So who is the REAL Blue Boy?
Our editor, Chris Breen, arbiter of good taste, sees if you can be allowed to go and see
Roy Chubby Brown when he comes to the Sands Centre, in November.
Verdict: Something you should experience at least once but be prepared to be offended.
NO-ONE knows for sure who the subject of Gainsborough’s famous blue boy portrait is... but everyone thinks they know who “blue boy” Roy Chubby Brown is.
But in fact they are both a bit of a mystery,
Roy, real name Royston Vasey (yes, they named the town after him in League of Gentlemen and he appeared as its mayor in some episodes) is billed as “the rudest and crudest” of comedians, largely by himself and indeed Roy has been on the offensive for more than 30 years.
The controversial nature of his act, notorious for its very blue humour, means that he rarely appears on major TV channels, and has attracted accusations that his comedy style is outdated, yet each year he performs to hundreds of thousands of people. “People should make their own minds up and not be told what to think,” he says.
Roy was born in 1945 in Grangetown, Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, and left home when he was 14. He lived rough and held many jobs, at one time joining the merchant navy, and he’s served time in borstal and prison.
He then moved into working men's clubs in the 1960s in a four piece band, as a drummer. “Two of the four-man band wanted to be just jazz-funk musicians and left, so the two of us changed our name to Alcock and Brown (the two British aviators who first flew the Atlantic non-stop in 1919) and added some comedy, to get an extra Fiver on our fees,” said Roy. “My partner did impressions, like Harold Wilson and Ted Heath and I did a bit of slapstick and it worked.” In the mid -1970s his manager advised him to go completely blue pointing out the large numbers so-called clean comedians struggling to earn a living and he’s been on the offensive ever since. “I decided to go over the top and become the rudest man in the country.”
How did you get the name “Chubby”? “I gave it to myself? You can’t insult other people without having first made fun of yourself.
What’s the story behind the patchwork suit and flying helmet? The helmet came with the reference to the flyers, Adcock and Brown and the suit was born out of beer mats. Years ago in the clubs people would think nothing about tipping a pint of beer over you – now it’s too dear – so I decided to have a suit made out of bar mats and towels. I thought that if I was going to get covered in beer I might as well dress for it. Then one day I overheard someone say ‘that bloke with the patchwork suit is on,’ so I had one made”.
You are a fairly reasonable, normal guy outside “work,” so which is the real you; are you comedy’s answer to Alice Cooper? (I should have seen it coming but he answered): No... I can’t play f@!/*^g golf!
To get back on track I asked...so what DO you do in your spare time? Play my pianos, I have three, and other musical instruments and I read a lot.
Do people make assumptions about you that aren’t true? Yes, I’m a traditionalist. I don’t approve of swearing in public. There’s a time and place for it.” And my shows aren’t blue form start to finish... there’s about 10 minutes in an hour-and-a-half.
Do you revel in your bad boy status? Only professionally.
What’s funny about sex and bodily functions? It’s an extension of childish humour... we all like, maybe need, to be childish at times. Different kinds of humour appeal to different people.
Are there any subjects that are taboo to you? Yes, children, their illnesses and paedophilia.
What do you think about the complainers and do you think some people go to see you deliberately to be offended? “They’re very welcome as long as they pay and I’m sure some do come just to be sworn at so they can go away and say; ‘do you know what HE said to me?
What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you? Well, looking back now, maybe the time I was in bed with a stripper and I came across her snake in the bed ...I really did scream and run away. Then there was the time in Scotland when, in a pub after a show, we met a clan of Scottish film extras from the Braveheart, movie who took their roles too seriously. They became more anti-English as the night wore on. They kept insulting us “f*&^%$g English” and I said “we’re NOT English we’re GEORDIES and everyone burst out laughing uncontrollably.
Where to you get your material and ideas? I read three papers each day, The Daily Mirror, The Sun and the Daily Express.
Who is your favourite comedian? Ken Dodd Oh and Frankie Boyle... he’s the new Chubby Brown.
Common as Muck, The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown shows an even deeper insight into the man and would even interest and hold the attention of people who are not obviously fans.
