Jeremy Hardy has died

[Bennett Brauer]

Danny Baker in "making it all about himself again" shocker

See also Victoria Coren-Mitchell.  Your Dad?  You had a famous Dad?  Really?  And there was me thinking you had a career based on talent.

Both guilty maybe of the now traditional rush of famous people to say anything, but Victoria Coren's comment has heart and soul at least, and might mean something to those who liked JH and Alan Coren on the News Quiz. Danny Baker should have kept it to himself.

[Brundle-Fly]

 Jeremy Hardy R.I.P.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Danny Baker should have kept it to himself.

Yep. It's something you would, understandably, say privately to your partner, family and close friends: "Fuck, a terminally ill man, a friend of mine, sent me a tweet about his condition but I didn't see it at the time. I feel terrible about that."

"Going public" with that sentiment on social media feels terribly self-serving and inappropriate. I'm very fond of Danny Baker, but bloody hell.

[Satchmo Distel]

I saw Linda Smith give a very funny routine about a year before she passed but somehow never put Hardy in the same class until much later, by which time I had emigrated so would never get the chance to see him. Now both are gone; hugely sad.

Mark Steel is still going, obviously, but I feel he is rather laboured compared to Smith and Hardy. Rather too shouty when I saw him in the mid-90s.

[pigamus]

Yep. It's something you would, understandably, say privately to your partner, family and close friends: "Fuck, a terminally ill man, a friend of mine, sent me a tweet about his condition but I didn't see it at the time. I feel terrible about that."

"Going public" with that sentiment on social media feels terribly self-serving and inappropriate. I'm very fond of Danny Baker, but bloody hell.

To be fair, that's not quite what happened. It was supposed to be a DM - as far as anyone can gather - but it was sent publically, so this is more like an explanation of something people already knew about, rather than a private thing made public.

[Enzo]

Yep. It's something you would, understandably, say privately to your partner, family and close friends: "Fuck, a terminally ill man, a friend of mine, sent me a tweet about his condition but I didn't see it at the time. I feel terrible about that."

"Going public" with that sentiment on social media feels terribly self-serving and inappropriate. I'm very fond of Danny Baker, but bloody hell.

Bit unfair.

His tweet to Danny Baker resurfaced and was widely shared around twitter in the last couple of days as a "clue" to Hardy's illness.

I think Baker is reacting to that rather than making it about himself.

[Scarymole]

Yes, the tweet where he tells Danny he is dying is this one: https://twitter.com/JeremyJHardy/status/1080742659063513089

He publicly tweeted it on the 3rd Jan, when presumably it should have been a private message, but Danny didn't know about it until yesterday when it started to get some attention

[pigamus]

Bit unfair.

His tweet to Danny Baker resurfaced and was widely shared around twitter in the last couple of days as a "clue" to Hardy's illness.

I think Baker is reacting to that rather than making it about himself.

"Hello! Hello! Can anybody hear me? Have I ceased to exist? Have I suddenly become invisible? Sybil - can you see me?"

[biggytitbo]

Mark Steel is still going, obviously, but I feel he is rather laboured compared to Smith and Hardy. Rather too shouty when I saw him in the mid-90s.

Mark Steel may never reach the peak of his lectures series but his Independent column is still consistently great.

[Johnny Yesno]

Ah fuck. Absolutley gutted. He did a gig in Brighton last year and and I missed it. I'd seen him a couple of times before and he was great. I thought there'd be ample opportunity of seeing him again.

Anyone remember Jack and Jeremy's Real Lives. All I could find on YT is this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QiMTD-MLi8

Each episode Hardy played a Geordie character called (Mick? Think I'm getting confused with Mike from the Godbullies) Hard who had the catchphrase '...due to a bit of trouble in me past'.

[Johnny Yesno]

EDIT 2: Also loved this, I can so hear him saying it:

I got his autograph once. He signed it, 'What happened between us meant nothing'. I always laugh when I think of that. That meant a lot to me.

That's hilarious :-D

[lankyguy95]

Bit unfair.

His tweet to Danny Baker resurfaced and was widely shared around twitter in the last couple of days as a "clue" to Hardy's illness.

I think Baker is reacting to that rather than making it about himself.

Exactly. Tributes, especially those of a personal nature, often relate themselves to the person who died. When it's so clearly a shock and there's a sense of regret, as with Baker in this instance, then it's even more understandable. Criticising him for his tweet seems very uncharitable.

[jobotic]

It's almost as if Walnuts posted on here just to slag someone off, not a word about Jeremy Hardy, his exact opposite.

[pigamus]

Mark Steel is still going, obviously, but I feel he is rather laboured compared to Smith and Hardy. Rather too shouty when I saw him in the mid-90s.

Yes, him and Andrew Maxwell are both very bad for that when they're on the News Quiz - you're on Radio 4 with a big fluffy microphone in front of you, please stop bellowing like a drunk.

Biggy's right about the Mark Steel Lectures, but he could often give the slight impression that he was the only non-posh person ever to have read a book, which used to rub me up the wrong way a bit. I've warmed to him a lot more since then.

[Cuellar]

  And there was me thinking you had a career based on talent.

Dunno what lead you to that idea

[Twed]

Anyone remember Jack and Jeremy's Real Lives. All I could find on YT is this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QiMTD-MLi8

Would love to see this. Alas, I can't find anything. Most searches end up back at CaB.

[DrGreggles]

All of If I Ruled The World appears to be on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4F4A896A5865028F

[biggytitbo]

Ah fuck. Absolutley gutted. He did a gig in Brighton last year and and I missed it. I'd seen him a couple of times before and he was great. I thought there'd be ample opportunity of seeing him again.

Anyone remember Jack and Jeremy's Real Lives. All I could find on YT is this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QiMTD-MLi8

I'm sure there's an episode with Gayle Tuesday where Jeremy tries to chat her up and he says "you're gorge" and she says "ohh no, is it showing", which has always stayed with me for some reason.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I've seen Mark Steel do stand up twice.

Once was his 'in town' series. Quite good, too many generic Scottish accents and about half way in he just went onto some stock material.

The second time was his show about being adopted. A well thought out journey of discovery. The best of his I've seen.

The third was a bitter story about his marriage falling apart plus the generic jokes I'd heard in the first in town thing.

I love his independent column though.


Mark Thomas has been the most consistent stand up of that lot. Bit shouty but great. His thing about the NHS he's touring is wonderful.

[kidsick5000]

It just isn't fair

[Johnny Yesno]

I'm sure there's an episode with Gayle Tuesday where Jeremy tries to chat her up and he says "you're gorge" and she says "ohh no, is it showing", which has always stayed with me for some reason.

Heh! That does sound familiar.

[idunnosomename]

Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation was seriously wonderful. I remember it right back when I started listening to radio 4 in the early noughties when the  Blair years were (quite literally) exploding.

Brilliant fucker, I'm very very sad.

[Bennett Brauer]

Yes, the tweet where he tells Danny he is dying is this one: https://twitter.com/JeremyJHardy/status/1080742659063513089

He publicly tweeted it on the 3rd Jan, when presumably it should have been a private message, but Danny didn't know about it until yesterday when it started to get some attention

I thought the tweet Danny Baker was talking about had been quickly deleted and that he was bringing it up needlessly, but that link shows I was wrong. Sorry for jumping the gun.

[Jake Thingray]

A tribute to Hardy from an unexpected source, at 1 hour 12 minutes in, on a late-night programme from the part of the world my granny always referred to as the Six Counties, and which I really only listen to as it helps with falling asleep. It's a nice interview, from 2012.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002928

[Blinder Data]

Very sad. Only knew him from Radio 4 but there aren't enough committed republicans on the TV/radio. One of the few panel show regulars you could really rely on to say something funny.

Always loved this joke of his:

People often say, 'I wish I was dead', which is just a terrible thing to say - because it's 'I wish I were dead'.

[pigamus]

Has there not been a Radio 4 tribute programme? Seems a bit odd.

[idunnosomename]

Well he did die pretty suddenly. And actually a lot of people are really upset about it so it's not easy to make one either

He was mentioned at the end of the new series of Feedback this afternoon.

[pigamus]

Maybe he specifically didn't want one.

[olliebean]

The News Quiz did a little montage of some of his best bits at the end of the episode broadcast on the day he died.

[MojoJojo]

They also said there would be a tribute show at some point.