Elvis McGonagall
Elvis McGonagall (born Richard Smith; December 22, 1960) is a Scottish poet and stand-up comedian who is especially notable for poetry slam performances.[1][2][3]
Biography
[edit]McGonagall was born in Perth, Scotland, and now lives in Stroud in South West England.[4] His stage name combines a reference to the notoriously bad poet William McGonagall with 'Elvis' "because it’s just so wrong, the wrongest name I could think of to go with McGonagall".[5][6]
Poetry
[edit]Slam performances
[edit]McGonagall first performed publicly at the UK Allcomers' Slam at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2003, finishing runner-up: he went on to win the slam the following year.[7] His career saw significant progress in 2006, in which year McGonagall won the Spokefest UK Slam Championship and the World Slam Championship at the Rotterdam Poetry International Festival.[7]
McGonagall performs at poetry events nationwide, as well as compering at the Blue Suede Sporran Club.[8]
Media performances
[edit]McGonagall has regularly appeared on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live, beginning with contributions to the premiere episode. He has appeared frequently on other BBC Radio 4 programmes, including Today, Last Word and Off the Page as well as starring in two series of his own sitcom Elvis Mcgonagall Takes A Look On The Bright Side, Radio 4 Comedy of the Week stand-up special Full Tartan Jacket (2021) and a documentary My Name Is Elvis (2021).[7]
McGonagall has also appeared on various television programmes for a number of broadcasters. His credits include BBC One's The One Show, BBC Two's The Culture Show and Channel 4's Random Acts.[7]
Works
[edit]Audio
- Gie’ It Laldy! (2018) - Elvis McGonagall & His Resurrectors
- One Man And His Doggerel - Live! (2010)
Written
- Complete & Utter Cult! (2020)
- Viva Loch Lomond! (2017)
- Mostly Dreich (2012)
References
[edit]- ^ "Hovis in Wonderland". Manchester Confidential. 1 April 2008. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ^ "Botswana's oral poetress scoops award". Mmegi.bw. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
- ^ "'It's like rap with positive feelings'". Nottingham Evening Post. 30 November 2006. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
- ^ Logan, Brian (10 August 2009). "Elvis McGonagall". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ^ "Elvis McGonagall – Purbeck's people's poet – Nick Churchill".
- ^ "Comedy review: Elvis McGonagall | Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh". TheGuardian.com. 10 August 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Elvis McGonagall: About". Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ^ Richard Bucknall Management. "Elvis McGonagall". Retrieved 25 January 2014.
External links
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