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.
Tres Ryan, Twitter
Tres Ryan, Twitter
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Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Sweeping Curves, Twitter
Sweeping Curves, Twitter
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Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
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Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
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Robert Gavin, Twitter
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Anon, westhamonline.com
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Lents, redandwhitekop.com
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Aaron, comedy.co.uk
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Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
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Fairy Pingu, Twitter
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Danazawa, Youtube
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Microcuts 22, Twitter
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Joycey, readytogo.net
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DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
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Mearecate, Youtube
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John Robins, Comedian
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Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
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Foxfoxton, Youtube
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Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
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GRTak, finalgear.com
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Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
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Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
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Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
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Tokyofist, Youtube
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Peter Ould, Twitter
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Anon, BBC Complaints Log
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Joe, Independent.co.uk
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Jamespearse, Twitter
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Dick Socrates, Twitter
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Gabrielle, Chortle.com
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Mrdavisn01, Twitter
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Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
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Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
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Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
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Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
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Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
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Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
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Peter Ould, Youtube
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Guest1001, Youtube
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Cyberbloke, Twitter
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Meninblack, Twitter
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Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
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Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
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Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
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Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
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Sidsings000, Youtube
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Pudabaya, Twitter
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Birmingham Sunday Mercury
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Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
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Keilloh, Twitter
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Fowkes81, Twitter
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Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
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Hiewy, Youtube
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BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
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Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
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Mpf1947, Youtube
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Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
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Brighton Argus
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Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
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Idrie, Youtube
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Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
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Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
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Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
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Frankie Boyle, Comedian
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Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
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Borathigh5, Youtube
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Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
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Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
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Leach Juice, Twitter
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98rosjon, Twitter
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James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
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12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
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Liam Travitt, Twitter
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Gwaites, Digitalspy
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Z-factor, Twitter.
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Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
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Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
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General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
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World Without End, Twitter
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Iain, eatenbymissionaries
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Jackmumf, Twitter
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Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
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Clampdown59, Twitter.
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Sam Rooney, Youtube
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Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
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Horatio Melvin, Twitter
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Tin Frog, Twitter
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Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
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Anamatronix, Youtube
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NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
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Rudeness, Youtube
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Richard Herring, Comedian
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Stuart, Chortle
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Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
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Visualiser1, Twitter
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Len Firewood, Twitter
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A D Ward, Twitter
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Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
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Emilyistrendy, Youtube
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Aiden Hearn, Twitter
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Contrapuntal, Twitter
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FBC, finalgear.com
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Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
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Al Murray, Comedian
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Zombie Hamster, Twitter
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Carcrazychica, Youtube
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Shit Crit, Twitter
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Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
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Secretdeveloper, Youtube
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Slothy Matt, Twitter
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Peter Fears, Twitter
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Stokeylitfest, Twitter
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Rubyshoes, Twitter
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Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
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Wharto15, Twitter
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Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
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Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
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Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
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Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk