What causes one to laugh is highly subjective. Practically everyone I know loves Fools & Horses. They sit around laughing their bollocks off at it. For my part, I don’t, nor have I ever, found it even remotely amusing. People have pled with me to watch ‘After Life’ and I’ve told them “No. I can’t stand the cunt.” They’ve gone “Nor can I but this is different class. You’ve got to give it a go.” I did and it’s probably the worst show I’ve ever seen. I forced myself to watch an entire episode too- just in case it got better, it got fucking worse. Those who love it are still my pals, none of this is worth falling out over but you know, if they like that, what else are they capable of? Ricky Gervaise is an odd one as, while I’m not keen on his work (The Office and especially The Christmas Special aside), I love what he’s been coming out with, in the press over the last few years. Ricky’s not suffering the bullshit. It takes a brave individual to stick his/her head above the parapet these days and Gervaise does it on the regs. So, fair play to him. I digress… Laughter is essential for a happy life but even more so, in an unhappy one. When it’s right on you and laughter’s all you’ve got left… It becomes sacred. What follows is not a list of the world’s greatest stand-ups but just a couple of the many, who’ve made me laugh. To stand on that stage and risk it all, armed with nothing but a mic, takes more courage than I’ll ever possess…
In the olden days, some record shops- a few at least, left the albums inside the covers. This gave most teenagers the impression that they weren’t overly concerned about anyone toddling out with them. One day during the mid-seventies I found myself in a place called Golders Green. I’ve no recollection as to why but either way, it was there that I stumbled upon one of the rare enterprises mentioned above, Look, I wasn’t a particularly good “hoister” as I’m not really a thief but I was a teenager and, despite my limitations, I added half a dozen albums to my collection that afternoon. I went back a few days later with a friend, who was a good hoister and he strolled out with thirty LPs. It would have been more but some of them were double albums and the weight became a limiting factor.
The size of your album collection was a “thing” back then. To some my age, caught in a time-warp, it still is… I can’t remember the other albums I walked out with but I certainly do one, as to an extent, it changed my life. It was Wattstax, a live (double) album documenting the 1973 Wattstax Festival. Isaac Hayes loomed large on the cover and that was enough to ensure inclusion. I knew The Staples were on Stax, as was Rufus Thomas and a host of other high-calibre Soul brothers and Soul Sisters… There was an insert photo in the top corner of a guy I’d never seen before (except I had in Lady Sings the Blues) and had never heard of either. His name was Richard Pryor…
To be honest, I kind of wanted to like the album more than I ever actually did. I’d sit indoors puffing away and find myself slightly bored by it. Making matters worse was that I had to keep getting up to skip these talking bits that kept cropping up. So, you know that cliched image of the dope-smoker being lazy? Well, it’s extremely accurate as, after a while, I stopped getting up to skip the talking bits but lo and behold, before long I was jumping up to skip the musical numbers, to get to the talking. This was despite being a stoner. This guy was fucking incredible. Unfortunately, I can’t recall the bits he did on the album but more than a few of them cropped up on some of his albums. For maybe a couple of years those bits were all I had to go on and I’d play them over and over again. Then, by chance, I mentioned him to a couple of my mates and it transpired that they were not only familiar with Richard Pryor but their older brother had all his albums. Vince occupied the room adjacent to David’s and, quick as a flash, Dave produced half a dozen of Pryor’s recordings. I’d sit there for hours laughing my bollocks off. I must have been a right nause but Dave, bless his heart, put up with me. In the time of the Information Superhighway, it’s difficult to imagine how life was in the olden days but Richard Pryor remained pretty much a secret- for years. He was more, much more, well-known amongst black people but even then, his work wasn’t really common knowledge. That changed, to a large extent in the late seventies with the release of his seminal film ‘Richard Pryor Live in Concert’. This is not to be confused with the equally brilliant Live On Sunset Strip which came sometime later.
What I’m about to say, may sound like a lie. Or, at least, an exaggeration- it’s neither. I swear to God. I went with my mate Max to see Live in Concert and that stand-up had me out of my seat, lying in the aisle, crying with laughter… Again, on my eyesight.
This was the first time I’d seen or heard of a stand-up act being filmed and released as a feature film and our research department and our partners over at Google, confirm as much. Richard Pryor Live In Concert for better or worse, created a new film genre. Those HBO and Netflix Specials exist, purely due to Pryor’s groundbreaking movie.
Speaking of HBO specials. Years ago, I had, purely by chance Chris Rock and Seinfeld back to back on the same tape. On first viewing, there was no comparison. Chris blew Jerry out of the water. A couple of months later I watched them again Seinfeld was on a completely different level. Once the Rock’s shock value had worn off, there wasn’t much else on offer. Seinfeld, the second time around, was a masterclass in comedy.
Were anyone to rush to watch Richard Pryor Live in Concert - on the strength of this, I apologise in advance, as some of it will be dated but that’s due to other comics aping his material for the last forty years. Not only his material but his delivery. I once saw Sir Lenny Henry do so on TV… word for word. Sir Lenny even went as far as wearing the same costume as Pryor… Nothing new there, we had Cliff Richards as Elvis and, Donovan as Dylan. So, why not Lenny Henry as Richard Pryor? Sir Lenny’s about as close to Pryor in terms of talent, as Sir Cliff was to Elvis. Or Donovan to Dylan so… Word is that Sir Lenny’s mounting a play where he’s cast himself as Pryor. The only miscasting to rival this, in my lifetime, was Quentin casting Clooney, as his brother.
The comic who reaped the most out of Pryor’s success was Eddie Murphy. Who, in essence, reaped far more out of it than Richard ever did. Eddie’s breakout ‘Delirious’ wouldn’t have seen the light of day had it not been for Pryor. It’s been noted that when they worked together on ‘Harlem Nights’ Richard, allegedly- was offish towards Eddie. This must have been trying for Mr Murphy as firstly, he’d probably got Richard the gig and secondly, because Eddie idolised Pryor. If you’ve ever heard his, it’s uncanny. It doesn’t take the brains of Llyod George to work out that Richard had the raving hump over Eddie’s success. Eddie was a good-looking kid and, adding insult to injury, was infinitely better film actor. Sticking to a script and doing take after take may not have been conducive to Pryor’s talents but anything requiring razor-sharp wit, delivered at lightning speed… Call Richard.
It’s said that politics is downstream from culture. I’m unsure how true that is but I’m sure of one thing, Pryor did more through humour than most modern-day ‘activists’ could achieve in six lifetimes. Like most I’d imagine, my friendships are based on laughter and most of that laughter, stems from taking the piss out of each other. The closer people are, the better they get at it. My kids are merciless and it’s hysterical.
Fine Rain…
My wife refers to people who whistle as “attention seekers” and has no time for them. She has little time for anyone outside of family. Her life mantra is “I’m not here to make friends.” Put it this way, I’m the nice one. Yet, despite my hippie-like love of mankind, there’s one area in which we share parity… Stand-Ups. We hate them. Netflix features loads of the unfunny fuckers. I’ll click on one and realise I’ve already given them a go. I know because there’s a red line that indicates one’s previous viewing time and when I say that most range from between thirty seconds, to a minute, I’m not exaggerating.
Ninety-eight per cent are absolute shit and, were there a button I could press that would kill them, whilst ensuring I’d never be arrested, I’d press it- in a heartbeat. While the same could be said for the odd individual I encounter in ‘real life’, there’s no comparison between my disdain for bad people and bad stand-up comics. Part of the problem is that to be funny, one needs sensitivity. To stand in front of an audience requires confidence. Most present-day stand-ups possess an overabundance of confidence, coupled with minimal sensitivity and, zero talent. If that’s the case, how do they earn a living? Fortunately, most don’t. Those who do manage to, are down to comedy club audiences, like theatregoers, accepting subpar entertainment. In the instance of the former, I suspect they enjoy it because generally speaking, they’re not that bright themselves. As long as the material’s “on code” they’ll lap it up. That code incidentally, consists almost exclusively of left-wing virtue signalling and nonce jokes. Comics who make it beyond open mic nights and onto TV are simply the least bad. Given the shit TV audiences suffer, what difference will a new third-rate comic make?
Before long they’ll be on one of those horrendous panel shows, where they’ll remain for the next thirty years, having never once been guilty of making anybody laugh. Yet, the law of averages dictates that, every now and again, a decent one will appear.
The problem in terms of this piece though, is that I stopped watching telly years ago. I’ll tear through HBO shows like a demon but as for ‘What’s on tonight, love?” Forget it. There is an exception however, and that’s anything featuring Peter Kay. Every show he’s had on has been brilliant and his ‘Live at the Top of the Tower’ for my part, stands with any comedy great you care to mention. In short, Peter Kay is one funny fucker. Has Mr Kay ever appeared on a panel show, I hope not and seriously doubt it. He’s too busy being funny for all that old bollocks. While those panellists, depend on them…
Even on Netflix, the Patron Saint of Talentless Comics, it is possible to find someone worthwhile. We hit paydirt a few years ago when stumbling across a gentleman named Nate Bargatze. He’s got two specials on there, features on an Episode of The Stand-ups, and another special, on Amazon Prime. I strongly recommend them all. I saw Nate live at the Union Chapel and, in so doing, had to suffer the warm-up act… Man, that was a button-pressing half hour and, while every fibre of my being wanted to walk out I resisted and, it was worth it. That’s how good Bargatze is. Getting me off my sofa of an evening is neigh on impossible but Jackie Mason, Jerry Seinfeld and Nate Bargatze have managed it. Stand-up comedy, at its best, is an art form and without it, life would be a lot less fun. Laugh while you can because the politically correct will kill the game.