Al Murray is a comedian that has taken me a while to really respect. You see the stand up, but then following him online and realising that he has a keen mind, loves his history, and is articulate and thoughtful...plus a drummer(!)...I'm ashamed it's taken me this long to see the big picture. He's really fucking good at what he does...and very funny!
I remember it being like the scales dropping from my eyes when I heard about Al Murray being directly descended from Thackeray...because, if you just add glasses and give him a bit more hair...he actually really does look like him! Its quite uncanny...Thackeray was also noted as being exceptionally tall and somewhat lumbering also...but yeah...interesting...and at odds with the pub landlord image, until you actually start appreciating the irony behind it.
I like Al Murray the best as himself, especially his history documentaries. Quite clear that he's a smart guy who isn't "just" an entertainer doing airplane-food routines, but has some actual opinions about the world. Guess that's a side effect of being a history major.
I watched this today in 2021 and was struck by how prophetic some of Al's experiences were during his campaign to become an MP and how some people accused him of cheating in some way in relation to how the events played out following the 2020 US Presidential election. I don't know if Al has commented on this but I'd be interested to hear his thoughts.
Australia hasn't 'always' had compulsory voting... they've had it since 1924. And is not necessary for it to be 'enforced'. There is simply a small fine to pay if you don't vote (which is currently around 25 British Pound). The result is that we have a 98% turn out rate - the highest in the world - and a government that is actually representative of the population, unlike in the UK and the US. Resigned to the fact that they have to vote, Australians have fundraisers and BBQ's at polling booths (featuring the 'democracy sausage' sandwich) and the population is generally engaged with the political process, even if only for a short while.
And they still vote for bigoted imbeciles like Scott Morrison and his climate change denial bullshit. Perhaps the recent events will focus the peoples minds a tad more for next time.
And the band was, Showaddywaddy... Cameron related to all those... guess some ancestors where proper slags. Damn.. what did you edit out, crafty bastard, great podcast.
Brand never said 'don't vote' full stop, he said something to the effect of "don't vote unless they give you something worth voting for, if you want to vote green then vote green, but the problem is its all happening within a system that stifles real change" is that not a fair comment? Despite saying this, he eventually backed Labour and advocated voting to at least make things less bad. So, the vociferous nature of Al's address to Brand was perhaps a little overblown. especially since running for office for a joke is as good as encouraging people to waste their vote/not vote at all. but the truth is that the vast majority of em aren't worth voting for, you agree with Brand on that, and you're both right.
+shenmueso Especially when he (Murray) said something along the lines of "a vote for me is a vote denied for anyone else." - i.e. someone who is taking the process seriously. How is that not different from Brand? Except, of course, for the fact that Brand was highlighting some genuine floors whereas Murray was purely taking the piss. (I must say, I'm not a particular fan of Brand, but I can't see how Murray can be so angry with Brand and not see how he also mocks the system that he seems to hold in such high regard. P.S - You should vote ;-) )
+shenmueso Sorry, I've basically badly reworded your original comment. Difference is - one of them plays lip-service to democracy while his actions undermine it, and the other one has enough 'respect' for politics to try and offer some genuine discourse.
+Govanmauler. he wasn't bein hypocritical in criticising brand, he wasn't taking the piss out of the system, he was merely trying to highlight how ridiculous it was that a character like nigel farage had managed to gain such a following, considering his comedic pub landlord character was a reductio ad absudium of nige himself and still not that far from the real deal. that he still had fun and created some comedy is neither suprising nor discrediting.
I think the fact that he 'had fun' and 'created some comedy' do suggest that he wasn't taking the process seriously. And he said how he doesn't necessarily care why people laugh (personally, I thought his defence was pretty reasonable) so it's not as though his making comedy of the politics can be seen as some sort of grand critique. If Brand was being irresponsible in telling people not to vote (again, not something I would agree with) even though he offered reasoning as to how he came to that conclusion, then I don't see how the same charge (that of irresponsibility) can't be made to Murray, especially as he didn't really offer reasoning. Except, of course, for the fact that he may have been trying to highlight the absurdity of a Farage-esque position. But then we come back to his point about not really caring why people laugh. The charge of being hypocritical stands, in my eyes. (We may, of course, respectfully disagree.)
Great episode. Great guest. Quite self indulgent guest mind you. And hypocritical as many have said. His 'a vote for me is a vote denied..." Thing is no different to Brand saying don't vote. Quite an envious and resentful bunch comedians sometimes. Genuinely fascinating that.
+Comedy Lover how is it the same ? not voting makes ever vote "worth" more because you lower the total amount of votes and therefore every vote vor ukip would be a higher amount of the totality of votes. by voting you do the exact opposite.
+Daniel Waxerely Its on a UA-cam video, I will try and post a link. He basically said " I wanted more women on mock the week, then someone suggested Richard Herring, I said I wanted someone WITH a cunt" Twat remark really, not sure I like Frankie as a person. Maybe Rich pissed him off in the old days. Sorry if you are reading this Rich and its the first you've heard of it :)
+Twistedhippy Hmm, not sure that worked. search on UA-cam - GEITF 2014 Frankie Boyle state of tv. If you cant find it get back to me and I will try harder :)
can someone clarify the reference toward stopped clocks and someone who abused/ killed children...? Was it Saville? I didn't understand the reference as didn't see the show it was in. thanks.
Now count how many times Al picks up his water, takes off the lid, laughs, says something, doesn't drink, puts the lid back on and the water down again. Sorry for ruining it. #LoveyouAl #HashtagsdontworkonUA-cam
16:00 - Having to announce and explain your intention before presenting your act is even more true today. People are actually OFFENDED if they're expected to make up their own minds about whether they're 'allowed' to find something amusing, controversial, or even interesting. I was trying to imagine where it might have all begun, and think it may have started decades ago with the use of canned laughter to direct an audience's response to TV programmes. That then evolved into the even more cynical/ heinous crime of a 'live studio audience' that was no less carefully orchestrated - and conducted by focus-groups - to stop people having independent thoughts. It's absurd. Someone was telling people what to think and when to think it. But TV programmes had immense power. Audiences of millions would be led along the same paths at the same time. And then came the internet. Suddenly the entire world had instant access to everyone, everywhere, with no producers, directors or editors to get in the way. Broadcast anything; publish anything. Instantly. That's a lot of power for people with no knowledge of their chosen medium beyond 'Press Send', and without years of experience judging what's acceptable, and without a legal department to advise them what to cut out. Millions of children are online, engaging anonymously in adult conversations they're not equipped mentally to handle, yet with the power to destroy reputations and careers by having their videos or comments go viral. Welcome to the Salem Twitch Trials. But even adults don't know what they're getting into, and can only hide behind a smiling emoji or a desperate 'lol' to moderate their intent and hopefully avoid enraging entire nations. We have a generation of people with Twit-Face and Insta-Book social media accounts who feel obliged to explain every aspect of everything they say and do for fear of being misunderstood and being branded a bully, a weirdo, a sexist, a freak, a blasphemer, a bigot, a misogynist, a feminist, a racist, a misandrist, or any other -ist you care to name. It's a new phenomenon. When people only had books, newspapers and pamphlets to guide them, the delay from writing to printing to distribution gave time for rational discrimination. Things had time to be scanned for their underlying themes and judged after due consideration. They could still be shocking, funny, outrageous, banal or offensive, but their producers at least had a chance to explain their position over several days of debate before they were categorised and pigeon-holed, endorsed or dismissed. Nowadays the entire world is poised on Twitter, waiting to hand down live, real-time, instant judgement (including censorship, death threats, and the trendy 'being cancelled') for every utterance. People are becoming too scared to write or say anything that's not been approved by the mob. It's not a healthy state of affairs. The next step is Orwell's '1984' and Thought Crime, where people are too scared even to THINK.😞 Note: This Comment has not been approved as Fit for Public Distribution. Read it at your own risk. And remember: Big Brother is watching you.
I don't like dogs. Having said that, I would vote for Al if he ever stood for my constituency. Despite him being probably quite polar opposite to my own middle aged political ideals. For the simple reason that I can see with my own eyes that Al is an intelligent, well educated, thoughtful sort of person. Pretty much everything that your average politician isn't.
Knowing Murray is a smart writer, I'm curious to hear his motivations on the gay nazi character.. whether there was something more there, or whether it really was just cheapshot panto.
Al Murray eats a fried breakfast the same as me!! Hurrah! I also eat the egg last, all the white first and then I eat the yolk, unbroken, in one go. I generally don't eat with other people so no one sees what an egg monster I am If the yolk breaks I get the rage
+Emily Cottrell Exactly what I was thinking, A week is a long time in politics, and a couple of months is an eternity. Nigel who? Oh him... the yesterday man whose limelight has been completely stolen by Corbyn. The only time Nigel Whatshisname gets a mention these days is if he's said something about Jezza. He can't jump on the bandwagon so he runs behind it shouting, trying to be noticed. Irrelevent to the point that this interview seems dated already.
+James Richards The Cameron/pig story came out back in 2012. Rich discussed it at some length on RHLSTP (rhlstp!) with Charlie Brooker here: www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/richard_herring_lst_podcast/episode_5_charlie_brooker/
took me a bit of time to get the format but I love the chats - the tim vine one is great cos they run out of things to say to each other like a normal conversation
So, people (Russell Brand) who state their genuine opinions openly and straightforwardly are irresponsible, but people (Al Murray) who make a living from lowest-common-denominator comedy through the ironic disguise of character are noble artists? Apparently I don't actually like Al Murray - however, still a great RHLSTP as it featured my best friend from secondary school being ridiculed for bringing his girlfriend's sister to the show.
it irritates me that he dodges the question about his Landlord character. It´s quite simple, If people are laughing AT the character they making fun OF a racist bafoon But if they are laughing WITH him he is inciting racism and he avoids facing up to that possibilty.
What a load of bollocks. Anyone who watches his show and is incited to racism is already that way or are so stupid you wonder how they got the ticket. Get a sense of humour and stop being offended for nobody. If you or anyone you know is this stupid get them help, now!
If people are laughing with him, that only reinforces how accurate the character is and heightens the cultural relevance of it. Racists are racist. They’re not going to become emboldened to be even more racist by an on-stage character that’s been designed to satirise them…
Boy, I never get tired of hearing Richard Herring rambling away on every fucking podcast about why he doesn't work with the BBC anymore, as if they gave him any choice in the matter.
Really enjoyed this show it was great to finally get to see one of these live! Thats me in the front row "the typical Richard Herring fan"
Al Murray is a comedian that has taken me a while to really respect. You see the stand up, but then following him online and realising that he has a keen mind, loves his history, and is articulate and thoughtful...plus a drummer(!)...I'm ashamed it's taken me this long to see the big picture. He's really fucking good at what he does...and very funny!
I am a simple man: i see an Englishman pronouncing taoiseach correctly and I'm instantly a fan.
that feeling when you've found a video you know you're really going to enjoy listening to whilst you work for the next 2 hours... YUS!!!!!!
Al Murray along with David Mitchell, Adam Buxton, Bob Mortimer, are guarantees of top quality episodes.
Talking about the sound guy when Al Murray come across really quietly , priceless.
I remember it being like the scales dropping from my eyes when I heard about Al Murray being directly descended from Thackeray...because, if you just add glasses and give him a bit more hair...he actually really does look like him! Its quite uncanny...Thackeray was also noted as being exceptionally tall and somewhat lumbering also...but yeah...interesting...and at odds with the pub landlord image, until you actually start appreciating the irony behind it.
Al Murray got to be the best stand up comidian in the uk micky Flanagan there with him 2 total original funny men
I like Al Murray the best as himself, especially his history documentaries. Quite clear that he's a smart guy who isn't "just" an entertainer doing airplane-food routines, but has some actual opinions about the world. Guess that's a side effect of being a history major.
I watched this today in 2021 and was struck by how prophetic some of Al's experiences were during his campaign to become an MP and how some people accused him of cheating in some way in relation to how the events played out following the 2020 US Presidential election. I don't know if Al has commented on this but I'd be interested to hear his thoughts.
I pissed myself laughing at Al's remark "we don't know what's around the corner"
Hindsight's a wonderful thing. And also deeply, deeply depressing.
"what... USE is it, being a timelord, if you can't save Vincent Van Gogh?"
"you'd be a shit timelord.... you can't even deal with time in the direction it's going!"
Australia hasn't 'always' had compulsory voting... they've had it since 1924. And is not necessary for it to be 'enforced'. There is simply a small fine to pay if you don't vote (which is currently around 25 British Pound).
The result is that we have a 98% turn out rate - the highest in the world - and a government that is actually representative of the population, unlike in the UK and the US. Resigned to the fact that they have to vote, Australians have fundraisers and BBQ's at polling booths (featuring the 'democracy sausage' sandwich) and the population is generally engaged with the political process, even if only for a short while.
North Korea is the highest turn out rate in the world with 300% of the population voting for Kim Jong-Un actually, pisses all over your 98% ;P
And they still vote for bigoted imbeciles like Scott Morrison and his climate change denial bullshit. Perhaps the recent events will focus the peoples minds a tad more for next time.
@@sarahl3721 You cannot have 300 percent of a population.
And the band was, Showaddywaddy...
Cameron related to all those... guess some ancestors where proper slags.
Damn.. what did you edit out, crafty bastard, great podcast.
Brand never said 'don't vote' full stop, he said something to the effect of "don't vote unless they give you something worth voting for, if you want to vote green then vote green, but the problem is its all happening within a system that stifles real change"
is that not a fair comment?
Despite saying this, he eventually backed Labour and advocated voting to at least make things less bad.
So, the vociferous nature of Al's address to Brand was perhaps a little overblown.
especially since running for office for a joke is as good as encouraging people to waste their vote/not vote at all.
but the truth is that the vast majority of em aren't worth voting for, you agree with Brand on that, and you're both right.
+shenmueso Especially when he (Murray) said something along the lines of "a vote for me is a vote denied for anyone else." - i.e. someone who is taking the process seriously. How is that not different from Brand? Except, of course, for the fact that Brand was highlighting some genuine floors whereas Murray was purely taking the piss.
(I must say, I'm not a particular fan of Brand, but I can't see how Murray can be so angry with Brand and not see how he also mocks the system that he seems to hold in such high regard. P.S - You should vote ;-) )
+shenmueso Sorry, I've basically badly reworded your original comment.
Difference is - one of them plays lip-service to democracy while his actions undermine it, and the other one has enough 'respect' for politics to try and offer some genuine discourse.
good post, murray was being a bit of a hypocrite here. funny interview though.
+Govanmauler. he wasn't bein hypocritical in criticising brand, he wasn't taking the piss out of the system, he was merely trying to highlight how ridiculous it was that a character like nigel farage had managed to gain such a following, considering his comedic pub landlord character was a reductio ad absudium of nige himself and still not that far from the real deal. that he still had fun and created some comedy is neither suprising nor discrediting.
I think the fact that he 'had fun' and 'created some comedy' do suggest that he wasn't taking the process seriously. And he said how he doesn't necessarily care why people laugh (personally, I thought his defence was pretty reasonable) so it's not as though his making comedy of the politics can be seen as some sort of grand critique.
If Brand was being irresponsible in telling people not to vote (again, not something I would agree with) even though he offered reasoning as to how he came to that conclusion, then I don't see how the same charge (that of irresponsibility) can't be made to Murray, especially as he didn't really offer reasoning. Except, of course, for the fact that he may have been trying to highlight the absurdity of a Farage-esque position. But then we come back to his point about not really caring why people laugh.
The charge of being hypocritical stands, in my eyes. (We may, of course, respectfully disagree.)
First five minutes were particularly offensive as a Havant resident 😂😂
Great episode. Great guest. Quite self indulgent guest mind you. And hypocritical as many have said. His 'a vote for me is a vote denied..." Thing is no different to Brand saying don't vote. Quite an envious and resentful bunch comedians sometimes. Genuinely fascinating that.
+Comedy Lover how is it the same ? not voting makes ever vote "worth" more because you lower the total amount of votes and therefore every vote vor ukip would be a higher amount of the totality of votes. by voting you do the exact opposite.
Lover of comedy. Hater of logic
Richard please get Frankie Boyle on!
Frankie doesn't say nice things about Rich, soooo might not happen.
+Twistedhippy Really? Do you have a source?
+Daniel Waxerely
Its on a UA-cam video, I will try and post a link.
He basically said " I wanted more women on mock the week, then someone suggested Richard Herring, I said I wanted someone WITH a cunt"
Twat remark really, not sure I like Frankie as a person.
Maybe Rich pissed him off in the old days.
Sorry if you are reading this Rich and its the first you've heard of it :)
Cheers :)
+Twistedhippy
Hmm, not sure that worked.
search on UA-cam - GEITF 2014 Frankie Boyle state of tv.
If you cant find it get back to me and I will try harder :)
can someone clarify the reference toward stopped clocks and someone who abused/ killed children...? Was it Saville? I didn't understand the reference as didn't see the show it was in. thanks.
Now count how many times Al picks up his water, takes off the lid, laughs, says something, doesn't drink, puts the lid back on and the water down again.
Sorry for ruining it.
#LoveyouAl #HashtagsdontworkonUA-cam
Just thought I’d say, #hastagsworkonyoutube
So Dicky, do you think if there was an election in (oh I don't know) June of 2017, would Al Murray stand again?
Al Murray doesn't age does he. I think he's a hologram.
+D.J. Prawn Oh smeg! hes arnold rimmer!
Watching this a few years on in the Great Lockdown of 2020, enjoying it and think it will make it past doomsday.
Are Freda and Dean still together since 2015, or has Dean got together with Matilda?
This is too good for telly ☺
Careful Richard you'll end up on a watch list. 😂
16:00 - Having to announce and explain your intention before presenting your act is even more true today. People are actually OFFENDED if they're expected to make up their own minds about whether they're 'allowed' to find something amusing, controversial, or even interesting.
I was trying to imagine where it might have all begun, and think it may have started decades ago with the use of canned laughter to direct an audience's response to TV programmes. That then evolved into the even more cynical/ heinous crime of a 'live studio audience' that was no less carefully orchestrated - and conducted by focus-groups - to stop people having independent thoughts.
It's absurd. Someone was telling people what to think and when to think it. But TV programmes had immense power. Audiences of millions would be led along the same paths at the same time.
And then came the internet. Suddenly the entire world had instant access to everyone, everywhere, with no producers, directors or editors to get in the way. Broadcast anything; publish anything. Instantly.
That's a lot of power for people with no knowledge of their chosen medium beyond 'Press Send', and without years of experience judging what's acceptable, and without a legal department to advise them what to cut out. Millions of children are online, engaging anonymously in adult conversations they're not equipped mentally to handle, yet with the power to destroy reputations and careers by having their videos or comments go viral.
Welcome to the Salem Twitch Trials.
But even adults don't know what they're getting into, and can only hide behind a smiling emoji or a desperate 'lol' to moderate their intent and hopefully avoid enraging entire nations.
We have a generation of people with Twit-Face and Insta-Book social media accounts who feel obliged to explain every aspect of everything they say and do for fear of being misunderstood and being branded a bully, a weirdo, a sexist, a freak, a blasphemer, a bigot, a misogynist, a feminist, a racist, a misandrist, or any other -ist you care to name.
It's a new phenomenon. When people only had books, newspapers and pamphlets to guide them, the delay from writing to printing to distribution gave time for rational discrimination. Things had time to be scanned for their underlying themes and judged after due consideration.
They could still be shocking, funny, outrageous, banal or offensive, but their producers at least had a chance to explain their position over several days of debate before they were categorised and pigeon-holed, endorsed or dismissed.
Nowadays the entire world is poised on Twitter, waiting to hand down live, real-time, instant judgement (including censorship, death threats, and the trendy 'being cancelled') for every utterance.
People are becoming too scared to write or say anything that's not been approved by the mob. It's not a healthy state of affairs. The next step is Orwell's '1984' and Thought Crime, where people are too scared even to THINK.😞
Note: This Comment has not been approved as Fit for Public Distribution. Read it at your own risk. And remember: Big Brother is watching you.
I don't like dogs. Having said that, I would vote for Al if he ever stood for my constituency. Despite him being probably quite polar opposite to my own middle aged political ideals.
For the simple reason that I can see with my own eyes that Al is an intelligent, well educated, thoughtful sort of person. Pretty much everything that your average politician isn't.
Watching this on January 14, just found out Alan Rickman has died, same age as Bowie. Wow.
Knowing Murray is a smart writer, I'm curious to hear his motivations on the gay nazi character.. whether there was something more there, or whether it really was just cheapshot panto.
The WHITE RABBIT was Yeo-Thomas! (Codename 'Shelley.') xx SF
Al's mic's been dropped once or twice. Rich's, oddly, hasn't.
Al Murray eats a fried breakfast the same as me!! Hurrah! I also eat the egg last, all the white first and then I eat the yolk, unbroken, in one go.
I generally don't eat with other people so no one sees what an egg monster I am
If the yolk breaks I get the rage
His pub landlord was and obviously still is very clever. Like a present day Nostradamus Al Murray smelt and then delt what was soon to come.
Al comes on 6:44
Someone should introduce Al to the term 'wehraboo.'
Ahh pre referendum days!
did you just say the bbc has a left wing bias?! lol.. in which parallel universe?!
andy mane the bbc are about as letft wing as... er.. something that is really quite right wing actually..
shenmueso the left say it's right wing, the right say it's left. Probably somewhere in the middle then 😂
Toni Toes It's almost as if they are following their remit
Poor No-El
And yes re grilled tomatoes!
and they did go full tonto
40:05 hi from 2019
October 2020 - it got worse!
We were so young. No-one predicted Corbyn...
I so wish this interview had been done post-corbyn
+Emily Cottrell Exactly what I was thinking, A week is a long time in politics, and a couple of months is an eternity. Nigel who? Oh him... the yesterday man whose limelight has been completely stolen by Corbyn. The only time Nigel Whatshisname gets a mention these days is if he's said something about Jezza. He can't jump on the bandwagon so he runs behind it shouting, trying to be noticed. Irrelevent to the point that this interview seems dated already.
+Emily Cottrell Or post-PigGate, even....
+James Richards le corbeau
+James Richards The Cameron/pig story came out back in 2012. Rich discussed it at some length on RHLSTP (rhlstp!) with Charlie Brooker here: www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/richard_herring_lst_podcast/episode_5_charlie_brooker/
It was fixed moment in time guys... It would have made a massive whole in the universe.
Thank you from 20:20 hmm :)
took me a bit of time to get the format but I love the chats - the tim vine one is great cos they run out of things to say to each other like a normal conversation
So, people (Russell Brand) who state their genuine opinions openly and straightforwardly are irresponsible, but people (Al Murray) who make a living from lowest-common-denominator comedy through the ironic disguise of character are noble artists?
Apparently I don't actually like Al Murray - however, still a great RHLSTP as it featured my best friend from secondary school being ridiculed for bringing his girlfriend's sister to the show.
+Joel Nicholson It's more that Russell Brand has particularly dangerous/ stupid opinions on some things
Brand has never stated one of his opinions.
He's chasing a grift.
He'll say whatever gets him publicity.
it irritates me that he dodges the question about his Landlord character. It´s quite simple, If people are laughing AT the character they making fun OF a racist bafoon But if they are laughing WITH him he is inciting racism and he avoids facing up to that possibilty.
What a load of bollocks.
Anyone who watches his show and is incited to racism is already that way or are so stupid you wonder how they got the ticket.
Get a sense of humour and stop being offended for nobody.
If you or anyone you know is this stupid get them help, now!
If people are laughing with him, that only reinforces how accurate the character is and heightens the cultural relevance of it. Racists are racist. They’re not going to become emboldened to be even more racist by an on-stage character that’s been designed to satirise them…
1:26:30 I'm here from 2020 :D May 19th
Now I need a fry up! And we're on fucking lockdown. No mushrooms :-(
eggs eggs eggs
so are you getting any good guests on anytime soon?
Would you go on if asked
because you think you're funny.
W2362
Unpopular opinion. Al Murray is condescending and dismissive in real life. The public school is strong in this one.
Boy, I never get tired of hearing Richard Herring rambling away on every fucking podcast about why he doesn't work with the BBC anymore, as if they gave him any choice in the matter.
people at the counts get paid they aren't volunteers.
Al Murray has little understanding of UKIP policy.