Boothby Graffoe (born James Martyn Rogers on October 20 1962), is an English comedian, singer, songwriter and playwright. He is particularly known for his surreal sense of humour. Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For the documentary about Jerry Seinfeld, see Comedian (film). ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ...

Early life

He was born in 1962 in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. For the latter part of his schooling, he attended the Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Horncastle. At the age of 18, he became a member of the redcoats at a Butlins on the south coast. He chose his alter ego when driving back from a gig in the late 1980s. His family still live in the Tattershall area. Hull or Kingston upon Hull is a British city situated on the north bank of the Humber estuary. ... The East Riding of Yorkshire is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Queen Elizabeths Grammar School (disambiguation). ... , Horncastle is a market town of some 6,090 residents in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. ... Redcoats is the name given to the entertainment staff at Butlins holiday camps. ... Butlins current logo Butlins Holiday Camps were founded by (later Sir) Billy Butlin to provide economical holidays in the United Kingdom and Ireland. ... Alter Ego has multiple meanings: Alter Ego is a game for the Commodore 64 computer. ... Tattershall is a village in Lincolnshire, England. ...

Stand-up comedy

He is a regular performer at the annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Although originally from Beverley, East Yorkshire, he claims (probably correctly) to be the only comedian in the world named after a Lincolnshire village. Categories: Festival stubs | Edinburgh ... Arms of Beverley For other uses, see Beverley (disambiguation). ... Categories: Stub | Yorkshire | East Yorkshire ... For other places with the same name, see Lincolnshire (disambiguation). ...

Boothby incorporates his guitar playing skills into his stage act, through his oddball (and usually slightly twisted) songs, including such titles as "Planet Dog", "Woof" and his album's title track "Wot Italian" (sometimes referred to as 'Umbrella Head Boy'). Some of his song titles are still more surreal, in that they do not reflect the subject matter, such as "Giraffes Don't Play Harmonicas, So It Can't Be a Giraffe" and "The Consequences of Living in a Container". He is currently accompanied by the violinist Nick Pynn, having previously toured with acoustic guitarist Antonio Forcione. Antonio Forcione is an Italian guitarist and composer. ...

On his latest tour of Scotland in February/March 2007 he announced his intention to retire from stand-up comedy and concentrate on writing for Omid Djalili. He is currently touring with Omid as a warm up act with "Baseball playing Spider" a highlight. Omid Djalili (pronounced Omeed Jaleelee, Persian: ‎ ​, born September 30, 1965 in Chelsea, London) is a British born Iranian stand-up comedian, born to Iranian Baháí parents. ...

He has won several awards, including the 2002 Adelaide Fringe Award for Excellence, and the Time Out Comedy Award. He has also been previously nominated for British comedy's most prestigious award, the Perrier Award. The Adelaide Fringe Festival is an arts festival held annually in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. ... 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. ... The Perrier Comedy Award is a prestigious award for comedy, awarded to the best comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. ...

Radio

He started his career in 1988 on BBC Radio Lincolnshire when he presented a two hour programme (Boothby Graffoe Live), on Friday evenings for a few years until late 1990. BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Lincolnshire—apart from the northern parts of the county, which are covered by BBC Radio Humberside. ...

He appeared regularly on Radio 4's Loose Ends with the late Ned Sherrin. Loose Ends is a British radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. ... Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. ...

• The Big Booth BBC Radio 4 (2000-1)
• Boothby Graffoe in No Particular Order BBC Radio 4 (2003-2005)

Television

In 2003, he appeared on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brian This article is about the television network. ... Late Night with Conan OBrien is an American late night television talk show on NBC featuring varied comedic material and celebrity interviews. ...

Music

In 2004 he released his first album of songs with Antonio Forcione, Wot Italian? A second disc followed in 2006, a live recording of a show in Brighton billed as Boothby Graffoe & the Following People, the backing band including Pynn. For other places with the same name, see Brighton (disambiguation). ...

Boothby has twice acted as support for Canadian band Barenaked Ladies on two of their UK tours, first in 2004 for the Barenaked For The Holidays Tour, and again in 2007 on the Barenaked Ladies are Me tour. Boothby mostly performs solo, with various members of the band joining him to play bass (Jim Creeggan), keyboard (Kevin Hearn) and drums (guitarist Ed Robertson) for some of the songs. Barenaked Ladies (often abbreviated BNL or occasionally BnL) is a Canadian alternative rock band currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Steven Page, Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart, and formerly Andy Creeggan. ... Jim Creegan is the bass player for Canadian band Barenaked Ladies. ... Kevin Hearn, 2005 Kevin Neil Hearn (b. ... Lloyd Edward Elwyn Robertson, better known as Ed Robertson (born October 25, 1970 in Scarborough, Ontario), is a lead singer, guitarist and songwriter in the band, Barenaked Ladies. ...

In January 2008, Graffoe joined the line-up for the Barenaked Ladies' cruise "Ships and Dip III," where he performed solo and with members from BNL and other bands on board. Whether or not his intention, the cruise performances provided many Americans with their first experiences with Graffoe and his wry humour and dry, relaxed delivery. (Unsubstantiated that an even mix of Americans and Canadians on the approx. 2,500 passenger, chartered cruise) Songs such as Kittens in a Sack, and Bungee Girl, were among many that seemed to go over very well with the crowds.

He has championed the work of surreal songwriter Syd Meats, often including Meats's songs such as Far Too Serious in his set.

Stage plays written by Boothby Graffoe

• The Condition of the Virgin 2001
• One Night Stand: God and Adam 2002
• Hitler Sells Tickets 2004

All three plays were subsequently adapted for BBC Radio.

Books

• Sit-Down Comedy (contributor to anthology, ed Malcolm Hardee & John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ISBN-10: 0091889243; ISBN-13: 978-0091889241

Malcolm Hardee (born Lewisham, London, January 5, 1950 – died London, January 31, 2005)[1] was an anarchic English comedian, author, club proprietor, compère and amateur sensationalist[2] whose high reputation among his peers rests on his outrageous publicity stunts and on the help and advice he gave to successful...

See also

• Boothby Graffoe - the Lincolnshire village

See also: Boothby Graffoe (comedian) Boothby Graffoe (population approx. ...

External links

• Official website
• My Media June 2005
• Telegraph August 1996