Comedy Tribute Acts

[Imperator Helvetica]

Saw this the other day and was baffled.


I wasn't aware that this was a thing - I can understand some folks not being able to afford tickets to see the real Peter Kay at the AO arena or wherever, but is this just someone doing Kay's set and jokes, or their own in his style?

I know tribute bands have been around for ages and cover bands too, but I've never seen it for comedy before - even if the idea of a comedian with a very distinctive style covering the material of another is intriguing - one comedian to the tune of another? Stuart Lee does the hits of Michael McIntyre, Mark Thomas does Tommy Cooper, Russel Howard performs a medley of Chris Rock?

Showreel of Simon Mark doing Peter Kay. It's shit and hacky enough to pass for Kay's style, but I don't know his material well enough to know if he's using the same gags.

Link here since the embedder isn't working for me

Oh god, he's not the only one - apparently there is competition in the Peter Kay tribute market:


Simon Mark is the most authentic, but Lee Lard (aka Lee Sully) claims to be the Uk's Biggest and Funniest.
Lard's Website here (Any relation to Keith, I wonder?)

Now in his 18th year and with over 3500 performances under his belt, Lee Lard is still being voted the most popular comedy tribute act in the UK! Lee's outstanding tribute to Bolton's funny man Peter Kay has now been enjoyed by thousands of fans throughout the UK and abroad. Lee Lard's Peter Kay Tribute Show is as popular now as ever and continues to 'sell out' wherever he goes.

Lee started as a comic back in 1993 and turned pro in the year 2000. In the early days, working in a comedy duo called Lean & Lard. After learning the craft and serving his apprenticeship in the tough northern clubland for 10 years, Lee made the move to go alone. After being invited to work alone side Peter Kay on the biggest Comic Relief video ever in March 2005 this new comedy career was born! Delivering his own hilarious 'Peter Kay' style of stand-up comedy, Lee appeals to audiences of all ages.bes

This poster seems designed to trick idiots - like those SPACE WARS toys or TRANSMORPHERS DVDs designed to be bought by confused grandparents for their ungrateful offspring.

There's even an event where he shares the stage with a Lee Evans tribute act (Ian Jones.)


I didn't know that this was a thing that happened - I've seen people do stage shows in character as long dead characters - like George Formby in a biography style, or performing old scripts - like the Galton and Simpson ones that Paul Merton did. Also the Only Fools and Three Courses stuff mentioned here.

Anyone seem anything similar? Aside, obviously from this post being a pale imitation of a much more successful forum post.

Fake edit: Only as I finish writing do I learn that there was a Guardian article by Brian Logan from 2009 on this - including the Lee as McIntyre bit. Turns out the same agency as Lard's does a Billy Connolly and an Edna Everage.

[dissolute ocelot]

Weird. I'd imagine you'd need permission from a comedian to do their material. Music performance has mechanical licensing so you can cover songs, venues pay fees, and everything's handled automatically. But that doesn't apply to plays (you need a licence/permission to perform a play that's in copyright), and I doubt it applies to stand-up or public readings of anything anyone else wrote.

There have been lots of plays and films about comedians like Julian Barry's play Lenny (1971) (later a film) and the Andy Kaufman film Man on the Moon (1999) which do give you the chance to see someone performing as a famous (and usually dead) comedian and get a sense of their act, but they are intended to be something more than just a tribute.

Definitely seems weird, but stand-up is still viewed as an expression of a comedian's personality, even moreso than music. But if it's a comedian who does other people's jokes, is it less of an issue?

[extraordinary walnuts]

Blimey

[dazed_and_bemused]

That "ASTONISHING" is giving me a very strong sense of a highly selective pull quote.

[extraordinary walnuts]

New desktop pic
https://clivestjames.co.uk/tommy-cooper-tribute/

[Fambo Number Mive]

I wonder how comedians feel about their tribute acts. I imagine that most musicians don't mind tribute acts but it feels different somehow when it is comedy acts. If they do Peter Kay style comedy but don't use his actual material, does that still cause issues for Kay?

Kay must be really popular if there are two tribute acts.

[lauraxsynthesis]

I just recently found out there's a group that's been touring an I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again tribute act. Don't think I can get to Cheltenham but I'm totally up for seeing this.

There are at least a couple of different performers who do Dame Edna shows.

Might as well mention Roy Hudd's Max Miller gigs here as well.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Do the two Kay tribute acts stick to different patches? Imagine going to see both and deciding who was the best.

[Mr Banlon]

Monkhouse:

[letsgobrian]

Is Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain Tonight! the peak of respectability for such acts?

I enjoyed Dana Gould's adding of the extra layer of Dr Zaius to Holbrook's Twain. I guess he's still doing what is technically a Dr Zaius tribute (but legally not) with his Hanging With Dr Z web series.

[Ignatius_S]

I just recently found out there's a group that's been touring an I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again tribute act. Don't think I can get to Cheltenham but I'm totally up for seeing this.

It's a very good - annd really gets home how good the scripts were.  Essnetially, it's a recreation of the radio series by editing together 'best of' material (as it says on the link) rather like the two Round The Horne shows. Barnaby Eaton-Jones, who is in it, was the one who pulled it together and also produced the Audible revival of The Goodies - they were planning a series, which didn't go ahead for obvious reasons but the plan was for the stories to be released as novels. Not sure if only the first one has come out so far but that one was written by Eaton-Jones.

There was an audio recording of an Up Pompeii stage play that Miles Tredinnick wrote for Frankie Howerd, which was staged about a decade ago, to tie in with the 50th anniversary of the series. David Benson played Lurcio, I haven't seen his one-man show about Howerd but he's very good; Madeline Smith was in the film, rather than the TV version, but they got her playing Ammonia, which was a nice touch. Tim Brooke-Taylor played a baddie and Eaton-Jines played his sidekick (and produced and directed).

[Ignatius_S]

It used to be not uncommon for comedians to basically impersonate other, more successful comedians. When Tony Hancock started as a stand-up, he was essentially imitating Max Miller - and getting laughs because he was so bad and obviously too callow to understand the material.

There's been more than one comedian who commented that when auditioning at The Windmill, virtually other comedian also trying out was dressed like a spiv and being a poor man's Arthur English, due to his success there.

[lauraxsynthesis]

It's a very good - annd really gets home how good the scripts were.  Essnetially, it's a recreation of the radio series by editing together 'best of' material (as it says on the link) rather like the two Round The Horne shows. Barnaby Eaton-Jones, who is in it, was the one who pulled it together and also produced the Audible revival of The Goodies - they were planning a series, which didn't go ahead for obvious reasons but the plan was for the stories to be released as novels. Not sure if only the first one has come out so far but that one was written by Eaton-Jones.

There was an audio recording of an Up Pompeii stage play that Miles Tredinnick wrote for Frankie Howerd, which was staged about a decade ago, to tie in with the 50th anniversary of the series. David Benson played Lurcio, I haven't seen his one-man show about Howerd but he's very good; Madeline Smith was in the film, rather than the TV version, but they got her playing Ammonia, which was a nice touch. Tim Brooke-Taylor played a baddie and Eaton-Jines played his sidekick (and produced and directed).

I want to hear all these things and do have an Audible sub so yay. I've seen Benson's Frankie Howerd and enjoyed it loads. I love the idea of him playing Lurcio.

[idunnosomename]

That "ASTONISHING" is giving me a very strong sense of a highly selective pull quote.

quite the opposite, it was the entirety of the review except with a full stop.

[Shaky]

Blimey

Remembering how opposed Zelda Williams has been to ghoulish recreations of her fathers work, I looked into this tosser and found this. "Astonishing" indeed:

[letsgobrian]

If you don't like the Robin Williams, then Legends of Comedy have many other tributes to choose from (or at least they did 10 years ago).

https://legendsofcomedy.com/cast/



I'm guessing this was compere Bill Kirchenbauer's idea, as in 2016 he opened a club "Uncle Crazies" where Kabler's Williams act was the attraction.

I liked Kirchenbauer's appearances in Fernwood2Night, but from watching youtube videos of his act on 80s TV performances, he was a mediocre road prop comic.

He had a recurring role on Mork & Mindy as Todd Norman "TNT" Taylor, so I guess he perceives some connection to Williams.

[Glebe]

[Matthew Dawkins Jub Jub]

Remembering how opposed Zelda Williams has been to ghoulish recreations of her fathers work, I looked into this tosser and found this. "Astonishing" indeed:

I wept. Moving.

[Epic Bisto]

Hardy and Laurel are completely different to Laurel and Hardy.

[thenoise]

Are these (the alive ones) operating with the blessing of the original? Surely there is some legal problem with performing someone else's jokes (or a close imitation of it).

I can see the point if you are performing an earlier iteration of a living comedian's act. Lee and Herring as a double act, for example. Or Gervais when he used to be funny. Or Frank Skinner doing an hour of sexism and football.

[TheMonk]

Oh god, he's not the only one - apparently there is competition in the Peter Kay tribute market:

Tony Hadley really should just go back to Spandau Ballet.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

'EY! D'YA REMEMBER PETER KAY?

[Glebe]

Tony Hadley really should just go back to Spandau Ballet.

Doesn't look anything like Kay - this much is true!

[TheAssassin]

Doesn't look anything like Kay - this much is true!

Comedy Gold

[curiousoranges]

Tribute bands are a way to enjoy the music of people who are sadly no longer with us.

About 10 years ago, someone did Bill Hicks as an Edinburgh show and toured it. I think the idea was "what would Bill Hicks have to say about the crazy world we live in now!" Called Bill Hicks: Slight Return. No clips online, did anybody see it?

[Matthew Dawkins Jub Jub]

The Robin Williams one is slightly mawkish.

Geddit?

[Snrub]

Pretty sure Lee Lard is sort of endorsed by Kay himself. Think it's him as the Kay lookalike in the Amerillo video and he gives Kay some sort of kick back money because of course he's making money out of it even when it's a lookalike on stage.

Sure I also saw a review of one of the Kay alikes and the first bit is actual Peter Kay jokes and then the bloke starts chucking his own sub-par jokes in

[Glebe]

Comedy Gold

🫡

[dissolute ocelot]

I assume that a lot of Peter Kay's jokes even if they aren't deliberately copied aren't exactly original, because what is? So an aspiring tribute act would just have to sit down and Google all Kay's jokes to find out which were OK to use.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Do the two Kay tribute acts stick to different patches? Imagine going to see both and deciding who was the best.

Magine seeing two uncanny kays in a border dispute, trying to wrestle knives out of eachothers hands on an alley