Shirley Collins – Sweet England - January 2011 January 2nd, 2011

Sweet England, the long unavailable 1958 debut by the grande dame of English folk Shirley Collins, conjures a simpler world, where children learned Cecil Sharp’s Folk Songs For Schools in assembly. Yes, there’s a whiff of Kenneth Williams’ folk singer character Sid Rumpo in the hey nonny vocaleese, and Shirley herself writes “as I matured,…

Reverend Deadeye – The Trials And Tribulations Of Reverend Deadeye - January 2011 January 1st, 2011

Brent Burkhart joins the queue of post-Seasick Steve floorboard-stomping bluesmen, and trails the usual mis-spent childhood story, losing his eye tormenting snakes on stage with his Pentecostal revivalist family. Hymns to Jesus, Satan, booze, blues and drugs are barked one-man-band style over kick drum and rusted electric guitar, but despite the authentic Flannery O’Connor flourishes…

Best books of the year: 2010 - December 2010 Booktrust.org - December 31st, 2010

How I Escaped My Certain Fate By Stewart Lee Published by Faber Stewart Lee is one of the country’s most respected comedians, a tireless generator of new material and the inspiration for ‘national treasure’ Ricky Gervais, which is the cue for the start of this part-memoir/part-show transcript. During a lull in performing stand-up, in which…

Vegetable Stew, Leicester Square Theatre ★★★ - December 2010 The Telegraph - By Dominic Cavendish - December 7th, 2010

His perfectionism is much-loved, but there’s only so much antipathy or disdain an audience can stomach. Watching Stewart Lee in action these days is like standing on the edge of a frozen lake and seeing a man half-submerged in the perishing ice. You throw him a rope – but he hurls it back. You didn’t…

If You Prefer A Milder Comedian…Stewart Lee & Me… (On DVD) - November 2010 Postmodern Idiosyncrasies - November 23rd, 2010

I will, without exception, take the opportunity to use an ampersand wherever possible. Except on those points where it seems ugly. I am an aesthetic writer, would be the point. I’m also a big fan of Stewart Lee , to the point where I buy those weird anachronisms that DVDs are fast becoming. But lest…

It’s a privilege to learn the secrets of Stewart Lee’s comedy - November 2010 The Guardian - By Phil Daoust - November 18th, 2010

Stewart Lee . . . offering a peep behind the curtains. Photograph: Jo Hale/Getty Images No one under 30 will believe this, but stand-up comedy was once exciting and unpredictable. You could actually enjoy it sober. Like the punks before them, the alternative comedians who sprang up in the 1980s saw it as their duty…