About Us

AE:On is a new and slightly anarchic alternative review show. It will showcase the best and most intriguing offerings from the world of music, games, movies and random quirky happenings from around the country.

Think of it a bit like Why Don't You... except that we actively encourage unhealthy stints in front of a TV screen, as we feel being downright lazy can be just as good for you as deciding to get into all-terrain boarding or to enter the World's Biggest Liar Contest. (It certainly leads to less injuries, as both all-terrain boarding and telling lies can be equally detrimental to your health.)

Our viewers are just as happy to partake in a flash mob or try a new sport, as they are to shut the curtains and play Resident Evil from start to finish or simply decide to waste the day away and watch the entire Vengeance Trilogy box-set back to back just to determine which character is most in need of some serious counselling. (Incidentally we reckon it's the bloke from Oldboy.)

AE:On wants to show the viewer that there is far more to life than what the mainstream press pushes upon them - it's here to inject some much needed integrity back into their TV. It will educate and delight the viewers, help them expand their horizons and fill up their free time with something new, exciting and definitely…alternative.

Have you ever sighed about a great movie having a Hollywood remake (more like a botched face-lift) or secretly enjoyed Guitar Hero a bit more than is really acceptable in normal society?

Then AE:On will be your guide on how to spend your precious free time doing something more challenging than just going down the pub. (Not that we have anything against that, but you could jazz it up a bit and do it dressed as Batman. Y'know... just for a laugh. You'd be surprised how many people will buy you drinks. The top AE:On score being 6 pints, 3 shots and a bag of nuts... nice...)

We are a small group of folks with a passion for what we do. We don't have a big advertising budget and we're not created or run by a soulless corporation. So if you like what we do, please pass on the AE:On message and tell your friends.

AE:On is about creating a family, a community, a group of people who feel the same and want to be a part of AE:On. We'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas, as this show is just as much about you guys as it ever will be about us.

AE:ON... Putting the grrr back into integrrrity.

The AE:On Crew

Julia Hardy - writer / presenter / producer

AE:On is brought to you by the writer/presenter/director behind the cult show Rockjaw on Rockworld TV - Julia Hardy. AE:On is Julia's baby, it has risen out of the ashes of Rockjaw and once at a suitable height it will hopefully piss all over it.

Julia brings the anarchy, the Haribo and the unwavering desire to get this show to you. Julia worked for 3 years at Rockworld and over that time she has interviewed hundreds of bands and made loads of shows for the channel.

Julia prides herself on being a self-made girl, no leg-ups from a mother in the media industry for this one... (her mum works for the health authority incidentally, so not much use unless you need some blood taken!)

Top 3 things you don't know about Julia:

Julia has an unrivalled collection of Barry M eye shadows and she likes to combine as many as she can in jarring juxtapositions of colour that are like mini eye-artworks.
Her specialist skill is lowering the tone of any conversation, with anyone, anytime, anywhere. A fact she oddly prides herself on.
She snorts like a pig if she laughs too hard, either that or she has something that has become known as a dog cough laugh. Yes, it is that bad.

It's been a long journey to get to here, but Julia figures if anything is worth doing you have to work hard and earn it... as true smugness comes from knowing you frickin' well deserve it.

Andy Kelham - writer / presenter

Andy got on board the AE:On train after meeting and working with Julia at Download a couple of years ago. They had such fun working together over the weekend that Julia decided that she'd ask Andy if he fancied becoming her co-anchor for a little project she had up her sleeve. Thus the presenting team was born, a match made in heaven, a banterous load of nonsense from the bowels of hell. Actually it's not all that dramatic.

Andy is currently moonlighting on AE:On as he has for many years been a long-serving writer for the awesome Rock Sound magazine. Interviewing the greats, the fakes and the snakes from the world of rock. He also freelance writes for lots of international titles too, but that's mainly cos' he'd get lynched in the UK otherwise for his extremist ideas... like equal rights for gay badgers... surprisingly people seem to be quite touchy about this subject.

Top 3 things you don't know about Andy:

The texture of uncooked tomato frightens him
He is only truly happy if he gets 14 hours of sleep a day
...or if you make him endless cups of tea

Andy's philosophy is... that is life philosophy has not yet been distilled into a single sentence, although he sometimes tries random word combinations just in case...

Siân Fever - producer

Next up in the AE:On team is Siân Fever a TV mogul in the making if ever we saw one. Siân met Julia at the Download Festival '07 in the press area. Siân was working at the time for MTV, which, much alike Julia's job with Rockworld meant that she had about eight different jobs and used a multitude of her talents. Siân is also a self-made woman, a dedicated hard-worker, and a master of many skills.

Top 3 things you don't know about Siân:

She knits. Mainly scarves and hats although she did try knitting a model of the Starship Enterprise, but realised after that wool cannot reach light speed
We reckon she fancies Jon
Her life long dream is to duet with Meatloaf - an ambition that hasn't been helped by an unhealthy addiction for playing SingStar

Siân's life philosophy is "I love lamp" which just goes to show she is a bit obsessed with Anchorman.

Toby Rocke - (yes that is his real surname) - graphics & anarchy

Part man, part coffee machine. He likes making things, whether it be graphics, animation, music or art. This led him to learn art and design from school through college. He constantly needs to have a project on the go to keep his little flywheel of a brain ticking.

Toby was a serendipitous addition to the AE:On team. After we put an ad out looking for an animator to do all our titles and junk we had some responses, but Toby really stood out as he totally got the AE:On philosophy. We set him pretty tough challenges and the dude has pulled it out the bag every time.

Top 3 things you don't know about Toby:

He was mistaken a few years back for Justin Timberlake?! He was going through a phase of short hair and a trilby hat........and it was dark
He can count the amount of times I have vomited on one hand
He lives just down the road from Bob Hoskins, and bumps into him in Waitrose. We're not quite sure why Toby goes to Waitrose, as he is not an upper-middle class housewife

Toby's life philosophy is...erm....BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER!!

Paul Gallagher- assistant producer & extreme sports guru

PG as he is known...(as there are so many Pauls) is our resident book/extreme sports expert. Not content with combining a passion for two almost polar opposite hobbies, he is also a little obsessed with monkeys, which has gotten him the nickname the chimpstalker.

Paul is our go to guy for anything wordy or cerebral or stupid or dangerous. A writer by trade, he can be found freaking out folks with his gripping tales and strange rashes (that probably come from the monkeys.)

Top 3 things you don't know about PG:

He was 'perhaps' the youngest snorkelling instructor in Britain at the age of 13
He tried and failed to shake Jeremy Beadle's tiny little hand
He took part in the world record for the largest custard pie fight

PG's life philosophy is believe in the notion that you shouldn't believe in anything and always enjoy contradicting yourself!

Paul Terry - executive producer

Paul (yes another one) is probably the sanest out of all of us. He joined the ranks of the AE:On staff by being our rock of inspiration, information and an un-nerving ability for correcting grammar, which rather sadly he can't switch off.

PT is an organisational demon, always thinking outside the box, occasionally thinking in the box and more than likely sitting on top of it playing computer games. PT has more jobs and talents than we can really list here without making you hate him.

Top 3 things you don't know about PT:

He loves the movie Ghostbusters a little bit too much
He has a huge fascination/crippling fear (in equal measures) of sharks
He virtually knows every line from every episode of Fawlty Towers

PT's Life philosophy is Aim high... there's plenty of room.

Jon Sanger - web administrator

Jon is an enigma, a mysterious phantom, and an apparition some may say. Nope. Can't do it. We can't make Jon sound exciting, sad as that maybe. He is an Internet guru, a James Bond obsessive and a Tetley's drinker. Yes, that's what we’ve got to work with. Just kidding Jon... He is a highly skilled web-internet-person-thingamabob. We're not quite sure what he does exactly, but it is very important I'm sure.

Top 3 things you don't know about Jon:

He does NOT work for bloody EBay anymore!
We reckon he fancies Sian
If he has a choice he likes to dress 'sports casual'. A fact Julia never lets go of... jeans and a blazer... scary...

Jon's life philosophy is if you get a new opportunity don't turn it down; we severely hope he can apply that philosophy to his wardrobe.