Don't Ignore Him

'Just Ignore Him' by Alan Davies 

When celebrity biographies get released, it's usually to great fanfares and fireworks as each flashy hardback vies for our attention in the pre-Christmas glut.  My latest read - 'Just Ignore Him' by Alan Davies - got my attention because it seemed to do the opposite of that.  Just look at the cover; a simple image of a young Davies in white t-shirt looking straight into the camera.  Somehow cautiously bold, it's a long way from the usual stage-managed images we've come to expect on such books.  The only flash of colour is the red of his football shorts, leaving the book dominated by a brown-black that sits in stark contrast to the bright yellows, blues and whites of other biographies that I've read.  So what's going on?

Billy Connolly's Greatest Hits

'Tall Tales and Wee Stories' by Billy Connolly (Two Roads, 2019)

Billy Connolly is one of Scotland's greatest exports.  Now well into his 70s, the musician, actor, artist and stand up no longer performs live, but you can relive some of his best bits through 'Tall Tales and Wee Stories'. 

'Tall Tales and Wee Stories' is a collection of Connolly's classic monologues, drawn from sixty years of sell out performances across the globe.  The ex-welder first found fame as a folk singer, but discovered a talent for public storytelling when he forgot a song's lyrics while on stage.  He filled the gap with a story and it was so well received that it became part of the act.  Eventually, storytelling routines took over from the music altogether.  This book includes favourites such as a Cardinal's school visit, a children's countryside outing, a working class Scottish house party, the workings of airplane toilets, how a cat caused trouble for a film armourer, the infamous Crucifixion sketch and many, many more.  These 'Tall Tales and Wee Stories' are silly, sweary and surreal, in short everything you'd expect from the Big Yin.

Gag About

I love the comedy on Radio Four and Radio Four Extra.  From the wicked wordplay of 'Just a Minute' to the affectionate farce of 'Cabin Pressure', these stations have kept me entertained for hours at home and on my travels.  Two of my favourite programmes are Mark Steel's 'Lectures', which look at historical figures with awe, fascination and an eye for the human behind the name, and 'In Town', which kind of does the same thing for British towns and cities.  So I was delighted when I discovered that there was a book to go with 'Mark Steel's In Town'.

Mark Steel has criss-crossed the country performing stand up inspired by the many different and unique places he's visited.  But this is a travelogue with a difference.  Instead of despairing at the sameness of modern high streets and telling jokes which make audiences laugh at broad, shared experiences, he's been on the hunt for each place's passion and individuality.  From Penzance to Kent, Orkney to Portland and Merthyr Tydfil to Norwich, the comic and writer finds local stories of heroes and villains, explosive celebrations and historic eccentricity.  Above all, he discovers that all is not lost and that people and communities are defiantly idiosyncratic, despite the best efforts of big retail businesses and growing standardisation.

This is a great book to dip in and out of, but, to be honest, it was a bit tough to read as a whole.  Mr Steel often writes as he speaks, so some of the sentences ran over so many lines that I had to go back and read them again to make sure I'd not missed anything.  Fortunately, I could get around this by imagining him actually saying them, but this might be a bit hard for anyone who doesn't know what he sounds like!

It was also very tempting to just skip to the places I know.  Because there's no overarching structure as such, i.e. Mr Steel is not trying to win a bet or reach a specific destination, I suppose there was nothing to stop me doing this, but I always want to do each book justice.

Overall, this book was OK and I really feel that Mr Steel's hopeful message - that despite bland modern standardisation, many communities remain as defiantly different as ever - is an important one, but, really, it's the shows that make this come across best.  So, the next time Mark Steel's in town, why don't you pop along and see him for yourself?

Now, what next..?

Related Links

Back Catalogue of 'The Mark Steel Lectures'
Current Series of 'Mark Steel's In Town'

A Little Bit of R&R...

I picked Dara O'Briain's 'Tickling the English' up after 'Brave New World' because I felt a bit sorry for my brain and thought it could do with a bit of light relief!

'Tickling the English' by
Dara O'Briain (Penguin, 2009)

I don't know whether it's my imagination, but there seem to be a lot of books about by comics nowadays, which made me a bit sceptical before I started reading.  I hoped I wouldn't feel ripped off by a callous money grabbing venture of the 'Oh, he's been popular this year, let's give him a book contract in time for Christmas' variety.

This book is essentially a collection of musings comparing and contrasting the English/British character, structured around some of the more interesting shows Mr O'Briain did as part of his 'Talking Funny' tour in 2008/9.  It meanders a bit, encompassing the people he meets on tour, polls and statistics and the enduring appeal (and stamina) of Ken Dodd, but by the end manages to draw everything together into a logical conclusion.

The style of this book was quite nice and just right for what I wanted at that time.  It wasn't completely vacuous (as I'd feared), but certainly wasn't heavy going either.  In fact, it was just pleasant.  There were a few moments where I felt a bit lectured to and wished there were more anecdotes about the shows, but that wasn't what the book was about.  On the whole, it was a nice, easy read.

However, this was very much the result of timing.  I would recommend this as a relaxing holiday read for the kind of curious mind which can't read anything completely devoid of information, but if you're hoping for a laugh-a-minute page turner, this isn't really it.

Do I think it was a money grabbing exercise?  If it was, I get the feeling that Mr O'Briain was dubious about it and wanted to use the opportunity wisely to make a point of importance to him.  Whether that was what his agent had in mind is another matter!  I'm not going to complain about the commerce of creativity though.  If it wasn't for the bestsellers, there wouldn't be the niche literature, so I see no problem with a world where both exist side by side.  I only get annoyed when one pretends to be the other...but that's another story.

I'm glad I read 'Tickling the English'.  It's good to chill out once in a while and that's exactly what I've done!