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'Blue' Comedy, specifically 70s Britain

Started by Dr Rock, April 27, 2021, 09:13:39 AM

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Dr Rock

Blue can refer to swearing, or sex jokes, or more likely in practice, more racist stuff than they could do on TV. But the sex stuff? I'm no expert, so which UK comedians who did sometimes did 'Blue' did sex jokes? What sort of jokes were they? Thankyou.

Brundle-Fly

Bob Monkhouse had two acts. This was the one we never saw on the telly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7UNLfljUF0

dead-ced-dead

I'm not an expert or nothin', but I always got the impression that in the 70s, even when blue comedians would swear and tell racist jokes, they tended to stay away from sex. Sex, up until fairly recently, was something we as a collective were still very repressed about and sex comedy tended veer on the Confessions of a... series style of comedy. With Robin Askwith pulling a face as bras popped open and the like.

But this was way before I was born and I may be incredibly wrong.

Jumblegraws

Roy Chubby Brown is considered the virtuoso blue British comic, surely? I remember a thread on here where someone was saying that his racist garbage wasn't as prominent pre-2000s and that prurience was actually quite daring for such a popular stand-up.

He's still a bag of shit, mind.

Brundle-Fly

I grew up in the '70s and saw many a blue comedian in various holiday camp Embassy ballrooms and caravan site clubhouses and I can assure you they were all very smutty. Blue really does stand for mucky jokes and swearing more than anything else. There were flashes of racism if I recall, but not particularly vicious, just "what are those foreigners like, eh?"

Max Miller was doing blue material decades before anyway.

notjosh

"How does a French woman hold her liquor? By the ears."

"What's the difference between a pickpocket and a peeping tom? A pickpocket snatches watches."

Specifically not 70s Britain, but Redd Foxx (ironically) is the best purveyor of blue comedy I've come across.

petril

Quote from: Jumblegraws on April 27, 2021, 09:50:23 AM
Roy Chubby Brown is considered the virtuoso blue British comic, surely? I remember a thread on here where someone was saying that his racist garbage wasn't as prominent pre-2000s and that prurience was actually quite daring for such a popular stand-up.

He's still a bag of shit, mind.

my knowledge of his early days is that anecdote he has about how everyone on the bill before him was doing all his material in the 70s

vainsharpdad

Mike Reid did a routine about public hair being like 'curly clock springs'

Pauline Walnuts




Quote from: Brundle-Fly on April 27, 2021, 09:52:10 AM
I grew up in the '70s and saw many a blue comedian in various holiday camp Embassy ballrooms and caravan site clubhouses and I can assure you they were all very smutty. Blue really does stand for mucky jokes and swearing more than anything else. There were flashes of racism if I recall, but not particularly vicious, just "what are those foreigners like, eh?"

Max Miller was doing blue material decades before anyway.

And subverting it, the way he berated the audience for getting the double/triple meaning was nothing short of genius at his best.

Bernice

Quote from: notjosh on April 27, 2021, 10:31:50 AM
"How does a French woman hold her liquor? By the ears."

"What's the difference between a pickpocket and a peeping tom? A pickpocket snatches watches."

Specifically not 70s Britain, but Redd Foxx (ironically) is the best purveyor of blue comedy I've come across.

Redd Foxx's Wash yo' ass bit is one of the greatest ever bits of blue comedy. And it is definitely explicit.

mrClaypole

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on April 27, 2021, 09:52:10 AM
I grew up in the '70s and saw many a blue comedian in various holiday camp Embassy ballrooms and caravan site clubhouses and I can assure you they were all very smutty. Blue really does stand for mucky jokes and swearing more than anything else. There were flashes of racism if I recall, but not particularly vicious, just "what are those foreigners like, eh?"

Max Miller was doing blue material decades before anyway.

Thats where the term "blue" comes from  Miller would choose from different books what jokes he was going to tell. The more salacious jokes came from his blue book.

bgmnts

Quote from: vainsharpdad on April 27, 2021, 11:18:52 AM
Mike Reid did a routine about public hair being like 'curly clock springs'

Well, it's private hair.

Famous Mortimer

Quote from: mrClaypole on April 27, 2021, 03:26:44 PM
Thats where the term "blue" comes from  Miller would choose from different books what jokes he was going to tell. The more salacious jokes came from his blue book.
Possibly, but also probably not - https://underthemoonlight.ca/2020/04/11/why-is-it-called-blue-comedy-anyways/


Ignatius_S

Quote from: Dr Rock on April 27, 2021, 09:13:39 AM
Blue can refer to swearing, or sex jokes, or more likely in practice, more racist stuff than they could do on TV. But the sex stuff? I'm no expert, so which UK comedians who did sometimes did 'Blue' did sex jokes? What sort of jokes were they? Thankyou.

Rolf Harris.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: mrClaypole on April 27, 2021, 03:26:44 PM
Thats where the term "blue" comes from  Miller would choose from different books what jokes he was going to tell. The more salacious jokes came from his blue book.

That's often said, but as Famous Mortimer says, unlikely.

In terms of the difference of the material in the blue book and the white book, there wasn't one - Miller would use the same material. Quite often he would ask the audience which book they wanted him to perform from and they would enthusiastically reply 'the blue one' - before posing the question, Miller had explained in a conspiratorial manner that the theatre manager had warned him not to perform form the blue book, so they needed to keep it a secret between them.

There was a Radio 4 documentary about Miller where two modern comedians (both huge fans) discussed him - one thought his material was mucky, but the other thought was completely clean but it was the way that Miller told it (and berated the audience for laughing) that made it seem risqué. It was rather interesting to hear such different views and can the merits of each.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on April 27, 2021, 09:29:33 AM
Bob Monkhouse had two acts. This was the one we never saw on the telly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7UNLfljUF0

Thanks for posting that. My godmother told be that Monkhouse was booked for a works-do they were at and completely misjudged his audience by performing a blue routine - think that was 1970s.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: OnlyRegisteredSoICanRead on April 27, 2021, 01:58:28 PM]And subverting it, the way he berated the audience for getting the double/triple meaning was nothing short of genius at his best.

Indeed. I'm reminded that when Tony Hancock started as a stand-up, his routine was essentially a rip-off of Max Miller but was so young and came across as being too naive, that audiences didn't think he understood what the jokes actually were.

Slight tangent, but Roy Hudd recounted that he and his partner were on the same bill as Miller, who complimented them on their act and invited them for a drink while other acts were playing. Because Max was known as being careful with his money, they thought they would be the ones paying, but were delighted to spend a little time socialising with him

When they got to the theatre bar, they sat down and the pair offered to buy Miller a drink but he said, 'No, no boys I invited you for a drink and I will get you one,' but just started chatting to them with no attempt to order. After a while, one tried to get the drinks in but got a 'No, no boys, I will get you a drink' reply and after another dry while, another attempt was similarly rebuffed.

Eventually, the interval occurred and as the audience came in, one excited guy went over and said, 'Blimey, Max Miler! What can I get you from the bar?'  Miller replied 'A large gin and tonic and whatever these two boys are having.' As Hudd reflected, he was true to his word and hadn't actually said that he would be the one paying for the drinks.

Captain Z

Great story, but I'd love to know what drink Emu ordered.

Ignatius_S

Quote from: Captain Z on April 27, 2021, 04:38:44 PM
Great story, but I'd love to know what drink Emu ordered.

I said Roy Hudd, not Rod Hull - as everyone knows, Hudd had a double act with Sweep.

wrec

Quote from: vainsharpdad on April 27, 2021, 11:18:52 AM
Mike Reid did a routine about public hair being like 'curly clock springs'

He had a nerve banning Relax considering

phes


'The English Language' by 'David Donaldson' (Hywel Bennett) was circulated around my class at school as a 'blue' audio tape:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeHDSQFnqLs

timebug

A friend of mine had two video tapes (remember dem?) of Mike Reid in concert.It was probably late seventies time. It was the same show, but one was 'clean' and suitable for kids, while the other was 'blue' and full of effin and jeffin. I had only ever seen Reid on TV so 'clean' as it were.I was surprised at the blue version. Not disgusted or anything, language does not bother me, just very surprised that he had released this concert in two widely different versions!

Dr Rock

I'm guessing the raunchy jokes were still innuendo for the most part? Nothing like 'he had a cock like a baby's arm holding an orange' or 'There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, she had so many children her uterus fell out.'

Reid (1992) does plenty of effing but the sexual jokes are not predominant, just the occasional one. There's a racist section on Bradford that he'd probably being doing since the 70s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcFJAoTVbxQ

Autopsy Turvey

Quote from: Satchmo Distel on April 29, 2021, 09:37:38 AM
Reid (1992) does plenty of effing but the sexual jokes are not predominant, just the occasional one.

But when he does a sex joke, my god he makes it a wrong 'un. There's that one where a young girl is telling a vicar the various ways in which her father or teacher or someone has abused her, and he responds "what, like this?" and demonstrates, snarling "there is nothing dirty about this". Anyway it ends with him giving her one and she says "and he's got AIDS" and the punchline is "The dirty bastard!" Sort of midnight blue, that one.

PeterCornelius

Quote from: Satchmo Distel on April 29, 2021, 09:37:38 AM
Reid (1992) does plenty of effing but the sexual jokes are not predominant, just the occasional one. There's a racist section on Bradford that he'd probably being doing since the 70s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcFJAoTVbxQ

Slightly off-topic m but the mention of Bradford reminds me of a story about Roy 'Chubby' Brown. He did a show in Bradford in 1985, after the fire at Bradford FC. He comes on stage, first words out of his mouth: "Why didn't you invite me to your barbecue?" Unsurprisingly, the gig ended there and he had to be escorted from the venue.

PeterCornelius

On the subject of Max Miller, there's a great anecdote in Monkhouse's autobiography. He recounts meeting Miller in the late 40s, when Bob had just started doing stand-up. IIRC, Max was topping the bill and not in the best of health but Bob asked him for advice. Miller watched Bob's act and then basically gave him a masterclass in 'the rules' of stand-up, which Bob relates. The interesting thing was that the gist of Miller's advice had nothing to do with blue jokes. In fact, he singles out a joke Bob did where he advises him to tone down the risque aspect to make it more funny.

George White

Anyone else  a "fan" of Jimmy "'kin ell" Jones?

Jockice

Quote from: PeterCornelius on May 01, 2021, 10:22:18 AM
Slightly off-topic m but the mention of Bradford reminds me of a story about Roy 'Chubby' Brown. He did a show in Bradford in 1985, after the fire at Bradford FC. He comes on stage, first words out of his mouth: "Why didn't you invite me to your barbecue?" Unsurprisingly, the gig ended there and he had to be escorted from the venue.

Jerry Sadowitz performed in Sheffield hours after the Hillsborough Disaster. I went but missed the first few minutes. Someone told me afterwards that his very first joke was about what had happened in S6 that afternoon. Never been able to pin down exactly what he said though. I can only presume that he thought it was crap otherwise he'd have left it in his set for future appearances.