Andrew is the fifth[needs independent confirmation] of six children (five brothers and a last-born sister) born to Gillian (née Peddar) and James McGibbon (1916-2004, prominent Catholic educationalist, educational psychologist, writer, journalist, and editor).

However, he failed to make a significant impact, peaking with a performance alongside Lou Donaldson at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club on 22 March 1982.

[3] His first big break came on 7 November 1984 with an appearance on Tyne Tees children's pop show Razzamatazz[4] as the drummer in Jim Diamond's band.

Given the success of his number one hit I Should Have Known Better, a subsequent appearance by Paresi on Top of the Pops was expected, but Diamond's regular drummer Simon Kirke resumed his place in the band.

That same year the drummer encountered Stephen Street, who mixed a single by A Pair of Blue Eyes, a short-lived CBS band to whom Paresi was assigned.

Paresi was regular drummer on albums Viva Hate and Kill Uncle as well as the Bona Drag sessions, lasting until the singer songwriter's sharp change of direction into rockabilly in 1992.

Paresi joined Bleed in 1994, an agitating feminist group famed for their anti-pornography single It Makes Money, for which they sent "faxes to various music and mainstream press publications plus top-shelf sex magazines" highlighting the industry's abuses of women.

In parallel to his music career, McGibbon maintained a keen interest in performing comedy and found regular work as a fake caller on Clive Bull's late-night LBC show, beginning in 1986.

There, he developed the character of Ned Sherrin soundalike Rodway of Belgravia, a man trapped with his mother and in unrequited love with the girl at his local gardening shop.

A significant working relationship was forged between McGibbon and GLR disc jockey Kevin Greening around the time that he moved to Virgin Radio in April 1993.

Additional characters in these early days included Welworth Moore, David van Donkin, Inspector Steeping of Scotland Yard, Raymond Sinclair and Creighton Wheeler.

Transferring to BBC Radio 1 in January 1994, Greening initially fronted the weekend breakfast show, moving to lunchtimes between November 1994 and October 1995.

Fixtures during this period include a regular two-part story from Eric the Gardener and three adverts per show by Raymond Sinclair's insalubrious associates Blo Chap.

Musical departures comprised the work of the Sinclair Singers, a satirical four-part jazz harmony group again mixed and produced by Danton Supple, as well as a parody of Morrissey smuggled in during guest host slots for Simon Mayo and known in fan circles as Oh Melanie.

Here, McGibbon debuted Major Holdups, a terrifying former air pilot prone to barking out travel updates intercut with surreal storylines.

The conceit grew out of the parodies of radio ads featuring Raymond Sinclair on – initially – Greening's Virgin show, where crude tape edits breathlessly cut from one sentence to another, often losing syllabic sounds.

McGibbon could eventually mimic this naturally and, with the tilt of a cut-glass accent broadly based on art critic Brian Sewell, a new character emerged.

Live performances followed as part of their Edinburgh show, as did a variation on the character for an episode of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's revival of Randall & Hopkirk.

Jon Snow, Bernard Cribbins, David Frost, Brian Sewell, Ned Sherrin and Michael Winner were amongst his deadpan witnesses.

The format was a chat show in which John Bird probed famous people from history, all long since dead, amongst them Adam & Eve, Boudicca & Joan of Arc and Mary Shelley & Robert Oppenheimer.

Andrew McGibbon also made regular appearances in Tom Jamieson & Nev Fountain's Elephants to Catch Eels (2003–04), a sitcom about eighteenth century Cornish smugglers.

It co-starred Lucy Speed, John Bowe, Cameron Stewart, Martin Hyder, Julia Deakin and Mark Felgate, with Sheridan Smith joining for series two.

It was followed by Miles Apart (2006), three extended interviews with comedy practitioners in other cultures – Antoine de Caunes in France, Sabina Guzzanti in Italy, and Harry Shearer in America.

Two short series of I Was... followed in 2007 and 2008, with reflections from those close to Douglas Adams, Ernest Hemingway, David Lean, Dudley Moore, Sam Peckinpah and Peter Sellers.

Not Today, Thank You (2006), a peak-time sitcom written by Andrew McGibbon and Nick Romero, cast Brian Hayes as a washed-up radio presenter forced to live in his grandmother's house with her six eccentric tenants.

[16][17][18] A significant coup for CFR saw The Pickerskill Detentions (2005) mark the first radio performance in twenty years by Ian Richardson, playing the retired English master of Haunchurst College for Boys.

The series also featured Phil Cornwell, Martin Hyder, Dominic Hawksley and Nick Romero, and was written and directed by Andrew McGibbon.

The series was widely acclaimed, with Ruth Cowen of The Sunday Express describing it as "bizarre and very funny"[19] and Chris Campling of The Times noting how "Andrew McGibbon's stories about a teacher with an unusual, moralistic attitude towards justice are a good example of that gentle humour which suddenly throws in a wobbly that pulls you up short.

A concluding special, Dr Henry Pickerskill: The Final Report was transmitted in 2013, this time with Elaine Cassidy and Mark Heap in guest roles.