The Comedians
Encyclopedia
The Comedians is a British television
show of the 1970s (later reprised in the mid 1980s and early 1990s) which gave a stage to nightclub and working men's club
comedians of the era, including Stan Boardman
, George Roper
, Paul Melba, Roy Walker
, Tom O'Connor, Frank Carson
, Jim Bowen
, Charlie Williams
, Sammy Thomas, Dave Butler, Mike Reid
, Duggie Brown
, Lenny Windsor, Colin Crompton
, Ken Goodwin
, Johnny Wager, Harry Scott, Mike Burton, Brian Carroll, Lennie Bennett
, Charlie Daze, Vince Earl
, Russ Abbot
, Jimmy Bright, Steve Faye, Stu Francis
, Jerry Harris
, Jackie Hamilton
, George King, Mick Miller, Bryn Phillips, Tom Pepper, Lee Wilson, Bobby Knutt
Bernard Manning
and Eddie Flanagan. It was produced by Johnnie Hamp
of Granada Television
.
Also featured on the TV show were Shep's Banjo Boys, a 7-piece band comprising (for the first 5 series) Charlie Bentley (tenor banjo), Andy Holdorf (trombone), John Drury (sousaphone), John Orchard (piano), John Rollings (drums), Graham Shepherd (banjo) & Howard Shepherd (lead banjo).
The Comedians began as an experiment for Granada TV. Filmed before a live audience in Manchester
, comics each performed 20-minute sets, which were then edited together into half-hour shows. Each edition featured up to ten stand-up comics.
Working men's club
s are numerous in Britain, especially in North East England
and have been a useful training ground for artists, especially comedians. Most of these clubs are affiliated to the CIU (Working Men's Club and Institute Union
) founded in 1862 by the Rev. Henry Solly.
There are also political clubs, as well as Servicemen's Clubs affiliated to the Royal British Legion.
It was remarkably popular during the earlier series. An LP recording of the show reached the best-seller charts, several sell-out national tours followed, including a season at the London Palladium
, and the programme won the Critics' Circle Award.
The comedy frequently took the form of anecdotes or jokes and often involved racist
or sexist
stereotypes. Like other British comedy successes of the day, notably Love Thy Neighbour
, this kind of entertainment was acceptable on British television during this period but would not be so today. Viewing the series in retrospect it stands as a major social document of the times.
In recent years, the series has been repeated on the (now defunct) British satellite television channel Granada Plus, and can now be bought, on DVD
, having been released by Network.
.
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
show of the 1970s (later reprised in the mid 1980s and early 1990s) which gave a stage to nightclub and working men's club
Working men's club
Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...
comedians of the era, including Stan Boardman
Stan Boardman
Stan Boardman is an English comedian.- Early life :Boardman was evacuated with his family to Wrexham during World War II, and after the family returned to their Merseyside home mistakenly thinking the area had escaped the German bombs, his elder brother Tommy was killed in a bombing raid.He had...
, George Roper
George Roper
This is an article about the British comedian. For information on the British sitcom character, see Man About the House.George Roper was an English stand-up comedian, best known for his appearances in the long-running UK television series The Comedians.- Early history :He was born George Francis...
, Paul Melba, Roy Walker
Roy Walker
Robert "Roy" Walker is a television personality and comedian from Northern Ireland, who worked for many years as both a television presenter and comedy actor...
, Tom O'Connor, Frank Carson
Frank Carson
Frank Carson is a Northern Irish comedian and actor, best known on television in series such as The Comedians and Tiswas.-Early life:...
, Jim Bowen
Jim Bowen
Jim Bowen is an English stand-up comedian and TV personality. He is best known as the host of the ITV gameshow Bullseye, which he hosted between 1981 and 1995.-Early life:...
, Charlie Williams
Charlie Williams (comedian)
Charles Adolphus Williams MBE was a mixed-race English professional footballer , and later became Britain's first well-known black stand-up comedian.He became famous from his appearances on Granada Television's The Comedians and ATV's The Golden Shot, delivering...
, Sammy Thomas, Dave Butler, Mike Reid
Mike Reid (entertainer)
Michael Reid was an English comedian, actor, author and occasional television presenter from Hackney in east London, who is best remembered for playing the role of Frank Butcher in EastEnders and hosting the popular children's TV show Runaround...
, Duggie Brown
Duggie Brown
Duggie Brown is an English comedian and actor. He is the brother of the late Coronation Street actress Lynne Perrie ....
, Lenny Windsor, Colin Crompton
Colin Crompton
Colin Crompton was an English stand-up comedian. He found fame on the Granada Television programme The Comedians in the early 1970s....
, Ken Goodwin
Ken Goodwin (comedian)
Ken Goodwin is an English comedian best known for his performances on the ITV Television show The Comedians.His performance style is nervous and stuttering...
, Johnny Wager, Harry Scott, Mike Burton, Brian Carroll, Lennie Bennett
Lennie Bennett
Lennie Bennett was an English comedian and game show host.After attending the Palatine Secondary School in Blackpool, Bennett became a journalist for the West Lancashire Evening Gazette before becoming a professional entertainer and appearing on The Good Old Days in 1979. Bennett starred in the...
, Charlie Daze, Vince Earl
Vince Earl
Vince 'Mark' Earl Vince 'Mark' Earl Vince 'Mark' Earl (born 11 June 1944 in Birkenhead, Cheshire (now in Merseyside) is an English singer, comedian and actor most famous for his portrayal of the character Ron Dixon in the soap opera Brookside....
, Russ Abbot
Russ Abbot
Russ Abbot is an English musician, comedian and actor who first came to public notice during the 1970s as the singer and drummer with British comedy showband the Black Abbots, later forging a prominent solo career as a television comedian with his own weekly show on British television.Continuing...
, Jimmy Bright, Steve Faye, Stu Francis
Stu Francis
Stu Francis is a British comedian with a camp style of delivery who achieved celebrity as lead presenter on the children's television programme Crackerjack , on which his catchphrase was "Ooh! I could crush a grape". His principal "co host" was Basil Brush...
, Jerry Harris
Jerry Harris
Jerry Harris is an African American abstract sculptor, collagist and writer. Harris is primarily a constructivist sculptor, working in media such as wood, stone, bronze, fiberglass, clay, metal, mixed media , and collage.After graduating from high school in Pittsburgh, he spent a year in Portland,...
, Jackie Hamilton
Jackie Hamilton
Jackie Hamilton was a stand-up comedian, nicknamed the "Pele of Comedy".His problems with alcohol, idiosyncratic delivery and strong Liverpudlian accent were factors in his missing out on national success, but his slick anti-climactic style of observational comedy was well regarded in his home...
, George King, Mick Miller, Bryn Phillips, Tom Pepper, Lee Wilson, Bobby Knutt
Bobby Knutt
Bobby Knutt is a British television actor, who started in entertainment as a stand-up comedian. He is best known for playing Albert Dingle in Emmerdale.- Biography :...
Bernard Manning
Bernard Manning
Bernard John Manning was an English comedian and nightclub owner. He was born and raised in Manchester in northwest England....
and Eddie Flanagan. It was produced by Johnnie Hamp
Johnnie Hamp
Johnnie Hamp is a British television producer, now retired. He is responsible for the early British television appearances of such acts as The Beatles, singer Cilla Black, comedian Woody Allen, and singer Lisa Stansfield as Head of Light Entertainment with Granada Television.-Early life and 1960s...
of Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
.
Also featured on the TV show were Shep's Banjo Boys, a 7-piece band comprising (for the first 5 series) Charlie Bentley (tenor banjo), Andy Holdorf (trombone), John Drury (sousaphone), John Orchard (piano), John Rollings (drums), Graham Shepherd (banjo) & Howard Shepherd (lead banjo).
The Comedians began as an experiment for Granada TV. Filmed before a live audience in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, comics each performed 20-minute sets, which were then edited together into half-hour shows. Each edition featured up to ten stand-up comics.
Working men's club
Working men's club
Working men's clubs are a type of private social club founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the United Kingdom, particularly the North of England, the Midlands and many parts of the South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.-...
s are numerous in Britain, especially in North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
and have been a useful training ground for artists, especially comedians. Most of these clubs are affiliated to the CIU (Working Men's Club and Institute Union
Working Men's Club and Institute Union
The Working Men's Club and Institute Union is a voluntary association of private members' clubs in Great Britain & Northern Ireland, with about 3,000 associate clubs. One club in the Republic of Ireland, the City of Dublin Working Men's Club is also affiliated. Most social clubs are affiliated to...
) founded in 1862 by the Rev. Henry Solly.
There are also political clubs, as well as Servicemen's Clubs affiliated to the Royal British Legion.
It was remarkably popular during the earlier series. An LP recording of the show reached the best-seller charts, several sell-out national tours followed, including a season at the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
, and the programme won the Critics' Circle Award.
The comedy frequently took the form of anecdotes or jokes and often involved racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
or sexist
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
stereotypes. Like other British comedy successes of the day, notably Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour was a popular British sitcom, which was aired from 13 April 1972, until 22 January 1976, spanning seven series. The sitcom was produced by Thames Television and broadcast by ITV. The main cast included Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Nina Baden-Semper and Kate Williams...
, this kind of entertainment was acceptable on British television during this period but would not be so today. Viewing the series in retrospect it stands as a major social document of the times.
In recent years, the series has been repeated on the (now defunct) British satellite television channel Granada Plus, and can now be bought, on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, having been released by Network.
DVD releases
The first seven series including a dvd set (containing the first seven series broadcast 1971-1974) have been released on DVD by NetworkNetwork DVD
Network DVD is a DVD publishing company that specialises in classic British television. In particular, it has the rights to a number of well-known ITV programmes...
.
Transmissions
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Specials
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External links
- Comedy Guide - The Comedians at bbc.co.ukBbc.co.ukBBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
- Classic Telly: Tributes to The Comedians