- Roy 'Chubby' Brown
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Roy 'Chubby' Brown Birth name Royston Vasey Born 3 February 1945 (age 66)[1]
Grangetown, North Riding of Yorkshire,
EnglandNationality British Years active 1960s–present Genres Blue comedy Subject(s) Sex, British politics,
race, everyday lifeInfluences Bernard Manning Notable works and roles See below Website Official site Roy "Chubby" Brown (born Royston Vasey on 3 February 1945)[1] is an English stand-up comedian, notorious for his decidedly blue humour. The controversial nature of his act means that he rarely appears on major television channels,[2] and Brown has attracted accusations that his comedy style is outdated[3] whilst also being described as "The most important comedian of the past 25 years".[4] It is claimed that he performs to over 350,000 people each year.[5]
Contents
Early life and career
Brown was born in Grangetown, in Redcar, North Riding of Yorkshire, and left home at the age of fourteen. He has a brother, Ray. He lived rough and held many jobs, at one time joining the merchant navy, and served time in borstal and prison.[6] He later moved into working men's clubs in the 1960s, first as a drummer and later as a comedy act, under the name 'Alcock & Brown'.[2] He appeared on the television show New Faces in the 1970s and came second in the show, losing to a country and western band. Brown failed the audition for Opportunity Knocks after saying the word 'arse' during his interview.[citation needed]
Success as a blue comedian
Part of Brown's image is his stage costume; he typically wears a flying helmet and goggles, a multicoloured patchwork jacket and trousers, white shirt, red bow tie and moccasins.
During his long career, he has caused offence by mocking various concepts, including race, women, the Queen Mother (whose death occurred hours before Standing Room Only began recording) and himself. His ribald act causes offence to many[weasel words], yet he maintains a strong fan base. Brown's shows are rarely seen on television, as nearly all of his material is highly sexist and contains a lot of strong language, especially the word "cunt".[2] However, a show about Brown's comedy was broadcast on Channel 4 on 8 May 2007.
One of the rituals of his shows is that they always start with the crowd shouting "You fat bastard!" repeatedly, to which he dances. He then approaches the microphone and says "fuck off!" This heckling occasionally continues during his act.
His real name, Royston Vasey, was used as the namesake for the fictional town in the comedy television show The League of Gentlemen. He also made several cameo appearances as the foulmouthed mayor of the town.
In the 1980's VHS and cassette versions of his live performances were available to buy at the live shows, With the advent of low cost CD & DVD duplicating the formats available have changed. Old originals of Brown's VHS and Cassette audio tapes have been found to be sought after and by some deemed quite collectable.
Film
In 1993 Brown released a film called U.F.O. starring himself and Roger Lloyd Pack; in it he is abducted by aliens while staying in a hotel in Blackpool during his live shows.
Music
One of his best known songs is "Living Next Door to Alice (Who the Fuck is Alice?)" — a cover version of "Living Next Door to Alice" recorded with Smokie.
The record spent 19 weeks in the UK chart, peaking at number 3.[7]
He released a solo single in the winter of 1996 called "A Rocking Good Christmas", written by Ray Hedges; this reached number 51.[8]
Brown has also released two albums, Take Fat and Party (1995) and Fat Out of Hell (1996); they achieved positions 29 and 67 in the UK album charts respectively.[8]
Personal life
Brown is married to Helen, his third wife, with children and has homes in Middlesbrough and Lincolnshire. In 2003 he was fined £200 in Blackpool for assaulting a fan who had sworn at him; of the incident, Brown said "I have traditional values and I wanted the man to stop swearing in front of women and children who were on the pier."[9]
Brown was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2002,[10] and had a vocal cord removed.[6] In 2006 he released an autobiography, Common as Muck: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown. He is also co-owner of the racehorse "Rasaman".[11]
On 8 April 2009 Brown's son, Martin Reilly, 36, of Stillington, County Durham, was jailed for four years for conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession of heroin and cannabis,[12] having admitted offences dating from a November 2008 arrest.[13][14] Brown was understood to have little contact with his son.[13]
On 12 December 2009, it was announced that Brown was facing a charge of common assault on a woman, after an incident in a car park in Middlesbrough on 2 September 2009.[15] At Teesside Magistrates' Court on 5 January 2010, Brown denied the charges via his solicitor.[16] He was acquitted on 16 March 2010.[17]
He is a supporter of Middlesbrough F.C..[1]
Stand up releases
Whilst Brown has been performing for over 30 years, his live shows have been released around Christmas time since 1990. They have been released by Channel 5 (1990), PolyGram (1991–1998) and Universal (1999–present) Between 1990 and 1999 they were released only on VHS, between 2000 and 2004 they were released on VHS and DVD, between 2005 and 2009 they were released only on DVD and from 2010 they were released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.
Releases
- From Inside The Helmet (1990)
- The Helmet Rides Again (1991)
- The Helmet's Last Stand (1992)
- Exposed (1993)
- U.F.O. (1993) (film)
- Jingle Bollocks (1994)
- Clitoris Allsorts (1995)
- Saturday Night Beaver (1996)
- Obscene and Not Heard (1997)
- Chubby Goes Down Under and Other Sticky Places (1998)
- You Fat Bastard! (1999)
- Thunder Bollocks (2000)
- Stocking Filler! (2001)
- Standing Room Only! (2002)
- Bad Taste (2003)
- Giggling Lips (2004)
- King Thong (2005)
- Kick-Arse Chubbs (2006)
- The Good, the Bad & the Fat Bastard (2007)
- Dirty Weekend In Blackpool (2008)
- Too Fat to Be Gay (2009)
- Pussy and Meatballs (2010)
References
- ^ a b http://web.researcha.com/iccquery/detail/?did=9253871&c=uk
- ^ a b c "Tees Stage — Interview with Chubby Brown". Bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/tees/weareteesside/halloffame/chubbyinterview.shtml. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
- ^ Brown, Malcolm (4 July 2008). "Comedy review: Roy 'Chubby' Brown — Scotsman.com Living". living.scotsman.com. http://living.scotsman.com/comedy/Comedy-review-Roy-39Chubby39-Brown.4259007.jp. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
- ^ Arnot, Chris (6 November 2007). "A gay academic applauds the work of Roy "Chubby" Brown — Education — The Guardian". London: guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/nov/06/highereducationprofile.academicexperts. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
- ^ "Roy Chubby BROWN — C H U B B Y ' S W O R L D — Main Page". www.dave-edwards.com. http://www.dave-edwards.com/chubbysworld/main/. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
- ^ a b Roy Chubby Brown: Britain's Rudest Comedian (Channel 4). 2008-02-07.
- ^ UK Chart Stats
- ^ a b UK Chart Stats
- ^ "icTeesside — 'Chubby' couldn't stomach swearing". icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk. 7 August 2003. http://icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk/0300entertainment/showbiz/2003/08/07/chubby-couldn-t-stomach-swearing-50080-13265120/. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
- ^ "'Chubby' Brown: I've got throat cancer". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. 26 April 2002. http://archive.thisislancashire.co.uk/2002/4/26/620679.html. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
- ^ "Horse racing: Tattenham corner — Sport — The Observer". London: guardian.co.uk. 20 April 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/apr/20/horseracing.news. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
- ^ BBC Look North, 8 April 2009
- ^ a b "Comic Brown's son on drugs charge". BBC News. 19 November 2008. Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5ft34MPwC. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
- ^ "Chubby son awaits fate". Evening Gazette (trinity Mirror (Gazette Media Company Ltd)). 21 February 2009. http://ts21.gazettelive.co.uk/local-news/chubby-son-awaits-fate.html. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
- ^ "BBC website". bbc.co.uk. 12 December 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/8409055.stm. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
- ^ "Roy 'Chubby' Brown denies assault". BBC News. 5 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/8442150.stm. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ^ "Chubby Brown cleared of assault". BBC News. 16 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tees/8571304.stm. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
External links
Categories:- 1945 births
- Living people
- Cancer survivors
- English comedians
- English stand-up comedians
- People from Grangetown, North Yorkshire
- British racehorse owners and breeders
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