DIDN'T YOU KILL MY BROTHER?!!!

Alexei Sayle
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Alexei Sayle

Born 7 August 1952 (1952-08-07) (age 57)
Anfield, Liverpool, England
Nationality British
Years active 1981-present
Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English stand-up comedian, actor and author. Sayle was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted 18th on a list of the 100 Greatest Stand Ups in a poll for Channel 4.[1]

Much of Sayle's humour is in the tradition of Spike Milligan and Monty Python, with riffs based on an absurd and surreal premise. His act is notable for cynicism, intelligence and political awareness, as well as physical comedy. Sayle's trademark appearance is a shaved head, five o'clock shadow, and a suit that is a size or two too small.

Contents [hide]
1 Personal life
2 Career
3 Television series
4 Screen plays
5 Radio
6 Movies
7 Records
8 Videos
9 Books
10 References
11 External links


[edit] Personal life
Sayle was born and raised in Anfield, Liverpool, the son of an English railway worker and a Lithuanian pools clerk,[2] both of whom were members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. In his stand-up comedy work, Sayle describes himself as being of Lithuanian Jewish extraction. In the aftermath of the May 1968 French uprising, he joined the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist). He went to The Alsop High School in Walton. After leaving school, Sayle took a foundation course in art at Southport, before attending Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. He has been married to Linda Rawsthorn since 1974.

On 3 January 2009, Sayle took part in a protest in London along with thousands of others in opposition to Israel's ground attack on Gaza.[3]

[edit] Career
When the Comedy Store opened in London in 1979, Sayle responded to an advert for "would-be comedians" and became its first master of ceremonies. In 1980, he was seen performing at the Edinburgh Festival by comedy producer Martin Lewis (producer of The Secret Policeman's Balls), who became his manager. Sayle became the leading performer at a new club The Comic Strip and also made a radio series for London's Capital Radio, Alexei Sayle And The Fish People (1981), for which he won a Sony Radio Award. Sayle later released an album based on the show - The Fish People Tapes. He appeared on The Comic Strip Album (1981) and recorded Cak! (1982). He also appeared in the stage show, film and comedy album of The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1981-82). In 1982, Sayle joined Central Television's late-night alternative cabaret show O.T.T. He left nine weeks into the show's run, in order to tour Australia with The Comic Strip. He was replaced by Bernard Manning.

The single "'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?" achieved top-twenty chart success in 1984. Produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (who also produced for Madness and Elvis Costello), the record in the its 12-inch version achieved notoriety owing to its extensive use of profane language. After this, Sayle starred in many television series and films and became one of the UK's highest paid voice-over artists. He released two more singles: "Didn't You Kill My Brother?", which was accompanied by a popular music video, and "Meanwhile", both from the album Panic, the cover of which parodies the cover of the Michael Jackson album Off The Wall.

Sayle was a cast member of the situation comedy The Young Ones, for which he provided "additional material". He often portrayed the students' landlord Mr. Balowski, but also played the roles of other Balowski family members. In the episode titled Oil, he sings and performs a song called "Doctor Martens Boots". In 1985, he appeared in the Doctor Who serial Revelation of the Daleks. In a column for a British tabloid newspaper around the same time, he indicated that he wanted to become the "first Socialist Doctor."[4] In 1988, Sayle played the role of Trinculo in Shakespeare's The Tempest, directed by Jonathan Miller at The Old Vic theatre in London.

Sayle has co-written many programmes, including one episode of The Comic Strip Presents..., also entitled Didn't You Kill My Brother?, (which also starred Beryl Reid), three series of Alexei Sayle's Stuff (1988-91), two series of The All New Alexei Sayle Show (1994-95) and one series of Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round (1998). In 1989, Sayle was awarded an International Emmy for Stuff. In conversation with Mark Thomas on BBC Radio 4's informal chat-show Chain Reaction, Sayle revealed that the first he knew of the award was when he watched Channel 4 News and saw, to his amazement, Benny Hill collecting the award on his behalf.[5] Sayle alternates his comedic work with performances as a character actor ranging from serious (Gorky Park, 1983) to humorous (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 1989). He has also provided the voice-over for animations including the character Rubbish the Cat in the children's TV series Rubbish, King of the Jumble (1993).

In 1994 he presented the miniseries Drive, which gave advice for safe driving through Sayle's signature form of humour interspersed with some serious pieces. Examples include ending a piece on the likelihood of certain behaviour causing fatal accidents with "...but it's not gonna be me, so it must be one of you", and on the subject of alertness; "You not only have to expect the unexpected, you also have to expect the utterly impossible", followed by jumping into a car with two lobsters. In 1995, he was awarded an honorary professorship at Thames Valley University.

Sayle has written two short story collections and five novels, including a graphic novel, as well as columns for various publications. His book Great Bus Journeys Of The World, co-written with David Stafford, is mostly a collection of his columns for Time Out and the Sunday Mirror. In 2004, Sayle was one of eight contributory authors to the BBC Three competition End Of Story, in which members of the public completed the second half of stories written by established authors. The winning entry to Sayle's story, Imitating Katherine Walker, was written by freelance writer Arthur Allan.

On 3 November 2006 he presented Chopwell Soviet, a 30-minute programme on BBC Radio 4 that reviewed the Chopwell miners 80 years after the village of Chopwell became known as Little Moscow.[6]

In 2008, Sayle wrote and presented Alexei Sayle's Liverpool, a three-part television series in which he reconnected with his hometown. He stated in the programmes that on first hearing that Liverpool was to be awarded the European Capital of Culture, he received much criticism for describing the city as "philistine". He now feels that he does not know whether or not his original statement was true, but as a result of making the series he does now consider Liverpool to be his home, and he has vowed to go back there more often in the future.[7]

Also in 2008, Sceptre commissioned the first part of Sayle's memoirs focusing on his life growing up in Liverpool during the 1960s and 70s. [8] One of these memoirs, in celebration of British bank holidays, was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in August 2009.[9].

[edit] Television series
Alexei Sayle's Liverpool (2008)
End Of Story (2004)
Keen Eddie (2003)
Tipping The Velvet (2002)
Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round (1998)
Alexei Sayle's Comedy Hour (1997)
The All New Alexei Sayle Show (1994 - 1995)
Paris (1994)
Drive (1994)
Sex, Drugs & Dinner (1993)
Rubbish, King of the Jumble (1993)
Selling Hitler (1991)
The Gravy Train (1990)
Alexei Sayle's Stuff (1988 - 1991)
Up Line (1987)
Revelation Of The Daleks (Doctor Who) (1985)
The Comic Strip Presents... (1982 - 2005)
Comic Roots (1982)
The Private Life Of The Ford Cortina (1982)
Whoops Apocalypse (1982)
The Young Ones (1982 & 1984)
O.T.T. (1982)
Wolcott (1981)
Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights (1980 - 1981)
[edit] Screen plays
Lose Weight...Ask Me How (2001)
Sorry About Last Night (1995)
'Itch (1990)
Night Voice (1990)
[edit] Radio
Where Did All The Money Go? (2008)
Migrant Music (2008)
Alexei Sayle's Alternative Take (2007)
Chopwell Soviet (2006)
Lenin of the Rovers (1988)
Capital 95.8 (1979-1980) (various performances)
[edit] Movies
The Thief Lord (2006)
Upstaged (2005)
The Tale of Tarquin Slant (2004)
Don't Walk (2001)
Arabian Nights (2000)
Swing (1999)
Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest (1997)
Reckless Kelly (1993)
Carry On Columbus (1992)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Siesta (1987)
The Love Child (1987)
Solarbabies (1986)
Whoops Apocalypse (1986)
The Supergrass (1985)
The Bride (1985)
Gorky Park (1983)
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1982)
Repeater (1980)
[edit] Records
Meanwhile (single, CBS, 1986)
Panic (album, CBS, 1985)
Didn't You Kill My Brother? (single, CBS, 1985) (7" A6553, 12" TA6553)
The Fish People Tapes (album, Island, 1984)
Albania! Albania! (Albanixey! Albanixey!) (single, Albaniox, 1982, MOXA-1) (as "The Albanian World Cup Squad")
'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor? (single, Springtime/Island, 1982) (7" IS162, 12" 12IS162)
Cak! (album, Springtime/Island, 1982)
Pop-Up Toasters (single, Springtime/Island, 1981) (as "Alexei's Midnight Runners")
[edit] Videos
The Alexei Sayle Pirate Video (Springtime, 1982)
[edit] Books
Mister Roberts (Sceptre, 16 October 2008; hardcover ISBN 0-340-96155-1, paperback ISBN 0-340-96156-2) — Sayle's latest novel
The Weeping Women Hotel (Sceptre, 27 February 2006; hardcover ISBN 0-340-83121-9)
Overtaken (Sceptre, 1 September 2003; hardcover ISBN 0-340-76768-5) — despite Train To Hell, this was publicised as being Sayle's first novel
The Dog Catcher (Sceptre, 19 July 2001; hardcover ISBN 0-340-81868-9, paperback ISBN 0-340-81944-8) — short story collection
Barcelona Plates (Sceptre, 17 February 2000; hardback ISBN 0-340-76752-9, paperback ISBN 0-340-76753-7) — short story collection
Alexei Sayle's Great Bus Journeys Of The World (Methuen, October 1989; paperback ISBN 0-413-62670-9) — collected columns from Time Out and the Sunday Mirror
Geoffrey The Tube Train And The Fat Comedian (Methuen, 1987; paperback) - graphic novel
Train To Hell (Methuen, 9 February 1984; hardcover ISBN 0-413-52460-4, paperback ISBN 0-413-52470-1) — novel co-written by David Stafford
[edit] References
^ 100 Greatest Stand Ups - Results Page Published by Channel 4. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
^ screenonline: Sayle, Alexei (1952-) Biography
^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/riot-police-called-out-in-london-as-protest-ends-in-skirmishes-1224474.html
^ http://www.lep.co.uk/entertainmentav/39Old-geezer39-Alexei-wants-to.4657149.jp
^ http://www.alexeisayle.me/about-me/
^ BBC - Radio 4 - History - Chopwell Soviet
^ http://www.liverpool.com/capital-of-culture/alexi-sayle-s-liverpool.html
^ http://www.thebookseller.com/news/67926-sceptre-buys-alexei-sayle-memoir.html
^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mdjtc
[edit] External links
Official web site
Alexei Sayle biography at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
Ms. Divine's Definitive Guide To Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle on Show Us Your Titters
Alexei Sayle at the Internet Movie Database
Alexei Sayle on BBC One's This Week
Review of The Weeping Women Hotel by Spike Magazine
[hide]v • d • eThe Young Ones

Episodes Demolition · Oil · Boring · Bomb · Interesting · Flood · Bambi · Cash · Nasty · Time · Sick · Summer Holiday

Cast Adrian Edmondson · Rik Mayall · Nigel Planer · Christopher Ryan · Alexei Sayle

People Ben Elton · Lise Mayer

Other Video Game

Related Shows Bottom · Filthy Rich & Catflap


Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Sayle"
Categories: 1952 births | The Comic Strip | English comedians | British communists | English Jews | English television actors | English voice actors | Living people | Alumni of Chelsea College of Art & Design | Alumni of the University of the Arts | Comedians from Liverpool | Actors from Liverpool