy's to become a disc jockey at Missouri State University's student radio station The Growl in Springfield, Missouri.
New Coke
Roberts is best known for his eccentric ramblings and bipolar personality on his own radio programme New Coke from 1987 to 1989 with brief sporadic comebacks in the following years. The show's format consisted of an introduction by Roberts (during which he was prone to introduce and identify himself several times) followed by blocks of music and talking. Roberts' preferred style of music to play was new wave, what he often referred to as "underground pop music," but he would occasionally, reluctantly, take song requests from listeners who called into the show. Roberts was also known to play many songs by The Fat Boys, sometimes several in a row, as well as sporadic electronica, house, mutant disco, and new jack swing tracks.
Each show originally aired on Saturday nights and lasted roughly three hours, but after Roberts complained to a station manager about the length of his slot the show was shortened to two hours. Eventually the show was moved to weeknights after an additional complaint from Roberts about "not being able to party." This resulted in an infamous move in which Guffy Roberts physically assaulted an innocent bystander, accusing him of not knowing how to party.
Mental Instability
Guffy Roberts' obsession with time travel was apparent to anyone who listened to his show, particularly during the 1989 season. He frequently claimed to have travelled into the 21st century to acquire "exclusive" tracks.
During several episodes, he vividly described hallucinations live on the air, possibly due to ingesting illegal drugs.
In an early episode, where Roberts was supposedly alone at the radio station, he talked to and may have even provided the voice of an imaginary gentleman named "Rupert" who spoke with a British accent.
Celebrity Interviews
Roberts famously interviewed The Fat Boys on a special Thanksgiving 1987 episode of New Coke. Other notable guests on his program included Kato Kaelin, Matthew McConaughey, Bono, and fellow radio host Art Bell. Some of these guests were not considered celebrities at the time of their respective show's broadcast, but later attained fame through other channels.