Doc Cox
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Robert "Doc" Cox (born 1 July 1946 in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire), also known as Ivor Biggun, is a British musician and former television journalist. He is best known for his appearances on the BBC TV programme That's Life! from 1982 to 1992.
Education
Cox was educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Retford, Nottinghamshire and at one point became a prefect. He wrote and performed songs such as Charlotte the Harlot whilst at school and performed as the lead singer of Nurk Wildebeest and the Mutations. This was in the mid 1960s. Their performances were mostly at various local village hall dances and the risqué lyrics of their songs were quite bold for the time.
That's Life!
A former teacher, Cox had worked as a sound engineer with the BBC since 1969. Becoming employed as a warm-up man for That's Life!, he recalled that 'Someone didn't turn up for one of the auditions or something, and I was sort of pushed in'.[1]
Ivor Biggun
Under the Biggun name, he fronts a humorous band that is sometimes billed simply as "Ivor Biggun", or with varying band names, e.g. "Ivor Biggun and Red-nosed Burglars" or "Ivor Biggun and the Left-handed Wankers". His specialty is innuendo-laden smutty songs. One song, "The Winker's Song (misprint)" was Johnny Rotten's single of the week for New Musical Express when he was a guest reviewer in 1978, and sold well - reaching #22 in the UK Singles Chart - because of Rotten's interest. However, it was banned by nearly all radio stations due to its explicit content. Notoriously, it has been used in Ibiza nightclubs as a "floor clearer" at closing time.
He has since made four albums of bawdy songs (and recorded with Judge Dread and David "Screaming Lord" Sutch), the latest being Handling Swollen Goods, released by Stiff Weapon records in 2005. In 2000, under the name Ivor Biggun and the D-Kups, the song "Bras on 45" (aka "Bra Size 45") was released as a part of the Dementia 2000! collection.
The single, billed as "Bras on 45 (Family Version)" by "Ivor Biggun and the D Cups", was released on the Dead Badger label. It entered the UK Singles chart on 12 September 1981, reached a high of number 50, and was in the chart for 3 weeks.[2]
In 1999, he released a best-of CD entitled The Fruity Bits of Ivor Biggun, which included four sets of lewd artwork:
- The Fruity Bits of Ivor Biggun
- The Breast of Ivor Biggun
- The Beast of Ivor Biggun
- The Wurst of Ivor Biggun
Songs on the CD include
- "Bras on 45"
- "The Winker's Song (misprint)"
- "The Winker's Rock 'n Roll (misprint)"
In October 2006, record label Stiff Weapon released a second best-of release, double CD titled More Fruity Bits! The Rest of Ivor Biggun.
Ivor Biggun is sometimes compared to and even confused with George Formby as Cox quite clearly parodies George Formby's comic musical style in "The Winker's Song". Currently resident in Suffolk, he is active in several pub bands, including the Trembling Wheelbarrows.
References
- ^ "Audio Interview".
- ^ Rice, Tim; Rice, Jonathan; Gambaccini, Paul (1990). Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums. Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness World Records and Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-398-8.