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{{cite web
{{cite web
|url=http://living.scotsman.com/comedy/Comedy-review-Roy-39Chubby39-Brown.4259007.jp
|url=http://living.scotsman.com/comedy/Comedy-review-Roy-39Chubby39-Brown.4259007.jp
|title=Comedy review: Roy 'Chubby' Brown&nbsp;— Scotsman.com Living |publisher=living.scotsman.com |date= 4 July 2008 |accessdate=2008-07-29 |last=Brown |first=Malcolm }}</ref> whilst also being described as "The most important comedian of the past 25 years".<ref>{{cite news
|title=Comedy review: Roy 'Chubby' Brown&nbsp;— Scotsman.com Living |publisher=living.scotsman.com |date= 4 July 2008 |accessdate=2008-07-29 |last=Brown |first=Malcolm }}</ref> whilst also being described as "The most ineffective and racist comedian of the past 25 years".<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/nov/06/highereducationprofile.academicexperts
|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/nov/06/highereducationprofile.academicexperts
|title=A gay academic applauds the work of Roy "Chubby" Brown&nbsp;— Education&nbsp;— The Guardian |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=2008-07-29 |date = 6 November 2007 |last=Arnot |first=Chris | location=London}}</ref> It is claimed that he performs to over 350,000 people each year.<ref>
|title=A gay academic applauds the work of Roy "Chubby" Brown&nbsp;— Education&nbsp;— The Guardian |publisher=guardian.co.uk |accessdate=2008-07-29 |date = 6 November 2007 |last=Arnot |first=Chris | location=London}}</ref> It is claimed that he performs to over 350,000 people each year.<ref>

Revision as of 00:05, 1 December 2010

Roy 'Chubby' Brown
Birth nameRoyston Vasey
Born (1945-02-03) 3 February 1945 (age 79)[1]
Grangetown,
North Riding of Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Years active1960s–present
GenresBlue comedy
Subject(s)Sex, british politics, race, everyday life
Notable works and rolesSee below
WebsiteOfficial site

Roy 'Chubby' Brown (born Royston Vasey on 3 February 1945[1]) is an English stand up comedian, notorious for his decidedly blue and racist humour. The controversial nature of his act means that he rarely appears on major television channels,[2] and Brown has attracted accusations that his comedy style is outdated[3] whilst also being described as "The most ineffective and racist comedian of the past 25 years".[4] It is claimed that he performs to over 350,000 people each year.[5]

Early life and career

Brown was born in Grangetown, in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, and left home at the age of fourteen. He lived rough and held many jobs, at one time joining the merchant navy, and served time in borstal and prison.[6] He later moved into working men's clubs in the 1960s, first as a drummer and later as a comedy act, under the name 'Alcock & Brown'.[2] He appeared on the television show New Faces in the 1970s and came second in the show, losing to a country and western band. Brown failed the audition for Opportunity Knocks after saying the word 'arse' during his interview.

Success as a blue comedian

Part of Brown's image is his stage costume; he typically wears a flying helmet and goggles, a multicoloured patchwork jacket and trousers, white shirt, red bow tie and moccasins.

During his long career, he has caused offence by mocking various concepts, including race, women, the Queen Mother (whose death occurred hours before Standing Room Only began recording) and himself. His ribald act causes offence to many[weasel words], yet he still maintains a strong fan base. Roy's shows are rarely seen on television, as nearly all of his material is highly sexist and contains a lot of strong language, especially the word "cunt".[2] However, a show about Brown's comedy was broadcast on Channel 4 on 8 May 2007.

One of the rituals of his shows is that they always start with the crowd shouting "You fat bastard!" repeatedly, to which he dances. He then approaches the microphone and says "Fuck off!" This heckling occasionally continues during his act.

His real name, Royston Vasey, was used for the fictional village in the comedy television show The League of Gentlemen. He also made several cameo appearances as the foulmouthed mayor of the village.

Film

In 1993 Brown released a film called U.F.O. starring himself and Roger Lloyd Pack; in it he is abducted by aliens while staying in a hotel in Blackpool during his live shows.

Music

One of his best known songs is a cover version of "Living Next Door to Alice (Who the Fuck is Alice?)" recorded with Smokie. The recording originated because Smokie often played the original version in Ireland and whenever they sang the main line "I've been living next door to Alice" the audience would shout "Who the fuck is Alice?" Smokie then decided to do a spoof of their own song and thought that Roy was the ideal man for the job.

The record spent 19 weeks in the UK chart, peaking at number 3.[7]

He released a solo single in the winter of 1996 called "A Rocking Good Christmas", written by Ray Hedges; this reached number 51.[8]

Brown has also released two albums, Take Fat and Party (1995) and Fat Out of Hell (1996); they achieved positions 29 and 67 in the UK album charts respectively.[8]

Personal life

Brown is married to Helen, his third wife, with children and has homes in Middlesbrough and Lincolnshire. In 2003 he was fined £200 in Blackpool for assaulting a fan who had sworn at him; of the incident, Brown said "I have traditional values and I wanted the man to stop swearing in front of women and children who were on the pier."[9]

Brown was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2002,[10] and had a vocal cord removed.[6] In 2006 he released an autobiography, Common as Muck: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown. He is also co-owner of the racehorse "Rasaman".[11]

On 8 April 2009 Brown's son, Martin Reilly, 36, of Stillington, County Durham, was jailed for four years for conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession of heroin and cannabis,[12] having admitted offences dating from a November 2008 arrest.[13][14] Brown was understood to have little contact with his son.[13]

On 12 December 2009, it was announced that Brown was facing a charge of common assault on a woman, after an incident in a car park in Middlesbrough on 2 September 2009.[15] At Teesside Magistrates' Court on 5 January 2010, Brown denied the charges via his solicitor.[16] He was acquitted on 16 March 2010.[17]

He is a supporter of Middlesbrough F.C..[1]

Stand up releases

Whilst Brown has been performing for over 30 years, Universal have been releasing videos of his live shows around Christmas time since 1990. Around 2000, DVD releases ran alongside VHS releases, until Brown's VHS releases were eventually scrapped by 2005, and shows are now released on DVD only.

VHS releases

  • Exposed (1993)
  • U.F.O. (1993)

VHS & DVD releases

  • From Inside The Helmet (1990) (Part of the '40 Years Of Fun And Filth' Boxset)
  • The Helmet Rides Again (1991)
  • The Helmet's Last Stand (1992) (Part of the '40 Years Of Fun And Filth' Boxset)
  • Chubby Brown Exposed (1993) (banned by the Irish Film Censor[18])
  • Jingle Bollocks (1994)
  • Clitoris Allsorts (1995)
  • Saturday Night Beaver (1996)
  • Obscene and Not Heard (1997)
  • Chubby Goes Down Under and Other Sticky Places (1998)
  • You Fat Bastard! (1999)
  • Thunder Bollocks (2000)
  • Stocking Filler! (2001)
  • Standing Room Only! (2002)
  • Bad Taste (2003)
  • Giggling Lips (2004)

DVD releases

  • King Thong (2005)
  • Kick-Arse Chubbs (2006)
  • The Good, the Bad & the Fat Bastard (2007) (Part of '40 Years of Fun & Filth' Boxset)
  • Dirty Weekend In Blackpool (2008)
  • Too Fat to Be Gay (2009)
  • Pussy and Meatballs (2010)

References

  1. ^ a b http://web.researcha.com/iccquery/detail/?did=9253871&c=uk
  2. ^ a b c "Tees Stage — Interview with Chubby Brown". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  3. ^ Brown, Malcolm (4 July 2008). "Comedy review: Roy 'Chubby' Brown — Scotsman.com Living". living.scotsman.com. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  4. ^ Arnot, Chris (6 November 2007). "A gay academic applauds the work of Roy "Chubby" Brown — Education — The Guardian". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  5. ^ "Roy Chubby BROWN — C H U B B Y ' S W O R L D — Main Page". www.dave-edwards.com. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  6. ^ a b "Roy Chubby Brown: Britain's Rudest Comedian (Channel 4)". 7 February 2008. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
  7. ^ Template:UKChartHits
  8. ^ a b Template:UKChartHits
  9. ^ "icTeesside - 'Chubby' couldn't stomach swearing". icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk. 7 August 2003. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  10. ^ "'Chubby' Brown: I've got throat cancer". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. 26 April 2002. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  11. ^ "Horse racing: Tattenham corner — Sport — The Observer". London: guardian.co.uk. 20 April 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  12. ^ BBC Look North, 8 April 2009
  13. ^ a b "Comic Brown's son on drugs charge". BBC News. 19 November 2008. Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  14. ^ "Chubby son awaits fate". Evening Gazette. trinity Mirror (Gazette Media Company Ltd). 21 February 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2009. {{cite news}}: External link in |publisher= and |work= (help)
  15. ^ "BBC website". bbc.co.uk. 12 December 2009. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  16. ^ "Roy 'Chubby' Brown denies assault". BBC News. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  17. ^ "Chubby Brown cleared of assault". BBC News. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  18. ^ "Censor not amused". Irish Times. 11 March 1994. p. 13. Retrieved 3 December 2009.

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