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I had an annoyed tit at my front door…
One day last week, I got what I think was a complaint. Normally, when I get up in the morning, one of the first things I do is feed the birds in my back garden. But, on that day, I was a bit late...
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Sweary Scottish football fans show that English footie fans are f****** wimps…
I’ve just been sent a PR release plugging a touter of sports tickets and I know my readers are keen on swearing (even my devoted reader in Guatemala). So, although I only rarely pass on commercial...
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A tribute to Tony Allen, oft-called The Godfather of UK Alternative Comedy
Here, award-wining stand-up Becky Fury pays tribute to her long-time friend Tony Allen, who died yesterday morning, in London… (Photos from Becky’s collection) Becky Fury with Tony Allen Tony Allen...
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Bernie Clifton – family entertainer and national treasure: Crackerjack to Vegas
Legendary comedy entertainer and British national treasure Bernie Clifton has just published his showbiz autobiography Crackerjack to Vegas. He has ridden his puppet costume creation Oswald the...
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Dave Dawson: 30 years on the road as a full-time professional singer (3rd of 3)
In the last two blogs, British singer Dave Dawson has been talking about his new autobiographical book Pop Idle. Now read on… JOHN: You mentioned you admired the Cardiacs, I’ve never heard of them....
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ChessBoxing: the now worldwide sport which should be on British television…
ChessBoxing is now a worldwide sport in which two opponents alternate fighting in the ring with playing chess. A knockout in the former or a checkmate in the latter and, obviously, you win. The word...
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Moviemaking? You need perseveration and Jason Cook…
When I did my college course in London – radio, TV, journalism, advertising – it had three linked mini sub-subjects – psychology, sociology and literature. One of the things the psychology course...
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The 1980s… when UK comedy WAS bizarre on stage and sometimes TV…
In December 2021, Barry Ferns interviewed me for the Angel Comedy Club’s podcast. This is a transcript of the start of that chat – largely about the changes in UK comedy since the 1980s – slightly...
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The changes in UK alternative comedy because of agents, Malcolm Hardee etc
This is Part 2 of a chat from December 2021, when Barry Ferns interviewed me for his Angel Comedy Club podcast As with Part 1, it has been slightly tidied up to reduce my wittering incoherence. JOHN:...
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That time I tried to persuade comic Malcolm Hardee to fake his own death
Malcolm Hardee in his iconic spectacles In December 2021, Barry Ferns interviewed me for his Angel Comedy Club’s podcast. I recently posted a couple of transcripts from the start of that chat – largely...
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