The Death of Free Speech? Roy Chubby Brown Gig Cancelled

robfosters said:
Tbh, that’s why my favourite will always be Ken Dodd. Didn’t need to swear or be crude, never sexist or racist or did anything to offend anyone. Very family friendly, yet utterly hilarious for decades upon decades. And you always got your money’s worth with Ken, if a show started at 8, you’d be lucky to get out by midnight. He just lived to make people smile.
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Agreed, although the Inland Revenue may disagree about "money's worth" **, which probably only increased his fan base. Ken would often rile stage hands and venue owners by going hugely over time to keep a receptive audience happy.

** https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/tax/hmrc-policy/ken-dodd-has-last-laugh-with-inheritance-tax-move
 
robfosters said:
Tbh, that’s why my favourite will always be Ken Dodd. Didn’t need to swear or be crude, never sexist or racist or did anything to offend anyone. Very family friendly, yet utterly hilarious for decades upon decades. And you always got your money’s worth with Ken, if a show started at 8, you’d be lucky to get out by midnight. He just lived to make people smile.
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Morecambe and Wise were pretty innocuous yet very well liked as comedians and general entertainers, in a similar vein.
 
Chris Wilson said:
Morecambe and Wise were pretty innocuous yet very well liked as comedians and general entertainers, in a similar vein.
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I still maintain nothing that chubby brown has ever said is as bad as Frankie Boyle’s jokes about Harvey and Michael Jackson. Yet somehow, he gets away with it.
 
arknor said:
jimmy carr is funny without shock value though imo, it's not like he's a one trick pony

I like Jimmy and a bit of micky flannagan, I think flannagan is just good at telling a story though and not exactly funny, wears thin if I watch too much of him.

peters kay alight but relies on nostalgia so much


do people think the era of huge comedians is over and none will be mega stars, seems like audiences are spread out these days on the internet between so many different people.

I don't see a big world star type managing to emerge and gain a majority fan base


seems like comedians got replaced by tiktok even
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Which is really sad.



Imagine that even happening today. It simply wouldn't happen.

8:14
 
robfosters said:
I still maintain nothing that chubby brown has ever said is as bad as Frankie Boyle’s jokes about Harvey and Michael Jackson. Yet somehow, he gets away with it.
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I can hand on heart say I have never heard a word Boyle has uttered, so can't comment. Brown is plain thick as mince crude, I knew Manning on a personal level, off stage a nicer guy you wouldn't meet, the antithesis of his stage persona, and a very bright cookie to boot. Like `em or loathe them, I don't want some council jobsworths deciding if they are suitable entertainers for their region though, if they present within the law.
 
I think the era of the superstar comic denied when Lee Evans retired. He sold tickets at an utterly ridiculous rate. Up there with top musicians and big sporting events.
 
Roar87 said:
You don't have to like a comedian or find his comedy funny, it's not at all relevant to the issue, jokes and comedy don't even have to be funny, but they do have to be allowed. Does the council go through such stringent checks on every act performing? I bet not. The only reason they banned him is because they're worried about some potential backlash that affects them for not banning him. They're spineless cowards collecting a paycheck for doing **** all like most of their ilk.
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Indeed, these people are conciliatory to whoever they think may be most useful on a ballot paper, or in the media, statesmanship even at a Slopton In The Slush local level is all but gone.
 
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chroniclard said:
Are people deliberately raging at the council to make a **** poor point when they know it's not the council?
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What was quite funny though was that the decision was slammed by a councillor who said it “smacked of the nanny state”

the councillor is a Muslim called Shaffaq Mohammed. You’d think he’d be the first person to condemn it.
 
robfosters said:
What was quite funny though was that the decision was slammed by a councillor who said it “smacked of the nanny state”

the councillor is a Muslim called Shaffaq Mohammed. You’d think he’d be the first person to condemn it.
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The nanny state often speaks out of turn for those perceived as minorities, who are nonetheless well able to defend their own point of view, creating needless dissent :(
 
nine_tails said:
Sounds like it was venues decision so IDK , what about the venue's right as a business ? Gonna be a slippery slope this.

That being said , i am not for councils making this call unless it is illegal as you mention or crossing some line like inciting violence etc. Sorry not familiar with the bloke at all.
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Yeah, that's the issue for me too tbh... I'm not familiar with his work and he seems a bit crass.

The fact is though he clearly does have a following up north, unless there was a very good reason to ban him like you point out, inciting violence etc.. then I'm not sure venues controlled by local authorities should be seeking to police/cancel stuff on the basis that the trust CEO (and Labour council leader backing the CEO, the council which ultimately is responsible for the venue) don't like the guy.

It's especially silly if he's apparently performed at that same venue every year for a few decades, the whims/personal taste or desire to do a bit of virtue signalling by some trust employee shouldn't factor into this tbh... it's a publicly owned events venue in a northern city where he seems to have a bit of a following.
 
robfosters said:
What was quite funny though was that the decision was slammed by a councillor who said it “smacked of the nanny state”

the councillor is a Muslim called Shaffaq Mohammed. You’d think he’d be the first person to condemn it.
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Not necessarily, he's a liberal democrat and so is quite rightly calling out this decision.
 
robfosters said:
I think the era of the superstar comic denied when Lee Evans retired.
He sold tickets at an utterly ridiculous rate.
Up there with top musicians and big sporting events.
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In the full realisation that I’m skating on very thin ice here, I’d like to say.......
No, I’d better stop, sorry, carry on everyone.
 
robfosters said:
Tbh, that’s why my favourite will always be Ken Dodd. Didn’t need to swear or be crude, never sexist or racist or did anything to offend anyone. Very family friendly, yet utterly hilarious for decades upon decades. And you always got your money’s worth with Ken, if a show started at 8, you’d be lucky to get out by midnight. He just lived to make people smile.
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The funniest comedian I ever saw live was Eddie Izzard. His comedy was based on ridiculous interpretations of mundane events. What made it work was his delivery, his skill at the essence of comedy. Tommy Cooper comes to mind as another master of that art of comedy. He didn't even have to speak. He could deliver comedy through body language alone. Absolute mastery of the art.

But I also like grossly offensive comedy if it's done well. Delivery is key. Jimmy Carr's infamous joke about how to tell if your girlfriend is too young, for example. As he said himself about the joke, it's wrong on so many levels.
 
Chris Wilson said:
I can hand on heart say I have never heard a word Boyle has uttered, so can't comment. Brown is plain thick as mince crude, I knew Manning on a personal level, off stage a nicer guy you wouldn't meet, the antithesis of his stage persona, and a very bright cookie to boot. Like `em or loathe them, I don't want some council jobsworths deciding if they are suitable entertainers for their region though, if they present within the law.
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Chubby Brown is the same, based on interviews I've seen with him as his real self rather than his stage persona.
 
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