Pat Condell

Infobox Comedian
name = Pat Condell

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imagesize =
caption = Condell in January 2006.
pseudonym =
birth_name = Patrick Condell
birth_date = birth date and age|1951|11|1
birth_place = England
death_date =
death_place =
medium = Stand-up
nationality = English
active = 1980s - present
genre = Topical comedy/satire
subject = Religion, religious satire
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spouse =
notable_work =


website = [http://www.patcondell.net PatCondell.net]
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Pat Condell (born November 1, 1951) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, and Internet personality. An outspoken atheist, Condell hosts a series of widely-viewed short video monologues denouncing religion.

Early life

Pat Condell was raised as a Catholic but was educated in several different Church of England schools across South London. Allegedly, his father was a compulsive gambler working in a betting shop until he died of leukaemia. The family was impoverished, moving repeatedly from one rented flat to another.cite web
last =
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authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Cutting Edge at the Gilded Balloon
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publisher =
date =
url = http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/sta/search/detaile.cfm?EID=23884
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accessdate = ] Condell is a vegetarian. His website states that he became a vegetarian in 1976 after watching a deer being butchered. [ [http://www.patcondell.net/page2/page5/page5.html Godless and Meatless] ]

Online videos

Condell has posted forty-eight monologues so far on various video sites, which together have notched up over 15 million hits. [cite web
last =
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title = Comedian Pat Condell’s videos receive millions of hits
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publisher =National Secular Society
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url = http://www.secularism.org.uk/comedianpatcondellsvideosreceive.html
format =
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accessdate =2007-10-22 ] [cite web
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title = Pat Condell's Live Leak page
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publisher =Live Leak
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url = http://www.liveleak.com/user/patcondell
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accessdate =2007-12-04 ] [cite web
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title = Pat Condell's YouTube page
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publisher =YouTube
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url = http://www.youtube.com/patcondell
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doi =
accessdate =2008-03-02 ] [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = dotSub most viewed videos
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publisher =dotSub
date =
url = http://www.dotsub.com/view/mostviewed/
format =
doi =
accessdate =2007-12-04 ] He is in the top hundred most subscribed users on YouTube [cite web | title= Most Subscribed : (All Time)| publisher=YouTube| date=21 January 2008 |url=http://youtube.com/members?s=ms&t=a&g=0&p=4 |accessdate=2008-01-23] , and in the top ten most subscribed users of all time in the UK. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = All - Most Subscribed (All Time)
work =
publisher =YouTube
date =2008-04-17
url = http://uk.youtube.com/members?t=a&p=1&s=ms&g=0
format =
doi =
accessdate =2008-04-17 ] He is the most subscribed to UK comedian on "YouTube". [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Comedians - Most Subscribed (All Time)
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publisher = YouTube
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url = http://uk.youtube.com/members?t=a&p=1&s=ms&g=2&locale=en_GB
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accessdate =2008-06-05 ]

Raised by Catholic parents but educated in Church of England schools, he said of this time "I found myself segregated in assembly and shunted into another room while everyone said their morning prayers. The whole pantomime seemed hollow to me even then. Once you become aware of the gulf between what people profess to believe and how they actually behave, it’s hard to take any of it seriously."cite web
last = Hay
first = Malcolm
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Pat Condell: interview
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publisher =Time Out London
date =2006-11-03
url = http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/features/2217.html
format =
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accessdate =2007-10-22 ]

Richard Dawkins, author of "The God Delusion" said of Condell that "Pat Condell is unique. Nobody can match his extraordinary blend of suavity and savagery. With his articulate intelligence he runs rings around the religious wingnuts that are the targets of his merciless humour. Thank goodness he is on our side". In 2008, Dawkins' website released a collection of Condell's monologues on DVD, titled "Pat Condell: Anthology". [cite web
last =
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authorlink =
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title = Pat Condell Anthology
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publisher =richarddawkins.net
date =2008
url = http://media.richarddawkins.net/images/2008/PC_DVD_jacket_web.jpg
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accessdate =2008-05-10]

In 2007 one of Condell's YouTube videos was used in a presentation by Sir Harold Kroto, recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, at the Beyond Belief symposium. In the clip Condell had some fun "trying" to find something good to say about the three major world religions. After showing the clip, to the general amusement of the audience, Sir Harold remarked, "Look, he's got 28 up on there. Go and see him...if he's still alive." [ [http://youtube.com/watch?v=bP1gj2vPXIE Nobel prize winner gives Pat Condell a shoutout (at 3:00)] ]

He has been criticised by Christian author Dinesh D'Souza on "AOL News", who said "If the televangelists are guilty of producing some simple-minded, self-righteous Christians, then the atheist authors are guilty of producing self-congratulatory buffoons like Condell." [cite web
last = D'Souza
first = Dinesh
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Why Is This Atheist So Smug?
work =
publisher =AOL News
date =2007-09-26
url = http://news.aol.com/newsbloggers/2007/09/26/why-is-this-atheist-so-smug/62
format =
doi =
accessdate =2007-10-22 ] Atheist biology professor and blogger PZ Myers, on the other hand, endorsed Condell with a terse "Speak it, brother!". [cite web
last = Myers
first = PZ
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Speak it, Brother!
work =
publisher =Scienceblogs
date =2007-11-28
url = http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/11/speak_it_brother.php
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accessdate =2007-11-29 ]

Condell also received criticism after links to his monologue, titled "The Trouble With Islam" were circulated to commissioners in the City of Berkeley's Peace and Justice Commission. Condell said in the video that he thought Islam was "a religion of war", that women who cover their faces for religious reasons were "mentally ill", and that fundamentalist Muslims were "primitive pigs whose only achievement in life is to be born with a penis in one hand and a Qur'an in the other." Commissioner Elliot Cohen described Condell's comments as "insulting, degenerating and racist". [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
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title = Comic in US 'hate speech' row
work =
publisher =Chortle
date =2007-05-17
url = http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2007/05/17/5335/comic_in_us__'hate_speech'_row
format =
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accessdate =2007-10-22 ] Condell then accused Cohen of being "motivated by his own narrow personal and political agenda which has nothing to do with me or the video clip." [cite web
last =
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title = Letters to the Editor
work =
publisher = Berkeley Daily Planet
date =2007-05-29
url = http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=06-01-07&storyID=27185
format =
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accessdate =2007-10-22 ] The video was initially sent to them by fellow Peace and Justice Commissioner Jonathan Wornick, who said it "tries to expose intolerance in the Muslim world," such as "the intolerance of radical Islamists who say if you insult Allah, you should have your head cut off." [cite web
last =Scherr
first =Judith
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Commissioners Condemn Bigoted E-Mail
work =
publisher =Berkeley Daily Planet
date =2007-05-15
url = http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/news/print.asp?id=20911
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doi =
accessdate =2007-10-22 ] "The Trouble With Islam" has since notched up over two million hits on the world wide web. Condell said that its popularity proves "there is an enthusiastic audience for comedy ideas and opinions which are routinely censored out of existence in the UK’s mainstream media, thanks to misguided political correctness". [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Condell hits top a million
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publisher =The Freethinker
date =
url = http://www.freethinker.co.uk/?p=81
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doi =
accessdate =2007-10-22 ] He has also posted videos criticising Christianity [cite web
last =Condell
first =Pat
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Hello angry Christians
work =
publisher =YouTube
date =
url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atTSwau9fwM
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accessdate =2008-06-05 ] , Catholicism [cite web
last =Condell
first =Pat
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Catholic Morality
work =
publisher =YouTube
date =
url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LStcajxvb_E
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doi =
accessdate =2008-05-28 ] , Judaism [cite web
last =Condell
first =Pat
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = What about the Jews?
work =
publisher =YouTube
date =
url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vaw658Bow8
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doi =
accessdate =2008-05-28 ] , The Church of England [cite web
last =Condell
first =Pat
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Sharia Fiasco
work =
publisher =YouTube
date =
url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM2dC1iWzww
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doi =
accessdate =2008-05-28 ] and Scientology [cite web
last =Condell
first =Pat
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Take a cruise, Tom
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publisher =YouTube
date =
url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzMHrVCgU38
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accessdate =2008-05-28 ] .

He is a member of the National Secular Society [cite web
last =
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authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Comedian Pat Condell’s videos receive millions of hits
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publisher =NationalSecularSociety.com
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url = http://www.secularism.org.uk/comedianpatcondellsvideosreceive.html
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accessdate =2007-12-29 ] and has a large following of users on the Internet, including a Facebook [http://oxford.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2357033805 Fanclub] dedicated to him. [http://blog.newhumanist.org.uk/2007/08/comedian-pat-condell-ranting-about.html]

Video ban

Condell's video "Welcome to Saudi Britain" was banned by YouTube early in October 2008, but reinstated shortly after due to other YouTube users complaining and posting the video on their own accounts. In it Condell criticizes Britain's sanctioning of a Sharia court.

A YouTube spokesman said "YouTube has clear policies that prohibit inappropriate content on the site, such as pornography, gratuitous violence or hate speech. Our community understands the rules and polices the site for inappropriate material. When users feel content is inappropriate they can flag it and our staff then review it as quickly as possible to see if it violates our Terms of Use. If users repeatedly break these rules we disable their accounts."

The National Secular Society were amongst the complainants to YouTube, saying "as usual, he (Condell) does not mince his words, but he is not saying anything that is untrue. His main thrust is one of outrage on behalf of those Muslim women who will suffer because they are forced to have their marital problems solved in a male-dominated Sharia court." [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3130883/YouTube-censors-comedians-anti-Sharia-video-called-Welcome-to-Saudi-Britain.html] Shorlty after, YouTube reversed their earlier decision saying "YouTube is a platform for expression of all kinds. Our Community Guidelines prohibit speech that promotes or encourages hatred or violence towards certain groups or individuals, and the video was flagged by our community on that basis. Upon further review of the context of Pat Condell's comments, we've reinstated it." This was congratulated by Richard Dawkins who said "I congratulate YouTube on an excellent decision. Pat Condell is hard-hitting, but always quietly reasonable in tone. That some people say they are 'offended' by something is never a good reason for censoring it. Incitement to violence is. Pat Condell never incites violence against anybody. He always signs off with "Peace" and he means it."cite web
last = Dawkins
first = Richard
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = YouTube Reinstates Pat Condell
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publisher =richarddawkins.net
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url = http://richarddawkins.net/article,3204,YouTube-Reinstates-Pat-Condell,Richard-Dawkins
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doi =
accessdate =2008-05-28 ]

Comedy

After a number of jobs, including six years logging in Canada, Condell "fell into comedy" in the 1980s. His first stage performance was at the age of thirty two in a comedy sketch show "Mountbatten's Plimsoll". Also a poet at the time, he appeared at the "Poetry Olympics" at the Young Vic Theatre in 1982. This led for a short while to writing weekly topical poems for "Time Out" magazine.

His first stand up comedy performance was in 1985. He then performed on the London Alternative Comedy circuit for several years (originally under the name Eddie Zibin).cite web
last = Condell
first = Pat
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Comedy and Me
work =
publisher =Pat Condell
date =
url = http://www.patcondell.net/page2/page10/page10.html
format =
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accessdate =2008-05-28 ] "In those days" he said "some of the nights were wild, particularly at the old Tunnel Club, next to the Blackwall Tunnel, where the audience was a nightmare. I had bottles and glasses thrown at me, and one guy even jumped on stage with a pair of shears and tried to cut the mic lead." He was a performer in the Cutting Edge team at The Comedy Store,with whom he performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1991. In 1991 Condell was the winner of a "Time Out Comedy Award". [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Time Out Awards
work =
publisher =Chortle
date =
url = http://www.chortle.co.uk/features_static/awards/timeout.php
format =
doi =
accessdate =2007-10-22 ] From 1991 to 1994 he was a regular panelist on BBC Radio 1's "Loose Talk". [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Loose Talk
work =
publisher =
date =
url = http://www.radiolistings.co.uk/programmes/loose_talk.html
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accessdate = ] [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Loose Talk
work =
publisher =
date =
url = http://www.angelfire.com/pq/radiohaha/LOOSETLK.html
format =
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accessdate = ] By the mid 1990s he was sick of the late nights and travelling, as he was by then regularly notching up 200 to 300 gigs a year around Britain, and he started writing for others, whilst still doing the occasional live gig.

His 2006 stand-up show ‘Faith Hope and Sanity’, subtitled ‘A Few Jokes About Religion Before It Kills Us All’, was a platform for his comedy and atheist beliefs. "This is the first time I’ve set out to write a show in order to say something, rather than just as a vehicle for stand-up" he said of the show. "It seems to me that fundamentalist Christians, jihadist Muslims and settlement-building Jews are causing more than their share of trouble in the world. World events are being driven by people with apocalyptic delusions, while here in Britain a paralysing liberal guilt allows religious bigots to use intimidation and violence to stamp out free speech. If you can’t get laughs out of all that, you can’t get them out of anything." The show did not go down well with one reviewer on the Chortle website, who said of Condell "when you joke about religion, you’re judged against the very best there is. And, disappointingly, Condell is not quite up to the job...a later incarnation of the show could yet inspire. At the moment, though, Condell is still going through the motions." [cite web
last = Bennett
first = Steve
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Faith, Hope & Sanity Review
work =
publisher =Chortle
date =2006-11-08
url = http://www.chortle.co.uk/shows/misc_live_shows/p/15032/pat_condell%3A_faith%2C_hope_%26_sanity/review/
format =
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accessdate =2008-02-03 ]

He is also author of the play "Barry Sorts It Out"cite web
last =
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title = Pat Condell - playwright
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publisher =doollee.com
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url = http://doollee.com/PlaywrightsC/CondellPat.htm
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accessdate =2007-12-03 ] This play was described in the Financial Times as "a sordid East End comedy written by stand-up Pat Condell. It repeats ad nauseam the same gag, in which Barry's narrative recounts his calm, reasonable thoughts followed with a "so I..." by his crassly Neanderthal actions." [cite web
last = Shuttleworth
first = Ian
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = THE PICK OF LONDON'S SECOND ONE-PERSON PLAY FESTIVAL
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publisher = Financial Times
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url = http://www.cix.co.uk/~shutters/reviews/96089.htm
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accessdate =2008-02-04 ]

He did comedy sketches at Duke of York's Theatre, which was released onto DVD as "Barf Bites Back!" (1991). [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Barf-Bites-Back-Tony-Slattery/dp/B00008T3N4 Amazon.co.uk: Barf Bites Back! [1991: Tony Slattery,Simon Fanshawe,Eddie Izzard,Pat Condell,Lee Evan: Video ] ]

Condell has said of his humour "I used to talk about this stuff in comedy clubs until I discovered internet video. Now I get a lot more death threats, but I don't have to deal with drunks." [cite web
last =
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authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Pat Condell
work =
publisher = goofigure
date =
url = http://www.goofigure.com/UserGoofigureDetail.asp?gooID=8513&catID=&forID=24&searchfield=&usrID=&
format =
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accessdate =2008-05-28 ]

Works

*"Barry Sorts It Out".
*"Stand and Deliver" (writer) [ [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1545982/ Pat Condell ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.patcondell.net/ Pat Condell's website]
*YouTube user|patcondell|Pat Condell's
*myspace|patcondell|Pat Condell
* [http://www.dotsub.com/view/user/patcondell Pat Condell subtitled videos at dotSUB.com]
* [http://patcondell.libsyn.com/ Pat Condell audio podcast at libsyn.com]
* [http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/features/2217.html Time Out interview with Pat Condell]
*imdb name|id=1545982|name=Pat Condell
* [http://www.freethinker.co.uk/?p=580 Interview in The Freethinker]