The Twelfth Man
Encyclopedia
The Twelfth Man is the name for a series of comedy productions by Australia
n satirist Billy Birmingham
. Birmingham, a skilled impersonator, is generally known for parody
ing Australian sports commentator
s' voices. As befits the name (a reference to the non-playing reserve in an eleven-player cricket side), Birmingham particularly focuses on cricket
commentators such as Richie Benaud
, Bill Lawry
and Tony Greig
. This is also because many of Australia's cricket commentators have distinctive and easily identifiable voices and accents.
The parodies, released periodically on CD, are designed as a comical look "behind the scenes" of the Nine Network
's cricket commentary. Birmingham traditionally plays all the roles (with the exception of Ken Sutcliffe and some minor female characters, such as Richie Benaud's secretary). Benaud himself sends a critique of each CD to Birmingham and is known to have a mixed opinion of the recordings, due predominantly to Birmingham's use of profanity. All albums were produced and engineered by David Frogatt.
The 12th Man's most popular song is "Marvellous!" featuring all the main three commentators. It was first recorded as a single in 1992, with backing vocals by Jimmy Barnes
, John Farnham
, Diesel
and Glenn Shorrock
among others. An updated version, with some of the commentators changed, was featured on Still the 12th Man. He has since released an updated version of the song entitled "Marvellous 2006" on his latest album Boned!
. It can be heard at the 12th Man's MySpace
. In an article in The Herald Sun on 15 November 2009, Birmingham announces that Boned! was his last album to be released.
or the MCG
or the Gabba
or the WACA
or wherever the hell we are" and classic lines like "Got him, yes! Piss off, you're out!"
On 8 December 2006, the Twelfth Man was a guest radio DJ on Triple M
for several hours choosing the music, providing comments and playing clips from Boned!
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n satirist Billy Birmingham
Billy Birmingham
Billy Birmingham is an Australian humourist and sometime sports journalist, most noted for his parodies of Australian cricket commentary in recordings under The Twelfth Man name. He was the writer of the comedy hit Australiana which was made famous by performer Austen Tayshus...
. Birmingham, a skilled impersonator, is generally known for parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
ing Australian sports commentator
Sports commentator
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
s' voices. As befits the name (a reference to the non-playing reserve in an eleven-player cricket side), Birmingham particularly focuses on cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
commentators such as Richie Benaud
Richie Benaud
Richard "Richie" Benaud OBE is a former Australian cricketer who, since his retirement from international cricket in 1964, has become a highly regarded commentator on the game....
, Bill Lawry
Bill Lawry
William Morris "Bill" Lawry, AM is a former cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. He captained Australia in 25 Tests, winning nine, losing eight and drawing eight, and led Australia in the inaugural One Day International match, played in 1971...
and Tony Greig
Tony Greig
Anthony "Tony" William Greig is a former English Test cricketer and currently a commentator.Born in Queenstown, South Africa, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish father. He was a tall batting all-rounder who bowled both medium pace and off spin. He became captain of the...
. This is also because many of Australia's cricket commentators have distinctive and easily identifiable voices and accents.
The parodies, released periodically on CD, are designed as a comical look "behind the scenes" of the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's cricket commentary. Birmingham traditionally plays all the roles (with the exception of Ken Sutcliffe and some minor female characters, such as Richie Benaud's secretary). Benaud himself sends a critique of each CD to Birmingham and is known to have a mixed opinion of the recordings, due predominantly to Birmingham's use of profanity. All albums were produced and engineered by David Frogatt.
The 12th Man's most popular song is "Marvellous!" featuring all the main three commentators. It was first recorded as a single in 1992, with backing vocals by Jimmy Barnes
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
, John Farnham
John Farnham
John Peter Farnham, AO, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham , is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock as...
, Diesel
Johnny Diesel
Johnny Diesel is an Australian musician, who has released material as leader of Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, under his birth name, or by the epithet Diesel...
and Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Barrie Shorrock is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of pop groups The Twilights, Axiom and Little River Band as well as being a solo performer....
among others. An updated version, with some of the commentators changed, was featured on Still the 12th Man. He has since released an updated version of the song entitled "Marvellous 2006" on his latest album Boned!
Boned!
Boned! is the eighth and final album to date, released by The Twelfth Man, released on 2 December 2006. The album's title Boned! comes from the press reaction to the Mark Llewellyn affidavit that revealed that the then Channel 9 Television CEO Eddie McGuire wanted to sack, or "bone" Today presenter...
. It can be heard at the 12th Man's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
. In an article in The Herald Sun on 15 November 2009, Birmingham announces that Boned! was his last album to be released.
Other appearances
During the 2005-06 Australian cricket season, the free online cricket game Stick Cricket featured commentary from The 12th Man. This was returned for the 2006-07 series and included an interview with The 12th Man by Stick Cricket's fans. It features some new lines such as "And welcome back to the SCGSydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
or the MCG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
or the Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
or the WACA
WACA Ground
The WACA is a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia. WACA are the initials of its owners and operators, the Western Australian Cricket Association....
or wherever the hell we are" and classic lines like "Got him, yes! Piss off, you're out!"
On 8 December 2006, the Twelfth Man was a guest radio DJ on Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
for several hours choosing the music, providing comments and playing clips from Boned!
Boned!
Boned! is the eighth and final album to date, released by The Twelfth Man, released on 2 December 2006. The album's title Boned! comes from the press reaction to the Mark Llewellyn affidavit that revealed that the then Channel 9 Television CEO Eddie McGuire wanted to sack, or "bone" Today presenter...
.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | AU | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | It's Just Not Cricket It's Just Not Cricket "It's Just Not Cricket" is a the debut single of The Twelfth Man, a series of comedy productions by skilled impersonator Billy Birmingham. It was the first single released off the album of the same name, It's Just Not Cricket.... |
#1 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| 1987 | Wired World of Sports | #1 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| 1990 | The 12th Man Again | #1 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| 1992 | Still the 12th Man Still the 12th Man Still the 12th Man is the fourth album released by The Twelfth Man. Released in 1992 for the season 1992-93, it reached number one on the ARIA Album Charts.-Plot:A day in the life of Richie Benaud, the "captain" of the Channel 9 cricket commentary team... |
#1 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| 1994 | Wired World of Sports II Wired World of Sports II Wired World of Sports II is the fifth album released by The Twelfth Man. Released in December 1994, it reached number one on the ARIA Album Charts... |
#1 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| 1997 | Bill Lawry... This is Your Life Bill Lawry... This is Your Life Bill Lawry... This is Your Life is the sixth album released by The Twelfth Man. Released on December 7, 1997, it reached number one on the ARIA Album Charts.-Plot:... |
#1 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| 2001 | The Final Dig? The Final Dig? The Final Dig? is the seventh album released by The Twelfth Man, released on December 3, 2001.The Final Dig? went to number one on the Australian ARIA Chart and went multi-platinum.-Story:Richie Benaud decides to retire... |
#1 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| 2006 | Boned! Boned! Boned! is the eighth and final album to date, released by The Twelfth Man, released on 2 December 2006. The album's title Boned! comes from the press reaction to the Mark Llewellyn affidavit that revealed that the then Channel 9 Television CEO Eddie McGuire wanted to sack, or "bone" Today presenter... |
#1 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... /Virgin Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny... |
- The Twelfth Man's album Boned! officially debuted on the Australian ARIA Top 50 Albums chartARIA ChartsThe ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
at #1 on 11 December 2006 and went 2x Platinum in its first week (140,000 copies). It was also the 2nd highest selling Australian album of 2006.
Following
The 12th Man has a large following all around the world. Outside Australia, the UK probably has the most fans with South Africa a very close second. Albums have been learnt by heart by many and Billy Birmingham is often greeted with impressions of his work. There are large groups petitioning for a new album but Birmingham is reluctant as his main star Richie Benaud has announced his retirement, and with newer commentators taking more major roles.Other releases
- A single, "Bruce 2000", was released during the Sydney Olympics, with the 12th Man impersonating Bruce McAvaneyBruce McAvaneyBruce William McAvaney OAM is an Australian sports broadcaster with the Seven Network, well-known for his commentary of Australian rules football matches as well as covering every Summer Olympic Games from Moscow 1980 until Beijing 2008.- Early years :The son of an Adelaide accountant, McAvaney...
.
- A promotional hits CD entitled (Some of) the 12th Man's Greatest Hits containing tracks from the official albums was available from Australian KFCKFCKFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
outlets in 2003.
- On 6 November 2009 the 12th Man Box Set was released to celebrate the 12th man's 25th anniversary. It contains all 7 of the 12th Man's albums plus the 'Bruce 2000' CD Single.
- The 12th Man also plans to release a documentary in 2010. The documentary will be a combination of rare archival footage, fly-on-the-wall home video of 12th Man recording sessions through the years, animated sketches of some famous 12th Man album segments, TV performances, special guests from the sporting and entertainment communities, as well as interviews, stories and bizarre anecdotes from the past 25 years of ‘The 12th Man’ phenomenon.