Stewart Lee divides comedy fans; his control of an audience is masterly, though he rarely tells conventional jokes and has no physical skills to speak of apart from stoutly leaning on his mic stand and occasionally capering up and down. I find him screamingly funny; plenty don’t, accusing him of smugness and a wilful disdain for the punters. “I’m up here like a god and you’re down there in the dark like pigs in an Essex ditch,” he informs the “cackling sycophants” of Southend-on-Sea in Stewart Lee: Content Provider (Saturday, BBC2, 10.45pm). They love it.
Filmed on one of the last nights of his latest tour, he actually does begin with a (foul) political joke, but soon settles into familiar routines of analysing levels of audience enthusiasm, decrying his rivals (the set is littered with their DVDs) and pontificating on the nature of comedy: a good line “ends on or near a hard consonant”, he maintains, and there’s a lengthy analysis of the comic value of the phrase, “soon-to-be-deported eastern European workers”.
His recent BBC2 series — axed, as he bitterly informs the audience — featured segments in which Chris Morris sternly pointed out Lee’s manifold personal and professional deficiencies. Here his interlocutor is graphic novel genius Alan Moore, to whom Lee confesses, “It’s not something that I feel is good enough to broadcast.”
Those who enjoy “pretentious, meta-textual, self-aware shit” will disagree, and for everyone else, there’s always Michael McIntyre.
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Len Firewood, Twitter
Len Firewood, Twitter
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Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
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Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
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Jamespearse, Twitter
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General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
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Lents, redandwhitekop.com
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Mearecate, Youtube
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Al Murray, Comedian
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Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
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Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
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Idrie, Youtube
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Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
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Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
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Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
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Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
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Aaron, comedy.co.uk
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Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
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Z-factor, Twitter.
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Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
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Wharto15, Twitter
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Borathigh5, Youtube
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Horatio Melvin, Twitter
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Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
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Gwaites, Digitalspy
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98rosjon, Twitter
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Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
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Joe, Independent.co.uk
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Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
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Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Mpf1947, Youtube
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Stokeylitfest, Twitter
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Sidsings000, Youtube
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Robert Gavin, Twitter
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Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
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Rudeness, Youtube
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FBC, finalgear.com
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John Robins, Comedian
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Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
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James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
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Anon, westhamonline.com
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Birmingham Sunday Mercury
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Mini-x2, readytogo.net
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Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
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Richard Herring, Comedian
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Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
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Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
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Pudabaya, Twitter
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Peter Ould, Twitter
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Emilyistrendy, Youtube
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NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
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Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
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Anamatronix, Youtube
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Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
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Iain, eatenbymissionaries
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Bosco239, youtube
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Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
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Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
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Danazawa, Youtube
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Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
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Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
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Funday’schild, youtube.
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Tin Frog, Twitter
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Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
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Tokyofist, Youtube
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12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
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Visualiser1, Twitter
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Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
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Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
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Fowkes81, Twitter
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Sweeping Curves, Twitter
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Joycey, readytogo.net
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Brighton Argus
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Carcrazychica, Youtube
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GRTak, finalgear.com
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A D Ward, Twitter
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Secretdeveloper, Youtube
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Kozzy06, Youtube
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DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
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Fairy Pingu, Twitter
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Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
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Peter Fears, Twitter
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Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
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Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
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Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
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Rubyshoes, Twitter
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Shit Crit, Twitter
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Chez, Chortle.com
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Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
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Peter Ould, Youtube
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Stuart, Chortle
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Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
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Aiden Hearn, Twitter
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Meninblack, Twitter
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Microcuts 22, Twitter
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Anon, BBC Complaints Log
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Clampdown59, Twitter.
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Slothy Matt, Twitter
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Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
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Gabrielle, Chortle.com
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Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
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Mrdavisn01, Twitter
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Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
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Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
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Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
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Jackmumf, Twitter
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Dick Socrates, Twitter
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Contrapuntal, Twitter
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Pnethor, pne-online.com
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Tres Ryan, Twitter
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Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
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Leach Juice, Twitter
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Zombie Hamster, Twitter
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Etienne, Chortle.com
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Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
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Liam Travitt, Twitter
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Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
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World Without End, Twitter
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Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
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Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
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Sam Rooney, Youtube