Hate to sound like an old man but too many current comedians aren’t just not funny, they KNOW they aren’t. Which why they have to pause to wait for a laugh.
Chubby Brown is a great entertainer, whatever you think of his comedy, because he has you laughing before he’s finished a gag, then is onto the next gag before you can calm down enough to listen again.
When I was a student in Middlesbrough in the 80s he was a local hero.
Comedians don’t even try to be funny half the time; they’re expecting you to applaud their politics rather than laugh.
I think it’s been referenced before here quite recently, but the Panel Show sketch in Harry & Paul’s spoof history of BBC2 sums these ‘Canutes’ (as Chubby might call them) up to a tee.
SR
Stephen Rose
2 years ago
A very in incisive article. I saw him in Chatham, plenty of women in the audience, funnily enough my lesbian friends loved him.
Remember Benny Hill, similarly a naughty boy, if in more acceptable language. He got stuffed by the Thames TV CEO ‘s wife who wanted him off because he outraged her feminist principles.
BO
Brendan O'Leary
2 years ago
You may measure the hidden influence of Chubby Brown by what phrase automatically comes to mind after “Alice!”
Thoroughly enjoyable read & bang on the money. I was a fan back in the late 90s/ early 2000s, he played at my local theatre in north Wales a few times. I’ll be honest, at the time, the class issue wouldn’t have crossed my mind as to why he was never on telly despite him being so well-known. Mind you, he was the mayor of Royston Vassey, his namesake town in League of Gentlemen which was a great tip of the hat to him.
Not entirely my cup of tea, but I’m glad that he exists.
JE
Jorge Espinha
2 years ago
“His response to the death of Margaret Thatcher in 2013 was to put ten minutes of abuse into his act: “Where I’m from, everybody hated her.” I Will never understand the British reaction to Margaret Thatcher. In my lifetime the UK had some really spineless PM: Tony “mass immigration” Blair, David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Not to mention some opposition leaders that were the best allies to their contemporaneous Prime Minister, Miliband and Corbyn?!?
None of those little men received 1/10 of the flack Margaret did. Why is that? She spoke her mind. She had a clear idea for the future of Britain (when was the last time this happened in Britain or elsewhere in Europe) and she had the courage to make very difficult decisions in order to save the country from Socialist hell.
Whenever I hear a brit whining about Maggie I think about spoiled children that didn’t get a very expensive toy at Christmas.
AP
Al M
2 years ago
Reading this, I assumed he had died.
Interesting that the equally transgressive Bernard Manning still popped up on tele right up until his death in 2007. The questions around what he and his audience may or may not have thought are equally applicable. Manning was a far better comedian though. Interesting to speculate how he might have fared in the 2010s.
“ Interesting to speculate how he might have fared in the 2010s.”
Obviously, persona non grata. Even his name is “problematic”, not inclusive enough, by half.
I have seen some of his clips on TikTok, he is clearly a very funny and talented comedian, but I remember back in the day he was regarded as pretty course.
TikTok does allow clips if older and banned comedians, which is great
I went to see Bernard Manning in 1972. He was absolutely useless then. He certainly upped his act later.
SS
Paul Sorrenti
2 years ago
Britain’s most offensive comedian? Chubby is right up there when it comes to offending those who are not in his audience, but Jerry Sadowitz manages to offend everyone who isn’t in his audience as well as everyone who is in his audience plus anyone alive or dead and as such somehow makes offensiveness unifying and almost transcendent. Chubby is too much of a crowd pleaser. I think, quite accidentally, Chubby may have became our most subversive comedian however
I didn’t mean offensive rude, I meant offensive booky wooky unfunny.
ML
Martin Le Jeune
2 years ago
Excellent and perceptive
CH
Charles Hedges
2 years ago
Labour Party bans Chubby Brown. Explain predicament of the Labour Party.
The Labour Party control on education has done more to prevent upward social mobility than any other action since the early 1960s.
MO
mike otter
2 years ago
Surely Ricky Gervais IS like that?
JH
Jon Hewy
1 year ago
It wasn’t ever about class, it was about intelligence. The more successful lewd comedians require a social contract. You know that they are mocking the sort of idiot who would genuinely think what they said. You could see with RCB and his audience that they were problematic enough to not only take it at face value, but to act on it. It’s a shame because RCB made some funny jokes in between all the low brow hate inducing twaddle.
JH
Jon Hewy
1 year ago
It wasn’t ever about class, it was about intelligence. The more successful lewd comedians require a social contract. You know that they are mocking the sort of idiot who would genuinely think what they said. You could see with RCB and his audience that they were problematic enough to not only take it at face value, but to act on it. It’s a shame because RCB made some funny jokes in between all the low brow hate inducing twaddle.
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Hate to sound like an old man but too many current comedians aren’t just not funny, they KNOW they aren’t. Which why they have to pause to wait for a laugh.
Chubby Brown is a great entertainer, whatever you think of his comedy, because he has you laughing before he’s finished a gag, then is onto the next gag before you can calm down enough to listen again.
When I was a student in Middlesbrough in the 80s he was a local hero.
“they have to pause to wait for a laugh”
Comedians don’t even try to be funny half the time; they’re expecting you to applaud their politics rather than laugh.
I think it’s been referenced before here quite recently, but the Panel Show sketch in Harry & Paul’s spoof history of BBC2 sums these ‘Canutes’ (as Chubby might call them) up to a tee.
A very in incisive article. I saw him in Chatham, plenty of women in the audience, funnily enough my lesbian friends loved him.
Remember Benny Hill, similarly a naughty boy, if in more acceptable language. He got stuffed by the Thames TV CEO ‘s wife who wanted him off because he outraged her feminist principles.
You may measure the hidden influence of Chubby Brown by what phrase automatically comes to mind after “Alice!”
Who the f”’ is Alice 😀
Thoroughly enjoyable read & bang on the money. I was a fan back in the late 90s/ early 2000s, he played at my local theatre in north Wales a few times. I’ll be honest, at the time, the class issue wouldn’t have crossed my mind as to why he was never on telly despite him being so well-known. Mind you, he was the mayor of Royston Vassey, his namesake town in League of Gentlemen which was a great tip of the hat to him.
Isn’t Royston Vasey his real name?
Yes it is.
Not entirely my cup of tea, but I’m glad that he exists.
“His response to the death of Margaret Thatcher in 2013 was to put ten minutes of abuse into his act: “Where I’m from, everybody hated her.”
I Will never understand the British reaction to Margaret Thatcher. In my lifetime the UK had some really spineless PM: Tony “mass immigration” Blair, David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Not to mention some opposition leaders that were the best allies to their contemporaneous Prime Minister, Miliband and Corbyn?!?
None of those little men received 1/10 of the flack Margaret did. Why is that? She spoke her mind. She had a clear idea for the future of Britain (when was the last time this happened in Britain or elsewhere in Europe) and she had the courage to make very difficult decisions in order to save the country from Socialist hell.
Whenever I hear a brit whining about Maggie I think about spoiled children that didn’t get a very expensive toy at Christmas.
Reading this, I assumed he had died.
Interesting that the equally transgressive Bernard Manning still popped up on tele right up until his death in 2007. The questions around what he and his audience may or may not have thought are equally applicable. Manning was a far better comedian though. Interesting to speculate how he might have fared in the 2010s.
“ Interesting to speculate how he might have fared in the 2010s.”
Obviously, persona non grata. Even his name is “problematic”, not inclusive enough, by half.
I have seen some of his clips on TikTok, he is clearly a very funny and talented comedian, but I remember back in the day he was regarded as pretty course.
TikTok does allow clips if older and banned comedians, which is great
I went to see Bernard Manning in 1972. He was absolutely useless then. He certainly upped his act later.
Britain’s most offensive comedian? Chubby is right up there when it comes to offending those who are not in his audience, but Jerry Sadowitz manages to offend everyone who isn’t in his audience as well as everyone who is in his audience plus anyone alive or dead and as such somehow makes offensiveness unifying and almost transcendent. Chubby is too much of a crowd pleaser. I think, quite accidentally, Chubby may have became our most subversive comedian however
Sadowitz’s crime was exposing Jimmy Savile.
It’s a shame Brown isn’t (professionally) around to lay into Asian rape gangs and their enablers.
Thank you – Roy “Chubby ” Brown is one of our finest comedians. And I write as an Oxford graduate.
Britain’s most offensive comedian is anything to do with Mrs Brown. Oh, and Russell Brand.
Brand isn’t offensive he’s just highly annoying and, sadly, not very funny.
I didn’t mean offensive rude, I meant offensive booky wooky unfunny.
Excellent and perceptive
Labour Party bans Chubby Brown. Explain predicament of the Labour Party.
The Labour Party control on education has done more to prevent upward social mobility than any other action since the early 1960s.
Surely Ricky Gervais IS like that?
It wasn’t ever about class, it was about intelligence. The more successful lewd comedians require a social contract. You know that they are mocking the sort of idiot who would genuinely think what they said. You could see with RCB and his audience that they were problematic enough to not only take it at face value, but to act on it. It’s a shame because RCB made some funny jokes in between all the low brow hate inducing twaddle.
It wasn’t ever about class, it was about intelligence. The more successful lewd comedians require a social contract. You know that they are mocking the sort of idiot who would genuinely think what they said. You could see with RCB and his audience that they were problematic enough to not only take it at face value, but to act on it. It’s a shame because RCB made some funny jokes in between all the low brow hate inducing twaddle.