Live in Belfast
Encyclopedia
Live in Belfast is a live
comedy
album
by English
comedian
Rowan Atkinson
. It was first released in 1980 as a vinyl
LP
and cassette tape
on Arista Records
, then re-released in 1996 on CD
.
It was recorded in front of live audiences at two evening performances at the Grand Opera House
in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
, on 19–20 September 1980. The performances were part of a four-month tour of the United Kingdom
.
Atkinson was supported by comedy writer
Richard Curtis
, who appeared doing setups or at the receiving end of jokes, and composer
Howard Goodall
, who provided musical accompaniment.
. The three have collaborated numerous times during their careers. Atkinson's tour occurred between series two and three of the British comedy television programme Not the Nine O'Clock News
, for which Atkinson was an actor
, Curtis was a writer and Goodall was the music director
.
es and song
s. The sketches were written by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis. The song
lyrics
were written
by Richard Curtis and the music
was composed by Howard Goodall.
Side two
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
. It was first released in 1980 as a vinyl
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride is a plastic.PVC may also refer to:*Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor*Peripheral venous catheter, a small, flexible tube placed into a peripheral vein in order to administer medication or fluids...
LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
and cassette tape
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
on Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
, then re-released in 1996 on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.
It was recorded in front of live audiences at two evening performances at the Grand Opera House
Grand Opera House (Belfast)
The Grand Opera House is a theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by the most prolific theatre architect of the period, Frank Matcham. It opened on 23 December 1895....
in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, on 19–20 September 1980. The performances were part of a four-month tour of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Atkinson was supported by comedy writer
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
, who appeared doing setups or at the receiving end of jokes, and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Howard Goodall
Howard Goodall
210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
, who provided musical accompaniment.
Background
Rowan Atkinson met Richard Curtis and Howard Goodall at Christ Church, OxfordChrist Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. The three have collaborated numerous times during their careers. Atkinson's tour occurred between series two and three of the British comedy television programme Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News
Not the Nine O'Clock News is a television comedy sketch show which was broadcast on BBC 2 from 1979 to 1982.Originally shown as a comedy "alternative" to the BBC Nine O'Clock News on BBC 1, it featured satirical sketches on current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy...
, for which Atkinson was an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, Curtis was a writer and Goodall was the music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
.
Comedy in the show
The comedy in the show was in the form of sketchSketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
es and song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s. The sketches were written by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis. The song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
were written
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
by Richard Curtis and the music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
was composed by Howard Goodall.
Personnel
- Rowan AtkinsonRowan AtkinsonRowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
– main character in sketches, lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
on "Mary Jane" and "Do Bears Sha la la" - Richard CurtisRichard CurtisRichard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
– second character in "The Wedding", "Mary Jane", "Senator Brea's Dead", "Impatient Man in Queue Behind Student" and "JokeJoke (sketch)"Joke" is a comedy sketch written and performed by English comedians Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis. It was performed live during Atkinson's 1980 tour of the United Kingdom...
" - Howard GoodallHoward Goodall210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
– music, vocals on "I Hate the FrenchI Hate the French"I Hate the French" is a satirical comedy song performed live by Howard Goodall during Rowan Atkinson's 1980 tour of the United Kingdom. A live recording was made at the Grand Opera House in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 19 or 20 September 1980 and released on Rowan Atkinson's live comedy album,...
", backing vocals on "Mary Jane" and "Do Bears Sha la la"
Track listing
Side one- "Man in Seat C23" – Rowan Atkinson as the man in seat C23
- "Sir Marcus Browning M.P." – Atkinson as the announcer and Sir Marcus Browning, MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
- "Mary Jane" – Richard Curtis as the announcer, Atkinson as Will "Nigger-hater" Bowen and Howard Goodall as Peterson
- "The Wedding a. The Vicar" – Curtis as Gerald and Atkinson as the vicar
- "The Wedding b. The Best Man" – Curtis as the announcer and Atkinson as the best man
- "The Wedding c. The Father of the Bride" – Curtis as the announcer and Atkinson as the father of the bride
- "I Hate the FrenchI Hate the French"I Hate the French" is a satirical comedy song performed live by Howard Goodall during Rowan Atkinson's 1980 tour of the United Kingdom. A live recording was made at the Grand Opera House in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 19 or 20 September 1980 and released on Rowan Atkinson's live comedy album,...
" – Goodall as the French-hating singer - "Interval Announcement" – Atkinson as the announcer
Side two
- "Do Bears Sha la la" – Atkinson as the American singer and Goodall as the backing vocalist
- "Senator Brea's Dead" – Atkinson as the first American and Curtis as the second American
- "The Devil" – Atkinson as Toby the Devil
- "Impatient Man in Queue Behind Student" – Curtis as the studentStudentA student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
and Atkinson as the impatient man - "Station Announcement" – Atkinson as the impatient man and the announcer
- "JokeJoke (sketch)"Joke" is a comedy sketch written and performed by English comedians Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis. It was performed live during Atkinson's 1980 tour of the United Kingdom...
" – Atkinson as the joke-teller and Curtis as the joke-receiver