On Wednesday, I sat in a disabled toilet cubicle, listening to a lifesize effigy of the perpetually silenced free-speech crusader, progressive eugenics enthusiast and regular BBC broadcaster Toby Youngs as it lolled back and forth inside a glass cabinet, a fortune-telling puppet at a fair. “Five-months pregnant Padma Lakshmi’s boobs are massive. Actually mate, I had my dick up her arse! Living in close proximity to violent crime is the price Londoners pay for racial integration,” it said, repeatedly. The speech was free, of its original context, and its original audience.

If you accessed any media on Monday, you saw Toby Youngs, who isn’t allowed to say anything, telling supportive journalists about his Free Speech Union™®, a “non-partisan, mass-membership organisation that stands up for the speech rights of its members”. Toby Youngs’s Free Speech Union™® is one of 6,764 limited companies run out of 85 Great Portland Street, London. Presumably this is a virtual office, unless Youngs and his fellow directors, including Nigel Biggar, professor of moral and pastoral theology at the University of Oxford, have used the same miniaturisation ray on their company that they have already used on their cocks.

Youngs has been called a “caustic wit” by his friend, Boris Piccaninny Watermelon Letterbox Cake Bumboys Vampires Haircut Wall-Spaffer Spunk-Burster Fuck-Business Fuck-the-Families Get-Off-My-Fucking-Laptop Girly-Swot Big-Girl’s-Blouse Chicken-frit Hulk-Smash Noseringed-Crusties Death-Humbug Technology-Lessons Surrender-Bullshit French-Turds Dog-Whistle Get-Stuffed FactcheckUK@CCHQ 88%-lies Get-Brexit-Done Bung-A-Bob-for-Big-Ben’s-Bongs Cocaine-Event Spiritual-Worth Three-Men-and-a-Dog Johnson.

The Toby Youngs toilet effigy had been programmed to demonstrate Toby Youngs’s caustic wit, which must be defended. But the tape loop jammed. “Five-months pregnant Padma Lakshmi’s boobs are massive. Actually mate, I had my dick up her arse! Living in close proximity to violent crime is the price Londoners pay for racial integration,” honked the torso again, banging its bald head on the glass, Youngs’s harmless comments given liturgical resonance beyond their lighthearted origins.

The word “free” in the Free Speech Union™®’s name refers only to free speech. Membership actually costs between £49.95 and £250 a year, depending how freely you need to speak. If you are a student oppressed by political correctness gone mad, jonesing for freedom, Toby Youngs gives you the first hit half-price. It is not clear if the Free Speech Union™® will defend non-members on principle or members who are, as Youngs says, “ghastly, puritanical, po-faced, sanctimonious, finger-wagging, woke” people or “universally unattractive, small, vaguely deformed” working-class students. It’s a protection racket, capeesh?

I decided to visit 85 Great Portland Street, where companies claim presence from £29.99 a year, to see if the Free Speech Union™® had corporeal form. A disabled toilet cubicle, with a crayon drawing of King’s College Cambridge on the door, functioned as the Free Speech Union™®’s nerve centre. I heard the broken Toby Youngs effigy’s voice before I entered. “Five-months pregnant Padma Lakshmi’s boobs are massive. Actually mate, I had my dick up her arse! Living in close proximity to violent crime is the price Londoners pay for racial integration.”

Inside the cubicle, a brass plate read: “Ask me a question.” But before I could, the flailing animatronic educationalist lurched into involuntary life again, wooden teeth clacking. “Five-months pregnant Padma Lakshmi’s boobs are massive. Actually mate, I had my dick up her arse! Living in close proximity to violent crime is the price Londoners pay for racial integration.” I resisted the urge to cover my ears. The views of a malfunctioning Toby Youngs effigy deserve to be heard. And challenged in robust debate.

Nevertheless, membership of the Free Speech Union™® interested me. Recently, a person called Xpijonipsy wondered on the internet if he should kill me by stabbing my eyes out, shooting off my knees or smashing my brain in with a heavy object. But the first two methods would mean, though blinded or maimed, I would still be able to tell my jokes, as long as I was helped on stage by a clever dog. Will the Free Speech Union™® protect me from Xpijonipsy? Will it protect black footballers from racial abuse? Will it protect feminist campaigners from rape threats? Will it protect female politicians from male politicians who wouldn’t even rape them? Will it protect the “furrowed-browed little soothsayer” Greta Thunberg? Will it protect Holocaust Deniers and Replacement Theorists? Will it protect people from James Grundy’s Lancashire goolies? Will it protect Grundy’s Lancashire goolies?

What Youngs really wants isn’t a Free Speech Union™®. He wants a Freedom from Consequences of Speech Union and a credible-sounding caption for his BBC appearances: “Toby Youngs, Free Speech Union.” But within 24 hours of announcing his Wazzocks’ Waco, his X-Men of Shits, Youngs’s endearingly bumbling Sun interview, in which he wouldn’t guarantee Tommy Robinson’s freedom to speak, exposed his contradictory thinking. Toby Youngs is a tragic fly, floating on flimsy wings of unearned privilege and family connections, banging repeatedly into the same window pane of failure, all the while wishing he were the soaring eagle of legend, instead of something that vomits on to its own food and sucks it back up into its mouth.

Satirising “inclusivity” in 2012, Toby Youngs joked that schools now all have “wheelchair ramps, the complete works of Alice Walker… and a Special Educational Needs Department”, the latter of which might presumably help the struggling students this government-endorsed educationalist described as “functionally illiterate troglodytes with a mental age of six”.

If I am kneecapped by Xpijonipsy, will Toby Youngs protect my right to speak and my right to use those same wheelchair ramps alongside the “troglodyte children”? I asked the effigy. It answered. ““Five-months pregnant Padma Lakshmi’s boobs are massive. Actually mate, I had my dick up her arse! Living in close proximity to violent crime is the price Londoners pay for racial integration.”

The 2007/8 show was recorded at The Stand, Glasgow on April 7th '08 and was released on 28th of July through Real Talent.

You can buy online at amazon, play, etc.
Here's all the press from the tour.

It's come out really well and there's some good extras including a 45 minute interview conducted by Johnny Vegas and Stewart's performance at Pestival - 'the international Arts Pestival dedicated to raising awareness of the integral role insects play in the global ecosystem'.

Comedian Stewart Lee joins Rob to discuss his new stand-up shows Snowflake and Tornado, currently on BBC iPlayer. And Stewart explains why he particularly embraces the audience members who have been dragged to his shows against their will...

Brydon & is a Spotify Exclusive Podcast. Rob Brydon is the Executive Producer in partnership with The Talent Bank and Folding Pocket. The show is produced by Sam Roberts and Rebecca Taylor-Sims. For Spotify, the Executive Producer is Rachel Simpson.
NOTE: THIS PODCAST IS ON SPOTIFY WHICH MEANS YOU NEED A SPOTIFY ACCOUNT TO LISTEN TO IT IN ITS ENTIRETY

In 2005, the then 20-year-old Prince Harry appeared as a Nazi at a fancy dress party. Perhaps the uniform had been inherited from his great-great-uncle, Edward VIII, who was not averse to a spot of recreational sieg heiling.

But next year Prince Harry is to marry the mixed-race descendant of a black American slave, his wedding garments scrupulously stripped of any stray swastikas. Cosmic order is restored.

Has the Prince nobly taken upon himself the symbolic role of a healing force in our rapidly unravelling world, suddenly riven with the sort of open racism and fears of nuclear annihilations that we had assumed had been laid to rest? I’m all for 70s and 80s revivals, but these aren’t the parts of my childhood I feel nostalgic for. A Fab lolly, an Altered Images 12-inch remix and a vibrant trade union movement would have done.

Today, we need the hope that the forthcoming royal nuptials offer more than ever. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s marriage could be a healing ritual for our ruined land, a joining of races that fascists would have us divide. But of course, the racist writing has been on the wall for years.

In 1965, during Eric Clapton’s tenure in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, the phrase “Clapton Is God” began to be grafittied around London. But in 1966, Jimi Hendrix arrived in the city and Clapton was usurped, a seething Salieri to Hendrix’s soaring Mozart.

Ten years later, on stage in Birmingham, a drunken Clapton praised Enoch Powell and declared, “Get the foreigners out, get the wogs out, get the coons out. Keep Britain white.” The Rock Against Racism movement was formed soon after his pronouncement, and the Stranglers brought cavorting strippers on stage with them to smash racism at a Victoria Park RAR concert. Different times.

Today, western world leaders openly praise neo-Nazis, but instead of forming a grass roots rock’n’roll resistance, young people remain passively plugged into their PS4s playing PacMan Go, waiting for their braindead fuck-buddies to come round with some pacifying bong-weed, I expect, while laughing at You-net films of people gobbling down more cinnamon than is necessary, squandering bakers’ dwindling spice reserves.

There’s currently a cynical viral marketing campaign for Clapton’s forthcoming Hyde Park show that sees the ancient phrase “Clapton Is God” sprayed up all around London once more by paid PR-vandals. I have prepared a stencil saying “Clapton is an alcoholic racist”, but getting it out there doesn’t, at the moment, seem like a great use of time. There are worse people to worry about than Clapton or, to give him his blues name, Mississippi Nigel Farage.

We should have seen all this coming, but I thought the culture wars were won when New Order got John Barnes to do a rap on their 1990 World Cup single. I expect I was too busy being ironically racist in a Shoreditch bar, drinking Grolsch from a pop-top bottle and toasting Tony Blair. It’s not only Eric Clapton who has a shameful past.

Alarm bells should have been ringing. Somewhere around the turn of the century, in the perineal period between the ubiquity of email and the pervasive idiocy-tsunami of Twitter, my BNP-voting auntie sent me an attachment, typical of the era, designed to melt my snowflake mind.

It comprised a supposedly scientific study, using history and genetics, to prove that all Muslims were demonstrably culturally and morally inferior, and downright dangerous. Of course, a quick Google showed that neither the academic who wrote it, nor the institution he worked for, had ever existed, a discovery that one would have thought would discredit the piece.

But confronted with this evidence my auntie just said, “All the same, I think it makes a lot of good points.” How pleased she would be, were she alive today, to know that her research reached the same exacting standards as that of the president of the United States of America.

This morning, on LBC radio, the professional wasps’-nest-poker Nick Ferrari was audibly rattled. Ferrari, a man who is 85% wazzock, and who has made a living out of inflaming the unstable passions of the “political correctness has gone mad” brigade, realised the monster robot he had reared on raw opinion meat and a vapour of Facebook hearsay was now beyond his control and he’d forgotten to install its emergency-stop button.

Cautiously describing Trump’s Britain First-endorsing missive as “a tweet too far”, Ferrari suddenly found his white-knuckled listeners largely disagreeing with him, and retorting that these videos needed to be aired, whether they were verifiable or not. Could straight-talking Ferrari smell the smoking torches of a previously loyal mob approaching his own mountaintop castle, his Jaguar F-type aflame on the brick-paved driveway?

On Monday, as Theresa May cautiously accepted that we will have to pay for EU schemes we were already signed up for, and the inevitable impossibility of the fluid Irish border was at last made flesh, it seemed to me that the wheels had finally fallen of the lie-encrusted Brexit battlebus.

But the quiet coup currently enacted by the billionaire tax-avoiders behind Brexit continued its forward motion, as cognitive dissonance drove their brainwashed leave-voting serfs to misdirect their ongoing anger towards everyone but themselves.

But Harry knows the power of symbols and he begins the enactment of a healing ritual. Has Harry, ever the self-aware prankster, chosen the tiny St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, as his wedding venue in a coded satirical message every bit as meaningful as the clearly pro-EU hat his grandmother wore at the opening of parliament last June?

In a comic pantomime of self-immolating isolationism, our next National Royal Ceremony will be performed in a room too small to accommodate all those who might have been expected to attend, in a building named after our national saint, a man famous for fighting something that didn’t exist, a dragon as unreal as Boris Johnson’s Daily Telegraph vision of a banana-hating EU.

The chapel’s roof is decorated with heraldic animals. Guests might find themselves staring up at a unicorn, which canters away into the mist of myth, as gaseous as an NHS promise, the porous Irish border, the cake that can be eaten and had.

And here come the prince and his scion of slaves, to make us whole again. Meghan Markle. Her name even sounds like “Mrs Merkel”, and she symbolises an America far better than Trump’s, a virgin new land coming into conjugal union with a grizzled Britain that, like the Prince himself, could still choose to divest itself of its unattractive fascist garments and begin again.

From 1989 to 1991 I lived in Finsbury Park, decades before it began to show signs of gentrification. I'd get home late from unpaid standup try-out spots, and it was hard to hold down a day job. At the end of my street, outside a hardware shop on Tollington Park, was a contraption so unusual that each night, in a state of adrenaline-driven imbalance, I would find myself staring at it in the small hours in bleak fascination. It was a maggot vending machine; faintly glowing, dimly humming, and stuffed with millions of live maggots throbbing gently en masse in a barely warmed state of collective suspended animation. As a younger, and more impressionable, man I couldn't help but find it vaguely profound.

One hot July night in 1990, around 1.30am, I was staring at the maggot machine as usual, a contraband comedy club's can of Carlsberg in hand, thinking about the maggots as metaphors for something or other, when my musings were interrupted by a sharply dressed young man, of around my age, emerging from a van bearing the legend "House of Maggots". "Excuse me sir," he said, politely, "maggot maintenance", and he wheeled over a pallet of plastic cool boxes. Unlocking the maggot machine he began to pour gallons of immobilised maggots into it, topping up the depleted stock within.

"Can I have a look, mate?" I asked. "I walk past this machine every night and I've wondered how it works." "By all means," said the man, and helped me up with a politeness and confidence that my prejudiced assumptions hadn't led me to expect in a man who vended maggots. Beneath me, millions of maggots pulsated slowly in comatose contentment. "I keep them just warm enough to live," he said, "but not hot enough to get excited, nor cold enough to expire. Here, pour this on them. It's their food." The man handed me a sachet of yeasty smelling flakes and I sprinkled it over the ignorant maggots.

"You're out late," the maggot man said, as he locked up the machine. "I'm trying to be a comedian," I replied. "I get back late from all these try-out gigs and the buzz keeps me awake. It's making it hard to hold on to temp jobs." "Oh," the man said. "Can you drive?" One cup of tea at an all-night cafe in Crouch End later and I became House of Maggots' second ever staff member.

Each night after my try-out gigs, I would get a train up to Watford to meet Grant, who patrolled his patch (principally London, and vast swaths of Norfolk and Suffolk, where early-morning anglers gathered by his machines in laybys and car parks), nocturnally maintaining his maggot empire. Like me, Grant had left further education a year previously, having studied finance at Manchester Polytechnic. One morning, setting off early on a fishing trip with an uncle who had forgotten to pack live bait, Grant spotted a gap in the market that his business brain could exploit. And House of Maggots was born.

There was less traffic in the nighttime, and between midnight and morning Grant and I swiftly circumnavigated his machines in a minivan full of permanently chilled larvae. Pretty soon our roles were established. I did all the heavy lifting and driving, while Grant sat in the passenger seat doing paperwork, maintaining his swelling maggot supply lines. Grant's enthusiasm was infectious. I liked him, though we rarely saw eye to eye on politics. Mick Jones from the Clash was Grant's cousin, and we'd blast his tapes from the tinny stereo, singing along to the words while debating the sentiment.

"How can you like the Clash," I asked Grant, "when you're obviously a Tory entrepreneur?" "Easy," he answered. "A protest group like the Clash? They're extremely valuable. The disgruntled proles go and see them on a Saturday night, get drunk, jump around, and feel like their grievances have been addressed. Then they're much happier going back to being wage slaves for the rest of the week." I laughed. Back then I assumed Grant was joking. "Out you get," he continued, "and don't forget to feed the maggots."

One night, as I was topping up a maggot machine in a layby near Thetford, an angler arrived to fill a Tupperware box with comatose larvae. While he made small talk he threaded the fattest maggots on to a succession of hooks, spiking them between two black, eye-like markings on one end. It seems silly to write about it now, but when I got back in the van with Grant I felt a twinge of conscience. "Grant," I said, "don't you ever feel bad about this? We spend the absolute minimum on maintaining those barely alive maggots, just so someone can buy them and then throw them to their deaths?" "My dear fellow," he said, buoyant as ever, "the maggots are comfortable, and they're fed, and they're warm-ish. They are serving an economic purpose. Their pointless existence is being monetised. I validate them."

When I got my first unpaid half spot at the old Comedy Store, on the east side of Leicester Square in December 1990, I told Grant I was quitting and he kindly came to see the show. The hot Saturday night sweat box was stuffed with drunken revellers, packed together at 2am in tight rows like sardines, though I got the feeling Grant saw them as something else. I stumbled through a typical anti-Tory alternative-comedy set and Grant handed me a good-luck card. When I got home I realised it contained the most eloquently written letter of encouragement and £50 in cash. I never saw Grant again.

Grant left House of Maggots, by then a successful outfit with nine employees, in 1997, when he stood as a Conservative MP, but remained a director until 2009, three years before he became chairman of the Conservative party. The skills Grant picked up in marketing maggots seemed to have deserted him earlier this week, when he blundered on to Twitter with an ill-judged graphic about the budget that swiftly sent the social network into meltdown. But I liked Grant back then and I still like him now, despite never actually having met him. Grant just wants all hardworking people to be content, fit for purpose, and able to do more of the things they enjoy.

Stewart Lee appears at the Brighton Dome tonight, in an evening celebrating the music of Nick Pynn, with Kevin Eldon, Boothby Graffoe, Mike Heron and Arthur Brown. Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle is on BBC2 on Saturdays at 10pm

To Elon Musk, I say this! To perform one Nazi salute at Donald Trump’s inauguration, while simultaneously offering full support to European neo-Nazis, might be considered a misfortune. To perform two Nazi salutes at Donald Trump’s inauguration, while simultaneously offering full support to European neo-Nazis, begins to look like carelessness.

I didn’t write that joke. I have cannibalised it from one by the gay Irish Victorian Oscar Wilde, a typical diversity hire who would have achieved nothing had his work not been promoted by the famously woke 19th-century British establishment. Luckily, Wilde was dead long before he had the opportunity to emigrate to the US and take an air traffic controller job from a more deserving straight white male, where his gayness would have caused planes to crash.

And dead also is Wilde’s contemporary Little Tich, the resilient dancing midget, whose spectacular gravity-defying boots can still be seen on display in Bloomsbury’s bijoux Museum of Comedy, alongside Tommy Cooper’s fez and a jar of thoughts John Cleese was forbidden from articulating owing to political correctness. But I dread to think of the havoc a capering music hall midget might have wrought on today’s international flight paths. It is a relief that Trump has targeted the diversity policies that could lead, directly up the gently sloping access ramp of woke inclusivity, to millions of appalling aviation disasters.

Call me a textbook member of the tofu-munching north London wokerati, but I am proud to live in a world where people of shorter stature, while still entitled to dance in funny shoes if they so desire, can also be air traffic controllers. And call me a textbook member of the cinnamon latte-guzzling liberal elite, but it does seem wrong for the new president of the US to blame dwarf diversity hires and lazy amputees and those pesky epileptics for an air crash, without any evidence, especially when he’s reportedly just laid off loads of air traffic controllers.

On a recent Friday in York, I had a lovely north African tapas lunch with a longstanding comedy promoter who, though still young, was old enough to remember working for a special bowling alley in Blackpool, where small people in crash helmets mounted on little trolleys were ricochetted down the aisles at speed towards clusters of vulnerable skittles by violently drunk stag parties. In the end, this massively popular seaside attraction – dwarf bowling – closed early, not because someone in Blackpool had a belated anxiety about whether it was ethical, but because of the injuries sustained by those being bowled down the lanes by the intoxicated revellers.

In the 1920s, Blackpool’s midgets lived in their own Midget Town on top of the Blackpool Tower, where tourists paid to see them go about their daily business in suitably scaled-down settings. It was a living. But when Midget Town finally closed, the pre-PC future offered only pantomime, seasonal work and bowling. It’s a world Trump would like to return to.

Ah, well! Meet our potential major trading partner, whose return, according to Boris Johnson, was to be celebrated as another welcome victory over the woke. Witnessing the adjudicated sex abuser and convicted felon’s inauguration, Johnson, perhaps scenting his own second chance in the offing, related in the Daily Mail how, as the “invisible pulse of power surged” from the battered bible into the hand of Trump: “I saw the moment the world’s wokerati had worked so hard to prevent.” I can’t even be bothered to write anything funny about a man who could pen something so cynical, stupid and self-serving. I wish Johnson, the wounded wild pig of world politics, wandering around the central reservation wailing, having been winged by a passing Winnebago, would just fuck off. For ever.

Too many of our politicians and pundits seem willing to take a wait-and-see approach to the wild swings of Trump’s pendulous wrecking balls. We should stand strong against Trump alongside Canada, the harmless honey bear of international politics suddenly rearing up like an animatronic grizzly in an 80s B-movie. Keir Starmer is in danger of being on the wrong side of history, his only consolation being that, at the current rate of collapse, there may not be much history left. Like the natural world Starmer wishes to destroy, it seems history may be a finite resource.

“Drill, baby, drill!” cries Trump, as Los Angeles burns and Greenland’s permafrost unfreezes to the point where the previously unexploitable country may actually be worth him invading. Meanwhile, Starmer’s cry is the same but more complex and no less stupid. “Build a third runway and drill in the Rosebank oilfield, baby, build a third runway and drill in the Rosebank oilfield! And while you’re at it, lock up peaceful environmental protesters too. Especially the elderly.”

Starmer can’t really criticise Trump’s planet-pulverising withdrawal from the Paris agreement, let alone his baseless hostility to a phalanx of imaginary disabled air traffic incompetents, when he too has decided to throw all life on Earth under the bus, despite having once been an idealistic teenager who left his “village and went to the city of Leeds” and “discovered a whole new world of indie bands – like Orange Juice and the Wedding Present”. Bless!

I began this supposedly funny column on Monday morning, when the US president was still saying Starmer was “very nice” and there’d be no UK tariffs. Then I travelled to Oxford to do a show, and one takeaway coffee and a homemade sausage sandwich later, the UK seemed to have drifted back into Trump’s target zone, depending on which interpretation of his last mouth-fart of vengeful gobbledy-vomit you chose to believe. There’s no point trying to make plans around the whims of Trump. Starmer may as well throw cake at a hippo or try to cajole a box jellyfish. Go to Brussels on bended knee and beg for brotherhood.

“Am I right in remembering you cultivate a colony of head lice in your cellar, Lee?” Nicola Bridgens, former artist in residence at London Zoo, for whom I once provided the voice of a depressed black widow in an insect house installation, called me, coveting my Pediculi humanus capitis.

Ten years ago, my little boy had nits. But if Paley’s divine watchmaker exists, my precocious son argued, then he engineered lice to live in human hair. They were merely following their natures, so we should not exterminate them. Compromising, I decanted some specimens into a fish tank in the cellar, before destroying the rest like a Mexican god.

A Spectator-type dad at kids’ football told me I was “sentimentally prolonging the lives of lice that should perish. God invented threadworm, too,” he snorted. “I suppose I should allow them to party in my arsehole? Artificial improvements in survival statistics of any species preclude growth towards utopia, my friend, as do wheelchair ramps. See you next week, if you can escape your liberal bubble.”

Fellow late capitalists! Soon the market’s cruel spreadsheets will suggest the cost of saving a life outweighs the economic value of a life saved. Gagged medical professionals are already making terrible decisions about who to spare. But my colony of head lice thrives, nurtured on toe-nail clippings and sock skin. Whether my lice have inherent worth or not, for me the coronavirus crisis has given them religious significance.

Predictably, my teenage son no longer loves lice, but here I sit in the subterranean semi-dark, a generous single malt in one hand, a magnifying glass in the other, contemplating the lives of lice. “Where’s Dad?” the family ask upstairs, demanding wearisome interaction. “Oh, I expect he’s in the cellar,” my wife will say, resignedly, “with his fucking lice.”

Sometimes, as Call of Duty rages above, the light of my mother’s memorial candle flickers through the white bodies of these translucent ghosts and my parasitical companions seem transcendentally beautiful, microscopic, ectoplasmic lobsters, carved from hoarfrost and ice.

I have been engulfed by many similarly odd epiphanies during these long, locked-down days. Last weekend, when Bob Dylan unexpectedly dropped the contemplative psalmody of Murder Most Foul, like many old men, I sat at my desk stunned, the terrifying world temporarily transformed. On Tuesday, bright blue blossom undulated slowly on a sunlit tree and I was transfixed. And on Sunday morning, a discombobulating BBC interview with Michael Gove captivated me, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster momentarily the equal of lice.

On his west London doorstep, words, many not demonstrably untrue, were falling out of Gove’s unflapped face like molluscs made of sound. But glazed clouds of steam kept scudding over his inscrutable visage. Something hot was coming down the pipe into the front garden drain, out of shot to Gove’s right. Vaporising liquid wafted between Gove’s face and the camera, as if some unseen hand were attempting to wipe away stray flecks of cocaine from his nostrils with a sheet of greaseproof paper. Perhaps someone was emptying a hot bath. Or was Gove’s cohabitant making her morning micturition, like a tethered wayside pony in some 70s Cornish lane, its great, golden gallons heard spattering in doppler effect from the back window of a passing family car?

The problem with trying to write supposedly funny columns during the crisis is the speed news moves. Last week, when I filed on Wednesday, our prime minister seemed fair game, but by publication day he had tested positive, and deserved sympathy. Indeed, the Goves were finally handed their coveted bedpan of influence due to the viral indisposition of Boris Piccaninny Watermelon Letterbox Cake Bumboys Vampires Haircut Wall-Spaffer Spunk-Burster Fuck-Business Fuck-the-Families Get-Off-My-Fucking-Laptop Girly-Swot Big-Girl’s-Blouse Chicken-frit Hulk-Smash Noseringed-Crusties Death-Humbug Technology-Lessons Surrender-Bullshit French-Turds Dog-Whistle Get-Stuffed FactcheckUK@CCHQ 88%-lies Get-Brexit-Done Bung-a-Bob-for-Big-Ben’s-Bongs Cocaine-Event Spiritual-Worth Three-Men-and-a-Dog Whatever-It-Takes I-Shook-Hands-With-Everyone Herd-Immunity Johnson.

Having previously hidden from scrutiny inside a fridge, Turds is now hidden from scrutiny inside a virus, perhaps because, last month, he “was at a hospital where, I think, there were actually a few coronavirus cases and I shook hands with everybody, you’ll be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands, and I think it’s very important that we do”.

Hack standups hoping the ring of truth will nudge their tepid tales over the laughter line preface them with the weight-giving statement: “And this really happened, right.” Likewise Turds, who has spent his political, personal and journalistic life lying, now qualifies important announcements with the words: “I’m going to level with you folks,” a belated admission of the fact that even his followers don’t believe anything he says.

And yet I pity Turds, like me a shallow man in a deep well. “There is such a thing as society,” Turds babbled off-script in isolation, his words unapproved by the swiftly scurried-away Cumming, the PM accidentally refuting 33 years of Thatcherite thinking in a single bound. Doh!

Low-waged employees who would not have vaulted Patel’s threshold are suddenly key workers; foreign nationals toiling for the NHS, many of them piccaninnies or the letterbox-faced, are invited to ignore the expiration of their visas, and their lives, to save the nation that rejects them. What kind of city will we see builded here, in our green and Brexit land, from these ruins? Will it be walled? Or will it be infinite? And will the sewers be blocked with wet wipes and kitchen towels? Just one packet of toilet roll per customer, please! Step away from the hand-sanitiser!! Step away from the hand-sanitiser!!!

“We clutch at straws,” said Bridgens on the phone, “but London lice are resistant to toxins, so might be worth studying as we search for vaccines. And with kids not intermingling they’re in short supply. The world needs your lice, Lee.” Will people still want to hear my 30-minute routine about stupid things Tony Parsons has said when theatres reopen? There must be more to life. Lord, make use of my lice.

Following his hugely acclaimed TV come-back, Comedy Vehicle, Lee finds himself spent and in search of ideas for a new Edinburgh show. On a long walk across London, he endures a coffee shop humiliation involving a loyalty card, which suggests itself as a comedy routine about everyday life that anyone could enjoy.

Later that month, thanks to Jeremy Clarkson's jokes about Gordon Brown's blindness and the appearance of a well-meaning young comedian in a pear cider advert, a show is born.

Featuring a transcript of the show fully annotated with footnotes, the If You Prefer A Milder Comedian EP confirms Stewart Lee as the most original, daring and brilliant comedian of his generation.

'Stewart Lee is a true original.' Observer

'I've always though of Stewart Lee's comedy as doing the opposite of what really good comedy should do.' Toby Young, BBC Radio 4

For the public good: Sir Lynton Crosby in Downing Street. Photograph: Steve Back/Rex

The New Year knighting of David Cameron’s election strategist Lynton Crosby was the most obscene misuse of Conservative power since George Osborne, unable to locate his satchel, used a friend’s chained gimp as a human pencil sharpener.

If the opposition were not in such disarray, and the press not so cowed, giving an honour to the dog-whistle waving, dead cat blowing, evil mastermind Crosby could have brought down the government, and seen Cameron airbrushed from the collective memory, a Bullingdon Trotsky carved from marzipan.

Examining the New Year honours list I began to wonder, almost in spite of myself, why I had not been mentioned, again

Crosby’s iniquitous ennobling has discredited the honours system for ever, and it is henceforth utterly without worth. Presenting Barbara Windsor with a DBE is now as offensive as if David Cameron had personally handed her a lacquered fragment of Ronnie Kray’s palaeofaeces.

On a related note, last weekend it was my son’s turn to bring home the school vole, and as I went to Fresh & Wild to purchase its lemon couscous, I realised a similar system could save the reputation of honours. Everyone in the country should be allowed to have one, but only for a weekend.

There could be problems. At my daughter’s old school, when children took home the class fluke worm, they also brought with them a scrapbook, in which they were required to document the worm’s weekend, before handing it on to next week’s wormkeeper.

Perusing the book was an object lesson in social inequality. Some weekends the lucky intestinal parasite disported itself in a chairlift, accompanying wealthy hosts on skiing trips. Other weekends were spent entirely on the sofas of social housing flats, the asexual opportunist pictured eating pizza, inhaling helium gas, and playing Grand Theft Auto.

I refused to be drawn into this web of contrasts on our fluke worm weekend, and so we photographed the tiny parasite outside a betting shop, coiled provocatively around a packet of Silk Cut and a can of Special Brew, in order to thwart nosy parents.

Nonetheless, I feel this system would work well for OBEs, giving everyone in the country the opportunity of posing delightedly with the medal in a semicircle of delighted relatives. One must take care, though, not to lose the award. During the brief period of our recent vole guardianship the rodent bolted into a French horn before our son’s music lesson, and suffocated.



Forced to purchase hastily a similar-looking vole online, at replaceyourdeadclassvole.com, we returned it only after having given it a thorough Martin Guerre-style schooling in the exact details of its supposed former life, should it ever be grilled by my son’s suspicious headmistress about its changed shoe size.

While there are, undoubtedly, deserving winners in the New Year honours list, all of them, coincidentally, people I personally admire or am related to, it didn’t take the garlanding of Lynton Crosby to cast doubts over the system. Jacqueline Gold, the sex-toy magnate behind such products as the Ann Summers Anal Training Kit, got a CBE, so even George Osborne’s humble pencils must surely be in line for something.

Examining the New Year honours list in closer detail I began to wonder, almost in spite of myself, why I had not been mentioned, again. Damon Albarn from the Blur was there. His calculating application of culturally lowbrow vaudevillian techniques to essentially middlebrow art forms, flattering the pretentions of middle-class reviewers while remaining on nodding terms with a broad-brushed populism, mirrors my own. Why he and not me?

And while James Nesbitt is a great actor, in terms of critical acclaim and awards I am probably considered, rightly or wrongly, a more significant artist than he is. Nesbitt’s charity work is admirable, but it is also visible, whereas the many charity stand-up benefits I help organise operate below the radar, the bills I tirelessly assemble being so strong as to sell out usually without much advertising.

I’m so good at what I do that those in power do not notice. My modesty is a handicap. It’s a problem I’ve had, I think, all my life. I hide my light under a bushel, and then I camouflage the bushel, and hire a reputation management company to remove all traces of the bushel from websites and social media.

Even Gary Barlow has an OBE and I am definitely a nicer person and a better artist than him. And, more importantly, unlike the tax-avoiding Barlow, I pay all my tax, and when I was investigated by HM Revenue they actually gave me a rebate for overpaying! It seems very wrong to me that this Barlow character has an OBE and I don’t. There doesn’t seem to be any definable logic in a system that rewards the arrogant and the guilty and yet punishes and insults the meek and virtuous.

I pay my tax. I organise charity benefits. I am a patron of at least three worthwhile arts organisations and four useful pressure groups. I have a Bafta and an Olivier award. I give frequent talks on the creative process at schools and universities and refuse all payment, no matter how much they press me. I leave out little trays of water to give the rare newts in my garden somewhere to spawn. I recycle, even food waste. I am environmentally ashamed to own a Volkswagen and will get rid of it as soon as possible. I am kind. I tolerate people who are different from me. And I have never done a comedy character on national television based on anyone with learning difficulties. And yet once more I am passed over. What is going on?

I would love to use my OBE to draw attention to all sorts of problems in the world, not least of all the continuing neglect of deserving OBE winners, and yet I am repeatedly, and apparently deliberately, denied that chance. And you know what, because of the years of calculated insults, if David Cameron offered me an honour now, I’d tell him where he could stick it. You can keep your bloody OBE!

Stewart Lee is appearing, for free, in a benefit for the homeless, A Belter for the Shelter 3, at the Hackney Empire, London, on 6 February, with Daniel Kitson, Earl Okin, Lewis Schaffer, Francesca Martinez, Sofie Hagen and James Acaster; and in a fundraiser for South London Cares, Hilarity for Charity, at the Leicester Square theatre, London, on 3 March with Eleanor Tiernan, Earl Okin, Ginger and Black, John Kearns and Shappi Khorsandi. He personally booked the bills for both of these by email and text message, which took some time, and he expects no thanks.

"In contrast with (my) generation, which had spent most of its time online learning to code so that it could add crude butterfly animations to the backgrounds of its weblogs, the generation immediately following had spent most of its time online making incredibly bigoted jokes in order to laugh at the idiots who were stupid enough to think that they meant it. Except that after a while they did mean it, and then somehow at the end of it they were white supremacists. Was this always how it happened?"
Patricia Lockwood, London Review of Books, Feb 2019

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1) NEW SHOW 2019/20 - SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO

I'm doing a new stand-up show for the back end of 2019 and the first half of 2020. National dates from Feb 2020 will be announced later in the year, but I am going to do less than last time, but with longer runs in bigger rooms to hit the same demand, sadly, as the length of the last run nearly killed me, as you can see from the BBC film of the show.
he initial London dates will be work in progress, with a free DVD of CONTENT PROVIDER for all ticket holders and fans of obsolete physical media. Tons of fun!
I will film this show/these shows in the Summer of 2020 for offloading to whatever content platforms are still viable at that stage in late capitalism's technologically-driven cultural decline.

David Johnson & John Mackay in association with Debi Allen/Curtis Brown present
STEWART LEE - SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO.

Double-bill of two new 60-ish minute sets, back to back nightly from "the world's greatest living stand-up" (Times).

Tornado questions a shipwrecked Stew’s position in the comedy marketplace after Netflix mistakenly lists his show as "reports of sharks falling from the skies are on the rise again. Nobody on the Eastern Seaboard is safe." What is anything? Is it this?
And Snowflake questions our worth in a collapsing society which no longer shares the liberal values we have for so long been keen to be seen to espouse, in a fairy-tale landscape of winter wonder.  Tons of fun!

SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO Work-in-Progress and DVD LAUNCH
Leicester Square Theatre, London.
A run of work-in-progress gigs to celebrate the DVD launch of his celebrated last live show CONTENT PROVIDER.
Each ticket will include a very special limited edition copy of the new DVD, exclusively available to bookers of this live show.
Stewart will be signing copies after the show.

Sept 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th - 7pm start
Oct 1st , 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Oct - - 8.45pm start
2 hrs including interval
&pound26.50 including DVD of Content Provider (RRP &pound19.95)

Stewart Lee - Snowflake/Tornado.
Leicester Square Theatre, London.

October - December 2019
Tues 29th October 8.45pm - Sat Dec 14th
No Mondays, No Sundays, & not Sat Nov 30th

January 2020
Thurs 2nd Jan 8.45pm - Sat 25th Jan
No Mondays, No Sundays, & not Jan 9th
8.45 pm Stewart on stage
2 hrs + interval

Tues, Weds, Thurs &pound27.50
Friday & Saturday &pound29.50

All shows are 14+ apparently. If you are under 14 you are too immature to enjoy my swearing and farts.

SEPTEMBER 2019

 

Tuesday 24th - WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free 'Content Provider' DVD - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 7pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 25th - WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free 'Content Provider' DVD - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 7pm - TICKETS
Thursday 26th - WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free 'Content Provider' DVD - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 7pm - TICKETS
Friday 27th - WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free 'Content Provider' DVD - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 7pm - TICKETS
Saturday 28th - WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free 'Content Provider' DVD - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 7pm - TICKETS

OCTOBER 2019

 

Tuesday 1st - WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free 'Content Provider' DVD - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 2nd - WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free 'Content Provider' DVD - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Thursday 3rd - WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free 'Content Provider' DVD - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 4th - WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free 'Content Provider' DVD - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 5th - WORK-IN-PROGRESS with Free 'Content Provider' DVD - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

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OCTOBER 2019

 

Tuesday 29th - SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 30th - SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Thursday 31st - SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

NOVEMBER 2019

 

Friday 1st SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 2nd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

Tuesday 5th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 6th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Thursday 7th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 8th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 9th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

Tuesday 12th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 13th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Thursday 14th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 15th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 16th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

Tuesday 19th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 20th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Thursday 21st SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 22nd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 23rd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

Tuesday 26th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 27th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Thursday 28th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 29th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

DECEMBER 2019

 

Tuesday 3rd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 4th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Thursday 5th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 6th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 7th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

Tuesday 10th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 11th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Thursday 12th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 13th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 14th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

JANUARY 2020

 

Thursday 2nd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 3rd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 4th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

Tuesday 7th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 8th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 10th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 11th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

Tuesday 14th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 15th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Thursday 16th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 17th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 18th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

Tuesday 21st SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Wednesday 22nd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Thursday 23rd SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Friday 24th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS
Saturday 25th SNOWFLAKE / TORNADO - Leicester Square Theatre, London - 8.45pm - TICKETS

"There's no-one else to touch him" Mark Wareham, Mail On Sunday *****

"Lee remains one of the best stand-ups in the country" ***** Metro

"The world's best living stand-up comedian" Dominic Maxwell, The Times

"He makes stand-up almost a moral pursuit, ... that makes the usual (and more popular) stand-ups seem crude and obvious." Alan Bennet, London Review Of Books.

"Proper, vicious prejudice - a self-proclaimed inhabitant of the moral high ground" Sarah Vine, Daily Mail

"A pot-bellied Bernard Manning for snowflakes" Tony Parsons, The Sun

"Woke, enlightened, professionally sensitive, BBC-approved comedian who can be guaranteed to dress to the left. The rancid tip of a cesspit." - Tony Parsons, GQ

"If I could bring one extinct thing back to life it would be Stewart Lee's sense of humour." Frankie Boyle, The Guardian

"The opposite of what really good comedy should be" Toby Young, Radio 4

"Truly, he is the Oscar Wilde of our times" - Gary Bushell, The Daily Star

NB - I DID 5 MONTHS IN TOTAL AT LST OF CONTENT PROVIDER BETWEEN 2016-2018, AND THEN 4 ROYAL FEST HALLS AND THEY ALL SOLD OUT.
ONCE THESE DATES ARE DONE I AM NOT COMING BACK FOR MORE THIS TIME SO GET TICKETS IF YOU WANT THEM.

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2) SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO WORK IN PROGRESSES

There are work-in-progress shows of this which will be very rough at...
Machynlleth Comedy Festival 3rd - 5th May. These are both sold out.

I am doing a headline half-hour on bill with John Kearns and Rosie Jones and more at Bristol Comedy Garden, July 7th. https://www.bristolcomedygarden.co.uk/line-up/sunday-late/

Soho Theatre, various dates from 10th June to 4th July
https://sohotheatre.com/shows/stewart-lee-double-work-in-progress/

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3) EDINBURGH FRINGE

I am doing a week of hour long work-in-progress shows for Snowflake/Tornado at the Edinburgh Fringe in August, under the title Wok In Progress, after a slot suddenly became available through The Stand.

Here is a link for tickets, which go on sale 12 noon Thursday April 18th.
Other shows by other comedians are available.

SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO Wok-in-Progress
Aug 9th - Aug 15th 2019 7.10pm
EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE, THE STAND’S NEW TOWN THEATRE, GRAND HALL

TICKETS HERE (available from 12noon 18th April)  https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/stewart-lee-wok-in-progress

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4) CONTENT PROVIDER

CONTENT PROVIDER has dropped off the BBC I-player.
I know they are allowed to put it on there three more times, but they do tend to need a nudge. Perhaps they will show it again. Who knows?
All four series of COMEDY VEHICLE are still up on there anyway. See how the world has changed for the worse in a decade. How quaint the liberal's manageable dilemmas of 2013 seem now.
The third, and perhaps best, series of COMEDY VEHICLE seems to be on Netflix in the UK and, I think, the US.
It seems you can also stream CARPET REMNANT WORLD and the first 3 series of COMEDY VEHICLE on Amazon, here and I think in the US. Beats me! And, as I said above, CONTENT PROVIDER will be available as an Old Skool physical media DVD in the Autumn.
Tons of fun!

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5) oxide ghosts/wok in progress

Fire Records, Films and Comedy present: ONE NIGHT ON EARTH.
Stewart Lee Upfront Work-In-Progress Show/ Oxide Ghosts: The Brass Eye Tapes Film Screening presented by Michael Cumming.

https://earthackney.seetickets.com/event/stewart-lee-oxide-ghosts-the-brass-eye-tapes/earth-theatre/1367088

A special night for comedy connoisseurs. Earth, Hackney, Friday 14th June. Doors 7pm. Show 8-11pm. Bar until 2am.

STEWART LEE (Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle) and MICHAEL CUMMING (Brass Eye, Toast) are currently mid-way through collaborating on a documentary about ROBERT LLOYD, of the enduring Birmingham post-punk band THE NIGHTINGALES (The John Peel Show, Clash White Riot Tour), entitled KING ROCKER. In order to raise money to pay for further train fares and Travelodges they are pooling their resources for one special night only at Hackney’s Earth.

MICHAEL CUMMING will introduce a screening of his documentary about CHRIS MORRIS’ BRASS EYE series, OXIDE GHOSTS. And then STEWART LEE will perform an extended set of WORK IN PROGRESS, an hour of material in development for his forthcoming tour show, SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO. There will be a raffle to win cool comedy memorabilia from both auteurs’ personal bin-bags. After the event ends a cut-down taster of KING ROCKER in its unfinished state will be available to view, as a bonus treat.

Stewart Lee: Work In Progress Notes towards a new show from “the world’s greatest living stand-up” (Times). Where does Stew sit in the marketplace, when Netflix mistakenly describe his show as 'reports of sharks falling from the skies are on the rise. Nobody on the Eastern Seaboard is safe'? “Self-proclaimed inhabitant of the moral high ground” Sarah Vine, The Daily Mail “The rancid tip of a cesspit”, Tony Parson, GQ; “Not sure Lee was the right person to close the Parkinson’s Disease benefit tonight. I think we've all moved on from ten minute fart jokes.” Rona Hunnisett, England Netball Federation

OXIDE GHOSTS: THE BRASS EYE TAPES (2017, 60 mins) Director: Michael Cumming. Featuring: Chris Morris. Made from hundreds of hours of unseen material from his personal archive, Michael Cumming’s film shares insights into the process of making the legendary TV series Brass Eye. Michael directed both of the pilots and the series and, over a two year period, witnessed the highs and lows of Brass Eye from a personal perspective. The film is designed solely for live screenings and is made up almost entirely of never before seen footage. Oxide Ghosts carries the blessing of Chris Morris and provides a rare glimpse of his extraordinary working practices. This film is a must for fans of the series but will appeal to anyone with a curiosity about how great comedy is made. '[Oxide Ghosts] offers a well-judged and very rare insight into [Brass Eye’s] making, encapsulating the fun and covert excitement that went on while the project was still under wraps, before all the legal wrangling kicked in. If you're an admirer of the show and the opportunity should arise for you to see Oxide Ghosts, have some self re-cocking-spect and do so without hesitation' - Chortle

King Rocker How does a working class autodidact, with no visible means of support, maintain his role as the leader of a cult British underground band into its fifth decade? Comedian and writer Stewart Lee, director Michael Cumming (Brass Eye, Toast of London) and James Nicholls (Fire Records, Fire Films) investigate the mysterious existence of Robert Lloyd (The Prefects, The Nightingales), Britain’s ultimate post-punk survivor. Lloyd, a post-punk flaneur, sometime postman, and snug room raconteur, maintains a lifestyle outside the system via a succession of hustles, involving an encyclopaedic knowledge of horse racing and pre-punk musical weirdness. https://www.kingrockerfilm.com/

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6) King Rocker Doc

Michael Cumming (Brass Eye), James Nicholls (Fire films) and I are now 1/3rd of the way through filming and editing and are looking for donations to complete the film below, which is about Birmingham post-punk survivors The Nightingales. Everyone who donates, no matter how big or how small*, will be featured in the end credits

*(I think this sentence, written by James from Fire, relates to the size of the donation, not the donor.)

https://www.kingrockerfilm.com/

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7) BENEFIT GIGS

 

20TH MAY. HILARITY FOR CHARTITY - LEICS SQ THEATRE
A comedy night in aid of community charities North London Cares and South London Cares.
Harry Hill
Jamali Maddix
Lolly Adefope
Martin & Vivian Soan
Shazia Mirza
Stewart Lee
& More acts to be announced!

Line-up may be subject to change.
Running Time 3 hours
7.30pm
Age Restriction 18+
Please Note All ticket prices include a &pound1.25 venue restoration levy -
TICKETS

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8) Sea Change Festival May 24 - 26

 

seachangefestival.co.uk - Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon

METRONOMY, THE COMET IS COMING, STEWART LEE AND BAGPUSS CONFIRMED FOR 2019

The Quietus presents Gazelle Twin, You Tell Me, Hannah Peel & Will Burns, Pip Blom, TVAM

Sea Change is thrilled to join with Fire Records/Fire Films to offer the first look at KING ROCKER, a film investigating the mysterious existence of the front man and lyricist of The Nightingales, Robert Lloyd. Comedian and writer STEWART LEE and director MICHAEL CUMMING (Brass Eye, Toast) bring an exclusive first preview of the documentary to Sea Change, with a full panel talk and pounding live show from THE NIGHTINGALES, Britain's ultimate post-punk survivors. Robert Lloyd's The Prefects played with The Clash on the White Riot tour in 1977 and The Nightingales recorded more John Peel sessions than any other band.

Sea Change takes place on Friday 24th, Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th May, moving to the late May Bank Holiday for the first time having staged three sell-out events on the August Bank Holiday. The 2019 edition sees the second partnership between the young festival and a revered old institution
with a new story, the Dartington Hall estate, a combination which continues to add new names to Dartington's quite-immaculate list of guest creators in music, art and culture.

As Sea Change moves to May, it also stretches into a third day, with music sets, talks and events, culminating in a special afternoon matinee headline performance at Dartington to close the festival. And while Dartington is the festival's Offshore stage, hosting music until late on Friday and Saturday, the buildings of Totnes remain central to Sea Change, presenting extremely special music guests, panel talks, films and events beneath the beautiful gold leaf ceiling of the Barrel House Ballroom, 15th century St Mary's Church, 1950s Civic Hall and restored Victorian Totnes Cinema.
Earlybird tickets sold out in record time in December, but day (&pound49), weekend (&pound89) and Young Person (&pound39) tickets are on sale now online or via THE DRIFT RECORD SHOP. https://www.seetickets.com/event/sea-change-2019/venues-in-totnes-dartington/1281511

Dates: Friday 24 - Sunday 26 May 2019.
Information and tickets: www.seachangefestival.co.uk & @driftseachange
Camping at Dartington will be available directly from its website from February.
Listings for hotels, hostels, BNB's, spare rooms and http://www.visittotnes.co.uk/where-to-stay

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9) FLATPACK FESTIVAL BIRMINGHAM

This is an independent film festival that runs in Birmingham from the week of 29th of April. https://flatpackfestival.org.uk

I am involved in two events
i) A screening of Michael Cumming’s Brass Eye documentary Oxide Ghosts on Weds May 1st https://flatpackfestival.org.uk/event/oxide-ghosts-q-and-a?perf_no=1615

ii) A screening of work in progress of King Rocker the same day https://flatpackfestival.org.uk/event/king-rocker-stewart-lee-and-the-nightingales?perf_no=1508

Both are sold out now.

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10) Physics House Band

Death Sequence, a new four-track release from four-piece The Physics House Band, features Stewart Lee mumbling on one track. The record will be released digitally on May 3, and the band will tour the UK extensively through this month and into the summer.
You can find a list of their upcoming dates, and pre-order Death Sequence, here.

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11) Meanwhile, I Arrogantly Recommend...

Robert Forster, Richard Dawson, Peter Case, Chameleons Vox, Bevis Frond, The Necks, Thurston Moore.

Robert Forster – waspish Australian songwriter. May 14th Union Chapel London, 15th Fleece Bristol, 16th Band On The Wall M’cr, 17th King Tut’s Glasgow, 17th St Luke’s Glasgow, 19th Button Factopry Dublin, 30th Cyprus Avenue Cork,.

Richard Dawson – experimental folkster. May 11th Cluny Newcastle, w Hen Ogledd 14th Bush Hall London, 15th Patterns Brighton, 18th South Street Reading

Peter Case. Punk-Americana veteran of Nerves (Hanging On The Telephone) and Plimsouls fame, with ex-Long Ryder Sid Griffin. May 15th Leystonstone ex-Servicemen’d Club, 16th Middlesborough Town Hall, 17th Renshaw St Liverpool, 19th Doublet Glasgow, 20th Heart of Hawick, 21st Voodoo Rooms Edinburgh, 22nd Hare And Hounds Birmingham, 23rd Exchange Twickenham.

Chameleons Vox – M’cr post-punk pioneers air their back catalogue. May 20th Vox Guildford, 21st Dingwalls London, 22nd Esquires Bedford, 23rd Gloucester Guildhall, 24th Brudenell Leeds, 27th Trades Hebden Bridge, 28th Riverside Newcastle, 29th Old Fire Station Carlisle, 30th Z Hull.

Bevis Frond – genre defying indie-rock/Hawkwind hybrid. May 18th Shipping Forecast Liverpool, 25th Oslo Hackney.

The Necks. Australian space-jazz unit. May 26th St Luke’s Brighton, 27th Earth Hackney, 28th Exchange Bristol.

Thurston Moore – Ageless Sonic Youth survivor. May 31st Earth Hackney.

Laura Cannell invites Stewart Lee, foghorn fetishist Jennifer Lucy Allen, Irish cellist Kate Ellis, and musician/writer Polly Wright to the table for a suite of haunting, real and imagined musical lanndscapes

Laura’s follow-up to her superb ‘Sing As The Crow Flies’ album with Polly Wright, and unexpected synth-pops as Hunteress for our Documenting Sound series, ‘These Feral Lands, Vol.1’ tells tales recorded in the respective isolation during lockdown. It notably features Lee finding his voice as a folk story teller and possessed scarecrow, nervily set to bleeding raw string dissonance and black country blues, and wickedly contrasting with the more dreamlike and lamenting works, all brought to life by Cannell, Ellis, and Wright’s remarkably descriptive instrumentals.

Writer and researcher Jennifer Lucy Allen recites a poem to Laura’s swirling fiddle on a highlight, ‘Vessel’, and we’re rapt by the two solo instrumental pieces, Kate Ellis’ keening elegy ‘Inhabited: The Last Wild Wolf In Ireland’, and the A Field In England-esque doom to Polly’s ‘Gather The Villagers’. But it’s really all held together by Stewart Lee’s turns with Cannell & Ellis, shapeshifting from Wyatt-like, to spoken word, and Worzel-ish across the album, reflecting on his roots in the Welsh marshes and the Norfolk/Suffolk borders, with equally were-like backing.

When Brexit kicks in and we’re down to 2 hours of leccie a day, we can only hope people start making more music like this.

Stew compiled and annotated this compilation by The Fall.

...this is a fine collection; brave, broad and admirably biased...

It is, of course, an appalling concept. Allowing writer/ comedian Stewart Lee to compile a selection of his favourite, latter-day Fall tracks smacks of misguided marketing;an ill-informed attempt to glean the collegiate vote for what surely remains the most virulently anti-student band in Britain. Duh!

Anyway. The onset of the ’90s saw Mark E Smith-uh and his ever-changing chums embrace new technology with gusto – a gambit that would provide a fresh framework for Smith’s misanthropic, beanbag-faced rants. While tracks such as last year’s brilliantly disorderly ‘Touch Sensitive’ could’ve been plucked from the riotous preserve of their late-’70s heyday, ‘A Past…’ shows the ramshackle approach of yore superseded by a battalion of samples and grinding, zeitgeist-courting techno beats. It’s an approach that has yielded some of The Fall‘s finest songs – with the synth-heavy, anti-EU wrath of 1991’s ‘Free Range’ and the deceptively sweet ‘Rose’ proving Smith‘s invective wears many, equally effective, disguises. With ‘The Chisellers’ being the only glaring omission, this is a fine collection; brave, broad and admirably biased.

- NME

Today’s guest is probably your favourite comedian’s favourite comedian. He regularly sells more than 250,000 tickets for every tour, yet he has never wanted to be a household name and doesn’t do many interviews. But you’re in luck, because he has today: it’s the hilarious Stewart Lee!

Kate and Stewart have known each other for decades, so they retrace the steps of their friendship and reminisce about some hilarious, scarcely believable moments they’ve shared. Plus, Stewart opens up about not wanting to court much public attention, how he’s carved his own comedy lane and how he regularly provokes hairy situations in public in the hope of landing on some new material!

I interview Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie & Tim Brooke Taylor at Leicester Square Theatre as part of a DVD extra on a DVD box set of their BBC Catalogue

In 1970, the Goodies unleashed their legendary blend of surreal storylines, strikingly topical satire, slapstick and general lunacy on an unsuspecting viewing public. Capturing the irreverent and rebellious flavour of the decade, this phenomenally popular, award-winning series spread its mischief over twelve years – making household names of creators, writers and performers Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor.

This set contains all the episodes that the terrific trio made for the BBC – from a giant white fluffy kitten called Twinkle to a slippery climb up a giant beanstalk, from the ancient Lancastrian art of Ecky Thump to fighting a ban on fun instigated by an all-too-real puppet government, this is television comedy at its undeniable best!

SPECIAL FEATURE: An Audience with The Goodies
This brand-new special feature reunites Tim, Bill and Graeme on stage for a very special one-night-only event!

My best New Year’s Eve was 15 years ago. A mis-calibrated dose of prescription painkillers in a bed and breakfast near Wootton Courtenay meant I slept through the whole thing. I slept through the fear. I slept through the dread. I slept through the recriminations and regrets. And I slept through Jools Holland insisting on playing inappropriate boogie-woogie piano with – who will it be this year? – Peter Brötzmann, Napalm Death, Youssou N’Dour, Mark and Roxanne from LadBaby, or the future festive ghost of his own grinning self.

This New Year’s Eve I lay on my back in the garden, long after midnight, belly full of Butty Bach™ ® beer and mini Quorn™ ® sausages, and looked at the stars. Do they have elections on those distant worlds, I wondered? Is there an alien Dominic Cummings, and if so, how would you know? Does the alien Sir Iain Duncan Smith eat his own mucus in public like our Earth Sir Iain, or does he just eat crisps? On Alien Sir Iain’s world is crisp-eating considered disgusting, while finger-picked mucus is the cuisine of the Princesses of Mars? And is that the space Jennifer Arcuri dancing round the Pole Star? Remember her? Thought not.

Sniffing the air, I suddenly realised I had accidentally laid my head in fox excrement. I did not know what I should do. Beat the fox responsible to death with a Remain-voting baseball bat, while cross-dressed in a kimono, like a sick metropolitan elitist? Or wear red and white finery and harry it with hounds, before tearing its body to shreds and smearing its blood upon a nearby child’s crying face, like a rural Tory voter merely upholding an ancient tradition threatened by political correctness gone mad? (Delete as applicable to suit your social and political prejudices.)

Then I regained my composure, and simply lay there in the wet dark, the year yet young around me, grinding my head into the fox faeces, mashing it luxuriously into my precious remaining hairs. Boris Piccaninny Watermelon Letterbox Cake Bumboys Vampires Haircut Wall-Spaffer Spunk-Burster Fuck-Business Fuck-the-Families Get-Off-My-Fucking-Laptop Girly-Swot Big-Girl’s-Blouse Chicken-frit Hulk-Smash Noseringed-Crusties Death-Humbug Technology-Lessons Surrender-Bullshit French-Turds Dog-Whistle Get-Stuffed FactcheckUK@CCHQ Get-Brexit-Done Johnson is prime minister. And I may be lying in the garden with fox excrement in my hair, but I’m looking up at the stars.

Apparently, the communications satellites that now clog the skies mean astronomers and astrophysicists will soon have their view of outer space fatally obscured. But we need those communication satellites. Otherwise how would we know, for example, quite how many people were disgusted by the presence of two black children in the new Worzel Gummidge, and by association the size of the Venn diagram overlap between fans of magic talking scarecrows and White Supremacists?

“It’s unrealistic to say black people live in the countryside, even if they are orphans who have been sent there. The countryside is where magic talking scarecrows live. Not fantasy black people,” they crow. The online debate about the Great Replacement Theory in action at Scatterbrook Farm echoes out into the spaceways for ever, a cosmic memorial to mankind’s noblest sentiments.

I squint upwards. Something shoots across the sky. Is it Turds, spaffing up the wall of the heavens, just because he can? Is there anyone out there at all? Presumably those far-distant alien minds, immeasurably superior to ours, are about to have their observation of us permanently suspended too, unless they can see through the satellite screen. Among their final views of our world will have been Turds hiding in a fridge, public nosepicker Sir Iain Duncan Smith celebrating his knighthood with a fingerful of fresh green, and all life on Earth drowning and choking and burning to death in real time all around us, flapping like an expiring fish, stranded on a beach.

Sadly, the curious aliens will never know how our story ends, though they could have a reasonable guess that it won’t end well. I close my eyes in the new year night and inhale the heady musk, a fox faeces visionary. In the crystal ball of my mind, Australian boat people flounder in the channel in cork-decorated hats, and sunburnt cockneys scrabble at the recently fortified Scottish border for the last of the Highland Spring. Turds is in a dream home in New Zealand, making jokes in Latin as he heads to the shelter with a young researcher on one arm and a nervous rescue dog on the other. “Veni, vidi, vici!”

But who is to blame for the aliens’ view of Earth being blocked? It is, in part, a man called Elon Musk, who is a billionaire genius philanthropist and not a brand of aftershave with both aphrodisiac and organ-elongation properties. Elon Musk is always included on Dad’s Christmas list, alongside novelty socks, a Liam Neeson DVD and a Liam Gallagher album. Mother was exhausted on Boxing Day. Father had been at the Elon Musk again.

The billionaire genius philanthropist Elon Musk, of SpaceX, is like a rubbish DC Comics copy of the billionaire genius philanthropist Tony Stark, of Stark Industries, from Marvel Comics’ Iron Man. “What is this Musk character’s company called?” asks the editor, to a desk-chained cartoonist, who has already signed away all his rights. “SpaceX,” he replies. “Will that do?”

Musk’s SpaceX company is about to shoot 40,000 satellites skyward, enhancing broadband, but blocking astronomers’ view of the universe, and dotting the same heavens our ancestors marvelled at with tens of thousands of artificial points. It’s New Year’s Day. The sky is lightening. As I struggle to stand I realise I am now the weight of a middle-aged man who suddenly dies at the wheel of a Ford Focus in a local newspaper report. So I make a resolution. And one by one the stars all go out.

Another day. Another body under Boris Johnson’s battlebus. Another Tory adviser on the white steps of another Canonbury villa. Another pantomime of regret fabricated from whatever tortured sounds and sad shapes the face can muster. Another bright satellite burning up in Johnson’s doomed orbit. Intended to absorb difficult questions, Allegra Stratton was a five-and-a-half foot human loofah made of chlorinated chicken, 30% full of liquefied facts.

Her press secretary role was created in 2020, a firewall between Boris Johnson and the troublesome world of events. This week, for example, she might have shielded him from the unproven suggestion that he had helped to fly 170 asylum-seeking pets out from collapsing Kabul, like the animal-loving politician played by Steve Coogan in the forthcoming Disney+ film Taliban Dolittle.

Stratton was even given her own Downing Street press conference hub in which to answer hacks’ pesky queries, at a cost to the taxpayer of £2.6m, a strategy assumed to be more effective than merely hiding the prime minister in a nearby fridge at the first sign of a microphone, a notebook and some semblance of journalistic ability.

Bizarrely, the only time the £2.6m speak-space made any impression was this week, a year after its completion, when footage emerged of Stratton on its podium, rehearsing plausible denials of a Covid rule-breaking party in Downing Street last December, and finding the whole thing a wizard wheeze. “Is cheese and wine all right? This is recorded,” she laughs. “This fictional party was a business meeting and it wasn’t socially distanced.” Watching Stratton flail, it’s obvious why her press secretary role was so swiftly canned. Had she been given the job she would have made things even worse. As it happens, she didn’t get the job, and made things even worse anyway, a special kind of genius.

Under lockdown, I admit, I went to a party. Or did I? Suddenly I am not so sure. Was it a party after all, or just some people in a place? There was cheese and wine, I think. Does that make it a party? There is cheese in a cheese sandwich and wine in a wine bottle, but that doesn’t mean either is a party. Or does it? Maybe I attended a cheese sandwich? Or climbed into a wine bottle, like a tiny Spanish galleon? Or maybe I went to a business meeting? I met people, certainly, but did I do any business? If there are no people in a room, but there is cheese, does that mean it is a party? Whether it was a party, not a party, a business meeting, a cheese sandwich, or a wine bottle, one thing I am certain of is that the correct procedures were observed. And a man who may have been at the party, or wasn’t if it wasn’t a party after all, will soon be contracted to confirm that. By me.

Last month, vaccination checks were at the discretion of venues, and it seemed unlikely that the government would insist on face coverings in theatres. After all, Boris Johnson likes to watch Macbeth mask-free while masked people all around him wonder what he takes away from the tale of an ambitious traitor and his manipulative wife. But by Wednesday night, a massive dead cat was required to distract from a day of denied parties and prioritised pets, so Johnson banged plan B on the kitchen table, alienating backbench Covid sceptics.

Given the irrefutable evidence of Boris Johnson’s government’s corruption and callousness, how can those few Tory MPs that appear to have a conscience, such as the new intake that voted against their leader’s attempt to spare Owen Paterson, remain in the disgusting party? They should retire from politics, or join the Liberal Democrats, which is essentially the same thing.

Even given everything that has happened this week, there are many diehard Tories, clinging to an inflatable bendy banana marked “Get Brexit Done”, who will still want to vote for the party despite its utter rottenness. After all what’s the alternative? A blandly competent Labour party notably not hell-bent on asset-stripping the country’s infrastructure to line their own pockets? That simply won’t do!

But the Tory faithful will require a blood sacrifice to convince them their concerns are being addressed. And maybe this time some doorstep weeping and a symbolic sacking of soon-to-be-forgotten Foreign Office Sirs will not be enough. Fate has handed us the perfect votive offering to assuage Tory anger: Pen Farthing’s Afghan animals.

Farthing’s innocent 170 refugee dogs and evacu-cats are now permanently branded by association with Tory negligence and Boris Johnson’s lies, even though the intervention by Johnson’s own personal parliamentary private secretary on the poor beasts’ behalf isn’t definitive evidence of his guilt. But on the corner of Hyde Park, where once stood the bloody tree of Tyburn, let us pile a pyre of faggots. Let banks of seating be laid upon the lush slopes of the magnificent Marble Arch Mound. Newly relieved of her latest government role, Allegra Stratton serves party cheese and party wine as Boris Johnson, and other chief actors in the cavalcade of contempt for the lonely Covid dead of lockdown, take their seats, to watch through their onion tears. Then the lie-stained animals are burned en masse, all 170 of them, on a bonfire lit with flamboyant regret by a vindicated Ant and Dec.

And let the smoke from the smouldering bodies be visible, yea, even from the hills of Gog Magog, and serve as a ritual purification of Conservative-soiled Albion, in this valley of dying stars, in this hollow valley, this broken jaw of our lost kingdom.

The first thing to know about comic Stewart Lee is that much that has appeared about him in print isn't true.
He was not at Oxford with David Cameron.
He didn't invent Alan Partridge.
And he is not slavishly politically correct with a smug contempt for his audiences. (He wishes there were more, funny un-PC comics.)

These misapprehensions get about because people don't get the fact that … it's a joke.

And the fact that his jokes aren't all instantly gettable puts people, and some newspapers, on edge. He, like Chris Morris, his partner in crime in his current television series and the inventor of the Partridge canard (Morris claimed recently as a joke, that Lee had indeed invented Partridge, but that in Lee's mind the original Partridge had been a clockwork elephant), is irretrievably not a conformer.

So what is true? He was a writer on the radio version of On the Hour, although his heart remains in stand-up. His stage character is, in his words, a "jealous, delusional, bitter, arrogant and anxious to give a good account of himself", while the real Lee, clearly, is more likeable and thoughtful.

He is seen by his peers as a master practitioner, and the BBC has signed him up for another series after this one, thanks largely to Sky trying to poach him. He is left-wing but, he insists, the joke has to come first. And he feels no particular tribal loyalty to fellow comics.

He did go to Oxford, but a couple of years after Cameron. He had a comic routine in which he recalled an imaginary May Ball when he, as a member of the lower orders, was made by Cameron and his friends to drink vomit from a champagne bucket. "I didn't even know the Bullingdon Club existed when I was there," he says. "But you sort of know what those kind of people were like. Life was already decided at 18. You know where you fit into the hierarchy." He laughs a gleeful, demonic chuckle. "They sort of use you for what you're good at and you think you're in and then you're not and they'll move on. That's what they're doing to Clegg, isn't it?"

Is the stage version of Lee far removed from the real one? The man sitting in front of me, in a hotel round the corner from the BBC in central London, wears DMs and what his detractors might call agitprop garb, but is almost painfully courteous and trouble-taking. You suspect that, like Barry Humphreys and Sir Les Patterson, he finds playing the ogre quite liberating, as if it's him without the polite middle-class upbringing.

He grew up outside Birmingham, having been adopted as a baby which, he speculates bashfully, he thinks may have given him a freedom to choose his own direction. As an only child, he read a lot and had to amuse himself ("I don't think I'm particularly attention-seeking"). His late father ran a small packaging business and his late mother was manager of a medical practice. They split up when he was four. "I'm very grateful to my adoptive family. My mother sorted my life out."

He got a part scholarship to Solihull School, a fee-paying boys' independent school, and a charity award on the basis of being adopted (a "waifs and strays bursary", he calls it). "That difficulty in my start in life ended up giving me a functional level of education that I wouldn't have had."

And quickly we're back to politics. "You do feel an awareness of... luck. Which is why I'm surprised that [Michael] Gove can be so certain about things, because he is adopted and he was parachuted down into a degree of relative opportunity, like I was. In a period when there was a degree of social mobility that there isn't now… it makes me think how lucky [I am]. Seems to make Gove think he's worked hard and deserves the position he's in. I suppose we are what we are and we use the evidence to confirm what we believe."

His comedy is neurotic, angry and constantly self-examining. Much of it involves a mantra-like and uncomfortable repetition of politically obtuse remarks that he has picked up. Very often, he admits, he doesn't know where he is going with the joke. There is usually a safe option, but he likes to test his nerve, often passing comment on his act or his audience.

He is now into an annual cycle of writing and trying out a show in the spring in small venues, the newness of which he finds completely terrifying. "I went to a hypnotist to learn how not to use drinking a pint before you go on as a way of giving you the confidence to just fly at it, irrespective of the fear. That's not a long-term strategy, when you do as many gigs as I do. [Maniac chuckle.]"

He then takes the show on the road and stress-tests it. He must have balls of steel. "It's hard, there's no fall back. You've got to hold your nerve. Initially I don't think I was aware of how hard it was, but what's good about those things is that they leave you room to manoeuvre." There's a masochistic sense of trying to paint himself into a corner. "I try to find a different ending every time … and after 50 times, there's a decision tree. If something's working, there's a part of me that's trying to sabotage myself. I try to lock myself in and not know where I'm going. But then if I do get out of it, the arrogant/needy part of me wants people to appreciate what I've done."

Among those he admires are Arnold Brown, Jerry Sadowitz, Norman Lovett, and Ted Chippington, a 1980s anti-hero and cussed antagoniser of audiences whose proud purpose is to entertain himself.

"He seemed to be taking the piss out of comedy at the same time as doing it," he says. "You just go out and be annoying.... Of course it's very hard to do that, but I didn't realise that then."

It's a notion that many outside the smugger parts of Soho think too art student, too clever by half. One fuming critic wrote, having walked out of a Lee show: "If Lee had a shred of interest or insight into the working lives of other people, he'd realise that those who give up an evening at the end of a week to see him deserve his thanks not his toxic scorn."

Trouble is, again, it's a joke, and not to everyone's taste.

His home life is more conventional. He is married to Bridget Christie, a former Daily Mail journalist (yes, really) and fellow award-winning stand-up, and they have two children. Despite some papers' portrayal of him, at 45, the softie in him is evident. "Now I've got kids, you wouldn't want them to suffer because of a perception of you. I try to be very careful where I do things and make sure I know why I've done them. I wouldn't want them to be stigmatised."

So how does he judge success? He'd love to have a garden, he says without missing a beat, for the children to enjoy. You suspect the couple are too busy working to move.

There seems little danger of him selling out, maybe doing building society commercials. He thinks, in any case, that his stage character lacks the necessary aura of unfoolable truth-telling. He only performs in smaller venues, and doesn't enjoy doing panel shows. (Lee Mack once claimed Lee couldn't cut the mustard, whereas, although he enjoys the company of comics, you suspect green rooms bring him out in a rash.) He is amused that, rather than cashing in on the excellent reviews he has had for his current television series, he is, instead, in the provinces doing nine dates of avant-garderie with contemporary music group Usurp Chance.

Michael McIntyre, he ain't.

Curriculum vitae

1968 Born in Shropshire and adopted by parents who separate when he is four. Raised by his mother in Solihull.
Wins a scholarship to Solihull School and studies English Literature at Oxford,
the first in his family to go to university.
1986 While studying, he performs with his first comedy group, The Seven Raymonds, with students Richard Herring and Emma Kennedy.
1990 Wins the prestigious New Act of the Year award at Hackney Empire.
1991 With Herring, begins writing for Radio 4's On the Hour, which introduces
Steve Coogan's Alan Partridge.
2001 Abandons stand-up. Publishes his first novel, The Perfect Fool. Creates the show Pea Green Boat based on Lear's "The Owl and the Pussycat".
2005 Co-writes and directs Jerry Springer: The Opera which wins five Olivier
awards. The BBC screens it and receives 55,000 complaints.
2006 Marries comedian Bridget Christie. They have two children.
2009 Creates Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle and wins a cluster of awards.
2010 Writes his second book, How I Escaped My Certain Fate – The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian.
2014 Prepares third series of Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle.

Clara Baldock

In 2002, I accessed the 3,000-year-old subterranean ceremonial chamber of Pendeen Fogou in north-west Cornwall, by crawling through a 2ft-deep river of liquid cow slurry. Once inside, I was transformed and it was worth it. On Wednesday, I crawled through filth again, as I tried to read the Daily Mail as research for this column. But, unlike my Pendeen Fogou epiphany, the experience provoked only nausea. What a week in British politics it’s been!

The multifaceted transport secretary, Grant Shapps, historically manifests himself in many different identities. On Monday, as Grant Shapps, he addressed Brexit Britain by video on the benefits of Brexit, while bestriding a ride-on lawnmower. “Now thanks to Brexit,” Shapps boasted, snake-oil style, “we’ve been able to ditch the Vnuk law” (requiring car insurance to also cover ride-on lawnmowers and golf buggies). “And in these difficult financial times,” Shapps concluded, as if the difficult financial times were nothing to do with him and his party, “that’s going to help the average motorist save about 50 quid.” This, of course, more than makes up for the Office for Budget Responsibility’s estimated 4% Brexit hit to the UK economy over the next 15 years. Ride-on lawnmowers are free! But until all ride-on home-horticulture vehicles are free this Brexit bonus will ring hollow!

Typically, the EU had already repealed the Vnuk law during the Brexit transition phase anyway, while we neglected to do so. At least when creating fake online reviews for his businesses Shapps used to hide behind implausible pseudonyms – Michael Green, Sebastian Fox or Corinne Stockheath. (Corinne Stockheath is a name that never existed anywhere outside Shapps’s fecund imagination, although it seems you can now follow her on Twitter). Next time Shapps bestrides a ride-on lawnmower to fib about Brexit and ride-on lawnmowers, he should do it as one of his made-up identities. The ride-on lawnmower is the choice mode of transport for Corinne Stockheath, apparently.

“Perhaps the grass can be just a little bit greener,” Shapps soliloquised in closing like a stupid arse, before ride-on lawnmowering off into the sunset. Perhaps the grass can be greener, Grant, but not on the roadside verges of Kent, where backed-up lorry drivers have made the green grass all yellow. And brown. Because of Brexit. Indeed, transport select committee chairman, Huw Merriman MP, recently stepped in human excrement while on a fact-finding mission to a Kent lay-by. Hopefully, this gave him some idea of the benefits of Brexit.

And how those stranded lorry drivers must envy the speed at which Shapps’s ride-on lawnmower is able to travel. Cramped in their stationary cabs at night they dream of doing two miles an hour in a field on a ride-on lawnmower, mowing away the letters Vnuk in a heavy-handed Brexit metaphor as inane as it is dishonest.

Is this the best you’ve got, Brexiters? A £50 reduction on ride-on lawnmower insurance that the EU had already scrapped anyway? Ah well. It will now be cheaper to trim the grass of the sunlit uplands. Perhaps Corinne Stockheath could get on with mowing the lawns while Shapps himself concentrates on scraping the barrels.

It’s Wednesday morning. A quarter of a century ago, I made the mistake of getting out of a Jeep in the Lake Bonney Riverlands of South Australia, and suddenly every square centimetre of my face and body was covered in swarming black flies. That’s what the news feels like now: so many sick stories coming at you all at once. What is it you want me to satirise this week, liberals of Observer-land? Brexit-supporting holidaymakers incensed by passport controls they voted for? Or Nadine Dorries’s downstreamed tennis pitch dyslexia? Covid cash millions in disappearing suitcases? Or billions wasted on contracted cronies? Sexual misconduct in the cabinet? Or frontbench porn from the internet? Broken replacement red wall funding promises? Or the end of educational Erasmus opportunities? Raw sewage discharging or more fines for partying? Lawnmower insurance dividends or government human trafficking? Channel 4 cultural vandalism or care home Covid scandalism. Which of these news flies to swat first? Answer me!

I stumble around Southend-on-Sea, where I worked the night before, looking at newspapers in shops. I can see from the front of the Daily Mail that the disappointing Dan Hodges is squatting splay-thighed on his milking stool, desperately tugging the last squits of black poison from the dry udders of Angela Rayner’s Leg-Gate story like a zombie farmhand. For money. I know that if I were to read the Mail’s Leg-Gate coverage I’d get 1,000 words from it, but that means either visiting the Daily Mail website or buying a physical copy, both of which help the horrible paper, and so are not morally acceptable options.

It’s 12.15pm. I go into M&S to buy my usual lunch: a 120g tray of British coronation chicken slices and some egg mayonnaise. In the queue, I browse the newspaper rack’s Daily Mail for free. I get stuck into a double spread that purports to prove Rayner found her sexual objectification delightful via an old interview that actually proves the exact opposite. But suddenly it’s time for me to scan my proteins. Thinking on my feet, I do the only moral thing and slip the Daily Mail into my bag unpaid for.

I sat on the clifftop with my chicken products and my stolen Daily Mail. Maybe it was all the egg mayonnaise, but after the first couple of pages, I vomited slightly into my mouth, so I put the Daily Mail in a dog excrement bin and decided to run with the ride-on lawnmowers. These people only want you to talk about them anyway. Life’s too short to put yourself through that kind of shit.

1) CONTENT PROVIDER BBC

CONTENT PROVIDER is on BBC I-player until end of March.
And all the COMEDY VEHICLES seem to have gone back up too. See how the world has changed in a decade.

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2) King Rocker

https://www.kingrockerfilm.com/

 


How does a working class autodidact, with no visible means of support, maintain his role as the leader of a cult British underground band into its fifth decade? Comedian and writer Stewart Lee (Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle) , director Michael Cumming (Brass Eye, Toast) and James Nicholls (Fire Records, Fire Films) investigate the mysterious existence of Robert Lloyd (The Prefects, The Nightingales, Robert Lloyd and the New Four Seasons), Britain's ultimate post-punk survivor.

Robert Lloyd's Prefects played with The Clash on the White Riot tour in 1977, and their ongoing incarnation, as Birmingham's Captain Beefheart suffused post-punk poets The Nightingales, recorded more John Peel sessions than any other band. Ever.

Buoyed by endless critical acclaim, but hampered by ongoing commercial indifference, Lloyd has nonetheless continued to tour and record, The Nightingales' affairs managed by drummer Fliss Kitson, from a Wolverhampton shipping container, and Lloyd himself, from the isolated borderland mountain fastness of Wellington, Shropshire, surrounded by prehistoric remains and industrial archaeology.

Lloyd, a post-punk flaneur, sometime postman, and master snug room raconteur, appears to have maintained a lifestyle outside the system via a succession of hustles, often involving an encyclopaedic knowledge of horse racing and pre-punk musical weirdness.

But what were the social, cultural and economic circumstances that enabled and sustained such outsider artists in the punk and post-punk eras, and how has the world changed to the point where such figures are unlikely to flourish in the same way today? Lloyd's own odyssey echoes how abstract notions of social mobility, of the value of culture and music, have changed in the last five decades.

In an odd coincidence, Lloyd's current home, the Shropshire market town of Wellington, in the shadow of the Wrekin, is also where the comedian Stewart Lee was born, though he only spent nine days there before being dispatched to an orphanage, and has not been back since.

Further chance collisions abound. For a brief period the skyline of '70s concrete Birmingham was defined by Nicholas Monroe's unloved, and soon sold off pop art sculpture, of the giant ape, King Kong. Missing and presumed lost for years, this icon of Birmingham was eventually discovered prostrate in a Lake District garden, before being critically rehabilitated in an exhibition of great British public sculpture at the Henry Moore Gallery in Leeds in 2017.

As a child, Stewart was fascinated by the sculpture, and in a strange piece of synchronicity Lloyd compared his onstage persona to Monroe's Kong in a triumphant post-gig rant in King's Cross this year. The parallels make the point of comparison too good to ignore. King Rocker will shadow Lloyd's story with that of Birmingham's forgotten, and rediscovered, giant art ape, King Kong.

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3) BENEFIT GIGS

i) WALTHAMSTOW
I am doing a benefit for something with some other people, including Christian Reilly, at Ye Old Rose and Crown, Walthamstow on 22nd of Jan.

ii) UP THE CREEK, GREENWICH
I am doing a benefit for something with Phil Kay at Up The Creek, Greenwich on Tues 5th of Feb.

The Goodfather: PHIL KAY, STEWART LEE, TONY LAW
+ Roisin & Chiara, Lucy Hopkins, Russell Hicks, Tom Ward
and Phil Kay (MC aka The Goodfather)

Tue 5 Feb 2019 7:00 pm for 7:45 start. Up The Creek, SE10 9SW - EVENT LINK / TICKETS

iii) BELTER FOR THE SHELTER 19th Feb 2019
BELTER FOR THE SHELTER, Hackney Empire, London, 19th Feb 2019, 7.30.

Join us for a spectacular evening of comedy in aid of Hackney Winter Night Shelter. Going into its 5th year with an incredible line up at the Hackney Empire to help raise money for the Shelter's vital work with local homeless people.
All money raised on the evening goes towards keeping people off the streets of Hackney, providing them with a hot meal and warm bed throughout winter.
Providing the gags for the evening will be Bridget Christie (News Review), Kevin Eldon (TIE), Sofie Hagen (Scandinavia), Harry Hill (Tooting Medics' Review), Athena Kugblenu (Nish Kumar's Edinburgh Nights), Nish Kumar (Nish Kumar's Edinburgh Nights), Rosie Jones (Nish Kumar's Edinburgh Nights), Robert Newman (Steve Wright's Radio 1 Posse) and Stewart Lee (Richard Herring's Fist of Fun)
(compere to be announced).

TICKET LINK £10-£20.

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4) WOLVERHAMPTON LIT FEST FEB 2ND

On Saturday 2nd February Stewart Lee (comedian/writer) will read from his contribution to the book 'Home Town Tales' about his youthful fascination for midlands post-punk band The Nightingales and an outsized piece of public sculpture located in Birmingham's Bullring.

£9 - 5pm Wolverhampton Art Gallery - TICKET LINK

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5) FOR Sake of Joy

Improvised music at the LONDON REVIEW BOOKSHOP, Bloomsbury
LRB Sound / For Sake Of Joy Of Study Of Oneself Together: Allum, Beresford, Lee and Wastell
£15 - 20 January 2019 at 6.30 p.m. - London Review Bookshop

Jennifer Allum : violin
Steve Beresford : electronics
Stewart Lee : spoken word
Mark Wastell : percussion

For Sake Of Joy Of Study Of Oneself Together is a spoken word piece derived from a poem originally written by drummer John Stevens.
Stevens is best known as one of the original instigators in the development of freely improvised music that began to formulate in the middle 1960s and he dedicated his entire career to the discipline, through group performance, recordings, publications, teachings and workshops.

Mark Wastell transcribed the poem from a live concert recording given by Stevens in 1991 and set it to an improvised musical accompaniment for a project organised by Trestle Records which can be heard here.
This evening's concert will feature an extemporised reading by Stewart Lee together with an improvised score performed by Jennifer Allum, Steve Beresford and Mark Wastell. All four are fully conversant and highly experienced in the delivery of improvised material.
Dedicated to John Stevens 1940 - 1994

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6) Meanwhile, I Arrogantly Recommend...

Michael Rother, Patti Smith, The Fallen Women, Mammoth Penguins, Phil Minton, Shirley Collins.

Patti Smith - Roundhouse, Camden, London Fri 25th Jan. Lone UK date for punk pioneer.

Michael Rother - Earth, Hackney, London, Sat 26th Jan. Lone UK date for Krautrock pioneer.

Fallen Women - Lexington, Angel, London, Sun 27th Jan. All-women Fall tribute band w special guest informants.

Mammoth Penguins - Moth, Hackney, London, Tues 29th Jan. Indie-pop classicists

Phil Minton - Ryan's Bar, Stoke Newington London, Weds 30th. Vocal experimentalist Minton is amongst the performers at tonight's Flim Flam improvisation session.

Shirley Collins - Roundhouse, Camden, London, Thurs 31st. Lone UK date for folk revival pioneer.

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7) MY CULTURAL LIFE 2018

The best NEW BOOK I read all year was THIS IS MEMORIAL DEVICE by DAVID KEENAN, which seemed to find a new way of telling a story, a kind of fabricated docu-fiction, and gave utterly vivid 3-dimensional life to a community of outsider artists in a small Scottish town at the start of the '80s. It also made me think about memory, reality and how thoughts and ideas work. I felt imaginatively alive while reading it and oddly bereft when it ended. I found JOHN NIVEN's KILL 'EM ALL so funny people were staring at me as I read it on public transport.
The best old book I read was BESIDE THE OCEAN OF TIME by GEORGE MACKAY BROWN. I read it in Orkney, where it was set, looking across the sea at Hoy, and everything became temporally unstable.
My 11 year old said I would really like the early '70s acid-folk PENELOPE LIVELY children's novels he was reading, and I did. KUNT, from KUNT and THE GANG, self-published an autobiography, I KUNT, which, as well as being very funny, also identifies a lot of key cultural, social and technological shifts this century through the lens of jokes about wanking and shit.

MARK E SMITH died. So there was no FALL fun this year and there never will be again, which is still hard to believe when you find yourself suddenly laughing at a song lyric that arrives in the mind unbidden. My favorite NEW ALBUM was WE'RE YOUR FRIENDS MAN, a late period high point for the indestructible heavy-psyche songwriter Nick Saloman of BEVIS FROND, but PAT TODD's BLOOD AND TREASURE was an unmediated bar-room country-punk pleasure. THE WOLFHOUNDS' PEEL SESSIONS album HAND IN THE TILL was a welcome archival release, as was DEREK BAILEY with tap dancing legend WILL GAINES live at Stoke Newington's KLINKER in 2000.

I saw loads of great gigs this year, including five star sets from THE NIGHTINGALES, THE ON THE SHORE BAND, THE FALLEN LEAVES, THE WOLFHOUNDS, MARK KOZELEK, GIANT SAND/PATSY'S RATS, THE EX/BIG JOANIE, SID GRIFFIN & TOM HEYMAN & DAN STUART, YO LA TENGO, BEVIS FROND, MICHAEL ROTHER, IDLES, JILTED JOHN, & JOHN CARPENTER. I think the best gig I saw was LEE RANALDO at Hoxton Bar & Grill. I didn't listen to much jazz at all in 2019. I don't know how that happened. I don't think it was a very jazzy year. While it is good to experience art the disrupts and confounds, the snowflake Oi of IDLES, in both their live and recorded forms, delighted the entire family and made me, as a fifty year old 1980's politically correct liberal, feel less alone, which is another good thing that art can do.

Not going to the EDINBURGH FRINGE for the second year running improved my mental health and family relationships, but left a bit of a cultural hole, and I didn't see much theatre, or stand-up, or art, though ROSE WYLIE's Kentish primitivism seemed to be everywhere.

I didn't even read many comics in 2018. I liked HENRY'S KITCHEN on YOUTUBE and that thing where SLADE sing the opening line of their Christmas song over and over again. I liked THE BODYGUARD on TV, like everyone else. If a filmed stand-up set is shown on TV is it a film or is it TV? I watched a lot of family films with the kids and now think DWAYNE JOHNSON is some kind of genius, testing the elasticity of the role assigned to him by fate. I didn't see a ★★★★★ new film, but I watched lots of good old ones, including a re-mastered version of DUCCO TESSARI'S RETURN OF RINGO.

I watched the Finish comedy-horror RARE EXPORTS again at Christmas. 9 years ago I thought it was sick fun. Now it seemed like a metaphor for climate change, cultural vandalism, and the death of indigenous cultures. You never see the same film twice because you, the viewer, have changed. Only SHORT CIRCUIT II remains the same. GET SANTA is still the best Christmas film ever made.

The best place I went all year was MAESHOWE in ORKNEY, with my family, on my 50th, and that was the moment that I was happiest in 2018. The best thing I ate was a chicken jalfrezi at the ANGLO SPICE GRILL, STOKE NEWINGTON. The best drink I drank was an 18 year old whisky from THE HIGHLAND PARK DISTILLERY, Orkney. The best animal I saw was either a seal or a wild boar, in their natural habitats.

Nonetheless, here is an unedited list of all the cultural content I consumed in 2018, in the order I consumed it, as far as I remember.

NEW FILMS (2017/8)

Paddington II (2017)
Star Wars - The Last Jedi (2017) ★
Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017) ★★★★
Early Man (Nick Park, 2018)
Black Panther (2018) ★
Death of Stalin (Armando Ianucci, 2017)
Isle Of Dogs (Wes Anderson, 2018)
Thor - Ragnarok (Taika Waititi, 2017)
Long Time Running (Jennifer Baichwal, 2017) ★★★★
Hostiles (Scott Cooper, 2018) ★★★★
Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird, 2018) ★★★★
Ant Man And The Wasp (Peyton Reed, 2018)
3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh, 2018) ★
Ready Player One (Stephen Spielberg, 2018)
Rampage (Brad Peyton, 2018)
The Witch's Flower (Hiromasa Yonebayashi, 2017)
Jumanji Welcome To The Jungle (Jake Kasdan, 2017)
Deadpool II (David Leitch, 2018)
Skyscraper (Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2018)

NEW OLD FILMS REISSUED

The Return of Ringo (Duccio Tessari, 1965, Arrow) ★★★★
Sorcerer (William Friedkin, 1977)
If You Meet Sartana Pray For Your Death (G Paralini, 1968, Arrow)
I Am Sartana Your Agent Of Death (Giuliano Carmineo, 1969, Arrow)
Sartana's Here Trade Your Pistol For A Coffin ((G Carmineo, 1970)
Have A Good Funeral Friend Sartana Will Pay (G Carmineo, 1970)

OLD FILMS

Dr Zhivago (David Lean, 1964) ★★★★★
The Great Silence (Sergio Corbucci, 1966) ★★★★
Brave (Mark Andrews, 2012) ★★★★
The BFG (Stephen Spielberg, 2016)
Orca The Killer Whale (Michael Anderson, 1977)
Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, 2007) ★★★★
A Bullet For The General (Damiano Damiani, 1967) ★★★★★
Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid (Sam Peckinpah, 1973)
Apollo 13 (Ron Howard, 1995)
Up (Pete Docter, 2009)
Toy Story III (Lee Unkrich, 2010)
Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock) ★★★★
Network (Sydney Lumet, 1976) ★★★★★
McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)
Wolf Children (Mamoru Hosoda, 2012) ★★★★
Wuthering Heights (William Wyler, 1939) ★★★★
The Woman In Black (James Watkins, 2012)
The Medusa Touch (Jack Gold, 1978)
Stalingrad (Fedor Bondarchuk, 2013)
Hector (Jake Gavin, 2015) ★★★★★
The Life Aquatic (Wes Anderson, 2015)
Man About The House (John Robins, 1974)
Whisky Galore (Alexander Mackendrick, 1949)★★★★
My Neighbour Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988) ★★★★★
Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)
Richard Pryor Live In Concert (Jeff Margolis, 1979)
Wanted (Giorgio Ferroni, 1966)
I Called Him Morgan (Casper Collin, 2016) ★★★★
Eden Lake (James Watkins, 2008)
Dennis Leary - No Cure For Cancer (Ted Demme, 1993)
The Stranger & The Gunfighter (Antonio Margheriti, 1974)
Ice Station Zebra (John Sturges, 1968)
Monty Python & The Holy Grail (Terry Gilliam, 1974)
Monty Python's Life Of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979) ★★★★
Misery (Rob Reiner, 1990) ★★★★
Play Misty For Me (Clint Eastwood, 1971) ★★★★★
Area 51 (Oren Pelli, 2015)
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966)★★★★★
The Lady In The Van (Nick Hytner, 2015) ★★★★
Tepepa (Giulio Petroni, 1969) ★★★★
The Incredible Shrinking Man (Jack Arnold, 1956)★★★★
The Cars That Ate Paris (Peter Weir, 1974)
Monique - I Coulda Been Your Cellmate (G Binkow, 2007) ★★★★★
Arriety (Hiromasa Yonebayashi, 2011) ★★★★★
Glen Campbell : I'll Be Me (James Kneach, 2014)
Solider Blue (Ralph Nelson, 1970)
Arrival (Dennis Villeneuve, 2016) ★★★★
Dog Soldiers (Neil Marshall, 2002)
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969)
The Pledge (Sean Penn, 2001) ★
Die Hard (John Mctiernane, 1989) ★★★★
Mission Impossible (Brian de Palma, 1996)
Slow West (John MacLean, 2015) ★★★★
Only Yesterday (Isao Takahata, 1991) ★★★★
Meek's Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt, 2011)
The Woman Eater (Charles Saunders, 1958)
Tomorrow Never Dies (Roger Spottiswode, 1997)
X-Men (Brian Singer, 2000)
Live And Let Die (Guy Hamilton, 1973) ★★★★
The Spy Who Loved Me (Lewis Gilbert, 1977)
The Man With The Golden Gun (Guy Hamilton, 1974)
Three Amigos (John Landis, 1987)
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (Blake Edwards, 1976)
Jaws (Stephen Spielberg, 1975)
Help! (Richard Lester, 1965)
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989) ★★★★
Robin Hood (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1973) ★★★★
Hard Day's Night (Richard Lester, 1963) ★★★★
The Mask (Charles Russell, 1994)
Deathstalker (James Sardellati, 1984)
Love Thy Neighbour (John Robins, 1973)
Basket Case (Frank Henenlotter, 1982) ★★★★
The Stuff (Larry Cohen, 1985) ★★★★
The Nutty Professor (Tom Shadyak, 1996)
Spy (Paul Feig, 2015) ★★★★
Queen Kong (Frank Agrama, 1976)
Ghost Rider (Mark Steven Johnson, 2007)
The Satanic Rites of Dracula (Alan Gibson, 1973)
Central Intelligence (Rawson Marhall Thurber, 2016)★★★★
Howard The Duck (Willard Huyuk, 1986)
Westworld (Michael Crichton, 1973)
They Live (John Carpenter, 1989) ★★★★
Nine To Five (Colbert Higgins, 1980) ★★★★
Punchline (David Seltzer, 1988) ★★★★★
Enchanted (Kevin Lima, 2007)
Octopussy (John Glenn, 1983)
The Man Who Cried For Revenge (Mario Calano, 1968)
The Devil's Men (Kostos Karagiannis, 1976) ★
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Peter Hewitt, 1991)
Team America (Trey Parker, 2004) ★★★★
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (John Hughes, 1987)
The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986)
Every Which Way But Loose (James Fargo, 1978) ★
Amazing Spider-Man (Mark Webb, 2012) ★★★★
Becket (Peter Glenville, 1964)
El Condor (John Guillermin, 1970)
100 Rifles (Tom Gries, 1969)
Miracle On 34th St (Les Mayfield, 1994)
Koyaanisqatsi - Godfrey Reggio (1982) ★★★★★
Arthur Christmas (Sarah Smith, 2011)
Big Gold Dream (Grant McPhee, 2015)
Nativity (Debbie Isitt, 2009)
Get Santa (Christopher Smith, 2014) ★★★★★
Amazing Spider-man 2 (Mark Webb, 2014) ★★
Where Eagles Dare (Brian Hutton, 1968) ★★★★★
Rare Exports (Jalmari Helander, 2010)
Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
The Hunger Games (Gary Ross, 2012)

NEW BOOKS

Shirley Collins - All In The Downs ★★★★
Bendle - Permanent Transience
Daniel Spicer - Andalou Psych 1965 - 1980 ★★★★
John Lemay - Deadly Spaghetti
Kunt - I Kunt
Robin Ince - I'm A Joke And So Are You
Toby Litt - Wrestliana
John Niven - Kill 'Em All ★★★★
David Keenan - This Is Memorial Device ★★★★★
Paul Ewen - Writer In Residence ★★★★

OLD BOOKS

Austin Fisher - Radical Frontiers In The Spaghetti Western (2011)
George Mackay Brown - A Calendar Of Love (1967) ★★★★
George Mackay Brown - For The Islands I Sing (1985)
George Mackay Brown - Beside The Ocean of Time (1994) ★★★★★
Anna Kavan - Ice (1967) ★★★★
Frederick Grice - Folk Tales Of The West Midlands (1952) ★★★★★
Richard Allen - Sorts (1973)
Richard Allen - Skinhead (1970)
Penelope Lively - Astercote (1970)
Penelope Lively - The Whispering Knights (1971) ★★★★
Penelope Lively - The Wild Hunt Of Hagworthy (1971) ★★★★★
Michael S Foley - Dead Kennedys' Fresh Fruit (2015) ★★★★

COMICS

Injection vol 3 (Warren Ellis/Declan Shavey) ★★★★
The Man-Thing Vol 1 1970-74 (Steve Gerber)
Kamandi The Last Boy On Earth - 1970's Jack Kirby DC comics

TV NEW AND OLD

The X-Files (S1) (1993 - 25 years ago!) ★★★★
Inside No 9 s4 (BBC2 2018) ★★★★
The Water Margin S1 (NTV 1973) ★★★★
Requiem (BBC1) ★★
The Twilight Zone (S1) ★★★★
Kung Fu (S2)★★★★★
Vic Reeves Big Night Out (C4, S1) ★★★★
Detectorists (BBC2, 1-3) ★★★★★
Endeavour (Itv) ★★★★★
The Story Of Skinhead - Don Letts (BBC4) ★★★★
Ricky Gervais' Humanity (Netflix) ★
This Country (S2) (BBC3)
Sarah Silverman, A Speck Of Dust ( Netfilx)
Chris Rock, Tamborine (Netflix)
Putin, The New Tsar (BBC) ★★★★
The Archiveologists (BBC2) ★★★★
Frankie Boyle - Hurt Like You've Never Been Loved (Netflix)
Jimmy Carr - Funny Business (Netflix)
John Bishop - Supersonic (Netflix) ★★★★
Jack Whitehall - At Large (Netflix) ★
Cunk On Britain (BBC2)
Jim Jeffries - Free Dumb (Netflix) ★
Chris Tucker - Live (Netflix)
Bill Burr - Walk Your Way Out (Netflix)
Doug Stanhope - Beer Hall Putsch (Netflix) ★★★★
Russell Howard - Recalibrate (Netflix) ★
Tales of The Unexpected (S1, ITV) ★★★★
Great British Bake Off (Series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) (BBC) ★★★★★
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction (Netflix)
Gina Yashera (Netflix) ★★★★
Todd Glass - Act Happy (Netflix) ★★★★
Amy Schumer - The Leather Special (Netflix)
Monique - I Coulda Been Your Cellmate (G Binkow, 2007) ★★★★★
The Marvelous Mrs Maizel S1 (Amazon) ★★★★
A Very English Scandal (BBC) ★★★★★
Hannah Gadsby - Nanette (Netflix)
England vs Columbia
England vs Croatia
The Handmaid's Tale s 1 ★★★★★
The Handmaid's Tale s 2
Better Call Saul s 4
Ozark S1, S2 (Netflix) ★★★★★
Fargo S1 (Netflix) ★★★★★
Bodyguard (BBC1) ★★★★★
Henry's Kitchen (Youtube) ★★★★
Dr Who with a lady (BBC1)
This Week (BBC2)
Inside No 9 Halloween Special (BBC2) ★★★★
Louis Theroux in America (BBC1)
First Dates (C4)
Norsemen (Netflix) ★★★★
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel S2 (Netflix) ★
The Fix (Netflix) ★
Vic and Bob's Big Night Out (BBC3 2018) ★★★★

MAGAZINES AND PAPERS

Guardian, Mojo, Shindig, Record Collector, New European, Wire, RnR, Faunus, Machenalia

RADIO

James O'Brien (LBC) ★★★★★
Tom Robinson's Windrush Anniversary Show (6 Music) ★★★★★
Resonance 104.4 fm generally

The worst radio I heard was The Today Program (BBC Radio 4)

THEATRE

Alice (Minack Theatre, Cornwall)
The Battle of Evesham - Evesham
The Lost Disc - Wil Adamsdale/Tom Parry (Soho Theatre) ★★★★
M R James' Lost Hearts - Hampton Court ★★★★
Aladdin (Hackney Empire) ★★★★

COMEDY

Jimmy Carr/Neal Brennan/Dave Chapelle (Leicester Sq Theatre) ★
Wilson Dixon (Soho Theatre) ★★★★
Andy Kindler (Soho Theatre) ★★★★
Omid Djalili/Boothby Graffoe (Leicester Sq Theatre)★★★★
Felicity Ward - Busting A Nut (Soho Theatre) ★★★★

GIGS (45)

Michael Rother (Jazz Cafe) ★★★★★
Lee Ranaldo (Hoxton Bar & Grill) ★★★★★
Nightingales (Lexington) ★★★★
Shame/Gurr (Electric Ballroom)
Ashley Henry, Nubya Garcia, Cleo Laine (Shoreditch Town Hall)
Lore Lixenberg/Naomi Sato/Hen Ogledd (Cafe Oto) ★★★★
Yo La Tengo (Royal Festival Hall) ★★★★★
Iva Bittova w Abraham Brody (Rich Mix) ★★★★
Joss Cope/Anton Barbeau (Betsey Trotwood)
Evan Parker, John Edwards, Roger Turner (Vortex) ★★★★
Bevis Frond (100 Club) ★★★★★
The Bug Club (Electric Company, Hay On Wye)
Where Pathways Meet/Art Ensemble of Chicago (Jazz Cafe) ★★★★
Patsy's Rats/Giant Sand (Under The Bridge) ★★★★★
Bardo Pond (100 Club)
Olivia Chaney (Hoxton Hall)
The Ex/Big Joannie (Electrowerkz) ★★★★★
Wolves In The Throne Room (Garage) ★★★★
Alan Wilkinson/Steve Noble/John Edwards (Cafe Oto) ★★★★
Darren Hayman/Catenary Wires (St Pancras Old Church) ★★★★
Pharaoh Sanders (Ronnie Scott's)
Left Outsides/Trembling Bells (Cafe Oto)
Lower Slaughter (Latitude)
Idles (Latitude) ★★★★★
Billy Childish (Koko)
Dave Wakeling/Lee Perry/Toots & The Maytals (Ali Paly)
The Other Dramas/Nightingales (Jericho Tavern, Oxford) ★★★★
The Courtesy Group/Nightingales (Bristol Exchange) ★★★★★
Grief Daddy/Nightingales (Portsmouth Wedgwood Rooms) ★★★★
Nightingales (6 Music, Salford) ★★★★
Near Jazz Exp/Nightingales (Hare & Hounds, Brum) ★★★★★
Near Jazz Experience/Nightingales (Moth Club, London) ★★★★★
Near Jazz Exp/Nightingales (Portland Arms, Cambs) ★★★★★
The Wolfhounds/The Nightingales (Green Door, Brighton) ★★★★★
John Otway/Jilted John (229 Club, London) ★★★★★
Mark Kozelek (Union Chapel, London) ★★★★★
Ex-Easter Island Head (King's Place, London) ★★★★
John Carpenter (Shepherd's Bush Empire, London) ★★★★★
Idles (T&C, London)
Capri Batterie (Cafe Oto) ★★★★
Neko Case (Barbican)
Teenage Fanclub (Electric Ballroom)
The Fallen Leaves (Hope & Anchor, London) ★★★★★
Tom Heyman/Sid Griffin/Dan Stuart (The Islington) ★★★★★
On The Shore Band (Cafe Oto) ★★★★★

RECORDS I LISTENED TO IN THEIR ENTIRITY OLD SCHOOL THIS YEAR IN ONE SITTING AT A DESIGNATED LISTENING DEVICE

 

NEW RECORDS - 2017/2018 (97)

Pat Todd & The Rank Outsiders - Blood & Treasure ★★★★
Robyn Hitchcock - s/t
Lydia Loveless - Boy Crazy And Single(s) ★★★★
The Belbury Poly - New Ways Out
The Focus Group - Stop Motion Happening With
Paula Frazer and Tarnation - What Is And Was
Nick Luca - On A Mission
Nick Luca - Nick Of Time
Nick Luca - Midnight Mantra
The Belbury Circle - Outward Journeys
Hintermass - The Apple Tree
The Pattern Forms - Peel Away The Ivy
The Courtesy Group - Second City Liquor
Toi Toi Toi - Im Hag
Richard Youngs - Belief
Ron S Peno & The Superstitions - Guiding Light
Gun Outfit - Out of Range
Surfing Magazines - s/t ★★★★
Buffalo Tom - Quiet & Peace
Pugwash - Silverlake
Richard Youngs - A Brief Walk Outside
Hellenes - I Love You All The Animals
Kosmische Laufer - Live In Graz ep ★★★★
Stick In The Wheel - Follow Them True
Mammoth Penguins - John Doe
Laura Cannell - Hunter Huntress Hawker
The Bellrays - Punk Funk Rock Soul Vol 1 ep
Shopping - The Official Body
Calexico - The Thread That Keeps Us
The Feelies - In Between
Shame - Songs Of Praise
Carlton Melton - Mind Minerals
The Fall - Atlanta Albania Whatever (bootleg) ★★★★
Trembling Bells - Dungerness
Smitten - Blame
Julian Cope - Skellington 3
Yo La Tengo - There's A Riot Going On
Carla Bozulich - Quieter
Shadracks - No 1
Idles - Brutalism ★★★★
Goat Girl - Goat Girl
Pete Astor - One For The Ghost
Anthroprophh - Omegaville ★★★★
Evan Parker, Barry Guy, Paul Lytton - Music For Mossman ★★★★
Anthroprophh - SRR 2.5
The Left Outsides - All That Remains
Walter Salas-Humara - Work : Part One
Alejandro Escovedo - Burn Something Beautiful
Dope - The Intergalactic Re-Gilding of Detroit
Richmond Fontaine - Don't Skip Out On Me
Anton Barbeau - Natural Causes
Flamin' Groovies - Fantastic Plastic
Guided By Voices - Space Gun
Dope - Intergalactic Re-gilding Of Detroit
Neko Case - Hell Or
Giant Sand - Returns To Valley Of Rain ★★★★
The Ex - 27 Passports ★★★★
Dan Stuart - The Unfortunate Demise of Marlowe Billings ★★★★
Sonic Boom - Infinite Music
Nubya Garcia - Nubya's Five (2017)
Nubya Garcia - When We Are
Where Pathways Meet - Arrival
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs
Charles Lloyd/Lucinda Williams - Vanished Gardens ★★★★
The Advisory Circle - Ways of Seeing
Sun Dial - Science Fiction
Dumptruck - Wrecked
Gabriel Naim Amor - Moments Before
Idles - Joy ★★★★
Nightingales - Perish The Thought ★★★★
Mudhoney - Digital Garbage
Laura Cannell & Andre Bosman - Reckonings
Dope featuring Fuck Authority - Seven Disquieting Dirges
21 Pilots - Trench
Nogroup - EP MXVIII
Nogroup - E P E G
Kevin Salem - Box of Words
Near Jazz Experience - Afloat
Bevis Frond - We're Your Friends Man ★★★★★
Cowboy Junkies - All That Reckoning
Darren Hayman - Thankful Villages 3 ★★★★
Chills - Snowbound
The Dream Syndicate - How We Found Ourselves ★★★★
Beths - Future Me Hates Me
Mark Kozelek, Ben Boye & Jim White - s/t ★★★★
Sleaford Mods - Sleaford Mods EP ★★★★
The Wave Pictures - Brushes With Happiness
The Wave Pictures - Look Inside Your Heart
Chris Cacavas - An Acoustic Evening With
Green Pajamas - Supernatural ★★★★
Richard Youngs - Endless Futures
Long Ryders - Psychedelic Country Soul ★★★★
Blue Orchids - Righteous Harmony Fist
Galya Bisengalieava - EP one ★★★★
Cult Figures - The 166 Ploughs A Lonely Furrow ★★★★
Emanem - Kamikazee

NEW OLD RECORDS

Dave Miller Set - Mr Guy Fawkes (1967-70)
v/a - Uzelli Psychedelic Anadolu (1975 - 84)
Fumio Miyashita - Live On The Boffomundo Show (79/80) ★★★★
V/A - The Ballad of Shirley Collins (1959-2016)
Derek Bailey & Company - Klinker (2000) ★★★★★
The Gun Club - In My Room (1991-93)
Lau - Decade - The Best of 2007-2017 (2017)★★★★★
Summerhill - Return To Lowdown (1988-89) ★★★★★
Sandra Kerr & John Faulkner - Bagpuss (1973) ★★★★
The Wolfhounds - Hands In Till Peel Sessions (1986 - 88) ★★★★★
Richard Lloyd - Live New York (1979)
Gene Clark - Sings For You (1967) ★★★★
Nikki Sudden, Johnny Fean & S Carmody - Last Bandits (1985-9)
John Coltrane - Both Directions At Once (1963) ★★★★★
Bob Dylan - The Best of The Bootleg Series (1964 - 1989) ★★★★
Gram Parsons - A Song For You box (1968-9)
The Posies - Frosting On The Beater (1993) ★★★★★
Alexander Spence - Andoragain (1968) ★★★★★
Ut - Conviction (1986) ★★★★★
The Long Ryders - State of Our Union box (1985) ★★★★★
The Long Ryders - Two Fisted Tales box (1987) ★★★★
Girls In The Garage Vols 1 - 6 Box (1960s) ★★★★★
The Beatles - White Album/Esher Demos (1968) ★★★★★
The Fall - Set Of Ten (box) (1980 - 2001)

OLD RECORDS

Tommy Keene - You Hear Me, A Retrospective 1983-2009 ★★★★
Oh-Ok - The Complete Recordings (1982-84)
Ruts DC - Music Must Destroy (2016)
Ruts DC - Rhythm Collision Vol 1 (1981)
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Rattlesnakes (1984) ★★★★★
The Sound - Heads And Hearts (1985) ★★★★
Rosemary Haddad - Coming Hohm (1975)
The Business - Welcome To The Real World (1983)
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Easy Pieces (1985) ★★★★
Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - At The BBC Vol 1 (1984)
Graves Brothers Delux - San Malo (2009)
David Tattersall & Howard Hughes - Lobster Boat (2011) ★★★★
The Wave Pictures - Bamboo Diner In The Rain (2016) ★★★★
Jeanne Lee - Conspiracy (1974) ★★★★★
Gord Downie & The Sadies - And The Conquering Sun (2014)
Jeanne Lee & Ran Blake - Newest Sound Around (1961) ★★★★
Richard Youngs - The Rest Is Scenery (2016) ★★★★
Andrew Cyrille, Jeanne Lee, Jimmy Lyones - Nuba (1979) ★★★★
The Highest Order - If It's Real (2013)
The Highest Order - Still Holding (2016)
Roger McGuinn - Rockpalast (1977)
Red Television - s/t (1974)
Karin Krog - Joy (1968) ★★★★★
Roswell Rudd - Flexible Flyer (1974) ★★★★
21 Pilots - Blurryface (2015) ★★★★★
Furry Lewis - Back On My Feet Again (1961)★★★★
The Sound - Jeopardy (1980)
The Sound - From The Lion's Mouth (1981)
The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace (1985) ★★★★★
The Fall - The Real New Fall LP (2003)★★★★★
The Fall - Reformation Post-TLC (2007) ★★★★★
The Wild Flowers - Dust (1987)
John Bisset - 14 Guitar Instrumentals (?)
The Fall - The Marshall Suite (1999)
Christopher - Christopher (1970)
The Fall - Slates (1981) ★★★★
The Fall - Room To Live (1982) ★★★★
The Fall - Perverted By Language (1983) ★★★★★
Furry Lewis - Done Changed My Mind (1961) ★★★★
Graves Brothers Delux - Filter Feeders (2005)
Fiver - Lost The Plot (2013)
Beige Palace - Gravel Time (2016)
The Fall - The Unutterable (2000)
The Fall - Are You Are Missing Winner? (2001)
The Fall - Fall Heads Roll (2005) ★★★★
The Fall - Imperial Wax Solvent (2008) ★★★★
Pearl Jam - Ten (1991)
Pearl Jam - Vs (1993) ★★★★
Pearl Jam - Vitaology (1994)
The Fall - Are You Are Missing Winner (2001)
The Fall - The Real New Fall Album (2003) ★★★★★
The Fall - Reformation Post TLC (2007) ★★★★★
The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter (2010) ★★★★★
The Fall - Ersatz GB (2011) ★★★★
The Fall - Re-Mit (2013)
The Fall - The Remainderer (2013)
The Fall - Sub-lingual Tablet (2015) ★★★★★
The Fall - Wise Ol' Man (2016)
The Fall - New Facts Emerge (2017) ★★★★
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage (1965) ★★★★
Karin Krog - We Could Be Flying (1974) ★★★★★
21 Pilots - Vessel (2014) ★★★★
John Lee Hooker - The Real Folk Blues (1966) ★★★★
Boo Hooray - Hepcat Gloss 12” (1983) ★★★★★
Pearl Jam - No Code (1996)
Pearl Jam - Yield (1998)
Pearl Jam - Binaural (2000)
Pearl Jam - Riot Act (2002)
Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam (2006)
Pearl Jam - Backspacer (2009)
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt (2013)
Steve Earle - I Feel Alright (1996) ★★★★★
Tom T Hall - Greatest Hits
Larry Jon Wilson - New Beginnings (1975)
Pearl Jam - Lost Dogs (2003)
Lee Ranaldo & Dust - Last Night On Earth Demos (2013) ★★★★
Tony Joe White - Black And White (1968) ★★★★
Tony Joe White - Continued (1969) ★★★★
Tony Joe White - Tony Joe (1970) ★★★★
Tony Joe White - Tony Joe White (1971) ★★★★
Tony Joe White - The Train I'm On (1972)
Tony Joe White - Home Made Ice Cream (1973)
Paul Desmond - Take Ten (1963)
Paul Desmond - Glad To Be Unhappy (1964)
Trembling Bells - Carbeth (2009)
Tanya Tagaq - Anuraaqtuq (2011) ★★★★★
Terry Manning - Home Sweet Home (1969)
Evan Parker - Monosceros (1978) ★★★★★
Trembling Bells - Abandoned Love (201)
Trembling Bells - The Constant Pageant (2011)★★★★
Trembling Bells - The Sovereign Self (2015)
Trembling Bells - The Wide Majestic Aire (2016) ★★★★
Skids - Scared To Dance (1979)
Orange Juice - The Glasgow School (1980-81) ★★★★
Big Star - #1 Record (1972) ★★★★★
Big Star - Radio City (1974) ★★★★★
Chris Robinson - New Earth Mud (2002)
Chris Robinson - This Magnificent Distance (2004)
Pentangle - Pentangle (1968) ★★★★★
Pentangle - Sweet Child (1968) ★★★★★
Pentangle - Basket of Light (1969) ★★★★
Pentangle - Cruel Sister (1970) ★★★★
Pentangle - Reflection (1971) ★★★★
Pentangle - Solomon's Seal (1972)
Don Carlos - Wipe The Wicked Clean (1983) ★★★★
Fairport Convention - Fairport Convention (1968)
Fairport Convention - What We Did In Our Holidays (1969) ★★★★
Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking (1969) ★★★★
Fairport Convention - Liege and Lief (1969) ★★★★★
Fotheringay - Fotheringay (1970) ★★★★
Fotheringay - 2 (1970)
Sandy Denny - The North Star Grassman and The Ravens (1971)
Tim Buckley - Works In Progress (1966-72)
Percewood's Organum - Lessons for Virgins (1971)
Tim Buckley - Tim Buckley (1966)
Tim Buckley - Goodbye and Hello (1967) ★★★★
Tim Buckley - Happy Sad (1969)
Tim Buckley - Blue Afternoon (1969)
Tim Buckley - Lorca (1970)
Tim Buckley - Starsailor (1970)★★★★★
Edir Akbayar ve Dostlar - Singles Overview (1974-77)
Cem Karaca - Nin Apaslar, Kardaslar, Mogollar (1972-74)
Davy Graham - The Guitar Player (1963) ★★★★
Pentangle - One More Road (1993)
Sunforest - Sound Of Sunforest (1970)
Dawnwind - Looking Back On The Future (1975)
Lagger Blues Machine - Tanit (1970)
Xixa - Bloodline (2016)
Lau - Live (2007) ★★★★
Kris Drever - Black Water (2006) ★★★★★
Kris Drever - Mark The Hard Earth (2010)
Kris Drever - If Wishes Were Horses (2016)
Lau - Lightweights and Gentlemen (2007)
Lau - Arc Light (2009)★★★★
Lau - The Bell That Never Rang (2015)
Kris Drever with eamonn Coyne - Storymap (2013)
Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahil - Live In Seattle (1999) ★★★★★
Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis (1969) ★★★★★
The Unthanks - Mount The Air (2015)
Henry Junjo Lawes - Volcano Erruption (1982-1991)
Biff Bang Pow - Waterbomb (1984-89)
The Prisoners - Hurricane, The Best of (1982-1986)
Kelly Willis - What I Deserve (1999)
Sun Dial - Other Way Out (1990) ★★★★★
Ride - Smile (1990)
Mississippi John Hurt - Today (1966) ★★★★
Left Outsides - Gower Wassail (2013) ★★★★
Comsat Angels - My Mind's Eye (1992)
Wild Seeds - Brave, Clean & Reverant (1985)
Wild Seeds - Mud, Lies & Shame (1988)
Lee Morgan - The Sixth Sense (1968)
Lee Morgan - The Rumproller (1965)
Lee Morgan - City Lights (1958)
Neil Casal - Fade Away Diamond Time (1995)
Neil Casal - Wind, Rain, Speed (1996) ★★★★
Richard Buckner - Devotion And Doubt (1997) ★★★★
Peter Case - Peter Case (1986)★★★★
Peter Case - Man w The Blue Post-Modern Guitar (1989) ★★★★
The Lemonheads - It's A Shame About Ray (1992) ★★★★★
Thirteen Engines - Before Our Time (1987)
Thirteen Engines - Byram Lake Blues (1989) ★★★★
Rick Oliver - Continual Battle Of Thoughts (2006)
Alejandro Escovedo - With These Hands (1996)
Minutemen - Double Nickels On The Dime (1983) ★★★★
Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1996) ★★★★★
A Minor Forest - Flemish Altruism (1996)
Cary Hudson - Bittersweet Blues (2006)
Cindy Lee Berryhill - Naked Movie Star (1989) ★★★★
Moonshake - Dirty & Divine (1996)
Come - Eleven : Eleven (1992) ★★★★
Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I (2011)
Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II (2011)
The Piersons - Humbucker (1996)
The Schramms - Rock Paper Scissors Dynamite (1992) ★★★★
James Griffin - Breakin' Up Is Easy (1974) ★★★★
Love - Forever Changes (1967) ★★★★★
Love - Love (1966) ★★★★
Love - Da Capo (1966)
James Griffin - James Griffin (1977) ★★★★
Geraldine Fibbers - What Part of Get Thee Gone… (1997) ★★★★
Joe Henry - Reverie (2011)
V/A - Got No Chains, Songs of The Walkabouts (2009)
Jeff Buckley - Garage bootleg (1994) ★★★★
Wolves In The Throne Room - Black Cascade (2009) ★★★★★
Wolves In The Throne Room - Malevolent Grain (2009) ★★★★
Vermonster - Spirit of Yma (1990) ★★★★
Vermonster - Instinctively Human (1991) ★★★★
Chris Brokaw - Incredible Love (2005)
Bottle Rockets - 24 Hours A Day (1997)
Bottle Rockets - South Broadway Athletic Club (2015)
Jeff Buckley - Grace (1993) ★★★★★
Live Skull - Positraction (1989)
Live Skull - Snuffer (1988)
Laura Cantrell - When The Roses Bloom Again (2002)
Malcolm Ross & The Low Milfs - s/t (2008)
Paul McCartney - McCartney II (1979)
Maya Caballero - For Sale (2015)
Stereolab - Transient Random-Noise Bursts (1993)
Rico - Wareika Dub (1976)
Junior Parker - Like It Is (1967)
Flamin' Groovies - Step Up (1984-9)
Flamin' Groovies - One Night Stand (1987)
Thee Headcoats - Elementary Headcoats (2000) ★★★★
Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet (1994) ★★★★
Pharoah Sanders - Karma (1969) ★★★★
Michael Hall - The Song He Was Listening To.. (2006)
Abba - Arrival (1976) ★★★★
Michael Hall - Lucky Too (2001)
Michael Hall - Dead By Dinner (2000)
Wolfhounds - United Kingdom (2016) ★★★★
Eleventh Dream Day - Prairie School Freakout (1988) ★★★★★
Hefner - Breaking God's Heart (1998) ★★★★
Kevin Salem - Soma City (1995)
Cowboy Junkies - Caution Horses (1990)
Betsy & Charlotte Renals, Sophie Legg - Catch Me If You Can (1978)
Julian Cope - Jehovakill (1992) ★★★★
The Primevals - Eternal Hotfire (1984)
The Primevals - Live At The Klub Foot (1985)
The Primevals - Sound Hole (1986) ★★★★★
The Doors - The Doors (1967)★★★★★
Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Mini Album (1983)
Augustus Pablo - Ital Dub (1974) ★★★★
V/A - Musique du Burundi (1968) ★★★★
Ali Farka Toure - s/t (1976) ★★★★★
Julian Cope - Peggy Suicide (1991)
Gabriel Naim Amor - Hear The Wall (2014)
Noel Akchote & Gabriel Naim Amor - Rickety-Doo (2014)
The Beatles - White Album (1969) ★★★★★
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (1967) ★★★★★
The Beatles - Revolver (1966) ★★★★★
The Beatles - Please Please Me (1963)
The Beatles - With The Beatles (1963)
The Beatles - Hard Day's Night (1964) ★★★★★
The Beatles - Beatles For Sale (1964) ★★★★
The Beatles - Help (1965) ★★★★
The Beatles - Rubber Soul (1965) ★★★★★
Suns Of The Tundra - Bones Of Brave Ships (2015) ★★★★
Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) ★★★★★
The Beatles - Abbey Road (1968) ★★★★
Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (1998) ★★★★★
The Goon Sax - We're Not Talking Anymore (2016)
Brian Henry Hooper - Trouble (2010) ★★★★
Gene Clark - Flying High (1963-1991) ★★★★★
Larry Murray - Sweet Country Suite (1971)
Gene Clark - Here Tonight (1970) ★★★★
Toots & The Maytals - Pressure Drop (1968)
Madness - Very Best Of (1979-2014) ★★★★★
Gene Clark - Two Sides To Every Story (1977)
The Nightingales - Pigs On Purpose (1982) ★★★★★
Nightingales/Prefects/ - Radio Sessions (1978 - 2010) ★★★★★
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (1979) ★★★★★
The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace (1985) ★★★★★
The Beach Boys - Surf's Up (1971)
Stiff Little Fingers - Guitar and Drum (2003)
Stiff Little Fingers - Hope Street (1999)
Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (1969) ★★★★
The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man (1965) ★★★★
Ex-Catheads - Our Frisco (1990)
V/a - What A Nice Way To Turn Seventeen Vol 3 (1984) ★★★★
Duran Duran - Girls On Film 1979 demos (1979)
Swell Maps - A Trip To Marineville (1979) ★★★★
Swell Maps - Jane From Occupied Europe (1980)
The Serfers - Live Westwood Recordings (1980)★★★★
Red House Painters - Old Ramon (1998) ★★★★
Kirk Swan - It's About Time (1998)
Dumptruck - Lemmings Travel To The Sea (2000)
Chris Holliman - The Sailor's Daughter (2009)
Christine Perfect - Complete Blue Horizon (1970) ★★★★
John Carpenter - Greatest Hits (1974-1989)
Stiff Little Fingers - Tinderbox (1997)
Stiff Little Fingers - Get A Life (1994)
Theolonius Monk - Underground (1967)
The Icicle Works - s/t (1983) ★★★★
Sonny Rollins - Sonny Boy (1956)★★★★
Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley - s/t (1961)★★★★★
Dexy's - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels (1980) ★★★★★
Denim TV - Denim TV (1988)
Denim TV - Starving Rich (1990)
Herbert Stanley Littlejohn - 17thc Funerary Violin (1956) ★★★★
Green Pajamas - Strung Behind The Sun (1997)
Goblin Market - Live At Showbox (2010)
Sean O'Brien - Seed Of Mayhem (2004)
Mark Kozelek - Sings Favorites (2016)
Popealopes - Kerosene (1990) ★★★★
Denver Mexicans - s/t (1988)
Just Water - Downtown & Brooklyn (1974-79)
Sean O'Brien - Future Harvest (2012)
Volcano Suns - Career In Rock (1991)
V/A - Brown Acid, The Second Trip (1970-77)
V/A - Brown Acid, The Fourth Trip (1969-75)
Gila Bend - Natureburger (1997)
The Aces - Chicago Beat (1970-73)
The Long Ryders - Best of (2004) ★★★★
Lloyd Cole - Bad Vibes (1993)
The Long Ryders - 10-5-60 (1983)★★★★
The Long Ryders - Native Sons (1984) ★★★★★
Tom Stevens - Points Of View (1982)
v/a - Titan It's All Pop (1978 - 81)
Sonny Rollins - Live At The Village Vanguard Vol 1(1958) ★★★★
Goldie - Timeless (1995) ★★★★★
Jayhawks - Live At The Belly Up (2015) ★★★★
Tom Stevens - Home (2007)
Tom Stevens - Another Room (1995)
Tom Stevens - Last Night (1992)
Tom Stevens - Sooner (2009)
V/A - Don't Shoot (1986)
Blue Nile - Hats (1989)
Trees - Polly On The Shore (1970)★★★★★
The Chameleons - Script Of The Bridge (1983)★★★★★
The Chameleons - What Does Anything Mean? (1985)★★★★
Dr Alimontado - Best Dressed Chicken In Town (1978)

HISTORIC SITES

Goodrich Castle, Gloucestershire
Brompton Oratory, London (including genuine fragment of True Cross)
Broch of Birsay, Orkney
Maes Howe, Orkney
Cuween tomb, Orkney
Wideford Tomb, Orkney
Tomb of The Eagles, Orkney
Churchill Barriers, Orkney
Broch of Gurness, Orkney
St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney
Grain Earth House, Kirkwall, Orkney
Rennibister Souterrain, Orkney
Ring of Brodgar, Orkney
Stones of Stennes, Orkney
Skara Brae, Orkney
Birsay Earl's Palace, Orkney
Longhope Lifeboat Museum, Hoy
Ness Battery, Stromness, Orkney
Orkney Wireless Museum, Kirkwall, Orkney
Stromness Museum, Orkney
Italian Chapel, Orkney
Hereford Cathedral & Mappa Mundi
Kilpeck Church & castle, Herefordshire
Arthur's Stone, Herefordshire
Llanthony Priory, Herefordshire
Jewish Museum, Camden
Barsham 'solar alignment' Church, Suffolk
Bungay Castle, Suffolk
Wayland's Smithy Chambered Tomb, Wiltshire
West Kennet Long Barrow, Wiltshire
Avebury Stone Circle, Wiltshire
Silbury Hill, Wiltshire
Crop Circle Museum, Honeystreet
Carn Galver Mine, Cornwall
Men An Toll, Cornwall
Nine Maidens Stone Circle, Cornwall
Chysauster Romano-British Village, Cornwall
Carn Euny Romano-British Village & Holy Well, Cornwall
Boscawen-un Stone Circle, Cornwall
Zennor Church & Mermaid Chair, Cornwall
Merry Maidens Stone Circle, Cornwall
Tregiffian Burial Chamber, Cornwall
Gun Ruth standing stone, Cornwall
The Pipers standing stones, Cornwall
Site of Ithell's Vow Cave, Cornwall
Boleigh Fogou, Cornwall
Caerleon Roman amphitheatre, Gwent
Caerleon Roman baths, Gwent
Culbone church, Exmoor
Palace of Knossos, Crete
Heraklion museum, Crete
El Greco's birthplace, Fodele, Crete
Speech House, Verderers' Court, Forest of Dean
Great Witcombe Roman Villa, Gloucestershire
Ashmoleon Museum, Oxford
Verulamium ruined Roman city, St Albans
Verulamium museum, St Albans
Verulamium Roman theatre, St Albans
Cannop Colliery, Forest of Dean
All Saints Church, Newland, Forest of Dean
Skenfrith Castle, Monmouthsire
Malvern Clock Tower Well, Worcestershire
British Camp, Worcestershire
Vasa Ship Museum, Stockholm
Stockholm Old Town
Abba Museum, Stockholm
Hampton Court, London
Natural History Museum, London

ART/EXHIBITIONS/INSTALLATIONS

London Lumiere Festival, King's Cross, London
Rose Wylie - Quack Quack (Serpentine, London) ★★★★
Penzance School collection - Pier Arts Centre, Stromness ★★★★★
AR Woods - Ness Battery Mess Mural, Stromness ★★★★★
Asterix - Jewish museum, Camden
Dawn Of The Superheroes - O2
Rose Wylie - History Painting (Newlyn, Cornwall) ★★★★
Spellbound - Ashmoleon Museum, Oxford
Strange Days, Memories of The Future (The Store, London)
Beyond The Deepening Shadow - (Tower of London) ★★★★★
Ginger Bread House Art Exhibition, Stockholm

BRIDGET CHRISTIE LEICESTER

My wife Bridget Christie is performing her hit 2011 Edinburgh Fringe show Surrealist Housewife at Curve in the Leicester Comedy Fest at 8pm on Friday Feb 10th. http://www.curveonline.co.uk/curve.php?view=showinfo.php&showid=327
Press about the show is here, and join Bridget's mailing list here for more news.

CARPET REMNANT WORLD

Carpet Remnant World is the title of the new full length show from the acclaimed star of the BAFTA nominated BBC2 series: Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle (“The funniest thing on television" The Guardian). The London run sold out three 02’s worth of people. Now it tours. More dates tba.

February 2012

Thursday 23rd - The Playhouse, Nottingham - 8.00pm. Box Office: 0115 9419419 Book Online.
Friday 24th - The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury - 7.30pm. Box Office: 01227 787787 Book Online.
Saturday 25th - Town Hall, Cheltenham - 8.00pm Box Office: 0844 576 2210 Book Online.
Wednesday 29th - Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate - 8.00pm Box Office: 01423 502116 Book Online.

March 2012

Thursday 1st - St. George's Hall, Bradford - 8.00pm. Box Office: 01274 432000 Book Online.
Friday 2nd - Waterfront Hall, Belfast - Box Office: 028 9033 4455 Book Online.
Saturday 3rd - Philarmonic Hall, Liverpool - 8.00pm. Box Office: 0151 709 3789 Book Online.
Tuesday 6th - Opera House, Buxton - 7.30pm. Box Office: 0845 1272190 Book Online.
Wednesday 7th - Corn Exchange, Cambridge - 8.00pm. Box Office: 01223 357851 Book Online.
Friday 9th - The Anvil, Basingstoke - Box Office: 01256 844244 Book Online.
Saturday 10th - Royal & Derngate, Northampton - Box Office: 01604 624811 Book Online.
Sunday 11th - Theatre Royal, Norwich - 7.30pm. Box Office: 01603 630000 Book Online.
Thursday 15th - DeMontfort Hall, Leicester - 7.30pm. Box Office: 0116 233 3111 Book Online.
Friday 16th - Derby Theatre, Derby - Box Office: 01332 255800 Book Online.
Saturday 17th - Performing Arts Centre, Lincoln - Box Office: 0844 888 4414 Book Online.
Wednesday 21st - The Dukes Theatre, Lancaster - 8.00pm. Box Office: 01524 598500 Book Online
Thursday 22nd - Journal Tyne Theatre, Newcastle - 8.00pm. Box Office:0844 493 9999 Book Online.
Friday 23rd - King's Theatre, Glasgow (Glasgow Comedy Festival) - 8.00pm. Box Office: 0844 3954005 Book Online.
Saturday 24th - Theatre Royal, York - 7.30pm. Box Office: 01904 623568 Book Online.
Monday 26th - Playhouse, Oxford - 8.00pm Box Office: 01865 305305 Book Online.
Wednesday 28th - St David’s Hall, Cardiff - 8.00pm Box Office: 029 2087 8444 Book Online.
Thursday 29th - The Hexagon, Reading - 8.00pm Box Office: 0118 960 6060 Book Online.
Friday 30th - Symphony Hall, Birmingham - 8.00pm Box Office: 0121 7803333 Book Online.

April 2012

Tuesday 17th - Theatre Royal, Winchester - 8.00pm Box Office: 01962 840440 Book Online.
Wednesday 18th - Hall For Cornwall, Truro - 8.00pm Box Office: 01872 262466 Book Online.
Friday 20th - Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield - 7.45pm Box Office: 0114 249 6000 Book Online.
Saturday 21st - Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield - 7.45pm Box Office: 0114 249 6000 Book Online.
Thursday 26th - Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury - 8.00pm Box Office: 01743 281281 Book Online.
Sunday 29th - The Lowry, Salford - MATINEE - 3.00pm Box Office: 0843 208 6010 Book Online.
Sunday 29th - The Lowry, Salford - EVENING - 7.30pm Box Office: 0843 208 6010 Book Online.

May 2012

Wednesday 2nd - The Dome, Brighton - Box Office: 01273 709709 Book Online
Saturday 5th - Machynlleth Comedy Festival, Wales - Book Online.
Sunday 6th - Hippodrome, Bristol - 7.30pm Box Office: 0844 871 3012 Book Online.
Monday 7th - Theatre Royal, Plymouth - Box Office: 01752 230440 Book Online.
Tuesday 8th - Octagon Theatre, Yeovil - Box Office: 01935 422884 VENUE WEBSITE.
Saturday 12th - Music Hall, Aberdeen - Box Office: 01224 641122 Book Online.
Sunday 13th - Eden Court, Inverness - Box Office: 01463 234234 Book Online.
Thursday 17th - Vicar Street, Dublin - Box Office: 00353 (0)1 77 55 800 Book Online.
Friday 18th - Vicar Street, Dublin - Box Office: 00353 (0)1 77 55 800 Book Online.
Saturday 19th - Seapoint Ballroom, Salthill, Galway - 8.00pm - 0818 719300 Book Online.
Sunday 20th - Savoy Theatre, Cork - 8.00pm - 0818 719300 Book Online.
Thursday 24th - Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry - 8.00pm Box Office: 024 7652 4524 Book Online.
Saturday 26th - Festival Theatre, Malvern - Box Office: 01684 892277 Book Online.

June 2012

Friday 8th - West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds - Box Office: 0113 213 7700 Book Online.
Saturday 9th - The Alban Arena, St Albans - 01727 844488 - ON SALE SOON.
Thursday 14th - Grand Theatre, Swansea - Box Office: 01792 475715 VENUE WEBSITE.
Friday 15th - Lighthouse, Poole - Box Office: 0844 406 8666 Book Online
Friday 22nd - Civic Theatre, Chelmsford - Box Office: 01245 606 505 VENUE WEBSITE.
Saturday 23rd - City Hall, Salisbury - 8.00pm - Box Office: 01722 434434 Book Online.
Sunday 24th - Northcott Theatre, Exeter - Box Office: 01392 493493 Book Online.
Tuesday 26th - City Hall, Hull - 8.00pm - Box Office: 01482 300 300 Book Online.
Wednesday 27th - Huntingdon Hall, Worcester - Box Office: 01905 611427 Book Online.
Thursday 28th - Huntingdon Hall, Worcester - Box Office: 01905 611427 Book Online.

A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE ARTS

With me, Josie Long & Alan Moore, March 26th in Oxford, 2pm
http://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/events/detail/whats-the-point-of-the-arts-and-humanities

NEW BOOK - IF YOU PREFER A MILDER COMEDIAN ETC

Out from Jan 5th through Faber. - click here to buy... link

FIST OF FUN SERIES 1 DVD

You probably know the saga of this. The 1995 series by Richard Herring and me was in the room where the BBC throw things away. An insider asked them why they hadn’t released it.

They said “neither Sales nor Marketing believed that Lee & Herring had much sales potential in the current market”, which probably explains why all my own BBC series are conspicuously absent amongst all the TV comedy tat piled high for Xmas in HMV. Rich and Chris Evans of the Welsh comedy indie label GoFasterStripe brokered a deal to buy Fist of Fun series 1, and now it’s available with three discs of extras, following a superb half page review in The Guardian, Dec 3rd.
If you could buy this rather than steal it it would be good, as all the profits of GFS so far have gone into making it.
Cheers. Buy it here.

Morrissey fans have for years equated his more unpalatable pronouncements with the babblings of a beloved but out of touch relative. Some of the things Uncle Stephen says seem a bit racist, but he has seen a lot of changes in the area he lives in, he got food poisoning from a bad curry on the Bristol Road in 1978, and he says he couldn’t get on Top of the Pops in the 80s because he wasn’t black.

But are Morrissey fans justified, in the light of Morrissey’s unambiguous support for both the violent tanning salon entrepreneur Tommy Robinson and the far-right For Britain party, in finally losing faith?

Either way, it looks like I picked the wrong year to take an 18-month break from standup and work incognito as a Morrissey impersonator fronting a Smiths and Morrissey covers band. I know it’s over. My Boz Boorer lookalike has been put to work in the garden, trapping jackdaws and building a gazebo.

Until last week I had four Mexican musicians holed up in the spare room, working on a mash up of This Charming Man and a Paul Simon song, entitled Here’s to You Tommy Robinson. “Why ponder the law’s complexities, when Robinson’s done for a breach of the peace?”

My deliberate Morrissey-style weight gain was all for nothing it appears, and now I am just a fat 50-year-old man of whom passersby remark: “Morrissey has let himself go. What with the weight gain and the Tommy Robinson stuff.”

The late Sean Hughes, a fellow standup comedian to whom Morrissey meant a lot, had insisted on being cremated last year to the sound of the Smiths’ Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, and Morrissey’s calculated black comic misery made even Sean’s actual immolation momentarily funny. Sean also had the perfect Morrissey joke: “Everyone grows out of their Morrissey phase. Except Morrissey.”

But Morrissey’s controversial song lyrics should not be taken as evidence of their writer’s true feelings, any more than this column, by the Observer-reading columnist character of Stewart Lee, represents what the real Stewart Lee actually thinks.

Thus, in 1988, when Morrissey told the titular hero of Bengali in Platforms, “Oh shelve your western plans/ And understand/ That life is hard enough when you belong here”, the bewildered immigrant was perhaps merely an ill-judged metaphor for loneliness; in 1992’s The National Front Disco, when Morrissey sang “England for the English!” from the point of view of a disenchanted young man seduced by the far right, we accepted that exploring that point of view was not the same as endorsing it.

Just as, in 1967, when John Lennon sang: “I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob, goo goo goo g’joob, goo goo g’joob, goo goo goo g’joob”, we knew John Lennon was not the walrus goo goo g’joob, goo goo goo g’joob, goo goo g’joob, goo goo goo g’joob at all. John Lennon was in fact the eggman. The walrus was Paul.

The credibility problem would arise if John Lennon, having said he was a walrus in a song, had then gone around actually being a walrus, and choosing to live as a walrus and do all walrus stuff, like eating benthic bivalve molluscs and engaging in competitive courtship displays. Then we would have had no option but to believe that John Lennon actually was a walrus after all. Which is sort of what Morrissey has done.

This isn’t the time for ambiguity, or irony, or publicity-seeking controversy. Those days are gone, and I miss them, as I am part of a generation that profiteered from the assumption that political correctness was a done deal, and now we could have fun jumping in and out of its boundaries, like street kids round a spurting water main. But the Nazi-saluting pug bloke has just joined Ukip so his racist dog doesn’t seem remotely funny any more.

If Breitbart or Spiked can roll out your comments approvingly online you have fucked up. Nowadays, your true intentions have to be written through every inch of your content, like the word Blackpool through a stick of rock, so at any point the useful idiots of the hipster “alt-right” and their fellow travellers in the opinion industry chose to snap it, it still can’t be repurposed. The trouble is, there’s no longer any way to make the case that Morrissey ever meant anything other than what he says.

But what to do when our idols disappoint us? Like a lot of the centrist dads that constitute his audience, I suddenly found I finally had to decide what to do with my Morrissey records.

I’ve got vintage psychedelic vinyl by actual murderers, and books of poetry by antisemites and paedophiles, who are hard to write out of literary history. And the increasingly reactionary comments made by Mark E Smith in his latter years will not tempt me to part with even the most unnecessary Fall compilation. But somehow, illogically and sentimentally, I held Morrissey to different standards.

As it happened, the break came easily. The last few weeks I’ve been smashing the plastic cases of my CDs, and filing them in folders, to save my children a tedious purge of obsolete physical media when I die.

Oddly, when I got to S (I file Morrissey’s solo stuff alongside the Smiths) I found myself putting Morrissey’s entire works, without really giving it any thought, into the box I was taking to the charity shop. I kept the vinyl of the Smiths’ debut, and the Hatful of Hollow compilation, totemic physical objects that link me to a certain mindscape, but the rest just suddenly seemed irrelevant.

There was no great fanfare. I didn’t ceremonially smash Morrissey’s works or burn them in the street like entartete kunst. It all happened with a whimper, not with a bang, and with sadness for the sorry state of things, not erectile pride in my own virtuousness. Suddenly, I just didn’t want Morrissey in my home any more. And I couldn’t imagine any circumstances under which I would ever listen to him again.

“A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
LET’S HOPE IT’S THE FIRST ONE
WITHOUT ANDREW NEIL!”

Dear All.

Thanks for your ongoing support.  This tour show took a bit longer than usual to come together but is really working now, sadly partly because the general downward turn of global and national events has helped focus some of the ideas in it. I think it will only get funnier as things get worse.

I don’t know how letting people know about my shows will work in the future as obviously the BBC is no longer an option, much social media has been algorithm-driven to the right, traditional news media no longer has much space for culture comment and review, and I’m not about to trash a lifetime’s dignity and do my own podcast, so if you see the live show and love it please tell your friends.

And please bear in mind, most of any negative stuff you see about me personally on-line isn’t true, but I don’t have the energy to engage and correct it. One battle with the management of Mumsnet was enough for one lifetime.

In the meantime I hope you will check out some of the things I enjoyed this year and please support the artists involved if you like their work.

Have a great 2025.

1.NEW MERCH

Along with WAXFACE’s usual line of Stewart Lee merch there are new for 2025 t-shirts and hoodies on the Man-Wulf theme, all of the highest quality. I’d wear them myself but I’d look arrogant. Waste the money your Nan gave you for Xmas here

wax-face.com/stewart-lee

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2.MAN-WULF BY THE PRIMEVALS

Glasgow’s garage punk veterans The Primevals announce a new single as featured in the new Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf upcoming U.K. tour.
There are 3 versions
Side a I’m The Man-Wulf
Side b I’m The Man-Wulf (long nail edit)
Plus a 9 minute I’m The Man-Wulf (long nail version) (I LOOOOOVE THIS!!)

Vinyl sides a&b released on a 7” 45 in January.

https://primevals.bandcamp.com

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3.BASIC LEE IS ON NOW TV

https://www.nowtv.com/ie/watch/entertainment/collections/ultimate-comedy/asset/stewart-lee-basic-lee.../A5EK6949itCVNKaChrDXN

You’ll have to subscribe though.

Here is a thorough, and not entirely positive, review from a thoughtful young man on Youtube, still better than most pro-critics.
https://youtu.be/kdOYgqCzJ4s?si=1uIZBn8tMWsAiS0h

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4. STEWART LEE VS THE MAN-WULF

John Mackay & Sally Homer, in association with Debi Allen/Curtis Brown present
STEWART LEE vs THE MAN-WULF BRAND NEW SHOW
LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE, LONDON

2 – 17^th January 2025 AND UK TOURING THROUGHOUT 2025

NB: TICKETS FOR THESE SHOWS WILL REMAIN AT THE ADVERTISED PRICE. SURGE PRICING IS IMMORAL AND TICKETMASTER AND OASIS ARE WANKERS, ENCOURAGED BY SUCCESSIVE TORY CULTURE SECRETARIES IN THEIR CRIMINAL ENDEAVOURS.

In this brand-new show, Lee shares his stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian who hates humanity. The Man-Wulf lays down a ferocious comedy challenge to the culturally irrelevant and physically enfeebled Lee. Can the beast inside us all be silenced with the silver bullet of Lee's unprecedentedly critically acclaimed style of stand-up.

STEWART LEE vs THE MAN-WULF Opened at Leicester Square Theatre in December 2024 the new show will tour to UK cities throughout 2025.

Leicester Sq Theatre, London 2^nd – 17^th Jan 2025 7pm.

0207 734 2222 www.leicestersquaretheatre.com

STEWART LEE vs THE MAN-WULF 2025 TOUR SCHEDULE

January 2025

Sunday 19th January 2025 - Mayflower Theatre, Southampton - TICKETS
Monday 20th January 2025 - Dorking Halls, Dorking - TICKETS
Tuesday 21st January 2025 - Dorking Halls, Dorking - TICKETS
Wednesday 22nd January 2025 - The Alban Arena, St. Albans - TICKETS
Thursday 23rd January 2025 - The Alban Arena, St. Albans - TICKETS
Friday 24th January 2025 - Symphony Hall, Birmingham - TICKETS
Saturday 25th January 2025 - Symphony Hall, Birmingham - TICKETS
Sunday 26th January 2025 - Symphony Hall, Birmingham - TICKETS
Tuesday 28th January 2025 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS
Wednesday 29th January 2025 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS
Thursday 30th January 2025 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS
Friday 31st January 2025 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS

February 2025

Saturday 1st February 2025 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS
Monday 3rd February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Tuesday 4th February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Wednesday 5th February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Thursday 6th February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Friday 7th February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Saturday 8th February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Monday 10th February 2025 - The Marlowe, Canterbury - TICKETS
Wednesday 12th February 2025 - Chelmsford Theatre, Chelmsford - TICKETS
Thursday 13th February 2025 - De Montfort Hall, Leicester - TICKETS
Friday 14th February 2025 - De Montfort Hall, Leicester - TICKETS
Saturday 15th February 2025 - Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe - TICKETS
Sunday 16th February 2025 - Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe - TICKETS
Tuesday 18th February 2025 - The Lowry, Salford - TICKETS
Wednesday 19th February 2025 - The Lowry, Salford - TICKETS
Thursday 20th February 2025 - The Lowry, Salford - TICKETS
Friday 21st February 2025 - The Lowry, Salford - TICKETS
Saturday 22nd February 2025 - The Lowry, Salford - TICKETS

April 2025

Tuesday 1st April 2025 - Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield - TICKETS
Wednesday 2nd April 2025 - Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield - TICKETS
Thursday 3rd April 2025 - New Theatre, Peterborough - TICKETS
Friday 4th April 2025 - Palace Theatre, Southend - TICKETS
Saturday 5th April 2025 - Palace Theatre, Southend - TICKETS
Sunday 6th April 2025 - Palace Theatre, Southend - TICKETS
Tuesday 22nd April 2025 - Royal & Derngate, Northampton - TICKETS
Wednesday 23rd April 2025 - Royal & Derngate, Northampton - TICKETS
Monday 28th April 2025 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS
Tuesday 29th April 2025 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS
Wednesday 30th April 2025 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS

May 2025

Thursday 1st May 2025 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS
Friday 2nd May 2025 - The Mach Arena, Machynlleth Comedy Festival - TICKETS
Saturday 3rd May 2025 - The Mach Arena, Machynlleth Comedy Festival - TICKETS
Sunday 4th May 2025 - The Mach Arena, Machynlleth Comedy Festival - TICKETS
Tuesday 6th May 2025 - Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool - TICKETS
Wednesday 7th May 2025 - Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool - TICKETS
Thursday 8th May 2025 - Playhouse, Leeds - TICKETS
Friday 9th May 2025 - Playhouse, Leeds - TICKETS
Saturday 10th May 2025 - Playhouse, Leeds - TICKETS
Monday 12th May 2025 - Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton - TICKETS
Thursday 15th May 2025 - King's Theatre, Portsmouth - TICKETS
Friday 16th May 2025 - The Forum, Bath - TICKETS

July 2025

Saturday 5th July 2025 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS
Sunday 6th July 2025 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS
Sunday 6th July 2025 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS
Saturday 12th July 2025 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS
Sunday 13th July 2025 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS
Sunday 13th July 2025 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS

September 2025

Monday 8th September 2025 - Lighthouse, Poole - TICKETS
Tuesday 9th September 2025 - Lighthouse, Poole - TICKETS
Wednesday 10th September 2025 - Hall For Cornwall, Truro - TICKETS
Thursday 11th September 2025 - Northcott Theatre, Exeter - TICKETS
Friday 12th September 2025 - Northcott Theatre, Exeter - TICKETS
Saturday 13th September 2025 - Westlands Entertainment Venue, Yeovil - TICKETS
Sunday 14th September 2025 - Westlands Entertainment Venue, Yeovil - TICKETS
Tuesday 16th September 2025 - New Theatre, Cardiff - TICKETS
Wednesday 17th September 2025 - New Theatre, Cardiff - TICKETS
Thursday 18th September 2025 - New Theatre, Cardiff - TICKETS
Friday 19th September 2025 - New Theatre, Cardiff - TICKETS
Saturday 20th September 2025 - New Theatre, Cardiff - TICKETS
Wednesday 24th September 2025 - Hippodrome, Darlington - TICKETS
Thursday 25th September 2025 - Gala, Durham - TICKETS
Friday 26th September 2025 - Theatre Royal, Glasgow - TICKETS
Saturday 27th September 2025 - Playhouse, Edinburgh - TICKETS
Sunday 28th September 2025 - His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen - TICKETS

October 2025

Friday 3rd October 2025 - Aberystwyth Arts Centre – Great Hall, Aberystwyth - TICKETS
Tuesday 7th October 2025 - Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes - TICKETS
Wednesday 8th October 2025 - Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes - TICKETS
Thursday 9th October 2025 - Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford - TICKETS
Friday 10th October 2025 - Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford - TICKETS
Saturday 11th October 2025 - Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford - TICKETS
Wednesday 15th October 2025 - Grand Theatre, Swansea - TICKETS
Thursday 16th October 2025 - Grand Theatre, Swansea - TICKETS
Friday 17th October 2025 - Bristol Beacon, Bristol - TICKETS
Saturday 18th October 2025 - Bristol Beacon, Bristol - TICKETS
Tuesday 21st October 2025 - Storyhouse, Chester - TICKETS
Wednesday 22nd October 2025 - Storyhouse, Chester - TICKETS
Thursday 23rd October 2025 - Opera House, Buxton - TICKETS
Friday 24th October 2025 - Opera House, Buxton - TICKETS
Saturday 25th October 2025 - The Baths Hall, Scunthorpe - TICKETS
Wednesday 29th October 2025 - Cast, Doncaster - TICKETS
Thursday 30th October 2025 - Cast, Doncaster - TICKETS
Friday 31st October 2025 - Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate - TICKETS

November 2025

Saturday 1st November 2025 - Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate - TICKETS
Sunday 2nd November 2025 - Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate - TICKETS
Monday 3rd November 2025 - Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle Upon Tyne - TICKETS
Tuesday 4th November 2025 - Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle Upon Tyne - TICKETS
Friday 7th November 2025 - The Anvil, Basingstoke - TICKETS
Saturday 8th November 2025 - Rose Theatre, KIngston - TICKETS
Sunday 9th November 2025 - Rose Theatre, KIngston - TICKETS
Tuesday 11th November 2025 - Brighton Dome, Brighton - TICKETS
Wednesday 12th November 2025 - Brighton Dome, Brighton - TICKETS
Thursday 13th November 2025 - Brighton Dome, Brighton - TICKETS
Friday 14th November 2025 - Brighton Dome, Brighton - TICKETS
Saturday 15th November 2025 - Brighton Dome, Brighton - TICKETS
Monday 17th November 2025 - Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham - TICKETS
Tuesday 18th November 2025 - Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham - TICKETS
Wednesday 19th November 2025 - Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham - TICKETS

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5. SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO

Stewart’s 2019 touring show Snowflake/Tornado, which was originally broadcast as a BBC Special in Autumn 2022 is now available to buy or rent “on demand” from www.mediagarageproductions.com

Both shows also appear to be free as part of the current Amazon Prime rosta.

We are currently preparing a physical release of these shows but it’s got delayed as I have been bogged down in picking through a wealth of possible, and very exciting, audio extras, where the material worked much better than in the broadcast show itself.

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6. FESTIVAL STAND-UP SETS 2025 (the usual 30 mins greatest hits shit)

24th May 2025 Bearded Theory, Derbyshire

Iggy Pop, The Manics, Thee Sisters O’ Mercy, Yard Act, Left Field, Throwing Muses, The Selecter, The Lovely Lovely Eggs, my pals Asian Dub Foundation, Cool distaff Japanese Ramones Shonen Knife, Beans on Toast, dub legends Zion Train, Angeline Morrison, Miki Berenyi from The Lushes and more TBA.
www.beardedtheory.co.uk.

More TBA

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7. OUT OF THE VOID

This book, about the sleeve art of Rocket Records’ releases, with a foreword by me, is out now. https://rocketrecordings.com/products/out-of-the-void

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8. A KICKSTARTER FOR THE FINE FOLKIES LISA KNAPP and GERRY DRIVER.

When I was first in London, loads of us lived happy and broke in a lovely big cheap damp old vicarage full of slugs in Tooting. The various housemates’ bands that rehearsed in the spare room represented a successful vision of multiculturalism; unfairly unfamous metal shoegazers Peach (checkout You Lied with me mumbling low in the mix and Tool’s Justin Chancellor on bass); my failed Alt Country effort Dust Harvest; an Afrobeat band run by a Nigerian bloke called Papa J; Simon Munnery’s punk pastiche Alan Parker’s Urban Warriors; Dave Cohen’s Jewish Guns’n’Roses parody Guns’n’Moses; Harry Hill’s Pub Band; and Mike Cosgrave’s world-fusion band Sin e, featuring future percussion superstar Ansuman Biswas and the fiddler Gerry Driver (Their Gentle Art Of Wee Weaving is the drum’n’bass/Irish pub session crossover that never happened). This is where Lisa Knapp, who I worked with years later on the Shirley Collins documentary fundraising circuit, comes in. LISA SAYS – “Advent greetings to you all !! I have a brand new DUO project with my partner and long time musical collaborator, Gerry Diver.  Known, somewhat imaginatively, as 'Lisa Knapp & Gerry Diver' (haha!) we've been hard at work creating our debut album, HINTERLAND.... but now we need your help to take the next steps, ie, producing the physical formats like CDs and vinyl, a plethora of promo materials and preparing for a proper release. So, we have launched a KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN.  We're launching this album independently and so we are asking for help from our amazing community.

B A C K   O U R   K I C K S T A R T E R   H E R E
B A C K   O U R   K I C K S T A R T E R   H E R E
B A C K   O U R   K I C K S T A R T E R   H E R E

We’ve lined up some fantastic rewards for our backers including 🎁 Signed albums 🎁 Exclusive experiences and loads of other surprises.  I am delighted to be offering online folk singing & folk fiddle classes as well as a one day workshop in person with me - time tbc.  As well as that I am offerering to compose a brand new tune from scratch for you or as a gift to a loved one.  Have a wee browse at the offers and please share on your social media, it really helps. NB. Kickstarter is an ALL-OR-NOTHING platform so your help really, really matters and every single pledge counts!! This project is truly a labour of love, and we can’t do it without you. Your support means everything to us and keeps independent music alive and thriving.”

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9. SAVE HITCHIN’S CLUB 85

https://www.gofundme.com/f/club-85s-battle-fund

Here’s a go-fund me to preserve the punching-above-its-weight local venue Hitchin’s Club 85, another iconic regional grass roots space, in the town where the Fall recorded half of Hex Enduction Hour and which gave us resilient hippy-punks The Astronauts.

When it’s gone it’s gone, and so is another piece of the patchwork that holds the arts in the UK together in the face of gvt indifference and active hostility from tech-bro’s and the right.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4geeynkklzo

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10.I ARROGANTLY RECOMMEND SOME HAPPENINGS

VANESSA BELL – MILTON KEYNES GALLERY -  23^rd Feb 2025

A World Of Form And Colour. Thorough retrospective on the hot Bloomsbury freak. Vanessa Bell (1879–1961) was a pioneering modernist painter and founding member of the Bloomsbury Group, a circle of influential English artists, writers and intellectuals in the first half of the twentieth century. This exhibition – her largest-ever solo show – provides an in-depth overview that includes drawings, paintings, ceramics and furniture. Bell’s pioneering work was at the forefront of British abstraction. At the same time, she helped to create conditions in which artists, including women, could flourish. This involved organising the ‘Friday Club’ for artists to meet and co-founding the experimental design collective, Omega Workshops. Collaboration formed an essential part of Bell’s approach to art, including with her sister, the writer Virginia Woolf, and the artist Duncan Grant. https://mkgallery.org/event/vanessa-bell/

SCENT AND THE ART OF THE PRE-RAPHAELITES – BIRMINGHAM BARBER INSTITUTE UNTIL JANUARY 26TH

https://barber.org.uk/scent-and-pre-raphaelites/

Scent is a key motif in paintings by the artists of the Pre-Raphaelite and Aesthetic movements. Fragrance is visually suggested in images of daydreaming figures smelling flowers or burning incense, enhancing the sensory aura of ‘art for art’s sake’. Scent was also implied in Victorian painting to evoke hedonism – pleasure in exquisite sensations – and a preoccupation with beauty; or to reflect the Victorian vogue for synaesthesia (evoking one sense through another) and the penchant for art, like scent, to evoke moods and emotions.

EVELYN DE MORGAN – W’HAMPTON ART GALLERY – 9^th MARCH 2005

https://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/whats-on/edm/

Stew says, “This late Victorian visionary’s work can come across a bit Advanced Dungeons and Dragons ™ ®, but that probably tell us more about how she anticipated, or even influenced, the populist art of the future. I have a real soft spot for her. Her partner William De Morgan, initially of Stoke Newington, was also a proto-science fiction author, and ceramicist, whose decorative tiles pop up in the oddest places – there may be some in a once swanky pub near you.  Anyway, the last time EDM had her own exhibition was 1907 so get on down, and get some lovely Gray Pays & Bacon from the Great Western Pub by W’hampton Station while you are at it”

They says, “Featuring thirty artworks, Painted Dreams reveals De Morgan’s progression as an artist and her technical mastery as one of the most impressive artists of the late Victorian era. Discover De Morgan’s exploration of challenging subjects and painterly responses to enduring social and political issues of the day, such as feminism, inequality, war and pacifism. Painted Dreams revisits the historic 1907 show, reuniting several of De Morgan’s most significant works in Wolverhampton. The original exhibition was a remarkable achievement, challenging Victorian prejudices and the notion that being a professional artist was a male occupation and unsuitable for a woman of De Morgan’s class. Her ability to layer contemporary issues into mythological tales was well received, with one reviewer for the Wolverhampton Express and Star describing the pictures as ‘painted dreams’. Painted Dreams presents De Morgan as a pioneering artist who explored new, challenging subjects that delved into the fundamentals of human existence. The artworks are displayed in chronological order to show the progression of De Morgan’s talent as an artist and demonstrate her painterly responses to enduring social and political issues of the day, such as feminism and inequality, mental health and the impact of war. By recreating De Morgan’s 1907 solo show as faithfully as possible, Painted Dreams highlights a career that has been historically overshadowed by her male contemporaries.  The exhibition is curated by Sarah Hardy, Director of the De Morgan Museum, and Wolverhampton Art Gallery. The exhibition is a partnership between the De Morgan Foundation and Wolverhampton Art Gallery. The Gallery is funded by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation, and City of Wolverhampton Council.”

TIRZAH GARWOOD: Beyond Ravilious, Dulwich Picture Gallery London, until 26 May 2025. 

https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/about/press-media/press-releases/first-major-exhibition-of-modern-british-artist-tirzah-garwood-among-2024-highlights-at-dulwich-picture-gallery/

The first major exhibition devoted to the artist and designer Tirzah Garwood (1908–1951) since 1952. Best known until now as the wife of Eric Ravilious and as the author of the autobiography Long Live Great Bardfield, Garwood excelled as a fine artist and printmaker. Her diverse and enchanting works are gems of the mid-20th century.

DISCHARGE Black country D-beat deadbeats

JAN 4^th – London 100 Club
FEB 2^nd – Bristol Fleece

THE GENTLE SPRING Former Field Mouse Michael Hiscock returns from his French fastness as The Gentle Spring, semi-acoustic indie-pop in hand.

17 Jan 2025 - Rainham, The Oast
18 Jan 2025 - Brighton, The Brunswick
19 Jan 2025 - London, Betsey Trotwood (Album launch)
23 Jan 2025 - Birmingham, Rock n Roll Brewhouse
24 Jan 2025 - Sheffield, Hallamshire Hotel
7 Feb 2025 - Edinburgh, Leith Depot
8 Feb 2025 - Glasgow, Glad Cafe

THE FALLEN LEAVES Mod-punk veteran assassins

JAN 24^th – Water Rats London,
FEB 28^th Bristol Thunderbolt,
MARCH 1^st Guildford Holroyd,
8^th Brighton Hope & Ruin,
22^nd London Hope & Anchor,
MAY 3^rd Stockton-On-Tees Volume,
4^th N’Castle Billy Bootleggers,
31^st London Dublin Castle,
June 8^th Southsea Edge of The Wedge,
SEPT 27^th London Dublin Castle.

LAURA CANNELL Fenland dronemadchen

FEB 1^st London King’s Place

ITHELL COLQUHOUN – BETWEEN TWO WORLDS Tate St Ives, Feb 1^st – May 5^th. 

Coincidentally, I have a routine about Ithell in the new show!

“The first major exhibition of visionary artist Ithell Colquhoun. One of the most radical artists of her generation, Ithell Colquhoun was an important figure in British Surrealism during the 1930s and 1940s. An innovative writer and practicing occultist, Colquhoun charted her own course, investigating surrealist methods of unconscious picture-making and fearlessly delving into the realms of myth and magic. Colquhoun explored the possibilities of a divine feminine power as a path to personal fulfilment and societal transformation. Her understanding of the world as a connected spiritual cosmos brought her to Cornwall, where she deepened her creative explorations, inspired by the region’s ancient landscape, Celtic traditions, and sacred sites. This landmark exhibition of over 200 artworks and archival materials traces Colquhoun’s evolution, from her early student work and engagement with the surrealist movement, to her fascination with the intertwining realms of art, sexual identity, ecology and occultism. It culminates in a room dedicated to Colquhoun’s interpretation of the Tarot deck – her most accomplished fusion of her artistic and magical practice. Explore Colquhoun’s enthralling, multi-layered universe through writings, drawings, paintings, early theatre projects and mural designs, many of which have never been shown publicly before. The exhibition will debut at Tate St Ives in February 2025, journeying to Tate Britain from June to October 2025.”

THE MAGPIE ARC Fabulous young British country-folk-rock act on the road, augmented by the mighty guitar legend Martin Simpson

FEBRUARY
Friday 7th – International Arts Centre, Leicester Buy Tickets
Saturday 8th – Indoor Festival of Folk, Cecil Sharp House, London
The Magpie Arc, Edgelarks, The Bookshop Band, Sam Carter, Frankie Archer and “The Guv’nor” of folk rock Ashley Hutchings in conversation with Matthew Bannister Buy Tickets 
Sunday 9th – Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham-by-Sea Buy Tickets
Monday 10th – Colchester Arts Centre, Colchester Buy Tickets

APRIL

Thursday 17th – The Glasshouse, Gateshead Buy Tickets
Tuesday 22nd – The Phoenix, Exeter Buy Tickets
Thursday 24th – Chapel Arts, Bath Buy Tickets

RICHARD DAWSON Unmitigated art-folk genius, and funny with it

FEB 14^th London Rough Trade East, 15^th Brighton Resident Music, 17^th Bristol Rough Trade, APRIL 23^rd & 24th M’cr Stoller Hall, 25^th Kendal Brewery Arts, 27^th Leeds City Varieties, 29^th London Clapham Grand, MAY 1^st Cardiff Gate, 2^nd Notts Metronome, 17^th Gateshead Glasshouse, 20^th Edinbro Pleasance, 21^st Glasgow St Lukes, 22^nd L’pool Philharmonic, 23^rd Brighton St Georhe’s , 24^th Folkestone Quarterhouse.

CHUCK PROPHET  Chuck’s last live tour was one of the greatest rock and roll shows I ever saw – real huckster guitar slinger stuff that they don’t make anymore. The Mount Rushmore of sandblasted country noir is on the road here again in 2025. Don’t miss. Honestly.

FEBRUARY
19th - Oxford - The Bullingdon
20th - Leeds - Brudenell Social Club
21st - Manchester - Yes Pink Room
22^nd - Newcastle - The Cluny
23rd - Glasgow - St Lukes
24th - Sheffield - Greystones
25th - Leicester - The International
26th - Nottingham - Metronome
27th - Cambridge - Portland Arms
28^th - Norwich - Arts Centre

MARCH

1st - Hassocks - Mid Sussex Music Hall
2nd - Bristol - Lantern
3rd - Birmingham - Hare & Hounds
4th - Southampton - 1865
5th - London - The Garage

NAPALM DEATH Birmingham’s grindcore godparents

MARCH

4^th - Dublin Academy
5^th – Glasgow Galvanisers’ Yard
6^th – Newcastle Uni Union
7^th – London Electric Ballroon
8^th – Liverpool Academy
9^th – Birmingham Institute

EX-EASTER ISLAND HEAD Groovy mininalists

MARCH 8^th London ICA
APRIL 20^th Colchester Arts

STIFF LITTLE FINGERS Indefatigable punk progenitors

MARCH 11^th Brighton Concorde, 12^th Nottingham Rock City, 14^th M’cr Academy, 15^th N’castle City Hall, 17^th Glasgow Barrowland, 18^th York Barbican,

THE LOFT I never saw Pete Astor’s pioneering indie-folk-rock janglers The Loft, like an English middle class mid-60s Dylan with a post-punk rush, first time around, though I saw the Weather Prophets loads, and regular doses of Astor solo over the decades have been pleasurably unavoidable. But I am thrilled at the possibility of this, and new recordings show the band on great form.  Age suits them it seems.

MARCH

13^th – M’cr Gullivers
14^th – B’ham Castle & Falcom
15^th – Nottingham JT Soar
20^th – Ramsgate Music Hall
21^st – Bristol Thunderbolt
22^nd – London Lexington
23^rd – Brighton Prince Albert
27^th – Leeds Lending Room
28^th – N’castle Cluny 2
29^th – Glasgow Mono

HAWKWIND 2025. Another implausible trip for the psychedelic survivors, Dave Brock still imperious, even from his octogenarian stool.

APRIL
17th – Gateshead Glasshouse
18^th – Guildford G Live
19^th – Bournemouth Pavillion
20^th – B’ham Symphony Hall

MAY
9^th – Aylesbury Waterside
10^th – Liverpool Auditorium
11^th – M’cr Bridgewater Hall
23^rd – Sheffield City Hall
25^th – Cambridge Corn Exchange
26^th – London Barbican

MACHYNLLETH COMEDY FESTIVAL The greatest comedy festival in the world. Book your bell tent now to avoid disappointment. I am doing MAN-WULF 3 times, John Shuttleworth is on, Celya AB etc etc.

May 2^nd-4^th. Once visited, never forgotten. DON’T TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT.
https://machcomedyfest.co.uk

SAMANTHA CRAIN Heart-rending Choctaw country-folk

MAY
19^th Brighton Green Door
20^th London Neon 194
21^st M’cr Gullivers

THE NIGHTINGALES Birmingham post-punk leg-ends hit the road again. When will it end?

MAY
21^ST Leeds Brudenell
22^nd Newcastle Think Tank
23^rd Glasgow Stereo
24^th M’cr Deaf Institute
25^th B’ham Castle & Falcon
27^th Bristol Exchange
28^th Brighton Chalk
29^th Cambridge Junction
30^th London Oslo
31^st Swansea Bunkhouse

LEN PRICE 3 Durable punk-mods

JUNE 18^th – 229 London

MILLIONS OF DEAD COPS / MDC American hardcore heroes

AUG 4^th – New Cross Inn, London

---

11. MY CULTURAL YEAR 2024 DEC 29 2023 – 30^th DEC 2024

“I haven’t seen any of Stewart Lee’s nasty little lists… but this is dark stuff... a form of bullying, intimidation and shaming that Joseph McCarthy or The Stasi would recognize.” John Robinson, Radio X

This is everything I saw, read and heard this year. I try to write everything down. Somethings get missed off by accident. *****s represent what that work meant to me in that moment and its aftermath. They are not the same as the attempts at critical evaluation I would make for a newspaper or a magazine.

Maybe I was happy because I was drunk, or was reminded of something from my past.
Who knows? The things I have given * to were actually a bit rubbish though.

ONE FILM – Sasquatch Sunset (David & Nathan Zellner)
ONE BOOK – Pariah Genius – Iain Sinclair
ONE TV SHOW – Mr Bates Vs The Post Office (ITV)
ONE PLAY – This Is Memorial Device (David Keenan/Graham Eatough)
ONE COMEDY SHOW – Alfie Brown, Open-Hearted Human Enquiry
ONE GIG – Richard Dawson/Lankum (Hammersmith Apollo)
ONE NEW ALBUM - Jennifer Walshe & Tony Conrad – In The Merry Month of May
ONE EXHIBITION – The Universe Of William Blake (Fitzwilliam, Cambridge)

NEW FILMS (2023/24) (28)

The Three Musketeers: D’Artganan (Martin Bourboulon)
Retribution (Nimrod Antal)
The Holdovers (Alexander Payne)*****
Dream Scenario (Kristoffer Borgli)*****
Anatomy of A Fall (Justine Triett)*****
In The Land of Saints And Sinners (Robert Lorenz)
American Star (Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego)*****
American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)*****
Sasquatch Sunset (David & Nathan Zellner)*****
Late Night With The Devil (Colin & Cameron Cairnes)
Meg 2 : The Trench (Ben Wheatley)*
Loch Ness Horror (Tyler James)*
Road House (Doug Liman) *
Infested (Sebastien Vanicek)
The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)
Night Swim (Bryce McGuire)
Starve Acre (Daniel Kokotajlo)
Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 (James Gunn)*****
Blink Twice (Zoe Kravitz)*****
Longlegs (Osgood Perkins)*
Speak No Evil (James Watkins)*****
The Last Voyage Of The Demeter (Andre Ovredal)
Little Eden (Rob Curry & Tim Plester)
A Complete Unknown (James Mangold)*****
The Outrun (Nora Fingscheidt) *****
Wallace & Gromit – Vengeance Most Fowl (Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham)*****
The Dead Don’t Hurt (Viggo Mortensen)
La Chimera (Alice Rohrwacher)*****

OLD FILMS

Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1989)*****
Measure for Measure (Dominic Dromgoole/Globe, 2015)*****
Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion (David Mirkin, 1997)*****
The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982)*****
Magnum Force (Ted Post, 1973)
Barbarian (Zach Cregger, 2022)
Humanoids From The Deep (Barbara Peeters, 1980)
The Unbelievable Truth (Hal Hartley, 1988)*****
Love Thy Neighbor (John Robins, 1973)
Commandos (Armando Crispino, 1968)
Easy Rider (Dennis Hopper, 1969)*****
Paradise Lost (John Stockwell, 2006)*
Prey (Dan Trachtenberg, 2022)*****
Eurocrime (Mike Malloy, 2014)
An American Werewolf In London (Jon Landis, 1981)*****
Howl (Paul Hyett, 2015)
Trust (Hal Hartley, 1990)*****
The Night Of The Devils (Giorgio Ferroni, 1972)*****
Legally Blonde (Robert Luketic, 2001)*****
Wonderboys (Curtis Hanson, 2000)*****
Angel Face (Otto Preminger, 1953)*****
Mickey One (Arthur Penn, 1965)*****
Decision To Leave (Park Chan-Wook, 2022)
Gang War In Milan (Umberto Lenzi, 1973)
The Heroin Busters (Enzo Castellari, 1977)
Othello (Oliver Parker, 1995)*****
Madman (Joe Giannone, 1981)
Christine (John Carpenter, 1983)
Paris Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984)*****
The Vampire Lovers (Roy Ward Baker, 1970) *
Freeway (Michael Bright, 1996)
Meet The Applegates (Michael Lehman, 1990)*****
Round Midnight (Bernard Tavernier, 1986)*****
Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg, 2020)*****
Dead Man’s Shoes (Shane Meadows, 2004)*****
The Boss (Fernando di Leo, 1973)
Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)*****
The One I Love (Charlie McDowell, 2014)
Blacktop (TJ Scott, 2000)
The Stepford Wives (Bryan Forbes, 1975)*****
Team America, World Police (Trey Parker, 2004)*****
Evil Dead (Sami Raimi, 1982)
Rollercoaster (James Goldstone, 1977)
Street Law (Enzo Castellari, 1974)
Blood & Diamonds (Fernando di Leo, 1977)
Blazing Magnum (Alberto di Martino, 1976)
Violent City (Sergio Sollima, 1970)
Dr Zhivago (David Lean, 1965)*****
The Wolfman (George Waggner, 1941)
Summer In February (Christopher Menaul, 2013)
Once Upon A Time In The West (Sergio Leone, 1968)*****
The Meg (John Turtletaub, 2018)
The Fiend/Beware My Bretheren (Rupert Hartford-Davis, 1972)
Tony Arzenta (Duccio Tessari, 1973)
The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979)
North By Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)*****
Theatre of Blood (Douglas Hickox, 1973)*****
Scanners (David Cronenberg, 1981)
Sisu (Jalmari Helander, 2022)*****
Django (Sergio Corbucci, 1966)*****
Moon Of The Wolf (Daniel Petrie, 1971)
The Italian Connection (Fernando di Leo, 1972)
The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963)*****
Teeth (Mitchell Lichenstein, 2007)*****
Colt 38 Special Squad (Massimo Dallamano, 1976)
The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)*****
800 Ballas (Alex de la Iglesia, 2002)
Ebirah Horror Of The Deep (Jun Fukuda, 1966)
Spy (Paul Feig, 2015)*****
The Circle (Peter Callow, 2017)
The Stranger & The Gunfighter (Antonio Margheriti, 1974)
The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973)*****
Piranha (Joe Dante, 1978)
The Lair (Neil Marshall, 2022)
Road House (Rowdy Herrington, 1989)*
Rolling Thunder (John Flynn, 1977)*****
Stan & Ollie (Jon S Baird, 2018)
Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017)*****
Ondine (Neil Jordan, 2009)*****
The Ritual (David Bruckner, 2017)*****
Mark Of The Devil (Michael Armstrong, 1970)*
Basket Case (Frank Hennenlotter, 1982) *****
Interview With The Vampire (Neil Jordan, 1994)
The Nightingale (Jennifer Kent, 2018)
Mimic (Guillermo Del Toro, 1997)
Star Crash (Luigo Cozzi, 1978)
Hotel Coolgardie (Pete Gleeson, 2016)
Seven Deaths In The Cat’s Eyes (Antonio Margheriti, 1974)
Lone Star (John Sayles, 1996)*****
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979)*****
Apostasy (Daniel Kokotajlo, 2017)
Fresh (Mimi Cave, 2022)
Showgirls (Paul Verhoeven, 1995)*
Red Sun (Terrence Young, 1971)
A Death Occurred Last Night (Duccio Tessari, 1970)
No, The Case Is Happily Resolved (Vittorio Salerno,1973)
How Did We Find Ourselves Here? (Emile Spoelder, 2022)
Goodbye & Amen (Damiano Damiani, 1977)
The Day Of The Owl (Damiano Damiani, 1968)
The Psychic (Lucio Fulci, 1977)*****
Death Ship (Alvin Rakoff, 1980)*
Tenebrae (Dario Argento, 1982)*
Don’t Torture A Duckling (Lucio Fulci, 1972)*****
Scream (Wes Craven, 1996)*****
The Housesitter (Frank Oz, 1992)
The Antichrist (Alberto Di Martino, 1974)
Limbo (John Sayles, 1999)*****
The Long Days Of Vengeance (Floresto Vancini, 1967)
China 9, Liberty 37 (Monte Hellman, 1978)
The Designated Victim (Maurizio Lucidi, 1971)*****
Four Of The Apocalypse (Lucio Fulci, 1975)*****
Contraband (Lucio Fulci, 1980)* (This film has no redeeming features)
Tales That Witness Madness (Freddie Francis, 1973)
Backbeat (Ian Softley, 1994)*****
Return Of The Living Dead (Dan O’Bannon, 1985)*****
Smile (Parker Finn, 2022)
The Witches (Cyril Frankel, 1966)
Oxide Ghosts (Michael Cumming, 2017)
The Sect (Michael Soavi, 1991)
God Told Me To (Larry Cohen, 1976)*****
Manic Cop (William Listig, 1988)
Unman, Wittering & Zigo (John Mackenzie, 1971)
Hannie Caulder (Burt Kennedy, 1971)*****
The Reptile (John Gilling, 1966)
The Nanny (Seth Holt, 1965)
Alligator (Lewis Teague, 1980)*****
The Brain (Edward Hunt, 1988)
Rising Damp (Joseph McGrath, 1980)
So Sweet … So Perverse (Umberto Lenzi, 1969)*****
The Prey (Edwin Brown, 1982)*
Duck You Sucker! (Sergio Leone, 1971)*****

NEW BOOKS

Robin Ince - Bibliomania
Josie Long – Because I Don’t Know What You Mean And What You Don’t
Iain Sinclair – Pariah Genius *****
Rosie Holt - Why We Were Right
Ted Kessler – To Ease My Troubled Mind
Steve Wynn – I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True
Richard Pascoe & Kirstie Hawkes – The Versatile Performer
The Haunted Trail – ed Weird Walk
Jakko M Jakszyk – Who’s The Boy With The Lovely Hair?
Daisy Johnson – Hotel *****
Andrew Michael Hurley – Barrowbeck
Sophie Sleigh-Johnson – Code Damp

OLD BOOKS

Ray Bradbury – Now & Forever (2008)
Brigid Brophy – Hackenfeller’s Ape (1953)*****
Philip Larkin – High Windows (1974)*****
Barbara Comyns – Sisters By A River (1947)*****
Andrew Michael Hurley – Starve Acre (2019)
Daisy Johnson – Fen (2016)

OLD TV

Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place (C4, 2004)*****
Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special (Disney, 2022)
Mystery Road S1 (ABCTV, 2018)*****
Mystery Road S2 (ABCTV, 2020)*****
Dark Winds S 1 (AMC, 2022)*****
Mystery Road Origin (ABCTV, 2022)*****
Ghost Stories For Christmas, No 13 (BBC, 2006)

NEW TV

Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV) *****
True Detective S4 (HBO)
Baby Reindeer (Netflix)*
Deadloch (Amazon Prime)
Channel 4 Election coverage (C4)
Inside No 9 series 9 (BBC)*****
Joe Rogan – Burn The Boats (Netflix)*
Rivals (Disney +) *****
Charlie Cooper’s Myth Country (BBC3)*
Dark Winds S 2 (AMX, 2023)
Christmas Day Dr Who (BBC1)
Ghost Stories For Christmas, Woman Of Stone (BBC)
Sky news (Sky)

MAGAZINES AND PAPERS

Shindig, Record Collector, Viz, Mojo, Guardian, Machenallia, Faunus, Observer, Guardian, London Review of Books, Weird Walk, Wire, Vala, Larkin About, Shuck, Hellebore, Fortean Times.
Adrian Childs’ Guardian columns
Jay Rayner’s Observer restaurant reviews
Marina Hyde’s Guardian columns
Nesrine Malik’s Guardian columns
John Crace’s Guardian columns

RADIO NEW AND OLD

James O’Brien (LBC) *****
Nick Ferrari (LBC) *
Shelagh Fogerty (LBC)
BBC News esp L Kuenssberg *

INTERNETS, YOUTUBES AND PODCASTS

Backlisted *****
Sonic Fields
Music Maps
Sid Griffin Calling All Coal Porters *****
Looks Unfamiliar
European Cryptids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I-Nc4ERr-U

THEATRE/DANCE/RITUAL/EVENTS (18 performances)

Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch’s Nelken – Sadler’s Wells *****
St Piran’s Day Parade, Bodmin
Othello (dir Ola Ince, Globe)*****
This Is Memorial Device (Riverside)*****
Nye (Tim Price, National Theatre)
This Is Memorial Device (Riverside)***** (again)
Mnemonic – Complicite (National Theatre) *****
Mnemonic – Complicite (National Theatre) ***** (again)
Prime Meat (York University, Space, Edinburgh)
The Signalman (Zoo, Edinburgh)
Simon Raymonde & Will Hodgkinson talking (End Of The Road)
Waiting For Godot – dir James MacDonald (Haymarket, London)
Othello – dir. Tim Carroll (RSC, Stratford-Upon-Avon)
Tales of The Weird Event (British Library)
Abney Park Remembrance Sunday Event (Stoke Newington, London)
So Watt! Jazz & Improvisation On British TV 1972-75(Barbican, London)
Dick Whittington  - dir Clive Rowe (Hackney Empire)
All’s Well That Ends Well – dir Chelsea Walker (Globe)*****

COMEDY (30 shows)

Daniel Kitson – First Thing (Summerhall) (2023 omission)*****
Garth Marenghi’s Incarcerat (Leicester Comedy Festival)
Maurice Grumbleweed (Blues Café Bar, Harrogate)*****
Harland Williams (Bill Murray, London)
Henry Morris (Theatre Mwldan, Cardigan)
Rosie Holt – That’s Politainment (Chipping Norton Theatre, days after election) *****
Ben Pope, Alex Kealey, Helen Bauer (Bill Murray, London)
Jo Long, Celya AB,  Athena Kugblenu, Sara Barron (Bill Murray, London)
Barry Ferns, Jon Long, Maddie HW, Archit Goenka, Alex Farrow (Bill Murray, London)
Kevin Eldon (Tommyfield, London) x 4*****
Noncensored Election Special (Museum of Comedy)
John Cooper Clarke (Latitude)
Reece Shearsmith vs Black Shuck (St Mary’s Church, Bungay)
Rosie Holt – Why We Were Right (Underbelly, Edinburgh)
Alfie Brown – Open Hearted Human Enquiry (Caves, Edinburgh)*****
Eliot Steel – Soft Boi Core (Underbelly, Edinburgh)*****
Josie Long, Thanyia Moore, Pappy’s Fun Club (End Of The Road)
Harry Hill, Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Rory Bremner, Ronnie Golden, Steve Coogan, Laura Mvula, Alfie Brown (Steve Brown Night, Savoy) *****
Harry Hill (Tommyfield, London)*****

GIGS (58 events)

What a great year for seeing music, somehow, in between all the nights I worked and couldn’t see stuff. I totally got my mojo back and was rewarded. It was like being in my teens and 20s again, with things I’d never seen before that nailed me, and yet lots of the same acts from my youth suddenly still exploding decades down the line too!!  Maybe seeing some stuff through my kids’ eyes reawakened me as well. I loved being 56 and down the front!

(I have bundled festival acts together by day as one event, against my better judgement, as there was some criticism online of me dividing individual festival performers’ shows up into distinct items, rather than amalgamating them into one ‘gig’.)

Steve Noble, John Edwards & Alan Wilkinson (Café Oto, Dalston)
Rexes Hollow (Butcher’s Arms, Yeovil)
A Covers Guy (Scholar and Gentleman, Birmingham)
Jackdaw With Crowbar (Coventry Belgrade)
Cosse/The Water Chestnuts (Library Pub, Oxford)
Deathcrash/Jesus & Mary Chain (Camden Roundhouse)
Hawkwind (Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton)
Lenny Kaye/Rat Scabies/Jim Jones/Dave Tregunna/Brian James/Cheetah Chrome/& two superb go-go dancers, egregiously uncredited by any of the men on stage (The 100 Club, London)*****
Martin Newell (St Mattias, Stoke Newington, London)
Jasmine Minks (Waiting Room, Stoke Newington)*****
Josephine Foster & Lydia Samuels, Monde UFO, Immaterial Possession, Jane Weaver & The Dream Syndicate, Bas Jan, Graham Reynolds, Marta Del Grandi, Kirstin Hersh, Islet, Giant Sand, Giant Syndicate (Earth, Dalston) *****
The Girl With The Replaceable Head (Waiting Room, Stoke Newington)*****
Peter Case/Sid Griffin (What’s Cookin’?, Leytonstone) *****
The Black Keys (Brixton Academy, London)
Ex-Easter Island Head/Dean McPhee (Stoke Newington church, London)
The Bevis Frond (Lexington, London)*****
The Prisoners (Roundhouse, London)
Dexy’s Midnight Runners (Koko, London)
Rain Parade(291, London)*****
The Primevals (Lexington, London)*****
The Shadracks (Lexington, London)
The Fallen Leaves (Lexington, London)
The Cosmic Psychos (Dome, London)
Patti Smith Quartet – (Somerset House, London)*****
Orbital (Latitude Saturday)
Lankum*****, Duran Duran, English Teacher (Latitude Sunday)
Laura Cannell (St Mary’s Church, Bungay)*****
Wreckless Eric/Stiff Little Fingers (Cambridge Junction)
Laetitia Sadier (Lexington, London)*****
Swansea Sound (Lexington London)
David Lance Callahan & Darren Garrat (Lexington London)*****
Islet, Sleaford Mods (Green Man Thursday)*****
Jesus & Mary Chain (Green Man Friday)
Nightingales, Lonnie Holey, New Eves, Tinariwen, Osees (Green Man Saturday)*****
Boca 45, Zalizo, 86TV’s, Idles *****(Bristol Academy)
Secluded Bronte, Eliza Skelton, Alison Cotton, Bevis Frond, Phsyics House Band (Brighton Psych Fest, Komedia)*****
Slowdive (End Of The Road, Saturday)*****
Lambrini Girls, Yo La Tengo, Yo La Tengo acoustic (EOTR, Sunday)
Robyn Hitchcock (Earth, London)
Steve Wynn (Walthamstow Trades Hall, London)
Steve Wynn (Rough Trade, London)
Ride/Bdrmm (St John’s, Hackney, London)
The Long Ryders (291, London)*****
Richard Dawson/Lankum (Hammersmith Apollo)*****
New Eves, Boss Morris, Goblin Band, Daisy Rickman (Earth, Hackney)*****
Jody Stephens’ Big Star (St John’s, Hackney, London)
The Cure (Troxy, London)*****
Bevis Frond Acoustic Trio (Rio, Dalston, London)
The Room – Bar Love (Notting Hill, London)*****
Bob Dylan (Royal Albert Hall, London)*****
North Kent Folkways Revival, Singing Loins & Chatham Singers (Rochester Medway Little Theatre)*****
Yo La Tengo As Little Black Egg (Café Oto, London)
The Chameleons (Shepherd’s Bush Empire)*****
The Lovely Eggs (100 Club, London)*****
The Damned (Roundhouse, London)
Steve Noble, John Edwards & Alan Wilkinson (Café Oto, London, again)*****
The Fallen Women (Lexington, London)*****

RECORDS I LISTENED TO OLD SCHOOL IN ONE SITTING AT A LISTENING DEVICE

NEW RECORDS – 2023/2024 (71)

The Bevis Frond – Focus On Nature *****
Black Bombers – Vive La Revolution
The Smile – Wall Of Eyes
The Pink Fairies – Screwed Up *
The Room – Restless Fate
Drop Nineteens – Hard Light
The Silversound – s/t *****
The Sand Pebbles – The Antagonist
The Rebel – Mublatpecnoc
Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project – The Task Has Overwhelmed Us
V/A – A Tribute To Roky Erickson, May The Circle Be Unbroken
Jesus & Mary Chain – Chemical Animal
Shadow Show – Fantasy Now!
Serious Sam Barrett – A Drop Of The Morning Dew
Alison Cotton – Engelchen
The Bohman Brothers – Room Service
Laetitia Sadier – Rooting For Love *****
Kim Gordon – The Collective
Ex-Easter Island Head – Norther
Hawkwind – Stories from Time & Space
Acid Mothers Temple & Melting Paraiso UFO – Paralyzed Genius Brain
Jasmine Minks – We Make Our Own History
Black Keys – Ohio Players
The Prisoners – Morning Star
Shellac – To All Trains
The Lovely Eggs – Eggsistentialism  *****
Charley Stone – Here Comes The Actual Band *****
The Janitors – An Error Has Occurred
Buffalo Tom – Jump Rope
Jennifer Walshe & Tony Conrad – In The Merry Month of May *****
Rain Parade – Last Rays of A Dying Sun
Rain Parade – Last Stop On The Underground
Dead Pioneers – s/t
Sun Dial – Message To The Mothership
Various artists/Rhodri Davies - Creiriau Y Delyn Rawn/Relics Of The Horsehair Harp
SnarskiCircusLindyBand – I Know I Know *****
The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention
Idles – Tangk
40 Watt Sun – Little Weight *****
Guru Guru – The Incredible World Of
Kim Gordon – The Collective
Stephen Pastel & Gavin Thompson – This Is Memorial Device
Kosmischer Läufer – Track Club EP
Howe Gelb – Weathering Some Piano
Sid Griffin – The Journey From Grape To Raisin
Steve Wynn – Make It Right
Chuck Prophet with Qiensave? – Wake The Dead
The Girl With The Replaceable Head – Sometimes She Lives In The Dark
Daisy Rickman – Howl *****
Lankum – Live In Dublin *****
Goblin Band – Come Slack Your Horse
Laura Cannell – The Rituals of Hildegard Reimagined *****
Julian Cope – Friar Tuck
The Room – The Telling *****
The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
The Smile – Cutouts
House of All – Gaudy Pop Sensations
The Octopus Project – Sasquatch Sunset
Lucinda Williams – Sings The Beatles From Abbey Road
New Starts – More Break Up Songs*****
David Lance Callahan – Down To The Marshes *****
Nada Surf – Moon Mirror
Thurston Moore – Flow Critical Lucidity
Wild Billy Childish & The North Kent Folkways Revival – Cape Trafalgar *****
Wild Billy Childish & The North Kent Folkways Revival – The Speech Of Karaktakus
Dave Graney & Clare Moore – Strangely Emotional
Dave Graney & Clare Moore – I Passed Through A Minor Chord In A Morning
Hugo Race – 100 Years
Guided By Voices – Strut Of Kings
Rip Van Winkle – The Grand Rapids *****
Tindersticks – Soft Tissue
Rob Snarski – Waiting For The Bell*****
The Primevals – I’m A Man-Wulf 3 track bandcamp d/l *****

NEW OLD RECORDS - reissues, archive & comp’s

Bardo Pond – Volume 9 (2001?)
Alan Tomlinson – At The Red Rose (2006-7)*****
Sonic Youth – Walls Have Ears (1985)
Can – Live In Paris (1973)
Joe Henderson – Power To The People (1969)*****
The Fall – Slates Live (1980-82)*****
Alice Coltrane – The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971)
Sun – Sun 1972 (1972)*****
The Waterboys – 1985 (1985)
The Telescopes – Growing Eyes Become String (2013)
The Prefabs – Dec ‘77 Before The Wall (1977)
The Shop Assistants – Will Anything Happen? (1983-89)
The Green Pajamas – Live At Terrastock 4 (2000)
Howe Gelb – ZEQE 24.088 (1977-79)
The Desperate Ones – 1906 (2013)
McCoy Tyner & Joe Henderson – Forces Of Nature (1966)*****
The Fall – Grotesque (After The Gramme) Live ! (1980-82)*****
V/A - Brown Acid The 19^th Trip (1968-1978)
Miles Davis – Miles In France (1962-3)*****
Children’s Crusade – A Duty-Dance With Death (1984)

OLD RECORDS

Ozark Mountain Daredevils – s/t (1974)
The Allman Brothers Band – s/t (1969)
Canned Heat – s/t (1967)*****
Canned Heat – Boogie With (1968)*****
Canned Heat – Vintage (1970)
Canned Heat – Living The Blues (1968)*****
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Bluejeans & Moonbeams (1974)*****
Pure Prairie League – Bustin’ Out (1972)
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Safe As Milk (1967)*****
The Byrds – Long Way Back (1974)*****
Chuck Prophet et le Mission Express – Live A Paris (2017)*****
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Clear Spot (1972)*****
Nina Simone – Here Comes The Sun (1971)*****
Danny Thompson Trio – Live (1967)
David Soul – s/t (1976)
Seatrain – Watch (1973)
Al Kooper – Act Like Nothing’s Wrong (1977)
Mike Bloomfield – Try It Before You Buy It (1975)
Butterfield Blues Band – Original Lost Elektra Masters (1964)
Head Machine – Orgasm (1970)
Uriah Heep – Very ‘Eavy Very ‘Umble (1970)
The Beat – I Just Can’t Stop It (1980)*****
The Beat – W’happen? (1981)
The Leaving Trains – Fuck (1987)*****
Tom Verlaine – s/t (1979)
Tom Verlaine – Dreamtime (1981)
Richard Hell & The Voidoids – Destiny Street (1982)*****
Dave Alvin – Romeo’s Escape (1987)
Divine Horsemen – Snakehandler (1987)*****
Divine Horsemen – Time Stands Still (1984)
John Doe – Meet John Doe (1990)
V/A – Girls With Guitars Gonna Shake! (1964-9)
Died Pretty – Pre-Deity (1984-5)*****
Died Pretty – Free Dirt (1986)*****
Gentle Assassins – They Knew Too Much (2006)
’68 Comeback – Mr Downchild (2012)
The Fort Mudge Memorial Dump – s/t (1970)
Kaleidoscope – Tangerine Dream (1967)
The Tangerine Zoo – s/t (1968)
Cotton Mather – Kontiki (1997)*****
Tom Verlaine – Words From The Front (1982)
Tom Verlaine – Cover (1989)
The Violent Femmes – The Blind Leading The Naked (1986)*****
The Violent Femmes – Hallowed Ground (1984)*****
The Beach Boys – Surf’s Up (1971)
Bread – s/t (1969)*****
Deviants – Resident Reptiles (2018)*****
Twink – Think Pink III (2018?)
The Nils – Green Fields In Daylight (1983-86)
The Nils – st (1987)
Indian Summer – s/t (1971)*****
Alexander Skip Spence - Oar (1969)*****
Moon Attendant – One Last Summer (2020)
Christian Bland & The Revelators – Pig Boat Blues (2012)
Freedy Johnston – Can You Fly? (1992) *****
Freedy Johnston – This Perfect World (1994)
Jasmine Minks – Cut Me Deep (1984-2014)*****
Chilliwack – s/t (1970)*****
MC5 – Black To Comm (1968)
MC5 – Kick Out The Jams (1969)*****
MC5 – Back In The USA (1970)
MC5 – High Time (1971)*****
Destroy All Monsters – Bored (1978-9)*****
James Williamson & The Pink Hearts – Across The Sky (2018)
Eddie & The Hot Rods – Teenage Depression (1976)
Eddie & The Hot Rods – Life On The Line (1977)
Buzzcocks – Live! (1995)
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Doc At The Radar Station (1980)*****
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Amsterdam (1980)
Buzzcocks – 30 Live In London (2006)
Buzzcocks – Love Bites (1978)*****
XTC – White Music (1978)
XTC – Go2 (1978)
The Room – Jackpot Jack (1985)*****
XTC – Drums & Wires (1979)
Captain Beefheart – Somewhere Over Egypt Live (1981)
XTC – Black Sea (1980)*****
The Soul Movers – On The In Side (2009)
The Soul Movers – Testify (2017)
Morphine – Good (1993)****
Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True (1977)*****
The Pontiac Brothers – Big Black River (1985)*****
Can – Tago Mago (1971)*****
UFO – Phenomenon (1974)
American Music Club – California (1988)*****
13^th Floor Elevators – Psychedelic Sounds Of (1966)*****
John & Beverley Martyn – Stormbringer (1970)
The Verlaines – Juvenilia (1982-4)*****
The Verlaines – Live At The Windsor Castle (1986)
The Verlaines – Hallelujah All The Way Home (1985)
The Church – Of Skins & Hearts (1981)
The Church – The Blurred Crusade (1982)
The Sound – Jeopardy (1980) *****
Mark Kozelek – Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer (2000)*****
Red House Painters – Old Ramon (2001)
The Master’s Apprentices – Nickelodeon (1971)*****
Buffalo – Volcanic Rock (1973)*****
Kahvas Jute – Wide Open (1971)*****
Levi Smith’s Clefs – Empty Monkey (1969)*****
The Human Instinct – Stoned Guitar (1970)
The Fourmyula – Alive (1970)
Space Waltz – s/t (1975)
Francois Hardy – Soleil (1970)*****
Carson – Blown (1972)
Leo De Castro & Friends – s/t (1971-3)
The Master’s Apprentices – A Toast To Panama Red (1971)
The Church – Séance (1983)
The Waterboys – s/t (1983)
The Violent Femmes – 3 (1989)
Primitons – Happy All The Time (1987)
Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True (1987)*****
Wapassou – Ludwig (1979)
Kostas Tournas – Aperanta Chorafia (1973)
Arthur Jones – Scorpio (1971)*****
Area – Arbeit Macht Frei (1973)****
Balleto di Brozo – Ys (1973)*****
Claudio Rocchi – Essanza (1973)*****
Le Stelle Di Mariano Schifano – Dedicated To (1967)
Blue Phantom – Distortions (1971)
Zarathustra – Zarathustra (1973)
Alan Sorrenti – Aria (1972)*****
Sensations Fix – Fragments Of Light (1974)
Area – Areazione Live (1976) *****
Sensations Fix – Boxes Paradise (1977)
Terje Rypdal – s/t (1971)
Jan Garbarek Quartet – Afric Pepperbird (1971)
Secret Oyster – s/t (1973)
Archie Shepp/Lars Gullin – The House I Live In (1980)*****
Giuseppi Logan Quartet – s/t (1964)
Ellufant – Release Concert (1972)
Shocking Blue – Singles A’s & B’s (1967-74)*****
Cosmic Couriers – Other Places (1996)
Fleetwood Mac – Then Play On (1969)*****
John Lee Hooker – Detroit (1948-49)*****
Colour Haze – Los Sounds De Krauts (2003)
Bevis Frond – What Did For The Dinosuars (2002)*****
Bevis Frond – Hit Squad (2004)
Bevis Frond – The Leaving Of London (2011)
Game Theory – Blaze of Glory (1982)
Samsara Blues Experiment – Long Distance Trip (2010)
Jacques Coursil – Black Suite (1971)
Bauhaus – The Bella Session (1979)*****
Bauhaus – In The Flat Field (1980)
Gene Parsons – Kindling (1973)*****
Terry Melcher – s/t (1974) *****
The Beau Brummels – Bradley’s Barn (1968)
Sun Kil Moon – This Is My Dinner (2018)*****
Johnny Rivers – Rio Fangoso (1969)
Raspberries – Raspberries (1972)
Polvo – Cor-Crane Secret (1992)*****
Naked Prey – Kill The Messenger (1988)
Trembling Bells – Carbeth (2009)*****
Lloyd Cole – s/t (1990)
The Doublehappys – Nerves (1984-5)
Straitjacket Fits – Hail (1990)*****
Art Objects – Bagpipe Music (1979)
Bored! – Chucks (1988-94)
World Party – Private Revolution (1987)
Explosions In The Sky – How Strange, Innocence (2000)
Nanci Griffith – There’s A Light Beyond These Woods (1978)*****
Kris Kristofferson – Kristofferson (1970)*****
John Lee Hooker & The Groundhogs – On The Waterfront (1965)
Sonny Boy Williamson & The Yardbirds – Live (1965)
Lightnin’ Hopkins – Free Form Patterns (1968)
Howlin’ Wolf – The Howlin’ Wolf Album (1969)
Muddy Waters – After The Rain (1969)*****
ZZ Top – La Futura (2012)
John Lee Hooker – Simply The Truth (1969)*****
Lowell Fulson – It’s A Heavy Bag (1969)
John Lee & Earl Hooker – If You Miss ‘ Em(1970)*****
Roedelius – Durch Die Wuste (1978)
Cluster – s/t (1971)
Cluster -Cluster II (1972)
Harmonia – Deluxe (1975)*****
La Dusseldorf – s/t (1976)*****
Michael Rother – Flamende Herzen (1977)*****
Michael Rother – Sterntaler (1978)
La Dusseldorf – Viva (1978)
Mick Hanley & Micheal O Domhnaill – Celtic Folkweave (1974)*****
The Bothy Band – Out Of The Wind Into The Sun (1977)*****
Horslips – Book Of Invasion (1976)
Jakob – Jakob (1999)*****
Graham Parker – Heat Treatment (1976)
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Jesus & Mary Chain – Damage & Joy (2017)
Jesus & Mary Chain – Psychocandy (1985)*****
Jesus & Mary Chain – Darklands (1987)
Jesus & Mary Chain – Automatic (1989)
Jesus & Mary Chain – Honey’s Dead (1992)
Jesus & Mary Chain – Stoned & Dethroned (1994)
Elvis Costello – Almost Blue (1981)*****
Jesus & Mary Chain – Munki (1998)
Chameleons – What Does Anything Mean Basically? (1985)*****
Billy Bragg – Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs Spy (1983)*****
Hawkwind – Warrior At The Edge Of Time (1975)*****
The Cleaners From Venus – Number 13 (1990)
Red Chair Fadeaway – Curiouser & Curiouser (1991)
Red Chair Fadeaway – Mesmerised (1993)
Razorcuts – The World Keeps Turning (1989)
Millions of Dead Cops – s/t (1982)*****
Ry Cooder – Music By (1980-1995)*****
Bobbie Gentry – Ode To Billie Joe (1967)*****
Slowdive – Just For A Day (1991)*****
Nick Drake – Bryter Later (1971) *****
John Lee Hooker – Endless Boogie (1971)*****
Cocteau Twins – Treasure (1984)*****
Sonic Youth – Sonic Nurse (2004)*****
The Smiths – The Smiths (1984)*****
Cocteau Twins – Head Over Heels (1983)*****
Elliot Smith – X/O (1998)
The Byrds – Mr Tambourine Man (1965)*****
The Byrds – Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965)*****
Pylon – Gyrate (1980)*****
Pylon – Chomp (1983)*****
Hannah Marcus – The Hannah Marcus Years (1993-2004)
Edgar Froese – Stuntman (1979)
Jasmine Minks – One Two Three Four Five Six Seven (1984)*****
Guadalcanal Diary – Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man (1984)
Tony Joe White – Black & White (1969)*****
Willie Nelson – Red Headed Stranger (1975)*****
The Go-Betweens – s/t (1981)*****
The Go-Betweens – First Five Singles (1978-82)*****
Slobberbone – s/t (1987)
Volebeats – Up North (1994)
Volebeats – Sky & The Ocean (1997)
Westlake – s/t (1987)
Blue Mountain – Dog Days (1995)*****
Blue Mountain – Home Grown (1997)*****
Blue Mountain – Roots (2001)*****
Mr Henry – As Good As The Ground (1995)
The Triffids – In The Pines (1986)*****
Lou Reed – New York (1989)*****
Katie Spencer – The Edge Of The Land (2022)
Oliver Nelson – The Blues And The Abstract Truth (1961)*****
UFO – UFO 1 (1970)*****
The Blackeyed Susans – All Souls Alive (1993)
Possum Dixon – s/t (1993)*****
The Prisoners – A Taste Of Pink (1982)
Trader Horne – Morning Way (1970)
The Prisoners – Thewisermiserdemelza (1983)
My Bloody Valentine – Tremolo (1991)*****
Slint – Spiderland (1991)*****
Jeff Buckley – Cabaret Metro (1995)
The Byrds – Untitled (1970)*****
Dillard & Clark – Through The Morning, Through The Night (1969)
The Byrds – Ballad of Easy Rider (1970) *****
The Byrds – Dr Byrds & Mr Hyde (1969)
Burrito Brothers – The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969)*****
Dick Gaughan – Handful of Earth (1981) *****
Dick Gaughan & Andy Irvine – Parallel Lines (1982)
The Electric Flag – The Trip (1967)
Lawrence Hammond – Coyote’s Dream (1976)
Mad River – The Paradise Bar & Grill (1969) *****
Nanci Griffith – Last of The True Believers (1986)
Suzanne Vega – s/t (1985)*****
Nick Drake  - Five Leaves Left (1969)*****
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Let The Record Show (2016)*****
The Waterboys – This Is The Sea (1985)*****
The Fall – Room To Live (1982)*****
Scott Walker – Climate of The Hunter (1984) *****
Dexy’s Midnight Runners – Searching For The Young Soul Rebels (1980)*****
Ride – Nowhere (1990)
Sisters of Mercy – BBC Sessions (1982-4)
Sisters of Mercy – Reptile House (1983)
Sisters of Mercy – First And Last And Always (1985)
Sisters of Mercy – Vision Thing (1990)
Rain Parade – Crashing Dream (1985) *****
Catheads – Hubba (1987) *****
Coffee Sergeants – Moonlight Towers (1993)
Glen Campbell – Galveston (1969)
The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues (1987)*****
Bettie Serveert – Palomine (1992)*****
The Triffids – Treeless Plain (1983)*****
The Triffids – Raining Pleasure (1984)*****
Lawson Square Infirmary  - s/t (1984)
The Triffids – Calenture – (1988)*****
Felt – The Splendour Of Fear (1983)*****
Felt – The Strange Idol’s Pattern (1984)*****
Arzachel – s/t (1969)*****
Salad – Drink Me (1995)
John Lee Hooker – The Country Blues Of (1959) *****
John Lee Hooker – Travelin’ (1960) *****
John Lee Hooker – House Of The Blues (1952)
John Lee Hooker – That’s My Story (1960)
John Lee Hooker – The Folk Lore Of (1961)
The Catherine Wheel – She’s My Friend ep (1991)
The Catherine Wheel – Painful Thing ep (1991)
The Catherine Wheel – Ferment (1992)
The Catherine Wheel – Chrome (1993)
The Cosmic Psychos – Down On The Farm (1985)*****
The Cosmic Psychos – s/t (1987)*****
The Folk Devils – Best Protection & Peel Sessions (1987)*****
Johnny Rivers – Slim Slow Slider (1970)*****
Johnny Rivers – Home Grown (1971)
40 Watt Sun – Wider Than The Sky (2016)*****
Big Thief  - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (2022)
Jeff Buckley – Live At Wetlands (1994)
Red House Painters – Down Colourful Hill (1992)*****
40 Watt Sun – Perfect Light (2020)*****
The Cure – Seventeen Seconds (1980)*****
Del Fuegos – Boston Mass (1985)
Red House Painters – s/t aka Rollercoaster (1993)
Jeff Buckley – Live From The Bataclan (1995)*****
Bert Jansch – Edge of A Dream (2002)*****
Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas (1990)
Slowdive – Just For A Day (1991)
Scott Walker – Scott 4 (1970)*****
The Doors – Morrison Hotel (1970)*****
The Smiths – Hatful of Hollow (1984)*****
Sun Kil Moon – Ghosts Of The Great Highway (2003)*****
Echo & The Bunnymen – Ocean Rain (1984)*****
My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1991)*****
Led Zeppelin – III (1970)*****
The Sugarcubes – Life’s Too Good (1988)
The Doors – s/t (1967)*****
Help Yourself – s/t (1971)
The Doors – Strange Days (1967)
Mazzy Star – So Tonight That I May See (1991)*****
Stiff Little Fingers – Inflammable Material (1979)*****
Stiff Little Fingers – Nobody’s Heroes (1980)
Miles Davis/Bill Laswell – Panthalassa (1969-74)*****
Frank Morgan – Mood Indigo (1989)*****
Frank Morgan – City Nights (2004)*****
Grachan Moncur III – Evolution (1963)
Steve Wynn – Kerosene Man (1990)
Steve Wynn – Dazzling Display (1992)
Steve Wynn – Fluorescent (1993)
Gutterball – s/t (1993) *****
Steve Wynn – Take Your Flunky & Dangle (1994)
Gutterball – Weasel (1995)*****
Steve Wynn - Melting In The Dark (1996)*****
John Coltrane – Live At The Village Vanguard (1961)*****
John Coltrane – Coltrane (1957) *****
Paul Chambers – Chambers’ Music (1957)
John Coltrane & co – Interplay For 2 Trumpets (1957)
John Coltrane & Tad Dameron – Mating Call (1958)
John Coltrane – Traneing In (1958)
John Coltrane –  Blue World (1964)*****
Miles Davis – Steamin’ (1957)*****
Stereolab – Super 45 (1991)*****
Stereolab – Switched On (1992)*****
Johnny Rivers – Road (1974)
Giant Sand – Chore of Enchantment (2000)*****
Eric Quincy Tate – s/t (1970)
Tramp – Put A Record On (1974)
Sonny Rollins – Standard Sonny Rollins (1964)
Sonny Rollins – Alfie (1966)
Dexter Gordon – Our Man In Paris (1963)*****
Idles – Crawler
Dexter Gordon – Soul Sister (1963)
Dexter Gordon – One Flight Up (1964)*****
Dexter Gordon – Montmartre 1964 Live (1964)
Marion Brown – Sweet Earth Flying (1974)*****
Paul Bley Trio – Closer (1965)
Husker Du – Candy Apple Grey (1986)*****
Husker Du – Warehouse (1987)*****
Husker Du – The Living End (1987)
Swervedriver – Raise (1991)
Oasis – Be Here Now (1997)
Oasis – Dig Out Your Soul (2008)
The Loft – Magpie Eyes (1983-85)
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand (2007)
Oasis – Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants (2000)
Highway – s/t (1971)
Gene Clark w The Gosdin Brothers – s/t (1967)*****
Robyn Hitchcock – Eye (1990)*****
Jimi Hendrix – Woodstock (1969) *****
The Move – Message From The Country (1971)
Carson – On The Air (1973)
Carson – Travelling Highway Blues (1970-73)
Chain – Towards The Blues (1971)
Chain – History of Chain (1970-71)
Felt – Crumbling The Antiseptic Beauty (1982)*****
Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland (1968)*****
The Miracle Workers – Primary Domain (1989)
The Green Pajamas – Lust Never Sleeps (2002)*****
The Green Pajamas – Seven Fathoms Down & Falling (1999)*****
Ten Years After – Stonedhenge (1969)
Naked Prey – Under The Blue Marlin (1986)
Naked Prey – 40 Miles From Nowhere (1987)
Naked Prey – Live In Tucson (1990)
The Wonderful World Of Depressing Country Music – v/a (1940-1965)
Billy Boy Arnold – Checkin’ It Out (1979)
Tom Robinson Band – Power In The Darkness (1978)*****
The Dream Syndicate – The Medicine Show (1984)*****
Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited (1965)*****
Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde (1966)*****
Bob Dylan – Self Portrait (1970)*****
Ultravox! – s/t (1977)*****
Ultravox! – Ha!-Ha!-Ha! (1977)*****
The Icicle Works – s/t (1984)*****
Kris Kristoferson – Border Lord (1972)*****
The Psycho Daisies – 30 Milligrams of Your Love (1990)*****
PW Long – We Didn’t See You On Sunday (1997)*****
The Fall – Dragnet (1979) *****
The Fall – Imperial Wax Solvent (2008)*****
The Fall – Fall Heads Roll (2005)*****
Ride – Going Blank Again (1992)
Ride – Smile EP (1990)
The Fall – Grotesque (1980)*****
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Will Circle Be Unbroken? (1972)*****
Pure Prairie League – s/t (1972)
Concrete Blonde – Free (1989)
Ry Cooder – The Border (1982)
Pure Prairie League – Live In America (1974)*****
Dumptruck – For The Country (1987)*****
Dharma Bums – Haywire (1988)*****
The Cure – The Top (1984)
The Cure – The Head On The Door (1985)
Suzanne Vega – s/t (1985)*****
Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)
Bob Dylan – Blood On The Tracks (1975)*****
Bob Dylan – New Morning (1970)*****
Victoria Williams – Loose (1994)*****
Pieta Brown – Remember The Sun (2007)
Pieta Brown – Freeway (2014)
Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend (1991)*****
The Beatles – Revolver (1966)*****
The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour (1967)*****
Doug Sahm & His Band – s/t (1973)*****
Kathy Dalton – Boogie Bands & One Night Stands (1974)
The Dils – Class War (1977-80)
The Zeros – Don’t Push Me Around (1976-80)
The Dils – Dils Dils Dils (1977-80)
The Nuns – The Nuns (1980)
Bang – Death of a Country (1971)
Jim Ford – Harlan County (1969)
The Jimmy Cake – Dublin Gone Everyone Dead (2015)
Lynched – Cold Old Fire (2015)
Kollektiv – S/t (1973)
Tetragon – Nature (1971)
Chris Foster – Layers (1977)
Boys of The Lough – Good Friends Good Music (1977)
Irene Schweizer Trio – Jazz Meets India (1967)*****
Daisy Rickman – Donsya A’n Loryow (2022)
Randy Burns – The Exit & Gaslight Years (1965-69)
Eliza Skelton – The Lookerer (2023)*****
Kath Bloom – Finally (1987-99)*****
Kris Drever – Black Water (2006)*****
REM – Fables of The Reconstruction (1985)*****
John Coltrane & Alice Coltrane – Cosmic Music (1966-68)*****
Alice Coltrane – A Monastic Trio (1968)*****
Black Uhuru – Sinsemilla (1980)*****
Dragoon – The Offending Party (2010)
The Cure – Bloodflowers (2000)
King Tubby – Meets Rockers Uptown (1976)*****
Fugazi – Fugazi (1988)*****
Llama Farmers – Dead Letter Chorus (1999)
‘O’ Level – A Day In The Life Of Gilbert & George (1977-80)
TV Personalities – And Don’t The Kids Just Love It (1981)*****
X-ray Spex – Germ Free Adolescents (1978)*****
RL Burnside – First Recordings (1968)*****
Rick Roberts – Windmills (1972)
The Desert Rose Band – s/t (1987)
Sonny Stitt & Red Holloway – Live! Legends of The Saxophone (1976)****
Lou Donaldson – Blues Walk (1958)
Drugstore – S/t (1995)
Bob Dylan – My Rough & Rowdy Ways (2020)
Van Der Graaf Generator – The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other (1970)*****
Cubby + Blizzards – Desolation (1966)
The Byrds – Farther Along (1971) *****
The Byrds – Byrdmaniax (1970)
Cubby + Blizzards - Groeten Uit Grollo (1967)
Skip James – Greatest Of The Delta Blues Singers (1964) *****
Skip James – She Lyin’ (1964)
June Tabor & Martin Simpson – A Cut Above (1980)
Martin Hayes & Dennis Cahill – Live In Seattle (1999)*****
Billy Childish & The Chatham Singers – Heaven’s Journey (2005)
Billy Childish & The Chatham Singers – An Image Of You (2008)
J-Jazz Deep Modern Jazz From Japan Vol 1 (1969-84)
Charles Cauldwell – Remember Me (2004)
The Primevals – Disinhibitor (2011)
Delivery – Fool’s Meeting (1968)
The Vapors – New Clear Days (1980)
Tracey Thorn – A Distant Shore (1982)
Warm Dust – And It Came To Pass (1970)
Dry Ice – s/t (1969)
Gin Blossoms – New Miserable Experience (1992)*****
John Parker Compton – Live At Turk’s Head (1968)*****
Wolf People – Fain (2013)*****
The Cure – Three Imaginary Boys (1979)*****
Bjork – Homogenic (1997)
Nico – Venue Edinburgh (1987)
Nico – Do Or Die In Europe (1982)*****
Joe Henderson – The Inner Urge (1966)*****
The Hi-Alerts – Conjure Time (2015)
The Primevals – So Extra EP (2018)
Wall of Voodoo – Call Of The West (1982)*****
V/A – Swedish Meatballs Hard Rock Psyche Underground (1971-7)
Robert Pollard & Doug Gillard – Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department (1999)*****
Keene Brothers – Blues & Boogie Shoes (2006)*****
Jimmy Webb – Land’s End (1974)
Jimmy Webb – And So On (1971)
Jimmy Webb – Letters (1972)
The Undisputed Truth – s/t (1971)*****
The Undisputed Truth – Face To Face With The Truth (1972)
Frankie Armstrong – Lovely On The Water (1972)*****
Frankie Armstrong – Songs & Ballads (1974)
Jan Garbarek & Hilliard Ensemble – Officium (1994)*****
Jan Garbarek & Hilliard Ensemble – Officium Novum (2010)
V/A – Rough Guide To Delta Blues Vol 1
Byard Lancaster – It’s Not Up To Us (1968)
Sunny Murray – An Even Break (1968)
Brigitte Fontaine – Comme La Radio (1972)*****
Eric Andersen – Today Is The Highway (1965)
Tim Hardin – Suite For Susan Moore & Damion (1969)
Tim Hardin – Bird On A Wire (1971)
Tim Hardin – Painted Head (1973)
The Fall – The Light User Syndrome (1996)*****
Gene Clark with The Gosdin Brothers – s/t (1967)*****
The Octopus Project – Sharp Teeth (2013)
The Octopus Project – Fever Forms (2013)
Mississippi Fred McDowell – I Do Not Play No Rock’n’Roll (1969)*****
The Chameleons – Script of The Bridge (1983)*****
Cactus World News – Urban Beaches (1986)
Steeleye Span -  Ten Man Mop (1971)
The Bothy Band – Old Hag You Have Killed Me (1976)
June Tabor – Aqaba (1988)*****
June Tabor & Maddy Prior – No More To The Dance (1988)
Autohaze – Mild Steel Flat (1992)*****
Guru Guru – UFO (1970)*****
Guru Guru – Live In Essen (1970)*****
Guru Guru – Hinten (1971)*****
Ash Ra Tempel – s/t (1971)
Ash Ra Tempel – Schwingungen (1972)
Paul Butterfield Blues Band – s/t (1965)
The Blues Project – Projections (1966)
Ronnie Hawkins – s/t (1959)
Ronnie Hawkins – Mr Dynamo (1960)
Ronnie Hawkins – Folk Ballads (1960)
Ronnie Hawkins – Sings The Songs Of Hank Williams (1960)
Steeleye Span – Below The Salt (1972)
Quickspace – Superplus (1995)*****
Manassas – Pieces (1972-3)
Annie Ross – You And Me Baby (1971)*****
Lankum – The Livelong Day (2019)*****
Bob Dylan – Brandeis University (1963)*****
Paul Butterfield Blues Band – East West (1966)*****
The Damned – Damned Damned Damned (1977)*****
Richard Harris – A Tramp Shining (1968)
Richard Harris – The Yard Went On For Ever (1968)
Glen Campbell – Meet Glen Campbell (2008)
The Groundhogs – Split (1971)*****
The Groundhogs – Thank Christ For The Bomb (1970)*****
Echo & The Bunnymen – Crocodiles (1980)*****
David Westlake – My Beautiful England (2022)
The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughters – Smashed Full Of Wonder (1987)
The Sea Urchins – Stardust (1987-91)*****
Howe Gelb & Lonna Kelly – Further Standards (2017)*****
Maki Asakawa – Live (1971)
The Fall – Slates (1981)*****
Giant Sand – Valley of Rain (1985)*****
The Monkees – s/t (1966)*****

HISTORIC SITES/WALKS

St Giles’ Church, Wrexham
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
Leicester Cathedral & Tomb of Richard III
Knaresborough Riverside Walk
Nine Stones Close, Derbyshire *****
Arbor Low Henge, Derbyshire
Gib Hill Barrow, Derbyshire
Brand End Standing Stones, Derbyshire *****
Wappenbury Village Hillfort, Warwickshire
Stanton Drew Stone Circle, Somerset
The Tristan Stone, Fowey
Holy Trinity Well, Rackenford, Devon
Chastleton House, Oxfordshire *****
Godstow Abbey, Oxford
The Grapes Pub, Sheffield
Mary Watts’ Watts Chapel, Guildford *****
Waggoners Wells Wishing Well, Hampshire
Ingatestone, village of concealed sarsens, Essex
Danbury Christian-ised Hillfort, Essex
Norwich Anglican Cathedral
Oakehampton Castle, Dartmoor *****
Devil’s Humps, Stoughton *****
Bury St Edmunds Cathedral
Mettingham Castle, Beccles, Norfolk
Walberswick Marshes Bird Walk (Marsh Harrier, Bittern, Buzzard, Cetti’s warbler)*****
Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury
Swanage coast path walk, Dorset *****
St Aldhelm’s chapel, St Aldhelm’s Head
Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain *****
Hotel la Louisiane, Paris *****
Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris – Beckett, Tzara, Gainsbourgh, Sartre, De Beavoir
La Coupoule café, Paris
Sainte Chapelle, Paris *****
Café de Flour, Paris
Saint Germain L’auxerrois, Paris
Port Sunlight, Wirral
St Winnifride’s Holy Well, Flintshire
Mitchell’s Fold Stone Circle, Shropshire *****
Shelagh-Na-Gig, St Laurence’s Church, Church Stretton, Shropshire
Skirrid, Hillfort & St Michael’s Chapel (ruins), Black Mountains
Llanthony Priory, Black Mountains *****
St Issui’s Church, Patrishow, Black Mountians *****
St Ishow’s Holy Well, Patrishow, Black Mountains *****
Tintern Abbey, Forest of Dean
The Devil’s Pulpit, Forest of Dean
The Virtuous Well, Monmouthshire *****
The Rollright Stones, Oxfordshire *****
Jeremy Bentham Mummified Corpse Walk, London
Saville Row Apple Beatles gig site
Mason’s Yard, London – ‘60s site of Scotch of St James, Indica, Gered Manowitz Studio & White Cube
Dartington Hall & gardens, Totness
Cantrell stone rows, Dartmoor
Fenton House, Hampstead
Caerwent Roman village and temple, S Wales
Caldicot castle, S Wales
Sudbrook Hill Fort, S Wales *****
Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff
Hereford Cathedral, Mappa Mundi & Magna Carta
St Mary The Virgin, Capel-y-ffin
Hay Bluff walk
Sugar Loaf, Brecon Beacons
All Saints’, Newland, Forest of Dean (newly restored)*****
St Mary The Virgin & grave of St John Kemble, Welsh Newton
Church of St Peter, Great Livermere, Suffolk
Church of The Holy Innocents, Great Barton, Suffolk
Ickworth House, Suffolk
St Edmund’s Cross, Hoxne
St Mary & All Saints’ Sculthorpe, Norfolk
A Warning To The Curious location, Wells Next The Sea
A Warning To The Curious location, Holkham Beach
Holkham Park Walled Garden, Norfolk
River Titchwell seal colony, Norfolk *****
Blickling House and Estate, Norfolk
Castle Acre Castle, Norfolk
Castle Acre Priory, Norfolk *****
Crickhowell Castle, Crickhowell
St Edmund’s church, Crickhowell
St Wystan’s Church & Crypt, Repton
Painswick Beacon, Gloucs
Blackfriars Priory, Gloucester
St John’s Hackney, London
The Hawk Stone, Oxfordshire
Maen Llia stone, Brecon Beacons
Maen Madoc stone, Brecon Beacons
Creake Abbey, Norfolk
Walsingham Abbey, Norfolk
Walsingham Shrine of Virgin Mary, Norfolk
Warham Camp hillfort, Norfolk*****

MUSEUMS

Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
Battle – The Art Of British War Comics, Oxfordshire Museum
Musee de Cluny, Paris
Grant Zoology museum, London *****

RECOMMENDED BOOKSHOPS

Foyles, Charing Cross Rd, London
Oxfam Canterbury ***** (always excellently curated)
Oxfam books, Harrogate
Oxfam books, Coventry ***** (superb SF & comics)
Oxfam books, Oxford
The Last Bookshop, Oxford
Oxfam books, Chelmsford *****
Oxfam books, Exeter *****
Shakespeare & Company, Paris *****
Word on the Water, Granary Sq, King’s Cross, London *****
The Poetry Bookshop, Hay On Wye
Brazen Head Bookshop, Burnham Market, Norfolk

RECOMMENDED RECORD SHOPS

Probe, Liverpool’s psychedelic survivor
Room 33, Bodmin, Cornwall – Tha Muthalode!
Harbour Records, Emsworth, Hampshire
Backbeat, Edinburgh – The Legend! *****

ART

Fantasy : Realms of Imagination – British Library
Gwen John – Holbourne Museum, Bath
St Giles Church, Wrexham - Burne-Jones windows, doom painting
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral – Elizabeth Frink, Ceri Richards, John Piper

Walker Gallery, Liverpool*****; Alexis Harding – Slump; Dan Hays – Harmony In Green; John Hoyland – Broken Bride; Barbara Hepworth – 2 Spheres In Orbit; David Hockney – Peter Getting Out of Nick’s Pool; Lucien Freud – Interior At Paddington; Albert Richards – Sappers Erecting Pickets In The Snow, The Seven Legends; Ceri Richards – Mother & Child; LS Lowry – The Fever Van; Paul Nash – Telecommunications; Duncan Grant – Farm In Sussex; Laura Knight – Spring In St John’s Wood; Bernard Fleetwood-Walker – Amity; Walter Sickert – Summer Lighting, Bathers Dieppe; Elizabeth Forbes – Blackberry Gathering; John Singer Sergeant – Vespers; Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale – The Little Foot Page; Osman Hamdi – The Young Emir Studying; GF Watts – Love & Life, Love & Death, Katie, Hope, Eve Tempted, Eve Repentant ; John William Waterhouse – Echo & Narcissus; Ralph Peacock – William Holman Hunt; Thomas Cooper Gotch – A Pageant of Childhood; Edward Austin Abbey – O Mistress Mine Where Are You Roaming?; John Byam Liston Shaw – Love’s Baubles; Edouard Vuillard – Madame Hessel au Sofa; John Roddam Spencer – Expulsion From Eden; George Clausen – Kitty; William Shakespeare Burton – Auto-da-fe; Evelyn De Morgan – Life And Thought Emerging From The Tomb; Charles March Gere – The Finding Of The Infant St George; Frederic Leighton – Perseus And Andromeda, Elijah In The Wilderness; Maurice Greiffenhagen – An Idyll; Robert Fowler – Ariel; Albert Joseph Moore – A Summer Night; Louis Edouard Fornier – Funeral of Shelley; Philip Hermogenes Calderon – Ruth & Naomi; Stanhope Forbes – To The Fishing Ground, A Street In Britanny; George Clausen – The Shepherdess; Henry Holiday – Dante & Beatrice; Frederick George Cotman – One Of The Family; William Frederick Yeames – And When Did You Last See Your Father?; James Tissot – Catherine Smith Gill & Two Of Her Children; William Holman Hunt – Triumph Of The Innocents; John Atkinson Grimshaw – The Custom House Liverpool Looking South; Briton Riviere – Daniel In The Lion’s Den; Arthur Hughes – As You Like It; Gustave Dore – Flower Sellers; Sophie Anderson – Elaine; Dante Gabriel Rossetti – Dante’s Dream; Edward Burne-Jones – Study For The Sleeping Knights; John Ingle Lee – Sweethearts & Wives, Going To Market; Daniel Maclise – Death of Nelson; John Brett – The Stonebreaker; Ary Sheffer – The Temptation of Christ; James Campbell – The Dragon’s Den; William Davis – The Courtyard At Speke Hall; Paul Delaroche – Napoleon Crossing The Alps; John Martin – The Last Man; Richard Andsell – Dead Pheasants; Samuel Drummond – Death of Nelson; Giacamo De Maria – Death of Virginia; George Stubbs – Lincolnshire Ox,  Gnawpost And Two Other Colts, Horse Frightened By A Lion, Molly Long Legs; Joseph Wright of Derby – The Annual Girandola, The Old Man & Death; Giovani Paolo Panini – Ruins Of Rome

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral – Tracey Emin, Elizabeth Frink, Giles Gilbert Scott

Leeds Art Gallery *****; Edward Armitage – The Siren, Retribution, Return of Ulysses; Francis Bacon – Painting 1950; Lady Elizabeth Butler - Scotland For Ever; Thomas Cooper – Landscape With Sheep & Goats; Alan Davie - In The Face Of The Witch; Ronald Dunlop – Melissa; Jacob Epstein – Modernity; Terry Frost - High Yellow; Anthony Gormley – Brick Man; John Atkinson Grimshaw - Reflections on The Thames at Westminster, Leeds Bridge, Sunday Night Leeds, Iris; Arthur Hacker - Temptation of Sir Percival; Edward Matthew Hale – Mermaids’ Rock, The Drums of The Fore & Aft; Oliver Hall – Interior Of A Wood; Benjamin Haydon – Mary Queen of Scotts When An Infant; Barbara Hepworth – Single Form; Frank Holl – I Am The Resurrection; William Holman Hunt - Shadow of Death; Albert Kindley – Burnham Beeches; Haynes King – An Interesting Paragraph; Leon Kossoff – Fidelma No 1; Jacob Kramer – Rites of Spring; Edmund Blair Leighton – Lady Godiva; Frederic Leighton – Return of Persephone; Daniel Maclise – Noah’s Sacrifice; John Millais - Old Age, Music, Infancy & Manhood; Paul Nash – Circle of The Monoliths, Only Egg; Adelsteen Normann - The Sognefjord; George Bernard O’Neill – Public Opinion, Last Hours of Mozart; Victor Passmore – Girl With A Handbag; John Pettie – Fixing The Site Of An Early Christian Altar; Fiona Rae – Present Party For You; Stanley Spencer - The Sisters, Family Group; William Stott- A Snowstorm; James Tissot – The Bridesmaid; John Tunnard – Davy Jones’ Locker, Painting, Port & Starboard, Red & Black Balance, Yellow Balance; Edward Alexander Wadsworth – Slump, Marseille; Frances S Walker – The Convent Garden; James Whistler – Harmony In White & Blue; JB Yeats – Off The Irish Coast.

Pauline Boty – Gazelli Art House, London
Don Van Vliet – Michael Werner Gallery, London *****
Douglas Gordon – Gagosian, London
Spencer, Lowry, Hockney, Ceri Richards - St Edmund Hall SCR, Oxford
Patrice Moore – St John’s College, Oxford
A Bridget Riley – Wolfson College, Oxford
Matthew Conduit, Land – Sheffield Graves Gallery
Sheffield Graves Gallery – Bridget Riley, Adrian Heath, JMW Turner, Mary Adshead, John Bratby, Frank Brangwyn, Prunella Clough, Roger Fry, Nahem Shoa, John Hoyland and more.
Terry Frost, Flowers Gallery, Cork St, London
Elizabeth Frink – St Edmund, Bury St Edmunds

The Universe of William Blake (Including John Linnell, John Flaxman, Samuel Palmer, John Henry Fuseli, George Richmond, Catherine Blake, Caspar David Friedrich, Philip Oto Runge, Joseph Wright,  – Cambridge Fitzwilliam *****

Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Alan Beeton – Posing; Vanessa Bell – Portrait of Mrs M; William Blake – An Allegory Of The Spiritusl Conditio Of Man; Ford Maddox Brown – Cordelia’s Portion, The Last Of England; Paul Cezanne – Landscape, Undergrowth; Edgar Degas – At The Café; Alfred Elmore – On The Brink; Harold Gilman – Nude On A Bed;Spencer Gore – The Green Dress; Augustus Edwin John – Dorelia Wearing A Turban; Gwen John – The Convalescent; Stanislawa de Kalowska – Lock On The Canal;  Frederik Leighton – Clytie; John Linnell – William Blake Wearing A Hat; Henri Matisse – Woman Seated In An Armchair; John Everett Millais – The Twins, Mrs Coventry Patmore, The Bridesmaid; Armedeo Modigliani - Portrait Of A Young Woman Seate; Claude Monet – Poplars, Rocks At Port Coton; Charles Fairfax Murray – The Flaming Heart; Paul Nash – November Moon; William Nicholson – Augustus Edwin John, The Girl With The Tattered Glove; Glyn Warren Phillpot – Siegfried Sassoon, The Dog Rose; Camille Pissaro – In The Garden At Pontoise; Pierre-Auguste Renoir – Place Clichy; Dante Gabriel Rosetti – Girl At A Lattice; Walter Sickert – The Glance; Stanley Spencer – Landscape In North Wales, Self Portrait With Patricia Preece; George Stubbs – Gimcrack; Marie Louise Von-Motesicksy – At The Dressmakers, Mother In Bed.

The Lady & The Unicorn – Musee de Cluny, Paris *****

Monet’s Water Lilies – Musee d’Orangerie, Paris *****

Anthony Gormley – Another Place, Crosby Beach *****

Doom painting, St Issu’s church, Patrisow

Lady Lever Gallery, Port Sunglight – Lawrence Alma-Tadema – Favorite Poet; Frank Brangwyn – The Shipbuilders; Gerald Brockhurst – Jeunesse Doree; Ford Maddox Brown – Cromwell on his Farm; Edward Burne-Jones – The Tree of Forgiveness, The Annunciation, The Beguiling of Merlin, Azarias, Ananias; Herbert Draper – The Kelpie; William Etty – The Three Graces, Hesperus, Autora & Zephyr, Bather Left, Bather Right, Andromeda, Prometheus, The Judgement of Paris; Joseph Farquharson – The Shortening Day; Elizabeth Forbes – Blackberry Gathering; Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale – The Forerunner; Edward John Gregory – Boulter’s Lock; Hubert von Herkomer – The Last Muster; William Holman Hunt – May Morning On Magdalen Tower, The Scapegoat; Louise Jopling – Blue & White; Laura Knight – Ballet; Frederic Leighton – Clytie, Fatidica, Psamathe, Daphnephoria, The Garden of Hespidres; George Lesley – Midsummer Morning; John Linnell – Woodcutters, At The Cottage Gate, Woodcutters In A Forest, Woodcutters’ Respast; John Everett Millais – An Idyll of 1745, The Black Brunswicker, Cymon & Iphigenia, A Dream Of The Past; Frederic Morgan – His Turn Next; Alfred Munnings – The Fresian Bull; Dante Rosetti – The Blessed Damozel, Sybilla Palmifera; John Singer Sargeant – On His Holiday; Sydney Vosper – Salem; JMW Turner 0 The Falls Of The Clyde; John William Waterhouse – The Enchanted Garden; G F Watts – She Shall Be Created Woman.

The Last Caravaggio - National Gallery *****

National Gallery Permanent Collection; George Bellows – Men Of The Docks; Paul Cezanne – The Grounds of the Chateau Noir; John Constable – Cenotaph In Memory of Joshua Reynolds, The Cornfield; Honore Daumier – Don Quixote & Sancho Panza; Edgar Degas – Combing The Hair, Ballet Dancers, Eleanor Carafa, Young Spartans; Paul Delaroche – The Execution of Lady Jane Grey; Thomas Gainsborough – The Market Cart, The Watering Place; Lake Keitella – Akseli Gallen-Kallela; Edouard Manet – The Execution of Maximillian, Music In The Tuilleries; Henri Matisse – Portrait of Greta Moll; Claude Monet – Water Lillies, Water Lillies Setting Sun, Beach At Trouvet, Thames Below Westminster;  Pablo Picasso – Fruit dish, bottle & violin; Camille Pissarro – The Cotes des Boeufs;  Pierre Auguste Renoir – The Skiff; Henri Rousseau – Surprised!; Georges Seurat – Bathers At Asnieres, Study for Bathers, The Rainbow, The Morning Walk;  George Stubbs – Sir Peniston & Lady Lamb, Whistlejacket; JMW Turner – Rain Sea And Speed; Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus, The Evening Star, Dido Building Carthage, Sun Rising Through Vapour;  Vincent Van Gogh – A Wheatfield With Cypresses, Van Gogh’s Chair, Sunflowers; Julius Schnorr Von Carolsfield – Ruth In Boaz’ Field; Joseph Wright of Derby – Experiment On A Bird;

Flaming June – Frederick Leighton (Royal Academy)

Ithell Colquhoin – Elemental (Ben Hunter Gallery, London)*****

Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff; Dante Gabriel Rosetti – Nativity Triptych; Edward Burne-Jones - Altar ceramics; Jacob Epstein – Christ In Majesty; The Bishop Marshall Panel.

National Gallery of Wales; Merlyn Evans - Beechwood By Moonlight; Harold Gilman - The Kitchen; Augustus John - loadsastuff incl Dylan Thomas; Gwen Johns - loadsa stuff; David Jones - Portrait of a Maker, Crucifixion, St Francis, Jeus Mocked, Landscape in kent, Elephant, Siphon & Salver; RB Kitaj - TeDeum; LS Lowry - Six Bells; Monet - Waterlillies, Rouen; John Nash - Plage; John Piper; Ceri Richards; Stanley Spencer - Switzerland; Kyffin Williams; Christopher Wood - Rug Seller.

All Saints’, Newland, Forest of Dean – Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale’s rederos *****

Church of The Holy Innocents, Great Barton, Suffolk -Edward Byrne-Jones’ stained glass

Ickworth House, Suffolk – John Flaxman’s Fury of Athamas

Norwich Castle Museum; lots of John Cotman;  lots of Thomas Lound; Alfred Munnings – Gypsy Horses Grazing and many more; Emma Sandys – Lady In A Yellow Dress; Frederick Sandys; lots of Joseph Stannard; lots of John Thirtle. A great overview tying in Turner w a particular school of East Anglian visionary landscape painting.

St Mary & All Saints’, Sculthorpe, Norfolk – Edward Burne-Jones stained glass

Blickling Hall, Norfolk. Herbet Gunn – Phillip Kerr; Hans Holbein Younger – Henry VIII; Valentine Prinsep - Lisa.

Houghton Hall, Norfolk – Anthony Gormley’s Time Horizon

Houghton Hall, Norfolk, Permanent Collection. Ryan Gander – More Really Shiny Things; Richard Long – White Deer Circle, Houghton Cross, Full Moon Circle, A Line In Norfolk; James Turrell – Houghton Hut; Rachel Whiteread – Hut. *****

ARTWORKS I DIDN’T SEE THIS YEAR AS THEY HAD BEEN WITHDRAWN FROM DISPLAY IN THE GALLERIES I VISITED, OR BECAUSE THEY WERE CLOSED, PERMANENTLY OR TEMPORARILLY.

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery is closed indefinitely (permanently?) due to a wood problem, so I didn’t see Duncan Grant - Farm Buildings (1951); Kiffyn Williams - Pony on LLanddwyn Island; and their lovely Charles Keeping lithograph. Again. Can something be done?

MY FOOD JOURNEY (highlights - this isn’t everything I ate in 2024)

My Corbyn Coddled Eggs
My Year End Vegetable Wellington
Bungay Lemon Chicken
My Stoke Newington Sage Eggs
My Joseph Conrad Bacon Sprouts
My Ermine Street Chorizo Scallops
My Mr Kurtz Vegetable Curry
Cork & Bottle crispy pork
My Shepherd’s Pie Pour Dawson, with Chestnut Chili Sprouts
Gloucester (Westmorland) Services’ chicken shawarma
Duck confit, Wreck Bistro, Liverpool
18yr old Highland Park & Guinness, The Dakota Hotel bar, Leeds
Lamb curry, Kayal, Leicester *****
Lamb madras, Calcutta Club, Nottingham
Lamb chili curry, MemSaab, Nottingham
My Easter Chicken Solitaire
My Timoleon Vieta Vegan Curry
Gray Pays & Bacon, Great Western, Wolverhampton *****
Emsworth Sibling Quinoa
Hare & Hounds, Stoughton, Sunday Lunch
Au Bougnat, Paris, Sausage & Mash
Café de Flore, Paris, boiled egg
My Alchemyst’s Sunday Vegetable Wellington
Naga chili lamb curry, Café la Raj, Chipping Norton
My Baked crusted haddock a la migraine
My Sasquatch Sunset Mushroom Pie
My Crispy Chorizo Stir Fry de Hogan
International Welsh Rabbit Centre, Defynnog, Brecon
Kedgeree, Bircham Stores, Norfolk
My Christmas Day Gray Pays
My Christmas Mushroom Wellington
Ben’s wet onions
Grandad’s steamed Irish gammon
Smoked Canadian friend’s relative’s lake salmon

IN OUR LAMENTATIONS 2024

Tony Oxley (Sheffield’s Sunny Murray, 1938)
John M Burns (His modesty blazed, 1939)
John Pilger (News terrier, 1939)
David Soul (The covered man, an inspiration 1943)
Annie Nightingale (Gateway drug, 1940)
Pitchfork (Signal to noise, 1996)
Mary Weiss (She led the pack, 1948)
Chris Karrer (Archangel’s Thunderbirdman, 1947)
Iasos (Greek space muso, 1947)
Phil Niblock (NY art noise, 1933)
Pluto Shervington (Ram Goat Liver Eater, 1950)
Tisa Farrow (Zombies ripped her flesh, 1951)
Norman Jewison (Rollerball Superstar, 1926)
Neil Kulkarni (Era-enhancing music critic, 1972)
Wayne Kramer (He kicked out the jams motherfucker, 1945)
Steve Brown (He left Avalon and taught the world to sing, 1954)
Christopher Priest (Dorset future-ist, 1943)
Aston "Family Man" Barrett (dub bass headcase, 1946)
Ian Lavender (Don’t tell him, Pike, 1946)
Damon Suzuki (Krautrock witness cuddled me & Noel Fielding, 1950)
John Rotheroe (Shire Book Seer, 1935)
Steve Wright (massive old-skool pro made it look easy, 1954)
Alan Tomlinson (Jazz trombonist, dry northern wit, beatnik, 1947)
Ewen Mackintosh (Office secondary superstar, 1973)
Jenni Nuttall (Chaucerian)
Richard Lewis (Worthwhile American comedian, 1947)
Nick Dimbleby (Sculptor of note, scholar, gentleman, comedy fan, 1946)
Edward Bond (Whitehouse-infuriator, 1934)
Karl Wallinger (Waterboys’ prime period pianist, 1957)
Eric Carmen (Raspberry sensation, 1949)
Wally Shoup (Hard-blowin’ hero, 1944)
The Wye Salmon (pollution-fucked fish)
Paul Brett (Crazy World guitarist, 1947)
Shane Baldwin (Vice Squad drummer and punk scribe, 1963)
John Sinclair (Beatnik, 1941)
Carl Andre (None more brick, 1935)
Graeme Naysmith (Pale Saint)
Marian Zazeela (Eternal Musician, 1940)
Shelley Ganz (Unclaimed but claimed, at last, 1959)
Steve Albini (Big blackhead, 1962)
Dennis Thompson (He also kicked out the jams motherfucker, 1948)
Gary Floyd (Double happy dick punk, 1953)
Roger Corman (King of the Bees, 1926)
Doug Ingle (The Iron Butterfly, 1945)
Gerry Conway (Folk drummer for hire and tool of anti-CND propaganda, 1947)
Nicholas Ball (His house bled to death, 1946)
Larry Page (Wild thingy, 1936)
Francois Hardy (Chanteuse genieuse, 1944)
Arthur Gaps Hendrickson (Selectaman under pressure, 1951)
James Chance (He contorted himself, 1953)
Donald Sutherland (Kilroy was here, 1935)
Dexter Romwebber (Guitar jet, 1966)
Clarence Frogman Henry (Anthropomorphic blues amphibian, 1937)
Randy Fuller (He fought the law also, 1944)
Lucy Rimmer (She fell briefly on a birthday)
Callum The Highland Red Deer (Killed by twat tourists)
Mark Found (Sound recordist and model railway specialist)
Shelly Duvall (She shone, 1949)
Wendy Ritson (Centipede violinist, 1934)
Jean Williams (Complex Feminine bassist, 1951)
Bob Newhart (I ripped him off, 1929)
Toumani Diabate (Mali kora master, 1965)
Jerry Miller (He was purple and lived under the sea, 1943)
John Mayall (Bluesbreaker broken at last, 1933)
Irene Schweizer (German jazznius, 1941)
Jack Karlson (Succulent Chinese meal, 1942)
Catherine Ribeiro (Oh! My heart is broken! An angel! A true star!1941)
Anthony O’Neill (Brú naBóinnearchitect)
Pete Bailey (Josefus/Stone Axe vox)
Brian Trueman (Dangermouseman, 1932)
Rebecca Horn (Concerto anarchist, 1944)
James Earl Jones (He made shit sparkle, 1931)
Dean Roberts (Thela-maturgist, 1975)
Brother Marquis (He had 99 problems and a bitch weren’t one, 1966)
Zoot Money (Ran madly towards Tim Kirkby’s dad’s beach hut, 1942)
Herbie Flowers (He walked on the wild side, 1938)
Pat Collier (He vibrated,1952)
Steve Kille (Dead Dead Meadow Man)
Gavin Webb (Master’s Apprentice,1947)
Alan Delon (Man In A Girl On A Motorcycle, 1935)
Maggie Smith (The grande dame!, 1934)
Kris Kristofferson (The Border Lord, 1936)
Tim Darvill (Cotswold archaeologist, 1958)
Irwin the Malmesbury Emu (He loved cold showers and cuddles)
Glen Hutchinson (Cambridge performance poet)
75% of all animal life on earth since 1974 (1974)
Phil Lesh (Bassful Dead, 1940)
Ron Ely (Ooo-e-o-e-o-e-o-e-oooo!, 1938)
Nick Gravenites (Buttered quicksilver, 1938)
Janey Godley (Street level satirist, 1961)
Lou Donaldson (Hornblower, 1926)
American democracy!!! (1965)
Frank Auerbach (Auerbout a painting of Camden please Frank, 1931)
Tim West (He ate royal jelly and turned into a human-bee, 1934)
Roy Haynes (Snap Crackle Bop! 1925)
Pete Sinfield (Crimson King Courtier, 1943)
Johnny Duhan (Granny’s Intention, 1950)
Richard Andrew (Black Cab Underground Lover)
John Prescott (Mr Punch, 1938)
Jim Abrahams (Rapid fire comedy genius, 1944)
Andy Leek (Original midnight runner, 1958)
Slim Dunlap (Replacement Replacement, 1951)
Jimmy Carter (Peanutocrat peacemaker, 1924)

Interviewed by Sean Keaveny on BBC 6Music.

The C86 Show is weekly show inspired by an NME cassette of the same name. We feature new, exciting, in-depth interviews with bands and artists of the time. Check out our other arts and culture content too!

• The Nightingales - with Stewart Lee & Michael Cumming in conversation - discussing King Rocker A film about Robert Lloyd & The Nightingales

PREMIERES: SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6TH ON SKY ARTS (9pm)

Sofie talks to Stewart Lee about 30 years of stand-up comedy, being a parent, reckless behavior, the character of Stewart Lee, having a different childhood to the one people imagine, clown theory, obscure 70’s musicians, not being recognised and being described as the greatest living comedian.

Stewart Lee has been walking a fine line for 35 years. One of the stalwarts of the alternative comedy scene, he cut his teeth writing early material for Steve Coogan’s world-class Alan Partridge, creating a long radio and TV run with Richard Herring (A Bit of Lee and Herring), deconstructing his own material to the nth degree (with Chris Morris) in Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle, and co-writing Jerry Springer: The Opera. A career in stand up has run through all this, including classic shows such as Carpet Remnant World and 41st Best Stand Up Ever. Lee is also one of the longest-running consistent performers at the Edinburgh Festival.

Content Provider continues his run of very successful one-man national shows. The Dome looked sold out on the Thursday night of his four-night residency, and he started with a typical brief for a Lee gig: the exploration of ‘atomised man in the era of digital consumerism’ with reference to Caspar David Friedrich’s painting ‘Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog’. Here I refer to the ‘fine line’ above: how to extract the Michael out of his own intelligence, material and audience with a mixture of vitriol and irony. Luckily, it’s something he excels at.

He manages to derail very quickly into Brexit and the American presidential vote (and I’m not sure he didn’t have a plant in the audience for this), which certainly can be construed as vehicles for alternative comedy material, and fair game for the leftist multitudes who are Lee’s bread and butter punters. Classic Lee material follows, with forays into self-congratulation, his attitude toward post-Brexit fallout and a great routine on ‘the metropolitan liberal elite’.

What seemed to be missing from this show is the 20-odd minute set pieces that Lee seems to pull off so well: maybe he just wants a change, and maybe it’s just us, but we did miss the huge trademark forays into such subjects as the state of the jungle canyon rope bridges in Scooby-Doo, pear cider that’s made from hundred per cent pears, or scathing deconstructions of Top Gear. This was much more fragmented material, and for our tastes not quite as strong as the some of the previous shows.

Still, there was plenty to get your teeth into, including an ironic take on old school bondage (“if your nan and grandad wanted to use a bridle, they had to make one out of vines”), and selling his own DVDs in the lobby after the show, via his usual swipes at the Michael McIntyres and Lee Macks of this world. He definitely makes a semi-serious point about the inherent narcissism and commodification of beauty, art and lifestyle, and rounds it off with a cracking sight gag based on the Friedrich painting.

Although this might not have been one of his classic shows, Lee’s a trooper, and we hope he continues to tread the boards in his own inimitable way.

Stewart Lee, Brighton Dome, Thursday 23rd February 2017
Words by Sam Moffett
Photo by Idil Sukan

Ah! The turning of the seasons! Once it was always early summer, as swifts swooped from gables, when the private limited company Restore Trust would announce the “anti-woke” candidates it hoped to parachute on to the National Trust board. As the elephant hawk-moths emerged in the simmer dim, Restore Trust would unveil would-be guardians of our heritage such as the evangelical Christian Stephen Green, who has supported the death penalty for some homosexuals in Uganda, and the pliable biographer Andrew Gimpson, who is even worse, having described Boris Johnson as “a statesman of astonishing political gifts… impelled by a deep love of his country and a determination to serve it to the uttermost of his powers”. I wouldn’t trust Gimpson with a single Jammie Dodger, let alone our national scones. Either way, Restore Trust’s declaration of war on the woke National Trust has become an annual event as comforting, in its own way, as the once reliable blooming of the daffodils. But suddenly, like that yellow splash of colour, it seems to happen earlier every year.

Nostalgia is an illness. But it always seemed important to my mother that the daffodils were out by my birthday in the first week of April. Perhaps, because my earliest birthdays were skewed by the uncertainties of orphanages and foster homes, it mattered to her that something as permanent as the daffodils, and by association the apparently endless cycle of seasons, should mark the anniversary of my arrival on your Earth. I still think of all daffodils as mine, and resent Wales’s cultural appropriation of my flower. Especially when it already has the leek, Dafydd ap Gwilym, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and Pot Noodle’s “too gorgeous” Peter Baynham.

But this year, the daffodils are already emerging. And so is Restore Trust. But its annual cycles should not be affected by climate. The supposed grassroots pressure group is in fact a 55 Tufton Street-affiliated outfit, hiding in plain sight like the Jimmy Savile of scones and aiming to discredit the current National Trust board. Its former director Neil Record is a chief donor to 55 Tufton Street’s Global Warming Policy Foundation, part funded by a charity commemorating an American oil heiress, and which opposes many net zero environmental policies. It’s a small world. But I wouldn’t want to cool it.

Restore Trust places easily discredited news stories in the Daily Telegraph and the Times, and uses opaquely funded social media campaigns to try to strong-arm its preferred candidates on to the National Trust board. Mysteriously, company records show its funding has almost doubled in the accounts it filed this month. But the National Trust’s arcane constitution enables it to operate as a lone Asterix village-style holdout in a public sector that has seen the Tories place whichever go-to golems they like on to boards. At the BBC, it’s Robbie Gibb, shameless Maitlis-wrangler and former adviser to GB News.

And the Victoria and Albert Museum has benefited from the expertise of the former Restore Trust director Zewditu Gebreyohanes. She has also worked for the ExxonMobil-funded thinktank the Policy Exchange, one of the Tufton Street gang of organisations, and is now a senior researcher at the pro-Brexit Legatum Institute thinktank. Another arm of Legatum funds GB News, alongside the dad of the thick twat who banjoed for Mumford & Sons. I’m aware this gibberish sounds as if it’s designed to make anyone who’s noticed what’s happening look insane. Hold on to What You Believe!

But why does Restore Trust want to take over the National Trust? Apparently, it objects to tiny plaques explaining in very small writing that slave trade money may underpin some of our aristocracy’s enormous wealth. But cloaks of ideological concern often conceal naked avarice. Did the disgraced Brexit-backing hedge fund manager Crispin “the Crisp” Odey, who made an estimated £220m shorting the pound because of the negative financial impact of the Vote Leave victory, regularly ponder abstract notions of sovereignty? Maybe Restore Trust’s tentacular chthonic backers want to drive up the value of the scone stocks that capturing the National Trust would see them monopolise.

On Thursday 18 January, with unprecedented earliness, a calculatedly misleading Restore Trust advert appeared on social media announcing, innocuously: “If you love unspoilt historic houses, gardens and countryside you should be a member of the National Trust and use your vote to keep it unspoilt. Sign up at Restore Trust.” Was it a pre-emptive attempt to sabotage the National Trust elections? Or an example of data harvesting, like the Tories’ helpful online “tax calculator” that then gives them all your details, in an apparent breach of privacy rules? Only Restore Trust’s undisclosed backers know for sure.

The dishonest announcement was gone within days, and in turn an uncharacteristically clarified Keir Starmer called out the fabricated culture war on the National Trust, Britain’s most trusted public institution. On Tuesday, the dead-eyed Tory eugenics-fanboy Ben Bradley, who recommended vasectomies for workless families with several children in order to avoid a “vast sea of unemployed wasters”, described Starmer’s concerns as “vacuous nonsense”, before it was pointed out that he himself had previously described the National Trust as being “coloured by cultural Marxist dogma, colloquially known as the woke agenda”. The stupid worm’s cock.

National Trust staff have trees to pollard, paintings to restore and scones to bake. It doesn’t serve our nation’s interests for them to be relentlessly bullied by well-funded fake grassroots groups trying to force their place-people into positions of power. But the fact that the National Trust has, so far, been able to resist dark forces that in the end, I regret, will inevitably overwhelm it, has shone a light on how vulnerable other British institutions are to capture. It’s 11pm on Wednesday night now and the early daffodils are glowing outside my Cheltenham hotel window. They are earlier every year now. Like Tufton Street’s first fetid forays.

YOU CAN PROVE ANYTHING WITH FACTS - IN T-SHIRT FORM !!!

Crime is down 14%, but only if you ignore Fraud, which has bloomed under lockdown, in which case it is up.
Boris Johnson didn’t attend any parties under lockdown, except all of the ones which he did attend under lockdown.
The vaccine could only be developed because we had left the EU, even though it was developed before we left the EU.

There has never been a time where the very nature of facts has been so in doubt.
There has never been a better time to own an ethically crafted Stewart Lee ‘You can prove anything with facts’ leisure garment.

There has never been a better time to celebrate in fabric a statement gifted to us by a furious taxi driver somewhere near Shepherd’s Bush in the Spring of 1999.

You can prove anything with facts, so order a You Can Prove Anything With Facts garment today!
Wear your bewilderment with pride!

Make a bold and yet vague statement of uncertainty!!
Tell the world in no uncertain terms that you are certain of nothing!!!
Other catchphrases are available

Wax-face have made them in black and a Navy / indigo blue version, on Anthem Organic Tee Shirts who are a UK based ethical tee shirt manufacturer.
They cost £20 each and will start shipping from Tuesday 15th February 2022.
Content Provider facemasks cost £15 each and are in stock and shipping now!
Hoodies of Content Provider and All The Cheeses are also in stock and shipping now. They cost £35 each.

2. BASIC LEE

I will be launching a new Stand-up tour, BASIC LEE. The London Autumn 2022 dates are on sale w national 2023 dates to follow

LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE

Tues - Sat from Sept 20th to Dec 17th 2022

(EXCEPT Oct 18th - 29th and Nov 11^th)
7pm (4pm performance Saturday 12^th November

After a decade of ground-breaking high concept shows involving overarched interlinked narratives, massive sets and enormous comedy props, Lee enters the post-pandemic era in streamlined solo stand-up mode. One man, one microphone, and one microphone in the wings in case the one on stage breaks. Pure. Simple. Classic. Basic Lee. "The world's greatest living stand-up comedian." The Times

TICKETS HERE

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3. EDINBLUR 2022

Two shows, on sale March 3^rd. A w-i-p at 10 am and a final go on the Snowflake half of Snowflake Tornado at 1.50pm

Basic Lee (Work In Progress)

Stand 1, 10am (10.00hrs) - 3^rd – 27^th August (days off 15^th & 16^th Aug)

Early morning work-in-progress towards the 2022/3 stripped-down, mobile, reactive new stand-up show. One man. One mic. And another mic in the wings in case the stage mic goes down.

BASIC LEE (Work In Progress) TICKETS HERE

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STEWART LEE: Snowflake

The Stand’s New Town Theatre (Grand Hall), 1.50pm (13.50hrs) - 3^rd – 28 August (days off 15^th & 16^th Aug)

Snowflake. Last chance ever to see the culture-war themed second act of the Snowflake Tornado double bill that toured 2019-2022. The other half, Tornado, played the same venue in pre-pandemic 2019. Satire! Swearing!! Retching!!! And a song!!!!

SNOWFLAKE TICKETS HERE

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4. THE SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO TOUR

After the abrupt end of the covid-cancelled sell-out tour of Snowflake/Tornado in March 2020, Stewart Lee, “the world’s greatest living stand-up” (Times), returns to more than 60 towns and cities in the UK.

The tour, a double bill of two 60-minute sets, back-to-back nightly, will include new material for 2022.

The Snowflake half has been heavily rewritten in the light of the two years the show has been laid off, looking at how the Covid-Brexit era has impacted on the culture war declared on lovely woke snowflakes by horrible people.

The Tornado half questions Stew’s position in the comedy marketplace after Netflix mistakenly listed his show as “reports of sharks falling from the skies are on the rise again. Nobody on the Eastern Seaboard is safe.”

All shows are 14+ apparently. If you are under 14 you are too immature to enjoy my swearing and farts.

March 2022

Thursday 3rd March 2022 - Northcott Theatre, Exeter - TICKETS

Friday 4th March 2022 - Lighthouse, Poole - TICKETS

Saturday 5th March 2022 - Playhouse, Salisbury - TICKETS

Sunday 6th March 2022 - De La Warr Pavillion, Bexhill On Sea - TICKETS

Wednesday 9th March 2022 - Theatre Royal, Wakefield - TICKETS

Thursday 10th March 2022 - Opera House, Buxton - TICKETS

Friday 11th March 2022 - The Courtyard, Hereford - TICKETS

Saturday 12th March 2022 - Grand Theatre, Swansea - TICKETS

Monday 14th March 2022 - King's Theatre, Glasgow - TICKETS

Tuesday 15th March 2022 - King's Theatre, Glasgow - TICKETS

Wednesday 16th March 2022 - The Sands Centre, Carlisle - TICKETS

Thursday 17th March 2022 - Royal Hall, Harrogate - TICKETS

Tuesday 22nd March 2022 - Churchill Theatre, Bromley - TICKETS

Wednesday 23rd March 2022 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS

Thursday 24th March 2022 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS

Friday 25th March 2022 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS

Saturday 26th March 2022 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS

Sunday 27th March 2022 - Royal & Derngate, Northampton - TICKETS

Tuesday 29th March 2022 - City Hall, Sheffield - TICKETS

Wednesday 30th March 2022 - Playhouse, Leeds - TICKETS

Thursday 31st March 2022 - Playhouse, Leeds - TICKETS

April 2022

Friday 1st April 2022 - Playhouse, Leeds - TICKETS

Saturday 2nd April 2022 - Storyhouse, Chester - TICKETS

Tuesday 19th April 2022 - Wyvern Theatre, Swindon - TICKETS

Wednesday 20th April 2022 - Rose Theatre, Kingston - TICKETS

Thursday 21st April 2022 - The Hawth, Crawley - TICKETS

Friday 22nd April 2022 - The Hexagon, Reading - TICKETS

Sunday 24th April 2022 - Mayflower Theatre, Southampton - TICKETS

Tuesday 26th April 2022 - Cliffs Pavilion, Southend On Sea - TICKETS

Wednesday 27th April 2022 - The Central Theatre, Chatham - TICKETS

Thursday 28th April 2022 - Derby Theatre, Derby - TICKETS

Friday 29th April 2022 - Lyceum Theatre, Crewe - TICKETS

Saturday 30th April 2022 - Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield - TICKETS

May 2022

Tuesday 3rd May 2022 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS

Wednesday 4th May 2022 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS

Thursday 5th May 2022 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS

Friday 6th May 2022 - St. George's Hall, Bradford - TICKETS

Saturday 7th May 2022 - Gala Theatre, Durham - TICKETS

Sunday 8th May 2022 - Theatre Royal, Newcastle Upon Tyne - TICKETS

Tuesday 10th May 2022 - Palace Theatre, Watford - TICKETS

Wednesday 11th May 2022 - Palace Theatre, Watford - TICKETS

Thursday 12th May 2022 - Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells - TICKETS

Friday 13th May 2022 - The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford - TICKETS

Saturday 14th May 2022 - The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford - TICKETS

Sunday 15th May 2022 - Theatre Royal, Plymouth - TICKETS

Tuesday 17th May 2022 - Corn Exchange, Cambridge - TICKETS

Wednesday 18th May 2022 - Corn Exchange, Cambridge - TICKETS

Thursday 19th May 2022 - The Baths Hall, Scunthorpe - TICKETS

Saturday 21st May 2022 - New Theatre, Peterborough - TICKETS

Sunday 22nd May 2022 - The Grand, Wolverhampton - TICKETS

Monday 23rd May 2022 - Hippodrome, Bristol - TICKETS

Tuesday 24th May 2022 - Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury - TICKETS

Wednesday 25th May 2022 - The Forum, Bath - TICKETS

Friday 27th May 2022 - Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe - TICKETS

Saturday 28th May 2022 - Winding Wheel, Chesterfield - TICKETS

June 2022

Tuesday 7th June 2022 - Mercury Theatre, Colchester - TICKETS

Wednesday 8th June 2022 - Mercury Theatre, Colchester - TICKETS

Sunday 12th June 2022 - Queen's Theatre, Barnstaple - TICKETS

Friday 17th June 2022 - Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool - TICKETS

Saturday 18th June 2022 - Hippodrome, Darlington - TICKETS

Sunday 19th June 2022 - Festival Theatre, Edinburgh - TICKETS

Monday 20th June 2022 - Perth Theatre, Perth - TICKETS

Tuesday 21st June 2022 - Perth Theatre, Perth - TICKETS

Wednesday 22nd June 2022 - Tivoli Theatre, Aberdeen - TICKETS

Thursday 23rd June 2022 - Tivoli Theatre, Aberdeen - TICKETS

Sunday 26th June 2022 - Theatre Royal, Plymouth - TICKETS

Wednesday 29th June 2022 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS

Thursday 30th June 2022 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS

July 2022

Friday 1st July 2022 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS

Saturday 2nd July 2022 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS

Sunday 3rd July 2022 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS

Sunday 3rd July 2022 - Royal Festival Hall, Southbank, London - TICKETS

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KING ROCKER DVD/SCREENINGS

Our critically acclaimed doc KING ROCKER is available on DVD, and the s/track is out on various formats too.

https://www.firerecords.com/product/king-rocker-ost/

Following the huge recent success of ‘King Rocker’, spotlighting The Nightingales as one of the best bands in Britain, comes the soundtrack and DVD to one of 2021’s break-out films. This special ‘King Rocker’ bookback DVD/CD deluxe package includes the full length feature film with over 90 minutes of extras and unseen footage alongside the soundtrack.

This collector’s edition is beautifully encased with 20 pages of unreleased behind the scenes photos and liner notes from Michael Cumming and Stewart Lee.“Lee tells Lloyd’s story with skill, passion and verve” The Times. Comedian Stewart Lee and director Michael Cumming (Brass Eye, Toast Of London) investigate a missing piece of punk history. Robert Lloyd, best known for fronting cult Birmingham bands The Prefects and The Nightingales, has survived under the radar for over four decades. But how, if at all, does Robert want to be remembered?

The anti-rockumentary ‘King Rocker’ weaves the story of Birmingham’s undervalued underdog autodidact into that of the city’s forgotten public sculpture of King Kong, eschewing the celebrity interview and archive-raid approach for a free-associating bricolage of Indian food, bewildered chefs, vegetable gardening, prescription medicines, pop stardom and pop art.

All of the highlights from the film are here, along with rarities which won’t appear on any of the deluxe reissues of the Nightingales’ catalogue, among them 7″ versions of “Use Your Loaf”, the Bob Luman hit “Let’s Think About Living” and “Black Country”, a glam remix of crowd favourite “Thick And Thin” and a version of Christy & Emily’s “Ghost” which rivals the Nightingales’ take on TLC’s “Unpretty” for sheer beauty.

The only act with roots in the punk era that have gone on to make records more captivating, cutting and entertaining today than at any point in their past; 2022 will be a busy year for the Nightingales, with months of live dates planned, a limited edition remix 12″, deluxe reissues of both ‘Hysterics’ and ‘In The Good Old Country Way’, and a hardcover book collecting Robert’s lyrics.“An inspiring comeback story that feels profoundly necessary” The Quietus

I will be hosting a number of screenings of the film this Summer, including at some festivals:

Bluedot (21^st-24^th July https://www.discoverthebluedot.com) w Bjork Sugarbabe, The Mogwais, Spiralized 3, Bionic Radio Workshop, Adam Bufftone, Andrew O’Neil’s History of Metal, Kiri Te Pritchard-Mclanna, Robbie Nince, David Olusoga, Ahir Shah, Garrett Millerillerick, Tim’s Twitter Party, Ardman Animatronics, Clangers, and Delia Derbyshire O’Day

Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham Thurs 28^th July https://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/king-rocker-q-a

Deer Shed (29^th - 31^st July https://www.deershedfestival.com) w Dry Cleaners, Billy NoMates, Treeboy & Archie, Yard Actors, Snapped Angles, The Love Eggs, and David O’Doherty

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6. SAVE THE WYE

I love the Wye. Let’s save this brilliant river from human foulness.

https://action.wildlifetrusts.org/page/86529/action/2

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7. I ARROGANTLY RECOMMEND SOME 2022 HAPPENINGS

OXIDE GHOSTS: THE BRASS EYE TAPES + Q&A JAN 29^TH - MARCH 5^TH

I will be hosting the Crouch End screening of this March 21^st

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Brass Eye, a rare opportunity to see Michael Cumming’s cult film Oxide Ghosts, which will only ever be screened at these live events.

January 29th – March 5th are important dates for the director Michael Cumming and for television history. Twenty-five years ago, in 1997, that six-week period saw the transmission of Chris Morris’ groundbreaking and controversial comedy series, Brass Eye.

Directed by Michael, Brass Eye was the start of a career that saw him go on to work with a veritable who’s who of comedy talent: Stewart Lee, Matt Berry, Mark Thomas, Jo Brand, David Walliams, Matt Lucas, Sir Lenny Henry, Rashida Jones, Omid Djalili, Mark Steel, Doon Mackichan, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jon Hamm & Larry David to name but a few

Michael is still directing cutting edge work. His latest series - Toast Of Tinseltown - aired on BBC2 during January & February 2022, to both critical acclaim and Twitter trending.

Made from hundreds of hours of unseen and behind the scenes footage from his personal archive, Oxide Ghosts shares insights into the process of making the legendary TV series Brass Eye. Michael directed the series and both pilots and, over a two-year period, witnessed the highs and lows from a very personal perspective. The film carries the blessing of Chris Morris and provides a unique glimpse of his extraordinary working practices.

At these special 25th anniversary shows, in his introductions and post film Q&As, Michael both builds and shatters Brass Eye myths.

This event is a must for fans of the series but will appeal to anyone with a curiosity about how great comedy is made.

Michael Cumming is a director & filmmaker whose back catalogue - aside from Brass Eye - contains such gems as The Mark Thomas Product, Snuff Box, Mark Steel Lectures, Lucas & Walliams in Rock Profile, Matt Berry’s BAFTA winning sitcom, Toast Of London and its follow up, Toast Of Tinseltown and, with Stewart Lee, the critically acclaimed, break-out music film of 2021, King Rocker.

‘Oxide Ghosts offers a well-judged and very rare insight into (Brass Eye’s) making, encapsulating the fun and covert excitement that went on while the project was still under wraps, before all the legal wrangling kicked in. If you're an admirer of the show and the opportunity should arise for you to see Oxide Ghosts, have some self re-cocking-spect and do so without hesitation' – Andy Murray, Chortle

Produced & directed: Michael Cumming. 2017.
Featuring: Chris Morris, Ted Maul, David Jatt, Austin Taseltine. Event duration: 100mins approximately.
Intro: 10 min + Film 60 min + Q&A 30 min (approx.)

MARCH
2^ND Lancaster Dukes,
3^rd Kendal Brewery,
5^th Glasgow Stand,
6^th Edinburgh Cameo,
7^th Leeds Hyde Park Picturehouse,
8^th Newcastle Stand,
9^th York City Screen,
10^th M’cr Chapeltown Picture House,
11^th Liverpool FACT,
12^th Bangor Pontio,
14^th Birmingham MAC,
15^th Wolverhampton Lighthouse,
16^th Halifax Square Chapel,
17^th Wigan Old Courts,
18^th Derby Quad,
19^th Oxford Phoenix,
20^th London Gate,
21^st London Crouch End Picture House,
22^nd London Chiswick cinema,
23^rd TBC,
24^th TBC,
25^th Southampton Harbour Lights,
26^th Brighton Duke Of Yorks,
27^th Worthing Connaught,
28^th Cambridge Arts Picturehouse,
29^th London Fulham Rd Picturehouse,
30^th London Finsbury Park Picturehouse,
31^st London Hackney Picturehouse,
APRIL 1^st London Brixton Ritzy

http://www.michaelcumming.co.uk/oxide%20ghosts/

STEW SAYS - ‘I have attended Michael’s Oxide Ghosts screenings and it is a brilliant and hilarious art/comedy experience. The film can never be seen anywhere except at these screeingings which makes the whole evening very special.’

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Echo & The Bunnymen Scally psych-survivors APRIL 6^TH Bexhill De La Ware (I just saw them in London. It was superb!!!)

The Bohman Brothers Various outgrowths of the fabulous surreal sound-artists The Bohman Brothers are suddenly active. You must see them at least once in your life. BOHMAN BROTHERS March 4^th Nottingham Rammel Club, 5^th M’cr Anthony Burgess Foundation, April 29^th Reading Rising Sun Arts. SECLUDED BRONTE March 20^th Rotterdam ?, 26^th Amsterdam OCCII, 27^th Rotterdam Worm, April 19^th Zurich Institut, 20^th Geneva Café 12, 21^st Paris Les Instants Chavires, 22^nd Brussels Les Ateliers Claus, 23^rd tba, 25^th Café Oto London. MORPHOGENESIS - ORIGINAL LINE-UP OF ART NOISE LEGENDS June 12^th Café Oto London

Stiff Little Fingers Still impossibly inspiring NI punk survivors MARCH 10^th Bristol Academy, 11^th Cardiff SU, 12^th B’ham Academy, 14^th Nottingham Rock City, 16^th Troon Hall, 17^th Glasgow Barrowlands, 18^th Newcastle City Hall, 19^th Leeds Academy, 21^st Northampton Roadmender, 24^th Bournemouth Academy, 25^th M’cr Academy, 26^th Camden Roundhouse AUGUST 4^th Blackpool Rebellion, OCTOBER 1^st- 2^nd Sheffield Academy

Robyn Hitchcock Psychedelic surrealist MARCH 17^th Cambridge Storey’s Field, 19^th London QEH, 20^th Leeds Brudenell, 22^nd M’cr Night & Day

Doug Stanhope As all serious fans of stand-up know, the American iteration of the artform is currently lagging somewhat compared to the manifestations produced in other English speaking territories, but the mighty Doug Stanhope - the desert compound king of crudely eloquent despair - is an exception. A reformed Libertarian with a compelling stage presence, Stanhope is one of those rare comedians with the skills and talent to make you laugh, against your will, on his terms, whether you agree with his worldview or not. MARCH 24^th Glasgow Academy, 25^th Newcastle City Hall, 26^th Sheffield Academy, 27^th Leeds Academy, 30^th Birmingham Academy, APRIL 1^st M’cr Apollo, 3^rd London T&C.

Melt Banana Endlessly inspiring Japanese pop-art-noiseniks MARCH 31^st Margate Elsewhere, APRIL 1^st Reading South Street, 6^th Cambridge Portland Arms, 9^th Huddersfield Parish, 12^th Edinburgh Caves, 13^th Glasgow Stereo, 14^th York Crescent, 17^th Bristol Exchange, 18^th Cardiff Ifor Bach, 22^nd Brighton Patterns

Alex Winter London Prince Charles Cinema 31^st March - April 3^rd. A series of events featuring live contributions from Bill & Ted star, Death Wish III actor and innovative director Alex Winter. I met Alex over 30 years ago on a chat show when he was promoting his deeply eccentric film FREAKED and he was a sincere and talented man, ploughing his own furrow.

https://princecharlescinema.com/PrinceCharlesCinema.dll/Seasons?e=419

Wet Leg Sure to be briefly massive, these waspish Amish-styled Boston-indie-circa-1989-sounding barnstormers hit the road APRIL 17^th Edinburgh Mash, 19^th Leeds Brudenell, 20^th M’cr Gorilla, 21^st Bristol Trinity, 23^rd B’ham Institute 3, 24^th Norwich Arts, 26^th London Scala, 27^th Southsea Wedgewood, MAY 28^th Warrington Weekender

The Nightingales Birmingham post-punk leg-ends and stars of KING ROCKER in their biggest ever tour and their biggest ever venues APRIL 19^th Glasgow Cathouse, 20^th Liverpool Cavern, 23^rd M’cr Deaf Institute, 24^th Leeds Key, 26^th Norwich Epic, 27^th Oxford Academy, 29^th Brighton Patterns, 30^th Birmingham Academy, MAY 2^nd Bristol Thekla, 3^rd London Garage, 5^th Leek Foxlowe Arts, 7^th Nottingham Bodega

Red Guitars Reunited 80’s politicised Hull post-punks w afropop inflections in original line-up configuration. APRIL 19^th Leeds Old Woollen, 21^st M’cr Night & Day, 22^nd Glasgow Attic, 22^nd Hull Adelphi, 23^rd Brighton Green Door, 29^th London 100 Club, 30^th Birmingham Institute

Maria Bamford As all serious fans of stand-up know, the American iteration of the artform is currently lagging somewhat compared to the manifestations produced in other English speaking territories, but the mighty Maria Bamford - the Empress of Embarrassment - can hold her own against the best British, Irish and Antipodean acts, and she has an utterly unique comic persona, a kind of crippling bafflement. She is making some rare - and typically modest - British and Irish appearances. APRIL 21^st Dublin Liberty Hall, 25^th Glasgow Glee, 27^th Birmingham Glee, 28^th M'cr Academy, 30^th London Hackney Earth

Low Mormon minimalists APRIL 25^th Edinburgh Queen’s Hall, 26^th Dublin Vicar St, 27^th M’cr Cathedral, 28^th Brighton St George’s, 29^th London St John At Hackney, 30^th Bristol Trinity

Bridget Christie - Who Am I? Woke comedienne. APRIL 26^th - 30^th, Leicester Sq Theatre London.

Flamin’ Groovies - You must see these superb ‘70s American Stones/Byrds/Beatles styled survivors. MAY 3^rd York Cowgirl, 4^th Newcastle Cluny, 6^th Glasgow Room 2, 7^th London 100 Club

Peter Case performed the original version of Hangin’ On The Telephone with The Nerves, perfected powerpop with The Plimsouls, and then invented Americana as we know it as a solo artist in the ‘80s. Today he looks and sounds like some ‘60s Greenwich village blues-folk legend and is touring the UK with the country-punk-bluegrassman and former Long Ryder Sid Griffin. MAY 27^th London Water Rats, 29^th High Wycombe Kingsmead House, 30^th Hambrook Village Hall, JUNE 1^ST Leytonstone Ex-Servicemen’s Club, 2^nd Birmingham Kitchen Garden cafe.

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8. IN OUR COVID ERA LAMENTATIONS 2022

Sydney Poitier - woke actor (1927)
Magwa - woke Cambodian landmine hunting rat (2013)
Burke Shelley - bass Budgie (1950)
Ronnie Spector - woke Ronette (1943)
Rachel Nagy - Detroit Cobra (1975)
Robin Le Mesurier - Womble (1954)
Andy Ross - Disco Zombie/nice man of Britpop (1956)
Barry Cryer - King Of Comedy (1935)
Norma Waterson - Mighty Folk Matriarch (1939)
John Nolan - man Behind The Magnolia Curtain (1966)
Betty Davis - She Might Get Picked Up! (1944)
Ivan Reitman - He was not afraid of no ghost! (1946)
Mark Lanegan - Screaming Tree rehabilitee (1964)
Bruce Anderson - MX-80 man (1950)
Anna Karen - ‘70s public transport icon (1936)
Sam Lay - Howlin’ Wolf/Butterfield/Dylan drums (1935)
Mikey Chung - Reggae session regular (1950)
Fred Van Hove - Belgian stringbender (1937)

During Margaret Thatcher's funeral on Wednesday, the Right Reverend Richard Chartres, the bishop of London, boasted to all and sundry of how the late prime minister had once physically restrained him when he lunged at some pulverised ducks' breasts. He had intended to cram into his mouth. Fatty duck pâté, it transpired, was a forbidden fruit of Thatcherism.

Like thousands of Thatcher refuseniks across the land, rendered impotent with irritation by biased media coverage and the insensitive splendour of her highly politicised funeral, I immediately rang up my local Waitrose and ordered a delivery of every punnet of duck pâté they had in stock. They could censor our views; they could rewrite the history books; but they could not prevent us pushing the very fatty pâté that Thatcher so despised up to the top of the weekly pâté charts. Or could they?

The Daily Mail saw the skyward sales of duck pâté as evidence of a "campaign organised by left-wing activists", but the truth is the anti-Thatcher pâté protest took off largely of its own accord. Nobody needed to be nudged. Even Morrissey, a staunch vegetarian, suspended his squeamishness and was pictured in the press the day following the bishop's indiscreet poultry paste revelation licking his 11th punnet of duck pâté clean, a beaming smile on his famously miserable face.

By Thursday evening, duck pâté looked likely to be the week's top selling pâté, and the BBC, cowed by the Conservatives as usual, moved into damage-limitation mode. Questions were asked. If, on Saturday, duck pâté was the nation's favourite pâté, would the hostess of BBC Radio 4's Weekly Pâté Round-up, Nigella Lawson, be gobbling it up as normal alongside the other 49 pâtés in the chart, or would a censorious exception be made? The controller of Radio 4, Gwyneth Williams, was grilled on air about pâté by the BBC's own Samira Ahmed.

"It is normal procedure, as you know," Williams explained, "for Nigella to eat a standard Waitrose punnet of each of the 50 chart pâtés live on air during the programme, while describing its taste to the listeners in a breathless eroticised voice. On Saturday, if the duck pâté is the people's most popular exotic paste as expected, she will instead sample only a teaspoonful of the protest pâté, after a brief chat with Nick Robinson and Heston Blumenthal, aimed at contextualising the now politicised foodstuff for confused or vegan listeners."

Meanwhile, untroubled by the possible reduction in the licence fee should Cameron's Conservatives retain power indefinitely, Sky News was brazenly showing a loop of the channel's trophy comedy stars, Ruth Jones and Robert Lindsay, lapping up endless punnets of duck pâté at a sunlit seaside cafe. "A lot of my actor friends said they wouldn't appear on Sky TV eating loads of punnets of duck pâté," Lindsay said to Jones, over and over again, "but now they are saying they wish they had and that they have seen that they themselves are weak and that I am right and much better than them."

On Friday, when the duck pâté finally hit the No 1 slot, social media-savvy Conservatives, led by the would-be personality Louise Mensch, staged a belated fight back. Mensch tweeted a picture of her husband, the Metallica manager Peter Mensch, allowing her his golden credit card to buy herself a pallet piled high with punnets of pâté de foie gras at an all-night New York deli. She encouraged her followers to do the same, hoping to "knock the miserable lefties' duck muck off the top spot".

Mensch's subversive idea spurted through the Twitterverse like a frozen spear of urine falling from an aircraft toilet, and soon pâté de foie gras was itself shooting up Nigella's pâté chart. Even David Cameron himself admitted to having bought some, which he planned to smear joyfully over other foodstuffs later that evening in the company of Helena Bonham Carter and her husband, Morbius the Living Vampire, both of whom he was sure would enjoy the chance to eat pâté de foie gras and celebrate the life of a woman who, whatever you thought of her politics, was simply remarkable and had saved us from the unions.

Overnight, duck pâté partisans noticed essential flaws in Mensch's campaign. Wasn't pâté de foie gras made from the livers of geese? And weren't geese, like ducks, both members of the Anatidae family? Was the goose sufficiently different from the duck for the purchase of its bloated liver to count as a protest against the purchase of the duck pâté? It was even rumoured that "foie gras" was the French for "fat liver". Wasn't it the fat content of the pulverised ducks' breasts that had led Thatcher to prevent the bishop from eating them? And yet here was Mensch urging her supporters to buy, as a tribute to the late fat-loathing prime minister, a pâté specifically named after its high fat content, and which contained even more fat than the pâté that had sickened the baroness when the bishop of London tried to touch it? It was as if Louise Mensch was some kind of stupid, embarrassing, feckless idiot.

Sky news interviewed three diffident French pâté de foie gras farmers early on Saturday morning, who refused to be drawn on the fat content of the pâté de foie gras, the meaning of the phrase pâté de foie gras, or even the exact species of the bird from which pâté de foie gras was made. Giving nothing away, they were able to watch pâté de foie gras sales continue to grow, the pâté's naive Tory purchasers unaware of the irony of their actions.

Despite the best efforts of those aiming to register their displeasure, on Saturday afternoon, Nigella Lawson revealed the duck pâté to have been displaced at the top of her pâté chart by a plantain pâté with Reggae Reggae sauce, made by the celebrity chef Levi Roots. She duly licked up little more than a sliver of the duck pâté and handed over to Nick Robinson, whose choice of language nonetheless toed the official BBC Tory establishment line.

The protesters, apparently, had "failed" to get the duck pâté to No 1. Perhaps Nick, or maybe we had succeeded in getting it to No 2 against all odds, without the benefit of a marketing campaign, and with the might of Louise Mensch against us. Like so many aspects of the Thatcher legacy, it's a matter of perspective.

Stewart Lee has curated The Alternative Comedy Experience for Comedy Central, Tuesdays at 11pm. And hundreds of new live dates are on sale now – visit stewartlee.co.uk

Russ Cook's Wbesite

AMONG the customary luvvie banter, there came in The Reunion (Radio 4, Sunday) a significant revelation. Kirsty Wark was hosting the writers and cast of Jerry Springer: The opera, the show which, in the early 2000s, progressed rapidly from Battersea to Edinburgh to the National Theatre, found more than a million viewers on BBC2, and from there went on tour, pursued by crowds of protesters. The revelation was not that the participants were surprised by the fury of their opponents — though they might have anticipated some push-back when a show notorious for its depiction of Christian figures was rewarded with licence-payer funds; rather, it was that Jerry Springer himself — who had always publicly praised the show — was secretly incensed.

One of the co-writers, Stewart Lee, told the story. Springer visited the show in Edinburgh and was delighted by the first half. But, with Act Two, when the action moves to a cartoonish Hell, a message emerges which Springer found deeply insulting. As one lyric has it, “Nothing is wrong, nothing is right.” The moral relativism, Springer declared, was tantamount to Holocaust denial.

The anecdote passed without further reference by Ms Wark’s guests; nor did Mr Lee, in the course of a lengthy vilification of his Christian critics (which included a riff on the involvement of Tufton Street lobbyists), find the opportunity to address this most damning of accusations. It is one thing to bat away those faith-affiliated protesters: “nice people” who had all apparently been manipulated by Stephen Green and Christian Voice. In an ironic twist, the threat to freedom of speech posed by Mr Green and others backfired, and led to the abolition of the Blasphemy Act. But the objection raised by the show’s real-life hero deserves more respect.

'But, right, the thing about Riot Grrl is that, like, they didn’t know what it was at the time. It was proto-Riot Grrrl. It’s, like, punk for women, like, proto-punk.'

There’s a guy behind me in the queue for the chip shop. He must be about 20, long hair, kind-of posh sounding. He beat-boxes under his breath, and he’s mansplaining Riot Grrl to his girlfriend. Badly. At one point he refers to her mates as 'norms' because they go clubbing. I fucking hate him. To be honest I fucking hate both of them, privileged art-student types talking about why the Rocky Horror Picture Show is too mainstream to be a cult film, and whether The Raincoats are a punk band or not. I hate them. I want to punch the boy one in the face. And because I’m pretty sure he is exactly what I was like 15 years ago, only less well spoken, I hate myself as well. I hate myself for being so judgey, and for having such an instinctive chip on my shoulder about privilege, for the fact I’m pretty sure I was that kid once. I hate myself now, I hate the version of myself then, and I fucking hate this kid behind me. I’m in a 40-minute queue for a chip shop, and I hate that too. It’s one of only two places to buy hot food on site, and it’s not even a real chip shop, the chips are frozen, the sausages and chicken legs in the heated counter are shrivelled and burnt. They ran out of fish hours ago. I hate this. And because I’m aware how much of a snob that makes me, I hate myself for hating it.

And that is the pervading mood of Stewart Lee’s ATP. It’s not just me. This is a mardy-arse event, everyone seems grumpy. It’s awkwardly male, astonishingly stroppy. And, well, that’s kind of perfect, isn’t it? Lee is a grumpy man, at least on stage (he’s very affable if you catch him off-stage), he’s booked a lot of other grumpy men: The Fall,, Sleaford Mods, and 13th Floor Elevators frontman Roky Erikson. Famously grumpy men Ted Chippington and John Cale haven’t even turned up. That’s how grumpy they are.

People are bitching a lot - about the facilities, about the scheduling changes, the cancellations, the poor organisation, the 'slippery cunt' who runs the ATP brand (I hear this constantly, especially when I talk to bands) the fact that it’s virtually impossible to get into any of the decent comedy events because the rooms are so small. Anything really. Just to have a moan. It’s like everyone is taking part in some sort of gigantic performance art piece. Which, when you think about it, is actually a very Stewart Lee idea. I start to suspect he’s done it on purpose.

It’s a theory born out by the setting - Pontins Prestatyn is bloody awful. None of the bars take cards but the only two cash machines on site are constantly out of order. There’s chips with everything, but they’re not very nice. By Sunday morning there’s no bog roll in any of the gents loos, which is a cruel trick to play on people sharing chalets. Speaking of chalets, you may have paid for the room, but it turns out you’ve not paid for the electricity - that has to be bought separately. The more of this you encounter the funnier it gets. This is a dour, indie version of Hi-De-Hi!, with Paul Shane replaced by Mark E Smith, and Su Pollard played by Josie Long.

I spent my childhood summers going to places like this; cheaper than Butlins, one up from going camping, and I remember always loving it. So what’s wrong with me? When did I become such a wanker? When did I start missing craft ales and decent coffee? When did I start caring that the girl in Java Cafe made my latte with scorching hot milk, burning the coffee and making it undrinkable? WHY DO I CARE? I start to add another layer of self loathing into the cycle of mardy-bum whingeing. I am a wanker. Stewart Lee has made feel like a wanker. Fuck. That is actually genius.

All the petulant misery, all the moaning, all the self-loathing - it’s perfect. It’s the best possible way to frame the astonishingly good set of bands Lee, and whichever 'slippery cunt' books these things, has put together. When you see The Fall burning faces off and baffling with equal measure, with Mark E Smith opening the show by telling someone in the wings to “get fucked”, it makes sense. When you see Datblygu ranting in Welsh it means every bit as much as Sleaford Mods’ ranting in English, despite not understanding a word, and The Raincoats' grudging acceptance of the disappointment and tedium of the female experience actually works better in this environment than the focussed anger of the bands they inspired.

If the atmosphere of navel gazing petulance frames the grumpy contingent, it makes the detonations of real joy that pepper the weekend feel five times as exhilarating. It’s why the quietly angry, but always exuberant Josie Long is as sensible a piece of scheduling as The Fall. It’s why Blue Aeroplanes’ funky-dancing proper-indie, and Trash Kit’s sulky, twitchy, post-punk feel so irresistible. Why Shonen Knife were very nearly the best thing at the whole weekend. It’s why Charlotte Church completely owned Saturday night.

Charlotte Church deserves her own paragraph here. Fuck, she deserves her own article. I could write a novel about that performance. No-one is quite sure what to expect from this, she’s billed as ‘Charlotte Church’s Late Night Pop Dungeon’, and the general expectation is a DJ set of pop bangers, and a nice come down from a full day of creased brows and self-loathing. It isn’t a DJ set. It’s so much better. She’s put together a faultless band and learned a set of idiosyncratic covers, opening with the flashback music from Twin Peaks (she can still sing classical!) before - WHAT THE FUCK - doing Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Closer’, Bowie’s ‘Girl Loves Me’, Sugababes’ ‘Overload’, En Vogue, Basement Jaxx, Neutral Milk Hotel, Super Furry Animals… it goes on, and it is amazing. We’d spent two days being unceasingly annoyed: the glitter-bomb release was orgasmic.

You can pick a ton of holes in this ATP weekend (and everyone did), but when you step outside of the experience, when you appreciate it as a whole, when you remember Dutch Anarcho-punks The Ex’s astonishing saturday-night face-melter, or the irrepressible joy of Shonen Knife on Friday, or The Bell Rays' force-of-nature rock n’ soul party, it’s a hard misery-guts that doesn’t admit to an exhilarating time.

I don’t think Stewart Lee planned to aggravate his guests to the extent they’d force themselves into their own situationist art prank. I’d like to believe he did, but it’s unlikely. Instead the melting pot of farce, coincidence, anger and joy created that all by itself. A perfect storm. A unique alchemical reaction. We loved, we hated and, fucking hell, we moaned, but we also partied and came away richer for it. Well played, ATP. Well played.

Photo by Callum Barton

Stewart Lee (and guest), Hall For Cornwall, Truro

Review by Gareth Bartlett

THE "White Supremacist Theme Park" of Cornwall had an unexpected visit from the county's Benign Spirit in Truro.

Last night's Stewart Lee show at Hall For Cornwall was going rather well - despite the stand-up comedian's insistence to the contrary - until a man sauntered down to the front row and awkwardly swung a leg onto the edge of the stage.

Before we knew it, he was centre stage with the self-styled thinking man's comic, barely coherent and revealing himself to be a reformed heckler.

Ten minutes later he was still there, with Lee having chosen to use him to prove a point about the intricacies of his craft rather than just boot him off.

The guest's tale about protecting a cat from seagulls and later buying a pasty will be the one that most people tell purely for the "Is this really happening?" incredulity of the whole thing.

But while it was certainly a unique show for the tour, which had already swept through the city nine months ago, it would be a shame for the other hour-and-a-bit to be overshadowed.

Not only was it hysterically funny, but it was also gripping and thought-provoking - though it's greatest achievement in my eyes was persuading this reviewer that it was amusing at all.

I'd watched a bit of Stewart's TV series at the behest of What's On editor Lee Trewhela and West Briton editor David Thomas - both huge fans. They told me it was must-watch comedy but I probably wouldn't appreciate it, because it was too clever for the likes of me - a sub-40-year-old who enjoys the humour of Some Mothers Do 'Ave Em and Ricky Gervais.

And they were at least half right - I didn't get into the TV show and switched off after about ten minutes. The comedian's style is very much aimed at telling the audience they're not smart enough to understand his show - and pointed out our faults all night as we laughed at the wrong jokes, didn't laugh enough or got our timing horribly wrong.

So to have spent most of Wednesday night open-mouthed and achy-jawed was something of a remarkable triumph.

The comedian helped things along by opening the show with a severe warning to the audience not to have their phones out otherwise he would come down, snatch it off them and smash it with his mic stand, then take it back stage and pleasure himself over what remained of the digital memories of their children.

So far, so on my level.

The political and socio-economic stuff came shortly after, of course, but it was never out of the reach of your average, mildly-interested-in-the-news theatre attendee.

There were gags about Graham Norton, BAFTA and Lee Mack to keep things grounded but it was the comedian's deconstruction of comedy that made the whole show such a joy.

Setting up his own callbacks and creating bonus laughs where they shouldn't exist, you could call it a masterclass in comedy theory.

There were moments that didn't work for me - I was among the half of the audience that didn't lap up the repetitive "list of food items on newspaper columnist Rod Liddle" gag but then others loved it.

But despite Lee opening the show insisting it's all scripted and he pretends to cobble it together as he goes along, it was the moments of genuine unpredictability that turned it from an incredibly funny show to one that will be long remembered by both audience and performer. It started when three men wandered in late and "destroyed the rhythm" of the rest of the show, then a piece of ticker tape fell from the HFC gantry and crushed the finale of a key gag, before ultimately happening again in the second half before the reformed heckler wandered on for the encore.

For me, those moments showed Lee at his best - thinking on his feet to create magical bonus moments before returning to the routine almost as if nothing had happened.

His own knowledge of Cornwall and our cultures and ways of life were the icing on the cake - the highlight of the whole show for me being the words I started this whole review with: referring to Cornwall as a white supremacist theme park. And if you don't understand that reference, you're not smart enough to be at a Stewart Lee show.

Talking to Brendon Burns on his 'Dumb White Guy' Podcast

Christ was born in a barn. This proves that he came for all humankind, as well as reducing his parents’ options for witty off-the-peg verbal critiques of him should he leave their front door open. Bearing Christ’s universality in mind, on Christmas Day at lunchtime I made my guests stand to listen to a few hours of festive recordings I had sourced via a bent Prison Service contact. A choir of people convicted of offences relating to the summer riots performed a selection of seasonal songs as my guests listened, hands on their hearts. The man who took a brick in the testicles in Southport added a particularly effective descant on the closing verse of Feed the World. Auntie Gladys was in tears and the old man from next door soiled himself in woe.

In the run-up to Christmas, I pondered all those less fortunate than me who would perhaps have to spend the season in prison; or worse still, those who will have to make polite conversation over the turkey with elderly Reform-voting relatives who still think Brexit was a great idea but it just wasn’t done right, and that Nigel Farage is “a character”.

Meanwhile, 19 environmental protesters, soon to be lauded as martyrs in the planet’s last line of defence, celebrated Christmas in British jails this year, doubtless eating artificially fertilised food and opening wasteful cards, like the trust fund-funded middle-class student hypocrites they are.

One 77-year-old Quaker layabout do-gooder, Gaie Delap, initially instructed to serve her sentence at home, was also told she would spend Christmas in prison; the private company contracted to imprison the climate heroine could not find an electronic tag small enough for her, provision for Delap’s wrist circumference presumably lying outside the break-even margins deemed acceptable by its shareholders.

No privatised British incarceration service could reasonably be expected to hold so small a Quaker and still turn a profit. Criminals are usually large anyway, like that Charles Bronson bloke and the Kingpin in Daredevil. I hope the tiny Quaker gave the screws the slip through a ventilation grille and then floated away on a cocktail umbrella. Madam! History will exonerate you!! Be strong!!! We salute you… from our nice homes, admittedly.

The imprisonment of the environmental protesters is a brown stain on our nation’s history. But Elon Musk, whose purchase of the Ricky Gervais fansite and pornbot accelerant Twitter (currently X) has made him the world’s most influential horse tranquilliser consumer, thinks the throb-veined sunbed magnate and mortgage fraudster Tommy Robinson is also a political prisoner; a veritable white Nelson Mandela for the street cocaine and supa-strength cider generation.

Indeed, in November, on Twitter (currently X), Musk asked: “Why is he [currently Tommy Robinson] in prison for 18 months?” It’s telling that Musk had to openly ask this, rather than just running the question through his own social media app, as he has now degraded Twitter (currently X) so much that all that would have come up were links to porn, AI graphics of Donald Trump fighting a transgender Godzilla, and motivational quotes from Musk himself. (“It’s OK to have all your eggs in one basket, as long as you bought the eggs off me and I rented you the basket.”)

Robinson is, of course, in prison for making false claims about a young Syrian refugee in a film, and then repeatedly showing the film when he’d been asked nicely not to. Although to be fair, unlike James Mangold, the director of A Complete Unknown, at least Tommy Robinson didn’t show Bob Dylan composing Girl from the North Country a full year before he learned the Scarborough Fair melody it is based on from Martin Carthy while playing small folk clubs in London. Who is the real criminal here?

Robinson, and Musk, and Farage circulated inflammatory assumptions from the likes of the professional misogynist and self-styled “webcam pimp” Andrew Tate, and rioters were inspired by these comments. But should cruelly misled summer rioters find themselves spending Christmas in jail, for the crime of simply having tried to burn down migrant hostels full of children in good faith? I don’t know. It was for that reason that I commissioned my own Christmas choir of convicted rioters.

That, and because Trump did the same thing a week or so before Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Largo, when recordings of the convicted January 6 rioters singing the national anthem were played for guests. Later the same month, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg dined there with Trump. This is a man who has all your personal details going back decades, and photos of every fancy dress party you attended, every assignation you engineered, and every political demo you ever walked peacefully along with – and he’s desperate to be in with the new boss.

You are nothing to these people, just low-hanging fruit for whoever has the money to buy the means to mind-map you into being the voter they want you to be. Western democracy is all over bar the shouting.

But there was a strange sliver of hope on Christmas Day when, somehow, the old BBC liberal values leaked through, as if even the Tory place-people that have gerrymandered the board realised Christmas programmes need to be a little bit nice.

Oh look! A feminist ghost story from 1887 (admittedly adapted and directed by a man)! Oh look! A queer black Doctor in Doctor Who creates the star that leads the wise men to the baby Jesus! It’s the wokest Christmas TV ever! For one day, like Robert De Niro in Awakenings, the BBC was back to its old self. And that’s where I’ll be, in the darkest moments of the coming year of despair, flashing myself back into the Baileys haze where an animated dog and an Asian policewoman defeated an army of malevolent AI gnomes controlled by an evil penguin who really should have been in jail.

Just Announced:

Sleaford Mods

Sleaford Mods are playing the Hammersmith Apollo, London on Friday 15th November 2019.

I am bottom of the bill supporting them on a line up that also includes Viagra Boys and Horse Meat Disco (DJ Set).

You can get tickets here.

1) ROBYN HITCHCOCK AT EARTH THIS SATURDAY 14TH

I am compering British psychedelic legend Robyn Hitchcock’s show at Earth in Hackney, London this Saturday September 14^th, and doing a 30 min greatest hits set. https://earthackney.co.uk/events/robyn-hitchcock-14th-sep-earth-london-tickets-pwq7y/

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2) GLOUCESTER HISTORY FESTIVAL THIS SUNDAY 15TH

https://www.gloucesterhistoryfestival.co.uk/events/stewart-lee-in-conversation/

I am in conversation with the Goth antiquarian Janina Ramirez this Sunday 15^th

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3) STEVE BROWN MEMORIAL NIGHT LONDON SAVOY THIS MONDAY SEPT 16^TH

https://www.thesavoytheatre.com/shows/why-we-love-steve-brown

I join a host of actual stars celebrating the life of comedian/musician Steve Brown at London’s Savoy Theatre this Monday 16^th Sept. The line-up includes: Laura Mvula, Steve Coogan, Charlie Baker, Jenna Boyd, Alfie Brown , Lennie Brown, Rory Bremner, Rob Brydon, Tori Burgess, Sally Cheng, Jon Culshaw, Michael Fenton-Stevens, Scott Graham, Harry Hill, Martin Johnston, Marie Lawrence, Stewart Lee, Rachel Leskovac, Grayson Perry, Jan Raven, Howard Samuels, Nicola Sloan, Stranger Stranger, Rosie Strobel, Emma Jay Thomas, Paul Thornley, Jack Whittle.
They will be singing the songs of Steve Brown alongside The Matt Backer Big Band.

Lyricist and composer Steve Brown sadly passed away earlier this year; he had a stellar career. As a writer of musical theatre, he co-created (with Justin Greene) Spend, Spend,Spend (1998) – about the football pools winner Viv Nicholson. As a comedian, he worked closely with Rory Bremner, Harry Hill and Steve Coogan on TV shows and tours, most notably starring as the bandleader Glenn Ponder in the latter’s Alan Partridge talk show Knowing Me, Knowing You (1994).

Brown also produced acclaimed debut albums by the singer-songwriters Rumer and Laura Mvula. The latter was nominated in 2013 for the Mercury prize he also wrote the Wonky Donkey jingle for Ant and Dec’s SM:TV and played kazoo on Flux Of Pink Indians’ The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks. Steve Brown and Harry Hill developed the 2014 X Factor musical I Can’t Sing, produced by Simon Cowell. In 2022, their show about the New Labour years Tony! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera) took residence at the Park Theatre in North London and went on a regional tour.

Harry Hill said: ‘Steve wrote great songs for all of us, he made us all sound smarter and funnier than we ever were - and here we are, all together to celebrate what he gave us. It’s going to be brilliant.'

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4) STEVE WYNN, WALTHAMSTOW TRADES, SEP 22^ND 2PM

I will be interviewing the Dream Syndicate front man and solo artist Steve Wynn about his brilliant new book I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True, and Steve will do a solo set.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/steve-wynn-live-and-in-conversation-with-stewart-lee-tickets-911261998167

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5) SAMHAIN RITUAL, EARTH, HACKNEY, LONDON OCT 29^TH

Weird Walk magazine presents Stewart Lee introducing wyrd musicians headlined by Daisy Rickman, 6pm Earth, Hackney, London. Tickets: https://thesamhainritual.eventbrite.com There may be Were-action, costume pending.

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6) TALES OF THE WEIRD BRITISH LIBRARY NOV 2^ND

I’m hosting an event with the novelists Daisy Johnson and Andrew Michael Hurley as part of this folk-horror lit fest at the British Library on Nov 2nd

https://thebritishlibraryculturalevents.seetickets.com/event/tales-of-the-weird-an-autumnal-festival/british-library/3154227

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7) OXIDE GHOSTS AT FINSBURY PARK NOV 21^ST

Michael Cumming’s Oxide Ghosts, a blurred documentary about Chris Morris’ Brass Eye, is on the road again. Michael and I are both appearing at the 21^st Nov event in Finsbury Park, London. Other dates, and other guests, are available

OCTOBER

28 LONDON - CROUCH END PICTUREHOUSE
29 LONDON - EALING PICTUREHOUSE
30 LONDON - CLAPHAM PICTUREHOUSE+HOST: RICH FULCHER
31 LONDON - THE GATE, NOTTING HILL

NOVEMBER

1 EPSOM - PICTUREHOUSE
2 BRIGHTON - DUKE’S AT KOMEDIA
3 WORTHING - CONNAUGHT
6 LONDON - EAST DULWICH PICTUREHOUSE
7 OXFORD - PHOENIX+HOST: RONNIE ANCONA
8 BIRMINGHAM - MAC
9 CHESTER - PICTUREHOUSE
9 LIVERPOOL - FACT
10 MANCHESTER - CULTPLEX
12 LANCASTER - DUKES
13 KENDAL - BREWERY ARTS+HOST: LOU GEORGE
16 YORK - CITY SCREEN
17 NEWCASTLE - THE STAND+HOST: ANDY DAWSON
18 GLASGOW - THE STAND+HOST: STEVEN DICK
19 EDINBURGH - CAMEO
21 LONDON - FINSBURY PK PICTUREHOUSE+HOST: STEWART LEE
22 LONDON - GREENWICH  PICTUREHOUSE
23 CAMBRIDGE - ARTS CINEMA
25 LONDON - CHISWICK CINEMA+HOST: JONATHAN MAITLAND
26 LONDON - BRIXTON RITZY
27 LONDON - HACKNEY PICTUREHOUSE

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8) BASIC LEE IS ON NOW TV

https://www.nowtv.com/ie/watch/entertainment/collections/ultimate-comedy/asset/stewart-lee-basic-lee.../A5EK6949itCVNKaChrDXN You’ll have to subscribe though. This review of the TV version, by the cartoonist David Waywell, is what I hoped people would say about it. https://eandtbooks.com/authors/david-waywell/

“Reviewing a new Stewart Lee show is the easiest work in the world if your audience already knows who Lee is and what he does. Then you just stand by the side of the road, maybe dressed in the uniform of the typical Stewart Lee fan (all London media-hipster-type denim waistcoat and caramel twill rollups, topped with a herringbone baker boy) and you point the traveller in the right direction (Basic Lee now streaming on Sky Comedy until 24th August).You can also reassure them and say it’s “more of the usual” and, in that smug way that all true fans of Lee are said to display, give them a knowing wink and say it’s fearsome stuff and blisteringly good.

But if your audience doesn’t know Lee, then the work becomes more difficult…

You begin by mumbling “Lee is kind of like… but nothing like…”

Daniel Kitson and Simon Munnery are widely cited as his main similarities but it’s also Tony Hancock’s pathos with a dash of Steve Martin’s eclectic brilliance; the misanthropy of George Carlin with a hint of Don Rickles willingness to jump off the stage and pick a fight. Then again, it’s nothing like that. Lee is uniquely Lee; the beats are familiar but the paths taken on his long rambles are entirely his own.

Basic Lee is Lee’s attempt to return to pure standup after some higher concept (and more expensive) shows, including his last (Snowflake/Tornado) which involved a large shark’s head. He presents an argument about the evolving nature of standup comedy, starting with the oldest material he’d written, and working his way to the present day. But that’s not really “the show”.

Skim the surface and you might describe the show as a series of encounters between Lee and his audience. What you don’t get are jokes or punchlines, or, certainly, not in the traditional sense. Jokes are there but delivered as if through a meat grinder. It’s up to you to pick the bones from the gristle.

The fun is in the asides, the digressions, and the continual baiting of the audience. “It’s like jazz,” says Lee at one point, adopting the voice of those insufferable types who constantly whine on about how watching Stewart Lee is like listening to jazz.

But it is like listening to jazz. He plays with motifs and form, and then, just in case you missed the influence, riffs on the history of jazz. We should only be thankful that he doesn’t break out a trombone and give us a 20-minute exploration of the Phrygian Minor scale (maybe on his next tour when he promises to adopt a Wolfman mask).

Gary Winogrand, the great(est) American street photographer, once said, “I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed”. With Lee, you sense he’s performing material to see what it looks like when performed as standup. He constantly talks about himself doing standup; reminding us that The Times once described him as “the world’s greatest living stand-up comedian”. He talks about the role he’s played in popularising long-form stand-up and delivers a particularly biting (but fair) verdict on Phoebe Waller Bridge’s breaking of the fourth wall in Fleabag. Yet Lee draws back how insufferably egotistical this would be by leaning into the insufferable character he’s playing.

This gives rise to the tension underlying the drama on stage; that of an artist trying to create art inside a genre unaccustomed to art and against an audience hostile to the entire venture. It’s tightly crafted, even as it often feels like it’s falling apart. At one point, he liberally takes the old Pagliacci joke, made most famous by its appearance in Alan Moore’s Watchman, and offers it as his own. It’s theft but I’m constantly reminded of Lewis Hyde’s seminal book on the nature of disruptive imagination, Trickster Makes This World. “Trickster isn’t a run-of-the mill liar and thief. When he lies and steals, it isn’t so much to get away with something or get rich as to disturb the established categories of truth and property and, by so doing, open the road to possible new worlds.”

At which point, I can hear Lee’s voice pointing out that only “another monotonous, passive-aggressive man” would reference a little-known book on anthropology to recommend a standup special.

But that’s just it. To love Lee’s work is to loathe yourself for enjoying comedy pulled apart so you can see how it’s done. I am that monotonous passive-aggressive man. Why the hell can’t I just enjoy jokes? Why can’t I just go see Tim Vine, like everybody else?

I saw “Basic Lee” four times on tour, proving (as if this needs proof) that I am that insufferable bore. I can explain why each one was so very different. I first saw it at the start of the run, in the Leicester Square Theatre in Soho. Lee had just broken his foot and hobbled around the stage with a large protective boot on his foot. He kept wincing in pain, which lent the show pathos. That night he thanked the audience for helping make it the best show of the run (to that point). I saw it again once again in Salford, and twice in Liverpool, including the show that Lee would claim to have been his worst.

From my place in the audience, ranging from the front row to almost the back row, the standard never dipped. Some nights, Lee extemporised more than he would on other nights, but it was never easy to spot which bits were new. “That bit normally doesn’t get a laugh,” he’ll say, though, of course, that bit always got a laugh.

The version of Basic Lee now showing on Sky Comedy is perhaps the purest distillation of the run’s material. It also adopts a few of his familiar tricks you might know from his TV series and other specials, especially the commentary he addresses straight to camera. It’s another of the things he does so well, creating a paratext to the main text; asides functioning like footnotes and adding another layer of abstraction to the entire proceeding.

And, still, none of that really explains Lee, which is why his comedy is worth return visits. Compared to many stand-ups who play familiar games (“blah, blah, rhythm of a joke” as Lee puts it), Lee deliberately places himself on the edge between success and failure. But even writing that is to borrow from Lee, who mocks those of us who point out that it’s best when it’s failing. But that’s why Stewart Lee remains a paradox. The closer you get to enjoying his work, the more he pushes you away; the more you loathe his work, the more he wants to draw you closer.

See if you’re on the inside or the outside of his comedy on Sky Comedy.”

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9) STEWART LEE VS THE MAN-WULF

John Mackay & Sally Homer, in association with Debi Allen/Curtis Brown present
STEWART LEE vs THE MAN-WULF BRAND NEW SHOW
LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE, LONDON

3^rd December 2024 – 17^th January 2025
AND UK TOURING THROUGHOUT 2025

NB: TICKETS FOR THESE SHOWS WILL REMAIN AT THE ADVERTISED PRICE. SURGE PRICING IS IMMORAL AND TICKETMASTER AND OASIS ARE WANKERS, ENCOURAGED BY SUCCESSIVE TORY CULTURE SECRETARIES IN THEIR CRIMINAL ENDEAVOURS.

In this brand-new show, Lee shares his stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of North America who hates humanity. The Man-Wulf lays down a ferocious comedy challenge to the culturally irrelevant and physically enfeebled Lee. Can the beast inside us all be silenced with the silver bullet of Lee's unprecedentedly critically acclaimed style of stand-up?

Stewart Lee, ("the world's greatest living stand-up comedian" The Times), is in danger of being left behind. He's approaching sixty with debilitating health conditions, his TV profile has diminished, and his once BAFTA award winning style of stand-up seems obsolete in the face of a wave of callous Netflix-endorsed comedy of anger, monetising the denigration of minorities for millions of dollars. But can Lee unleash his inner Man-Wulf to position himself alongside comedy legends like Dave Chapelle, Ricky Gervais and Jordan Peterson at the forefront of side-splitting stadium-stuffing shit-posting?

Opening at Leicester Square Theatre in December 2024 the new show will tour to UK cities throughout 2025.

Leicester Sq Theatre, London 3^rd Dec 2024 – 17^th Jan 2025 7pm, except for 6pm and 8.30 pm Sat 4^th Jan. 0207 734 2222 www.leicestersquaretheatre.com

STEWART LEE vs THE MAN-WULF 2025 TOUR SCHEDULE

January 2025

Sunday 19th January 2025 - Mayflower Theatre, Southampton - TICKETS
Monday 20th January 2025 - Dorking Halls, Dorking - TICKETS
Tuesday 21st January 2025 - Dorking Halls, Dorking - TICKETS
Wednesday 22nd January 2025 - The Alban Arena, St. Albans - TICKETS
Thursday 23rd January 2025 - The Alban Arena, St. Albans - TICKETS
Friday 24th January 2025 - Symphony Hall, Birmingham - TICKETS
Saturday 25th January 2025 - Symphony Hall, Birmingham - TICKETS
Sunday 26th January 2025 - Symphony Hall, Birmingham - TICKETS
Tuesday 28th January 2025 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS
Wednesday 29th January 2025 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS
Thursday 30th January 2025 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS
Friday 31st January 2025 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS

February 2025

Saturday 1st February 2025 - Theatre Royal, York - TICKETS
Monday 3rd February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Tuesday 4th February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Wednesday 5th February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Thursday 6th February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Friday 7th February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Saturday 8th February 2025 - Playhouse, Oxford - TICKETS
Monday 10th February 2025 - The Marlowe, Canterbury - TICKETS
Wednesday 12th February 2025 - Chelmsford Theatre, Chelmsford - TICKETS
Thursday 13th February 2025 - De Montfort Hall, Leicester - TICKETS
Friday 14th February 2025 - De Montfort Hall, Leicester - TICKETS
Saturday 15th February 2025 - Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe - TICKETS
Sunday 16th February 2025 - Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe - TICKETS
Tuesday 18th February 2025 - The Lowry, Salford - TICKETS
Wednesday 19th February 2025 - The Lowry, Salford - TICKETS
Thursday 20th February 2025 - The Lowry, Salford - TICKETS
Friday 21st February 2025 - The Lowry, Salford - TICKETS
Saturday 22nd February 2025 - The Lowry, Salford - TICKETS

April 2025

Tuesday 1st April 2025 - Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield
Wednesday 2nd April 2025 - Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield
Thursday 3rd April 2025 - New Theatre, Peterborough - TICKETS
Friday 4th April 2025 - Palace Theatre, Southend - TICKETS
Saturday 5th April 2025 - Palace Theatre, Southend - TICKETS
Sunday 6th April 2025 - Palace Theatre, Southend - TICKETS
Tuesday 22nd April 2025 - Royal & Derngate, Northampton - TICKETS
Wednesday 23rd April 2025 - Royal & Derngate, Northampton - TICKETS
Monday 28th April 2025 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS
Tuesday 29th April 2025 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS
Wednesday 30th April 2025 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS

May 2025

Thursday 1st May 2025 - Playhouse, Nottingham - TICKETS
Tuesday 6th May 2025 - Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool - TICKETS
Wednesday 7th May 2025 - Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool - TICKETS
Thursday 8th May 2025 - Playhouse, Leeds - TICKETS
Friday 9th May 2025 - Playhouse, Leeds - TICKETS
Saturday 10th May 2025 - Playhouse, Leeds - TICKETS
Monday 12th May 2025 - Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton - TICKETS
Thursday 15th May 2025 - King's Theatre, Portsmouth - TICKETS
Friday 16th May 2025 - The Forum, Bath - TICKETS

September 2025

Tuesday 16th September 2025 - New Theatre, Cardiff - TICKETS
Wednesday 17th September 2025 - New Theatre, Cardiff - TICKETS
Thursday 18th September 2025 - New Theatre, Cardiff - TICKETS
Friday 19th September 2025 - New Theatre, Cardiff - TICKETS
Saturday 20th September 2025 - New Theatre, Cardiff - TICKETS

October 2025

Friday 17th October 2025 - Bristol Beacon, Bristol
Saturday 18th October 2025 - Bristol Beacon, Bristol

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10) WORK IN PROG DATES NEW SHOW

Small club dates of these seem to sell in a few hours as the venues announce them to their lists but I will be doing some ½ hrs of new material at various festivals and bigger gigs between now and Dec, and a small venue London run at the hidden gem of The Museum of Comedy, where you can see Little Titch’s actual amazing boots and marvel at a massive collection of jackets and hats belonging to various handsy comedians of the ‘60s and ‘70s, many now the subjects of criminal investigations.

In November I will be doing various new material shows at the Museum of Comedy in London.

https://museumofcomedy.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873646622

11) SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO

Stewart’s 2019 touring show Snowflake/Tornado, which was originally broadcast as a BBC Special in Autumn 2023 is now available to buy or rent “on demand” from www.mediagarageproductions.com

Both shows also appear to be free as part of the current Amazon Prime rosta.  Hopefully I can give them a physical release at some point.

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12) CHARITY COOKBOOK

I did a charity performance of Pea Green Boat at the Belgrade Coventry this year for Leamington LAMP and the students put the money into the quality printing of a cookbook  (in hardback).  There’s a kitchen at the heart of the building and all the students and teachers cook for each other once a week and share recipes.  They collected them and one student illustrated the book really beautifully.  They are for sale for £15 - so they have re-invested the money into something fabulous that will continue to bring them some income.

https://leamingtonlamp.sumupstore.com/product/artistic-sensory-cuisine-recipes-from-lamp-students

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13) HIGH WINDOWS

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tinyinallthatair/episodes/High-Windows--A-full-reading-to-celebrate-Larkins-birthday-on-9th-August-e2mvdod

I read Philip Larkin’s High Windows for the Philip Larkin Society. I’m also doing a podcast on Larkin’s jazz reviews later in the year.

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14) I ARROGANTLY RECOMMEND SOME HAPPENINGS

MELT BANANA Japanese art rock geniuses return. SEP 10^th Carlisle Brickyard, 11^th Edinburgh Mash House, 12^th Glasgow Stereo, 17^th Ipswich Baths, 24^th Cardiff Globe. A must!!!

LLOYD COLE Solo tour by the godfather of arch introspective indie

SEPT

13^th Guildford G Live,
14^th Bury St Edmonds Apex,
16^th B’ham Town Hall,
18^th Shrewsbury Severn,
19^th Lytham St Anne’s Lowther Pavillion,
21^st Hamilton Town House,
22^nd Greenock Beacon,
24^th Whitley Bay Playhouse,
25^th Ilkley King’s Hall,
26^th Sheffield City Hall

CAROL VORDERMAN The Pepper Potts of pinko politics uses maths and memory to hold the world to account. 21^st London QEH https://www.carolvordermanlive.com

ALFIE BROWN
The very good stand-up comedian Alfie Brown tours his OPEN HEARTED HUMAN ENQUIRY  show. alfiebrowncomedian.com

SEPTEMBER

WED 18, 8PM, NORWICH, Arts Centre, 01603 660352, norwichartscentre.co.uk
FRI 20, 7.30PM, CHESTER, Storyhouse, Garret Theatre, 01244 409 113, storyhouse.com
SAT 21, 7.30PM, CAMBRIDGE, Cambridge Junction, 01223 511 511, junction.co.uk
WED 25, 7.30PM, CHELMSFORD, Chelmsford Theatre Studio, 01245 606 505, chelmsfordtheatre.co.uk
THU 26, 7.30PM, WORCESTER, Huntingdon Hall, 01905 611 427, worcestertheatres.co.uk
FRI 27, 7.30PM, TAUNTON, Brewhouse, 01823 283 244, tauntonbrewhouse.co.uk
SAT 28, 8PM, FALMOUTH, The Poly Theatre, 01326 319461, thepoly.org

OCTOBER

WED 2, 8PM, BORDON, Phoenix Arts, The Phoenix Theatre, 01420 472664, phoenixarts.co.uk
THU 3, 7.45PM, BRACKNELL, South Hill Park Arts Centre, 01344 484 123, southhillpark.org.uk
FRI 4, 8PM, PORTSMOUTH, Guildhall, The Lens Studio, portsmouthguildhall.org.uk
SAT 5, 7.30PM, MAIDSTONE, Hazlitt Theatre, Exchange Studio, 01622 758611, parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/hazlitt-theatre
WED 9, 7.30PM, LEEDS, The Wardrobe, thewardrobe.co.uk
THU 10, 8PM, HULL, Social, socialhumberstreet.co.uk
FRI 11, 7.30PM, DARWEN,  Darwen Library Theatre, 01254 582579, bwdvenues.com
SAT 12, 7.30PM, LEICESTER, Firebug, 0116 255 1228, firebugbar.net
TUE 15, 7.30PM, LYTHAM ST ANNES, Lowther Pavilion, 01253 794221, lowtherpavilion.co.uk
WED 16, 7.30PM, STAFFORD, Gatehouse Theatre, The MET Studio, 01785 619080, gatehousetheatre.co.uk
THU 17, 7.30PM, BRADFORD, The Studio, 01274 432000, bradford-theatres.co.uk
FRI 18, 7.30PM, STOURBRIDGE, Town Hall, The Wollaston Studio, 01384 812812, boroughhalls.co.uk
SAT 19, 7PM, LIVERPOOL, Hot Water Comedy Club, hotwatercomedy.co.uk
SUN 20, 7.30PM, SCUNTHORPE, The Plowright Theatre, 01724 296296, scunthorpetheatres.co.uk
WED 23, 8PM, SOUTHAMPTON, The Attic, theatticsouthampton.co.uk
THU 24, 9PM, BRIGHTON, Brighton Dome, Studio Theatre, 01273 709709, brightondome.org
TUE 29, 7PM, READING,  Just the Tonic, 020 3740 3700, justthetonic.com/reading-comedy/
WED 30, 8PM, BRISTOL, Hen and Chicken, 01275 375 056, henandchicken.com

NOVEMBER

FRI 1, 7.30PM,  HARPENDEN, The Eric Morecambe Centre, 01582 767525, the-emc.co.uk
WED 6, 7.30PM,  SHREWSBURY, Theatre Severn, Walker Theatre, 01743 281281, theatresevern.co.uk
THU 7, 8.30PM, NOTTINGHAM, Canalhouse, ncfcomedy.co.uk
FRI 22, 7PM, ABERDEEN, Lemon Tree, 01224 641122, aberdeenperformingarts.com
SAT 23, 4PM, GLASGOW, The Stand, 0141 212 3389, thestand.co.uk
SUN 24, 8.30PM, EDINBURGH, Monkey Barrel Comedy, monkeybarrelcomedy.com
MON 25, 8.30PM, NEWCASTLE, The Stand, 0191 232 0707, thestand.co.uk

DECEMBER

FRI 6 & SAT 7, 9.30PM, LONDON, Leicester Square Theatre, 020 7734 2222, leicestersquaretheatre.com
SUN 8, 8PM, NORTHAMPTON, Filmhouse, 01604 624811, royalandderngate.co.uk
SAT 14, 9.30PM, LONDON, Leicester Square Theatre, 020 7734 2222, leicestersquaretheatre.com

THE ICEMAN

One off show by comedy legend The Iceman at London’s Bill Murray, 4pm, Sunday 22^nd Sept

https://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/event-detail/the-iceman-22nd-sep-the-bill-murray-london-tickets-202409221630/

MARK RADCLIFFE AND MARC RILEY LIVE SEPT 26^th Shepherd’s Bush Empire London NOV 3^rd Shrewsbury Severn, 5^th Crewe Lyceum, 10^th Warrington Parr Hall.

MUDHONEY Grunge godheads still growling, SEPT 27^th Brighton Concorde 1, 28^th M’cr New Century, 29^th Glasgow St Luke’s, OCT 1^st Bristol Academy, 2^nd London Electric Ballroom

LONG RYDERS Another final chance to see the resurrected and now seemingly immortal Alt Country Punk pioneers – like the Clash gone Nashville – The Long Ryders.
OCTOBER 10^th Glasgow Oran Mor, 11^th Birkenhead Future Yard, 13^th M’cr Band On The Wall, 14^th Nottingham Metronom2, 16^th London 229, 18^th St Leonards Piper

TIRZAH GARWOOD Beyond Ravilious, Dulwich Picture Gallery London, 19 November 2024–26 May 2025.
The first major exhibition devoted to the artist and designer Tirzah Garwood (1908–1951) since 1952. Best known until now as the wife of Eric Ravilious and as the author of the autobiography Long Live Great Bardfield, Garwood excelled as a fine artist and printmaker. Her diverse and enchanting works are gems of the mid-20th century.

THE DAMNED Black Album/Strawberries line-up, with hard-wristed Holy Grail headhunter Rat Scabies back on drums. DEC 4^th Newcastle NX, 5^th Glasgow Barrowlands, 6^th M’c Academy, 8^th Leeds Academy, 9^th Nottingham Rock City, 10^th W’hampton Halls, 12^th Bristol Beacon, 13^th S’hampton Guuildhall, 14^th Eastbourne Winter Gardens, 16^th Cambs Corn X, 18^th London Roundhouse

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15) IN OUR LAMENTATIONS 2024

Tony Oxley (Sheffield’s Sunny Murray, 1938)
John M Burns (His modesty blazed, 1939)
John Pilger (News terrier, 1939)
David Soul (The covered man, an inspiration 1943)
Annie Nightingale (Gateway drug, 1940)
Pitchfork (Signal to noise, 1996)
Mary Weiss (She led the pack, 1948)
Chris Karrer (Archangel’s Thunderbirdman, 1947)
Iasos (Greek space muso, 1947)
Phil Niblock (NY art noise, 1933)
Pluto Shervington (Ram Goat Liver Eater, 1950)
Tisa Farrow (Zombies ripped her flesh, 1951)
Norman Jewison (Rollerball Superstar, 1926)
Neil Kulkarni (Era-enhancing music critic, 1972)
Wayne Kramer (He kicked out the jams motherfucker, 1945)
Steve Brown (He left Avalon and taught the world to sing, 1954)
Christopher Priest (Dorset future-ist, 1943)
Aston “Family Man” Barrett (dub bass headcase, 1946)
Ian Lavender (Don’t tell him, Pike, 1946)
Damon Suzuki (Krautrock witness cuddled me & Noel Fielding, 1950)
John Rotheroe (Shire Book Seer, 1935)
Steve Wright (massive old-skool pro made it look easy, 1954)
Alan Tomlinson (Jazz trombonist, dry northern wit, beatnik, 1947)
Ewen Mackintosh (Office secondary superstar, 1973)
Jenni Nuttall (Chaucerian)
Richard Lewis (Worthwhile American comedian, 1947)
Nick Dimbleby (Sculptor of note, scholar, gentleman, comedy fan, 1946)
Edward Bond (Whitehouse-infuriator, 1934)
Karl Wallinger (Waterboys’ prime period pianist, 1957)
Eric Carmen (Raspberry sensation, 1949)
Wally Shoup (Hard-blowin’ hero, 1944)
The Wye Salmon (pollution-fucked fish)
Paul Brett (Crazy World guitarist, 1947)
Shane Baldwin (Vice Squad drummer and punk scribe, 1963)
John Sinclair (Beatnik, 1941)
Carl Andre (None more brick, 1935)
Graeme Naysmith (Pale Saint)
Marian Zazeela (Eternal Musician, 1940)
Shelley Ganz (Unclaimed but claimed, at last, 1959)
Steve Albini (Big blackhead, 1962)
Dennis Thompson (He also kicked out the jams motherfucker, 1948)
Gary Floyd (Double happy dick punk, 1953)
Roger Corman (King of the Bees, 1926)
Doug Ingle (The Iron Butterfly, 1945)
Gerry Conway (Folk drummer for hire and tool of anti-CND propaganda, 1947)
Nicholas Ball (His house bled to death, 1946)
Larry Page (Wild thingy, 1936)
Francois Hardy (Chanteuse genieuse, 1944)
Arthur Gaps Hendrickson (Selectaman under pressure, 1951)
James Chance (He contorted himself, 1953)
Donald Sutherland (Kilroy was here, 1935)
Dexter Romwebber (Guitar jet, 1966)
Clarence Frogman Henry (Anthropomorphic blues amphibian, 1937)
Randy Fuller (He fought the law also, 1944)
Lucy Rimmer (She fell briefly on a birthday)
Callum The Highland Red Deer (Killed by twat tourists)
Mark Found (Sound recordist and model railway specialist)
Shelly Duvall (She shone, 1949)
Wendy Ritson (Centipede violinist, 1934)
Jean Williams (Complex Feminine bassist, 1951)
Bob Newhart (I ripped him off, 1929)
Toumani Diabate (Mali kora master, 1965)
Jerry Miller (He was purple and lived under the sea, 1943)
John Mayall (Bluesbreaker broken at last, 1933)
Irene Schweizer (German jazznius, 1941)
Jack Karlson (Succulent Chinese meal, 1942)
Catherine Ribeiro (Oh! My heart is broken! An angel! A true star!1941)
Anthony O’Neill (Brú na Bóinne architect)
Pete Bailey (Josefus/Stone Axe vox)
Brian Trueman (Dangermouseman, 1932)
Rebecca Horn (Concerto anarchist, 1944)
James Earl Jones (He made shit sparkle, 1931)
Dean Roberts (Thela-maturgist, 1975)
Brother Marquis (He had 99 problems and a bitch weren’t one, 1966)
Zoot Money (Ran madly towards Tim Kirkby’s dad’s beach hut, 1942)
Herbie Flowers (He walked on the wild side, 1938)
Pat Collier (He vibrated,1952)
Steve Kille (Dead Dead Meadow Man)
Gavin Webb (Master’s Apprentice,1947)
Alan Delon (Man In A Girl On A Motorcycle, 1935)