The show began in October 2007 and ran for three hours in a Saturday morning slot, originally from 9:00am to 12:00pm before moving to 10:00am to 1:00pm.
[3] The show also briefly returned in late 2012, with Edith Bowman replacing Joe Cornish as Adam's co-presenter.
Filling in for Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington, Adam and Joe first appeared on the London-only radio station XFM in 2003, leading to a series of popular podcasts.
In August 2007, they presented the BBC Radio 6 Music weekday morning slot for two weeks, filling in for Shaun Keaveny.
On 12 December 2009 podcast, it was announced that, as of Boxing Day, the show would be put on hold while Joe was away directing the film Attack the Block.
It was first introduced in February 2009 but from 12 September 2009, this was incorporated into their live show as it exceeded the limit of "new material" allowed to be produced on a BBC podcast.
[21] People who listened to the first half hour of the show live were known as "Black Squadron" – a title bestowed upon them in recognition of their ability to rise early on a Saturday morning – and were often given a task to do.
[22][23] The emergence of "Black Squadron" gave rise to a number of variants on the theme: Adam and Garth Jennings also produced a series of pirate radio-style interludes with which they interrupted songs; as the radio station is DAB only, this was presented as a charming relic of the analogue listening experience.
Curran related his youthful creation of a self-referential magazine, depicting him in the style of an "Action Force" soldier.
In the course of the Christmas show (broadcast 19 December 2009), a panto completed the Boggins story by revealing that he had been re-homed with a London street urchin.
Adam and Joe then took him to Glastonbury, and after the assembled listeners voted not to kill him, he was released into the mud and smells of the festival site.
Collins and Herring have appealed to listeners to create radio-jingles, this much in the same spirit as Adam and Joe's feature.
Adam and Joe show interviewed several celebrity guests, including Sir Roger Moore,[32] Redd Pepper, and Seasick Steve.
Luke Lewis, for the NME, wrote: 'Without fanfare, their BBC show has quietly become essential listening, woven into the comforting fabric of Saturday mornings.
'[26] James Delingpole, in The Times noted: Listening to the show is like sitting in on a pub conversation between two extremely witty, frivolous, pop-culture-literate mates.
'[38] Similarly, Gillian Reynolds, in The Daily Telegraph, hailed the pair: 'Adam and Joe deserve a big audience but I hope they don't get one.
This attracts amiable listeners [...] How cheering to have some signals from a radio world beyond celebs, Olympics and the new football season.