As part of my ongoing VHS-to-DVD project, I came across several episodes of “Alexei Sayles’ ‘Stuff’”. A Pythonesque sketch show featuring Alexei Sayle (best known as The Balowski family in “The Young Ones”).
My local PBS station only showed a handful of episodes (I have four). Thankfully, the first season will be available on DVD on Sept. 5th (in the UK). I’ve ordered my copy (the joys of a region free player w/PAL converter!).
Any other fans of this warped comedian?
OOh yes. Haven’t seen or heard of him for years though.
ANother old(er) comedian you might like is Attilla the Stockbroker.
(Sorry, I think I jsut tend to associatioe the two because both start with same letter)
Once in a while, I’ll pick up a copy of car magazine. He was writing a column in there for a while.
Oh yeah, I loved that show. He’s hilarious. He was my favourite part of the Young Ones when we re-watched it recently, the rest didn’t hold up as well to my childhood memories.
He did a song called “Didn’t you kill my brother” in the 80s that was quite popular in Canada.
He currently has an amusing column in most week’s motoring supplement in the Independent newspaper. Past ones are online here.
My exposure to him has just been “The Young Ones”, which I’ve been watching recently (latest on list of Britcoms to catch up with), and he’s pretty funny on that. A few too many "you know"s in his monologues – makes me wonder if his style is always like that. But his bits in the Young Ones have been fun.
A Region 2 DVD release of the first season of “Alexei Sayle’s Stuff” is scheduled for September 5th … just in case anyone wants to know about that …
Now where have I read that…
I was present at the recording of the very first “Stuff” at BBC Television Centre in 1988. In the row in front of me sat one Lenny Henry, chortling - nay, guffawing loudly - at anything remotely funny, presumably to beef up the (live) laughter track.
Great bloke, Alexei Sayle. But he has got a bit boring since he started writing novels.
That was actually his second song. His first was “'Ullo John, got a new motor?” which is very very Alexei in all ways possible.
Highly recommended: Alexei’s top-notch radio sitcom, Lenin of the Rovers.
Brilliant.
Oh, the investigative journalism piece trying to track down God was a riot, complete with the camera-evading God dressed in a hat and trenchcoat. The capper later in the show was the shot of him walking erratically down the street and two ladies noticing him…
“Who’s that?”
“I expect it’s God, moving in a mysterious way…”
Brilliant. The set-up for that punch line was a mere memory, and the association and delivery were so abrupt that the guffaw was loud enough to bring people from other rooms to see what happened.
Of course the story on his album of his mates on the motorbikes was “f*cking funny!”
Alexei’s great, but I doubt his red politics would make him popular over in US. Anyone see his appearence on Room 101, that was classic Allexie and Merton.
I only managed to catch his show a couple of times, but really enjoyed it. And his stand up stuff used to kill me.
More recently, I enjoyed his recurring appearances on the all-too-briefly-lived Keen Eddie.
thwartme
I sometimes randomly do parts of that bit when things are getting hectic:
“So we drop down a cog, give it anvil, going 'round the roundabout. We’re going so fast now, our fucking molecules are vibratin’.” “Little blue light/Lil’s head. Little blue light/Lil’s head. Waa-waaa! Waaaa-waaaa!”
I don’t mean to change the subject, but I’ve got this itch, see…
Um… You know that’s, like, satire, right?
Same here. His sketches were hit and miss (like every other sketch comedy show).
I’m pretty sure he is solidly socialist, described as ‘old school socialist’ as opposed to Ben Elton’s ‘champaigne socialist’ personality.