Alexei Sayle
Born	7 August 1952 (1952-08-07) (age 55) Anfield, Liverpool, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Actor, writer, comedian
Known for	(The Young Ones)

Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952, Anfield, Liverpool) is an English comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. If you hold the copyright to an image (e. ... is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Anfield is a district of Liverpool, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... For the documentary about Jerry Seinfeld, see Comedian (film). ... The Young Ones was a popular British sitcom, first seen in 1982, which aired on BBC2. ... is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Anfield is a district of Liverpool, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For the documentary about Jerry Seinfeld, see Comedian (film). ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... For other uses, see Author (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Early life

Sayle grew up in Liverpool, the son of Jewish working-class parents who 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). After leaving school, Sayle took a foundation course in art at Southport, before attending Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist party in the United Kingdom, though it never became a mass party like the Communist parties of France and Italy. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... A May 1968 poster: Be young and shut up, with stereotypical silhouette of General de Gaulle. ... The Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) is a British communist political party. ... Chelsea College of Art and Design (North Block). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Career

When the Comedy Store opened in London in 1979, Sayle responded to an advert for 'would-be comedians' and became its first compere. The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in Soho, London, England that was opened in 1979 by Peter Rosengard. ...

In 1980 he was seen at the Edinburgh Festival by comedy producer Martin Lewis (producer of The Secret Policeman's Balls), who became his manager. Sayle went on to become the leading performer at the new Comic Strip club. He also secured 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). A street performer on the Royal Mile, with volunteer (2004). ... Martin Lewis. ... The Secret Policemans Ball — The Complete Edition (2004 DVD box set - cover) The Secret Policemans Balls is the collective name informally used to describe a long-running series of benefit shows staged in England to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. ... The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, best known collectively for their television series The Comic Strip Presents. ... This article is about the British radio station. ... The Sony Radio Academy Awards (the Sonys), started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. ... Cak! was an album by comedian Alexei Sayle. ... The Secret Policemans Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field. ...

In 1982, Sayle joined Central Television's late-night alternative cabaret show O.T.T. He left nine weeks into the show's run, citing disappointment with the low-brow old-school comedy that was present in the show. He was replaced by Manchester based comedian Bernard Manning. The regular cast of O.T.T. in 1982 (from left to right) Alexei Sayle, Helen Atkinson-Wood, John Gorman, Lenny Henry, Chris Tarrant, and Bob Carolgees O.T.T. was a late-night adult version of the anarchic ATV childrens show Tiswas, but made by its ITV franchise... Bernard John Manning (13 August 1930 – 18 June 2007) was an English stand-up comedian. ...

The height of his early fame was with the single 'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?, produced by Madness and Elvis Costello producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. The twelve inch version of the single achieved notoriety due to its extensive use of profanity. The record's success changed Sayle's comedy career from cult status into the mainstream. He went on to star in many television series and films and also became one of the UK's highest paid voiceover talents. He released another single, Didn't You Kill My Brother?, which was accompanied by a popular music video, and the album Panic, the cover of which parodies the cover of the Michael Jackson album Off The Wall. Madness are a British pop/ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976. ... Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick McManus August 25, 1954) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. ... Clive Langer is a British record producer active from the mid-1970s onwards. ... Alan Winstanley is a British record producer active from the mid-1970s onwards. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ...

In America, he is best known as a cast member of UK comedy The Young Ones, in which he was credited with providing "additional material". He often portrayed the students' landlord Mr. Balowski, but had other Balowski family roles as needed. In the episode titled Oil, he sings and performs a song called Doctor Marten's Boots. The Young Ones was a popular British sitcom, first seen in 1982, which aired on BBC2. ...

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."^{[citation needed]} This article is about the television series. ... Revelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from March 23 to March 30, 1985. ...

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), and six series of his own stand-up/sketch shows - 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). Sayle is often referred to as a "fat bastard" in his skits; the opening credits for Stuff featured various characters asking "Who's that fat bastard?" as he passed by. This article is about the British comedy group; for the published art form, see comic strip. ... Didnt You Kill My Brother? was an episode of the satirical Comic Strip TV comedy series in which Alexei Sayle plays both halves of a pair of gangster twins, not so loosely modelled on the Kray twins, the notorious Moss Brothers (also the name of a well known dress... Beryl Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in industrial Manchester, England. ... The eponymously titled Alexei Sayles Stuff was a comedy sketch show which ran on BBC2 for a total of 18 episodes over 3 series from 1988 to 1991. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Alexei Sayles Merry-Go-Round was a comedy sketch show which ran on BBC2 for a total of 6 episodes over one series in 1998. ...

Much of Sayle's humour is in the tradition of Spike Milligan and Monty Python with riffs based on an absurd premise. His television comedy is notable for cynicism, intelligence and political awareness, although he also employs physical comedy. Sayle's trademark appearance is his shaved head, five o'clock shadow, and a suit that's a size or two too small. As a consequence of a mild insult at Muslims in general on Stuff, Sayle was the subject of a Fatwa declaration from a Syrian Muslim cleric.^{[citation needed]} Terence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan KBE (16 April 1918–27 February 2002), known as Spike Milligan, was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet and playwright. ... Monty Python, or The Pythons,[2][3] is the collective name of the creators of Monty Pythons Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. ... A fatwā (Arabic: ; plural fatāwā Arabic: ), is a considered opinion in Islam made by a mufti, a scholar capable of issuing judgments on Sharia (Islamic law). ...

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.^{[citation needed]} An Emmy Award. ... This article is about the anarchist comedian. ... old Radio 4 logo BBC Radio 4 is a UK domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ... Chain Reaction is a hostless chat show first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005. ... The Channel 4 News logo after the headline stab. ... Alfred Hawthorn Hill (21 January 1924 – 19 April 1992), better known as Benny Hill, was a prolific English comic, actor and singer, best known for his television programme, The Benny Hill Show. ...

Sayle alternates his comedic work with performances as a character actor ranging from serious (Gorky Park) to humorous (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). A character actor is an actor, especially in motion pictures, who predominantly performs in similar roles throughout the course of a career. ... Gorky Park, the 1983 movie based on the novel by Martin Cruz Smith, was directed by Michael Apted from the screenplay by Dennis Potter. ... Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, Alison Doody, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies. ...

In 1994 he presented the miniseries Drive, which gave advice for safe driving through Alexei's signature form of humour interspersed with some very sober 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. Thames Valley University (TVU) is a British university based on campuses in Slough, Reading and Ealing, all in the Thames Valley area west of London. ...

On November 3, 2006 he presented Chopwell Soviet; a thirty-minute programme on BBC Radio 4 which reviewed the Chopwell miners 80 years after it (Chopwell) became known as Little Moscow. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/pip/48cfy is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... old Radio 4 logo BBC Radio 4 is a UK domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ... Chopwell is a village in Tyne and Wear, located approximately three miles west of Rowlands Gill and one mile north of Hamsterley. ...

Sayle has written two short story collections and four 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 largely a collection of his columns for Time Out and the Sunday Mirror. In recent years, he has made the transition from a more performance-oriented career to one of writing. A new novel, Mister Roberts, is due out in 2008. Trade paperback of Will Eisners A Contract with God (1978), often mistakenly cited as the first graphic novel. ... David Stafford is a writer, broadcaster, occasionally musician, born in Birmingham. ... Time-out can mean: sport time-out, a break in play that may be called by a side to formulate strategy or respond to an players injury. ... Alternate newspaper: The Daily Mirror (Australia) The Daily Mirror is a popular British tabloid daily newspaper. ...

He has been married to Linda Rawsthorn since 1974.

Television series

• 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)
• Rubbish, King of the Jumble (1992)
• Selling Hitler (1991)
• Alexei Sayle's Stuff (1988 - 1991)
• Revelation Of The Daleks (Doctor Who) (1985)
• The Comic Strip Presents... (1982 - 2005)
• Comic Roots (1982)
• Whoops Apocalypse (1982)
• The Young Ones (1982 & 1984)
• O.T.T. (1982)
• Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights (1981)

Keen Eddie was an action/dramedy television series, first aired in 2003, about a brash American police detective who is sent to help solve crimes in London. ... Tipping the Velvet is a 2002 BBC television drama serial based on the bestselling debut novel by Sarah Waters of the same name. ... Alexei Sayles Merry-Go-Round was a comedy sketch show which ran on BBC2 for a total of 6 episodes over one series in 1998. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... The eponymously titled Alexei Sayles Stuff was a comedy sketch show which ran on BBC2 for a total of 18 episodes over 3 series from 1988 to 1991. ... Revelation of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from March 23 to March 30, 1985. ... This article is about the television series. ... This article is about the British comedy group; for the published art form, see comic strip. ... Whoops Apocalypse was originally a six-part 1982 sitcom by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, made by London Weekend Television for ITV. Marshall and Renwick later reworked the concept as a 1986 movie with almost completely different characters and plot, although one or two of the original actors returned in... The Young Ones was a popular British sitcom, first seen in 1982, which aired on BBC2. ... The regular cast of O.T.T. in 1982 (from left to right) Alexei Sayle, Helen Atkinson-Wood, John Gorman, Lenny Henry, Chris Tarrant, and Bob Carolgees O.T.T. was a late-night adult version of the anarchic ATV childrens show Tiswas, but made by its ITV franchise...

Screen plays

• Lose Weight...Ask Me How (2001)
• Sorry About Last Night (1995)
• 'Itch (1990)
• Night Voice (1990)

Radio

• Chopwell Soviet (2006)
• Lenin of the Rovers (1988)
• Capital 95.8 (1979-1980) (various performances)

Lenin of the Rovers was a BBC Radio 4 comedy series written by Marcus Berkmann from 1988 starring Alexei Sayle as Ricky Lenin, a player for Felchester Rovers - Britains only communist football team. ... This article is about the British radio station. ...

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)

The Thief Lord is a 2006 family movie directed by Richard Claus. ... Arabian Nights Poster Arabian Nights is a three hour miniseries that was made by Hallmark Entertainment, originally shown over two nights on April 30, and May 1, 2000 on ABC in the United States and BBC One in the United Kingdom. ... Reckless Kelly Hopefully fate, and perhaps good sense, will provide a more prosperous road for Reckless Kelly than Ned Kelly, the 19th century Australian bank robber from whom the band takes its name. ... Carry On Columbus was a 1992 film, and the most recent in the Carry On films series. ... Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, Alison Doody, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies. ... Whoops Apocalypse was originally a six-part 1982 sitcom by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, made by London Weekend Television for ITV. Marshall and Renwick later reworked the concept as a 1986 movie with almost completely different characters and plot, although one or two of the original actors returned in... Gorky Park, the 1983 movie based on the novel by Martin Cruz Smith, was directed by Michael Apted from the screenplay by Dennis Potter. ... The Secret Policemans Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field. ...

Records

• Panic (album, CBS, 1985)
• Didn't You Kill My Brother? (single, CBS, 1985) (7" A6553, 12" TA6553)
• The Fish People Tapes (album, Island, 1984)
• '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)

Cak! was an album by comedian Alexei Sayle. ...

Videos

• The Alexei Sayle Pirate Video (Springtime, 1982)

Books

• The Weeping Women Hotel (Sceptre, 27 February 2006; hardcover ISBN 0-340-83121-9 ) — Sayle's latest novel
• 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

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External links

• Ms. Divine's Definitive Guide To Alexei Sayle
• Alexei Sayle's Titterpedia Profile

Sources

• Alexei Sayle at the Internet Movie Database
• Alexei Sayle on BBC One's This Week
• Review of The Weeping Women Hotel by Spike Magazine