Nerdly » ‘Kick out the Jams: The Story of XFM’ Review

24th Aug2022

‘Kick out the Jams: The Story of XFM’ Review

by Kevin Haldon

Kick Out the Jams: The Story of XFM, from director Ray Burdis, is a retelling of the birth and development of a fledgling pirate radio station and those passionate few that would pave their own way in the pursuit of giving a voice to the growing popularity of the indie Britpop scene in the 1990s. More than that this is a snapshot of the revolutionisation of the airwaves from the voices of the DJs at ground level, the friendships formed and careers made. Even more than that this doc is a love letter to a moment in time, a year not to be forgotten and a feeling of true optimism and unbridled excitement.

Now, I do love a good documentary, especially ones that tell the stories of a time that although I wasn’t exactly well in the know about what was happening, I was aware something was happening. Music was changing and as a consumer of the art like many many others, our genre, our niche was the least represented on our radios. Pirate stations started popping up and playing what was on our minds and it was a vibe. Much like the rise of the independent movie scene in the mid-90s music was doing the same! Counter-culture was booming and we needed our OST!

One such station was XFM based in London and self-proclaimed as “the only alternative”. Here we are delving into the minds and dreams of the founders and DJs of the station as they were fighting to become an official FM broadcast radio station. Via talking heads and exclusive photos with new never-before seen footage, we see what it was really like getting started with almost nothing to having artists like The Cure, Oasis, Robbie Williams Blur and a whole host of the biggest alternate artists of the time knocking at your door.

A group of like-minded souls coming together to create what they thought was cool not really knowing that the Zeitgeist was changing and they would be seen as pioneers. We hear from the reporters that could see what was happening, the bands that were made by just being played. With the unfortunate timing of their big FM debut, who knew music would just become irrelevant as the country would mourn its Princess? Careers made for the likes of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, two guys that fell into their roles at the station created a bond and well, I think we all saw how that played out. The inevitable price for success is that somebody may come along and make you an offer you can’t refuse.

I’m a fan of Ray Burdis and the films he has made, like The Wee Man, 2020s To be Someone and of course Love Honour and Obey. However I have got to say I loved the crap out of Kick Out the Jams: The Story of XFM, the way you can feel not just the passion from the talking heads but love from the team producing it with a gorgeous selection of tracks to compliment the visuals and a cheeky light-hearted nature that undoubtedly reflects the mood of the time. When all we see of documentaries these days are true crime murder or some horrendous troll on the internet, it’s truly enlightening to get one about people who dared to dream big and chase it.

This is a massive recommend from me, as I say I love a good documentary and Kick Out the Jams: The Story of XFM is a great one that regales you with story after story about a moment in time that you may not have been around for but you definitely owe a ton of appreciation to.