1. TV SNOWFLAKE TORNADO

Snowflake and Tornado are both on the BBC iplayer now.

Snowflake is here. & Tornado is here.

2. BASIC LEE

The new stand-up show, BASIC LEE hits the road and the Royal Festival Hall.

March 2023

Monday 6th March 2023 – Rose Theatre, Kingston – TICKETS
Tuesday 7th March 2023 – Rose Theatre, Kingston – TICKETS
Wednesday 8th March 2023 – Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes – TICKETS
Thursday 9th March 2023 – Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes – TICKETS
Friday 10th March 2023 – Opera House, Buxton – TICKETS
Saturday 11th March 2023 – Opera House, Buxton – TICKETS
Monday 13th March 2023 – Eden Court, Inverness – TICKETS
Tuesday 14th March 2023 – Tivoli Theatre, Aberdeen – TICKETS
Wednesday 15th March 2023 – Tivoli Theatre, Aberdeen – TICKETS
Thursday 16th March 2023 – King’s Theatre, Glasgow – TICKETS
Friday 17th March 2023 – King’s Theatre, Glasgow – TICKETS
Monday 20th March 2023 – Theatre Royal, York – TICKETS
Tuesday 21st March 2023 – Theatre Royal, York – TICKETS
Wednesday 22nd March 2023 – Theatre Royal, York – TICKETS
Monday 27th March 2023 – The Lowry, Salford Quays – TICKETS
Tuesday 28th March 2023 – The Lowry, Salford Quays – TICKETS
Wednesday 29th March 2023 – The Lowry, Salford Quays – TICKETS
Thursday 30th March 2023 – The Lowry, Salford Quays – TICKETS
Friday 31st March 2023 – The Lowry, Salford Quays – TICKETS

April 2023

Saturday 1st April 2023 – The Lowry, Salford Quays – TICKETS
Monday 3rd April 2023 – Hippodrome, Bristol – TICKETS
Thursday 13th April 2023 – Theatre Royal, Newcastle Upon Tyne – TICKETS
Friday 14th April 2023 – Theatre Royal, Newcastle Upon Tyne – TICKETS
Saturday 15th April 2023 – Theatre Royal, Newcastle Upon Tyne – TICKETS
Tuesday 18th April 2023 – Forum Theatre, Malvern – TICKETS
Wednesday 19th April 2023 – Forum Theatre, Malvern – TICKETS
Thursday 20th April 2023 – Westlands, Yeovil – TICKETS
Wednesday 26th April 2023 – Brighton Dome, Brighton – TICKETS
Thursday 27th April 2023 – Brighton Dome, Brighton – TICKETS
Friday 28th April 2023 – Brighton Dome, Brighton – TICKETS
Saturday 29th April 2023 – Brighton Dome, Brighton – TICKETS
Sunday 30th April 2023 – Brighton Dome, Brighton – TICKETS

May 2023

Tuesday 2nd May 2023 – Mercury Theatre, Colchester – TICKETS
Wednesday 3rd May 2023 – Mercury Theatre, Colchester – TICKETS
Thursday 4th May 2023 – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford – TICKETS
Friday 5th May 2023 – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford – TICKETS
Saturday 6th May 2023 – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford – TICKETS
Friday 26th May 2023 – Playhouse, Nottingham – TICKETS
Saturday 27th May 2023 – Playhouse, Nottingham – TICKETS
Saturday 27th May 2023 – Playhouse, Nottingham – TICKETS
Sunday 28th May 2023 – Playhouse, Nottingham – TICKETS

June 2023

Wednesday 28th June 2023 – Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London – TICKETS
Thursday 29th June 2023 – Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London – TICKETS
Friday 30th June 2023 – Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London – TICKETS

July 2023

Saturday 1st July 2023 – Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London – TICKETS
Sunday 2nd July 2023 – Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London – TICKETS
Sunday 2nd July 2023 – Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London – TICKETS

3. BENEFIT SHOWS

WEDS MAY 17^TH NERVE TUMORS BENEFIT Union Chapel London.
Stand Up for Nerve Tumours UK Comedy Fundraiser with Stewart Lee, Paul Foot, Laura Lexx, Lara Ricote, Dan Tiernan, Celya AB, William Stone with MC Jessica Fostekew.
Doors 7pm 16+ https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/stand-up-for-nerve-tumours-uk-comedy-fundraiser

4. I ARROGANTLY RECOMMEND SOME 2023 HAPPENINGS/THINGS

JOSIE LONG
The absolutely brilliant stand-up is on tour

MAY 12th Berwick-Upon-Tweed Maltings,
14th Salford Lowry,
18th Trebah Ampitheatre,
19th Ivybridge Watermark,
20th Clevedon Curzon,
27th Warwick Arts,
30th Lawrence Batley Huddersfield,
JUNE 3rd Giffnock Eastwood Park,
21st Wigan Old Courts,
22nd Halifax Square Chapel,
23rd Oxford Old Fire Station,
27th Druimfin Mull Theatre,
30th Cambridge Junction,
JULY 1st Folkestone Quarterhouse,
7th Stirling Tolbooth,
9th Exeter Phoenix
TICKETS HERE

SIMON MUNNERY The Peter Cook of our generation of comics, but better.

MARCH

11 – CAMBRIDGE, Junction,
16 – BRIGHTON, The Old Market,
23 – BRISTOL, Hen & Chicken,
11 – NORWICH, Arts Centre,
13 – BATH, Rondo Theatre,
18 – LEEDS, The Old Wollen,
JUNE 9 – ALDERSHOT, West End Centre

PLEASE SUPPORT THIS UNSUNG GENIUS OF STAND-UP*********** – https://www.simonmunnery.com/tour-dates

STIFF LITTLE FINGERS
The indefatigable inspirational still-ragin’ first wave punk survivors MUST BE SEEN.
MARCH 7th Livewire, Saltash; 9th Bristol Academy; 10th Cardiff Tramshed; 11th Birmingham Academy; 13th Portsmouth Guildhall; 14th Cambridge Junction; 16th Newcastle City Hall; 17th – 18th Glasgow Barrowlands; 20th Nottingham Rock City; 21st Norwich Epic; 23rd Leeds Academy; 24th M’cr Academy; 25th London Roundhouse.

THE FALLEN LEAVES
Gentleman mod-punks
MAY 13th Camden Dublin Castle,
SEP 9th Camden Dublin Castle.

ROSIE HOLT Satire’s Rosie Holt will be satirising the shit out of shit at the following places in 2023;
MARCH

9^th Cambridge Corn Exchange,
16^th Sheffield Leadmill,
17^th B’ham Old Rep,
22^nd London Leicester Sq Theatre,
24^th Southend On Sea Palace,
25^th Swindon Wyvern
APRIL 29^th Ipswich Corn Exchange,
30^th Leeds City Varieties,
MAY 4^th & 5^th Bristol Hen & Chicken,
May 7^th Salford Lowry,
JULY 1^st Oxford Festival Marquee

DREAM SYNDICATE/RAIN PARADE Unmissable double header of Paisley Underground Survivors – Dream Syndicate are currently magnificent!
MARCH 7^th Bristol Fleece, 8^th L’pool District, 9^th Leeds Brudenell, 10^th/11^th Glasgow Hug & Pint, 12^th N’castle Cluny, 14^th M’cr Band On The Wall, 15^th London Lexington, 16^th London Colours

MARK EITZEL American Music Club songwriter returns MARCH 10^th London St Pancras Old Church.

ONEIDA Krautrockin’ Brooklyn hipsters MARCH 11^th Bristol Crofters, 12^th London Studio 9294

ROBERT FORSTER The silver fox of Australian indie rock MARCH 11^th Strathaven Frets, 12^th Edinburgh Mash, 14^th York Crescent, 16^th W’hampton Newhampton Arts, 17^th Oxford Bullingdon, 20^th London Lafayette, 21^st Brighton Komedia, 23^rd Belfast Empire, 24^th Dublin Button Factory

BRITISH JAZZ FILM ARCHIVE SHOW AT CAFÉ OTO LONDON March 12th

FREE TO AIR: IMPROVISED AND EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC ON BRITISH TV, 1973-1983 Café OTO, in association with the British Film Institute, presents a day-long immersion in another era: one in which there were only four TV channels, and a music community that was struggling to be seen and heard. We bring together four extremely rare programmes, scarcely seen at the time and never repeated, which show Café OTO regulars and other legends of the improvisation/jazz scene at work and in concert. Marvel at the earliest known film of Derek Bailey (Omnibus: British Jazz, 1973), Spike Milligan introducing The Tony Oxley Unit (Open Door, 1974), wild film of Evan Parker and Paul Lytton in performance (Aquarius, 1975), and Fred Frith giving a comic demonstration of his approach to sound (Jazz on 4, 1983). This event is a reflection on the struggle to get heard in the mainstream – is it better to reject a public service broadcaster, or a great way to reach the unsuspecting listener?

The Musicians’ Action Group, who made the Open Door programme, fought for better exposure for jazz musicians – but it remained a struggle, and is even more so today.

These four programmes show how sympathetic producers, often fans of the music, made it possible for viewers to discover it for themselves. Our two panels will feature musicians who appeared in the programmes, viewers who saw them at the time, those who worked behind the scenes, and jazz critics then and now. Together we will dissect what we’ve lost and what we’ve gained. Above all join us for a day of great music and eye-catching films, a true blast from the past. This is a one-off reappearance for these programmes which is not to be missed.

PROGRAMME ONE From the venerable BBC1 arts show Omnibus, we present British Jazz (1973). Charles Fox (Jazz in Britain), Benny Green, Humphrey Lyttelton and others take us on a journey around the scene, all the way from trad to free. We meet Ian Carr’s Nucleus, as well as Iskra 1903 who deliver a performance on film that is almost too fast for the cameras. Open Door: Jazz… Nobody’s Child (1974) saw the takeover of BBC2 by the Musicians’ Action Group, gaining a platform to make their case for better jazz coverage on TV. Charles Fox and Spike Milligan (The Goon Show) introduce films of Stan Tracey, The Tony Oxley Unit, Maggie Nicols’ Matter in Motion, Tony Levin, and Paul Rutherford. Norma Winstone and Gordon Beck appear in the studio. + Panel TBC

PROGRAMME TWO Sounds Amazing! (London Weekend Television, 1975) is one of the most unusual programmes to go out on ITV, let alone at teatime. As TV Times put it, ‘This Aquarius film is about musical explorers who are extending the language of music in unusual ways.’ Our ‘sound poets’ are Max Eastley, David Toop, Paul Burwell, Hugh Davies, Evan Parker and Paul Lytton. In Crossing Bridges (Channel 4, 1983), a midnight special for Jazz on 4, six innovative guitarists talk about their ideas and give a studio demonstration of their music. Spend an unforgettable hour with Fred Frith, Brian Godding, John Russell, Ron Geesin, Hans Reichel and Keith Rowe. + Panel TBC

Thanks to the British Film Institute for permission to screen these programmes as part of the Performers Alliance Agreement. There is a 25% discount for entry to members of Equity, Writers Guild and the Musicians’ Union. Please present your membership card on arrival.

ROB AUTON Gifted poet/stand-up MARCH 13^TH – 18^th London Soho Theatre

KIM NOBLE – LULLABY FOR SCAVENGERS Rend your heart and mind once again with more of Noble’s art-comedy genius
MARCH 15^TH – APRIL 8^TH London Soho Theatre

ORBITAL Rave era visionary architects of sound
MARCH 16^th Limerick Big Top, 18^th Belfast Mandela, 28^th Glasgow Galvanisers, 29^th Newcastle NX, 30^th M’cr Albert Hall, 31^st Bristol Academy, APRIL 1^st London Brixton Academy, 5^th Leeds Academy, 6^th Cambridge Corn Exchange, 7^th Nottingham Rock City, 8^th Brighton Centre.

TONY BUCK AT 60 Drummer’s birthday celebration with guests MARCH 21-23 London Café Oto

THE WAVE PICTURES Indie classicists
MARCH 22^nd Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms, 23^rd Sheffield Yellow Arch, 24^th Preston Ferret, 25^th Southampton Joiner, 26^th Lewes Con Club, 30^th Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach, APR 1^st Stowmarket John Peel Centre.

THE POPGUNS 80s indie-popsters return MARCH 31^ST London 229

THE DAMNED/THE NIGHTINGALES 2 punk era legends of wildly differing levels of fame in one double bill.
MARCH 31^ST Cardiff Great Hall, APRIL 1^st Southend Cliffs, 4^th Nottingham Rock City, 5^th Liverpool Academy, 7^th Newcastle NX, 8^th Glasgow Academy, 10^th Leeds Academy, 11^th M’cr Albert Hall, 13^th B’ham Town Hall, 15^th Norwich Nick Rayns, 17^th Brighton Dome, 18^th S’hampton Guildhall, 20^th/21^st London Alexandra Palace,

ALASDAIR ROBERTS Songwriter re-wiring Scottish folk tradition
MARCH 28^th London Sutton House, APRIL 1^st Cambridge Blue Moon, 6^th W’chester Hyde Tavern, 7^th Oxford Florence Park Community Centre, JUNE 23^RD London West Hampstead Arts, 24^th London Barbican

DISCHARGE
Hardcore ‘77 survivors.
APRIL 7TH Newcastle Anarchy Brewery, 8th Edinburgh Bannermans, 28th Swansea Bunkhouse, 29th Corby Clubhouse,
MAY 5th London Desertfest,
DEC 23rd B’ham Castle & Falcon

ALASDAIR BECKETT-KING – The Interdimensional Alasdair Beckett-King.
I saw this sharp absurdist show in Edinburgh and it is brilliant.
APRIL 8^th Bath Rondo,
13^th Oxford Glee,
14^th Birmingham Glee,
20^th Aldershot West End,
21^st New Milton Forest Arts,
22^nd Brighton Komedia,
27^th Norwich Arts Centre,
28^th Bristol Comedy Box @ Hen & Chicken,
29^th Tiverton Community Arts Cent
MAY 5^th Maidstone Hazlitt,
6^th Cambridge Junction,
11^th Fareham Ashcroft,
12^th Winchester Arc,
13^th Swindon Arts,
16^th Newcastle Stand,
17^th Edinburgh Stand,
18^th Glasgow Stand,
19^th Belfast Limelight,
20^th Derry/Londonderry Nerve,
27^th M’cr Home,
28^th Leeds Wardrobe
JUNE 27^th London Leicester Sq Theatre

YO LA TENGO Gods of American indie APRIL 10^TH Dublin 3Olympia, 12^th M’cr New Century, 13^th Bristol SWX, 14^th London Palladium,

SHONEN KNIFE Distaff Japanese Ramones
APRIL 12^TH Guildford Boileroom, 13^th Reading Sub69, 14^th Cambridge Portland Arms, 15^th London Garage, 16^th Lewes Con Club, 18^th Nottingham Rescue Rooms, 20^th Edinburgh Summerhall, 21^st Newcastle Cluny, 22^nd Carlisle Brickyard, 23^rd Hull Adelphi, 25^th Leeds Brudenell, 26^th Cardiff Moon, 27^th B’ham Hare & Hounds, 28^th M’cr Night & Day, 29^th Bristol Exchange, 30^th Bedford Esquires

JAYHAWKS Alt country originators APRIL 14^th London Shepherd’s Bush Empire

GOAT Psychedelic Scandinavian shamans APRIL 15^TH Bristol SWX, 16^th B’ham Digneth Mill, 17^th Leeds Brudenell, 18^th Glasgow Garage, 19^th N’castle Boiler Shop, 20^th M’cr Gorilla, 21^st Brighton Chalk, 22^nd London Electric Ballroom

TONY! Tony Blair rock opera by Harry Hill and Steve Brown.
APRIL 15^TH – MAY 21^ST London Leicester Sq Theatre

BEN MOOR Various things, 18th April – 23rd May. The superbly gifted performance art comedian has two shows on the go. With Jo Neary he offers his amazing Russian Doll of a show BookTalkBookTalkBook, a sublime parody of literary events, at Machynlleth Comedy Festival on Sunday 30th April, and at The Hen and Chickens, Islington, London, on Tuesday 23rd May. I cannot recomment it enough. His current solo show Who Here’s Lost? is at The Hen and Chickens on 18th and 19th April.
https://www.unrestrictedview.co.uk/ben-moor-who-heres-lost/

SONIC BOOM A middle class man ruins his mind so you don’t have to.
APR 19th M’cr Band On The Wall, 20th Glasgow Room 2, 22nd Leeds Brudenell, 27th London Studio 9294

IMPRESSIONS OF JOHN COLTRANE w Alan Skidmore, Dominic Lash
APRIL 21^ST London Café Oto

RICHARD DAWSON Genius art-folk-noise songwriter
APRIL 25^th M’cr New Century, 26^th Glasgow St Luke’s, 27^th L’pool Tung, 28^th Leeds City Varieties, MAY 3^rd Cardiff Gate, 5^th London Barbican

BLUE AEROPLANES Bristol beat poets APRIL 28^TH London Electric Ballroom

THE FALLEN WOMEN APRIL 28th – The Moon, Cardiff; 29TH – The Ill Repute, Bristol.

HAWKWIND This current Hawkwind iteration channels their classic ‘70s space rock sound unashamedly, with keyboardist Thighpaulsandra of Coil, Cope and Spiritualised clearly living out a childhood dream. APRIL 28th Manchester Academy I, 29th April – Rock City Nottingham, 30th – Northern Kin Festival Durham, JUNE 16th – Hall for Cornwall, AUGUST 28th – Castell Roc, Chepstow Castle

SWELL MAPS C21 Surviving Swell Maps augmented w celebrity guests APRIL 29^TH London Café Oto

ROBERT LLOYD (Nightingales), JANET BEVERIDGE BEAN (Eleventh Dream Day/Freakwater), LINDY MORRISON (Go-Betweens), MARK BEDFORD (Madness) & PETE BYRCHMORE (Membranes)
LONDON BUSH HALL, MAY 2ND
This is the event of the year in my mind – and I can’t go.
Nightingales frontman and post-punk steamroller Robert Lloyd (the star of the doc King Rocker that Michael Cumming and I made) has a long term sideline in brilliant blue collar country songs, like a Cannock Lee Hazelwood offering black country country and western.
Under lockdown he hatched a plan to document this other facet of his talent with Janet Beveridge Bean, of the legendary Chicago bands Eleventh Dream Day and Freakwater, on vocals.
And for one night only – May 2nd – they are performing this amazing soon-to-be-released set of tearjerkers at London’s Bush Hall, accompanied by a veritable Blind Faith made up of members of many of the bands I love the most in the world.

The Go-Betweens’ rightful drummer Lindy Morrison sits behind the traps with her trademark fills, Pete Byrchmore of The Membranes is on guitar, and the bass is Mark Bedford from Madness – and if you remember his playing on Robert Wyatt’s Shipbuilding you’ll know he’s adept at the sensitivity required here as he is at holding down a rocksteady rhythm.

DO NOT MISS THIS. IT CAN NEVER BE REPEATED.
Here’s a flyer. Tell your friends. 0208 222 6955. Or the Dice.fm ticket ap.

OTOBOKE BEAVER Japanese noise-girls
MAY 2^nd London Electric Ballroom,
4^th M’cr Club Academy,
5^th Glasgow St Luke’s,
7^th Belfast Empire,
8^th Dublin Button Factory,
10^th Bristol Fleece

LAUREN CONNORS & ALAN LICHT – Lucid guitar duo MAY 5^TH/6^TH London Café Oto

GAVIN BRYARS never failed us yet MAY 15^TH/16^th London Café Oto

HOUSE OF ALL M’cr post-punk supergroup, a kind of 6 Music evening show Asia, hit the road.
HANLEY HANLEY GREENWAY BRAMAGH!

LONG RYDERS Alt country pioneers return, again
MAY 19^th Leamington Assembly,
20^th London 229,
21^st Leeds Brudenell,
22^nd Glasgow Oran Moor,
23^rd L’pool Cavern,
25^th Brighton Patterns

LOOP Heavy psyche survivors
MAY 20^th Dublin Wheelans, 21^st M’cr Deaf Institute, 22^nd Glasgow Room 2, 23^rd Leeds Brudenell, 25^th London Garage, 27^th Norwich UEA

AMON DUUL II ‘70s originators of commune krautrock. Can they really still rock?
MAY 29^th London Jazz Café, 30^th M’cr Blues Kitchen

CHUCK PROPHET Chisel-cheeked Alt Country guitar-slinger
MAY 31^st London Garage
JUNE 2^nd Nottingham Metronome,
4^th Oxford Bullingdon,
6^th Leeds Brudenell,
7^th Glasgow St Luke’s,
10^th N’castle Cluny,
12^th B’ham Hare & Hounds,
13^th Bristol Fleece,
14^th Southampton 1865

LAURA CANNELL Hypnotic fenland dronemadchen JUNE 17^th London King’s Place

THE CHAMELEONS Most convincing line-up for years of the always emotionally edifying Big Music should-have-beens.
JUNE 20^th Leeds Old Woollen,
21^st L’pool Hangar 34,
22^nd N’castle Riverside,
23^rd Edinburgh Liquid Room,
24^th Glasgow Garage,
26^th Aberdeen Lemon Tree,
28^th Norwich Epic,
29^th Cambridge Junction,
30^th Leamington Assembly,
JULY 1^ST London Islington Assembly,
3^rd Bristol Fleece,
4^th Brighton Chalk,
7^th Castleton Devil’s Arse,
8^th Holmfirth Picturedrome

MUSIC FROM SUMMERISLE Various artists play the Wicker Man s/track, including Magnet (!), and Alasdair Roberts JUNE 24^th London Barbican

BMX BANDITS Also-beens of classic Scottish indie JUNE 30^TH Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN Another tilt at the infinite horizon from the cosmic scallies SEPT 12^TH Nottingham Royal Concert Halls, 14^th Edinburgh Usher Halls, 16^th L’pool Bank Arena, 18^th London Royal Albert Hall

BRITISH CRYPTIDS ON YOUTUBE In 1974 the producer of Hereford Wakes, David Emlyn Edwards, made a series of films about unknown animals in the United Kingdom.
The films were presumably destined to be sold to a UK broadcaster – either BBC or ITV – but they seem to only have been shown at schools and ended up languishing in public libraries.
The music for the series was written and produced by Hereford Wakes’ Thorsten Schmidt, continuing his professional collaboration with David Emlyn Edwards.
The latest restoration to be released is ‘The Woodwose of Cannock Chase’. If you enjoyed Hereford Wakes, we’re sure you’ll enjoy this too!  https://youtu.be/loZwFNT8H_s

5. IN OUR LAMENTATIONS 2023

Ruggero Deodato (Junk genius, 1939)
Kelly Monteith (Lucky pants stand-up, 1942)
Alan Rankine (Associate musician, 1958)
Darryl Hunt (Pogue bass, 1950)
Jeff Beck (He happened ten years time ago, 1944)
Jane Suck (punk chronicler, 195?)
Yukihiro Takahashi (Sadistic Mika Man, 1952)
Ronald Blythe (Akenfieldsman, 1922)
Piers Haggard (hack genius of Claw and Quatermass, 1932)
Van Connor (sturdy psychedelic tree, 1967)
David Sutherland (Bash Street basher, 1933)
David Crosby (Byrdmaniac, 1941)
Tom Verlaine (Sui generis genius Televisionary, 1949)
Burt Bacarach (Musical cheesnius, 1928)
Eugene Cheese (chucklin’ cheesenius moocher, 1944)
Betty Boothroyd (croaky speaker, 1939)

6. Eugene Cheese

A note on Eugene Cheese (1944-2023). Paul Jay was not a household name.
The child of travelling entertainers, he ran the Chuckle Club at a number of venues around Central London from the mid-80s onwards and was an unforgettable character, lugubrious but loyal and lovable, and blessed with a keen eye for the quirky acts that sometimes put him at odds with prevailing trends. On a good night the atmosphere his insanely weird opening slot (a deranged rhino bellow through Cab Calloway’s Minnie The Moocher) would set the tone for the show to lead to some riotous evenings.
He had a small part – as Arnold Brown’s wife – in series 1 of Comedy Vehicle and, though he made you work for years to get out of open spot purgatory into his coveted paid slots, once you were there Paul was a keeper, and the comedy world is poorer for the loss of yet another of that first wave of great Alternative Era eccentrics. (See Iceman, below)
My thoughts and condolences to friends and family, and especially to Margaret.

7. ICEMAN BOOK

The brilliant Robert Wringham has written a new book about legend of the alternative comedy scene with an outro by me and an intro by Simon Munnery

Alternative comedy legend The Iceman has been immortalised in a new book. The performer, real name Anthony Irvine, was a regular on the comedy circuit in the 1980s and 1990s with an act that involved melting blocks of ice in a variety of ways –  including salt or a blowtorch – while delivering corny jokes to the audience.

Shrek star Mike Myers has cited the Iceman as one of his all-time comedy favourites; Bill Bailey describes him as ‘a legend’ and Jo Brand describes him as ‘a true performance artist’.
He played Malcolm Hardee’s Tunnel Palladium, Simon Munnery’s Cluub Zarathustra, and Ivor Dembina’s Red Rose Club as well as being a regular at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Now comedy historian Robert Wringham has compiled an extended pictorial interview with Irvine, entitled Melt It! The Book of the Iceman, which is published today by indie label Go Faster Stripe.
The author says: ‘I wrote a book about Cluub Zarathustra ten years ago. Everyone I interviewed remembered the Iceman but I couldn’t find him. Like so many other fringe acts, he was simply gone.
‘When [alternative comedy blogger] John Fleming put me in touch with Anthony, I suggested my book idea. We spent a day together at Battersea Arts Centre where I grilled him to see what made the Iceman tick.’
The book features a foreword by Munnery and an afterword by Stewart Lee, who says: ‘I am so glad this book exists … another of Wringham’s essential mini-masterpieces.’

Alongside the interview, Wringham, who calls the book ‘an alt-alt comedy history bonanza’ presents 56 Polaroid photographs of Irvine’s 1990s ice block.
Chris Evans of Go Faster Stripe said of the 168-page title: ‘It’s right up my street. And if it’s something I’d like to read, hopefully there’s more people like me’
Stand-up turned comedy historian Oliver Double says: ‘I’ve long known about the legend of the Iceman, but I’m sorry to say I’ve never seen his act nor shared a bill with him on the circuit.

‘As a teacher, I’m keen to give examples of speciality acts so I’m always scouring for stuff about the Iceman. This book sounds brilliant.’

Melt It! The Book of the Iceman is available from Go Faster Stripe, priced £15 for a physical copy or £5 as a download.
GET IT HERE.