David Quantick (born 1961, Wortley, South Yorkshire) is a freelance journalist, writer and critic who specialises in music and comedy. 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Wortley is a village in the Metropolitan borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. ... South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in England. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Music is a form of expression in the medium of time using the structures of tones and silence. ... Comedy is the use of humor in the form of theater, where it simply referred to a play with a happy ending, in contrast to a tragedy. ...

He began writing for the music publication NME in 1983 alongside such luminaries as Danny Baker and Paul Morley. Along with Steven Wells he contributed to many of the humorous, snippet sections in the paper. He gained a reputation for incisive and witty observations on popular culture and music. Alongside rock journalism he was also submitting gags and sketches to British comedy shows such as Spitting Image. The New Musical Express (better known as the NME) is a music magazine in the UK which has been published weekly since March 1952. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Danny Baker (born June 22, 1957, Deptford, London, England) is a British comedy writer, radio presenter and former television presenter. ... Paul Morley Paul Morley (born March 26, 1957 in Stockport, Cheshire) is an English music journalist, who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983, during one of its most successful and relatively notorious periods, and has since written for a wide number of publications. ... Steven Wells is a journalist and author. ... Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in any given society. ... British Comedy, in film, radio and television, is known for its consistently quirky characters, plots and settings, and has produced some of the most famous and memorable comic actors and characters in the last fifty years. ... Spitting Image was a satirical puppet show that ran on Britains ITV television network from 1984 to 1996. ...

Quantick built his profile steadily and his name began to appear more and more often in print, radio and television. In 1992 Armando Ianucci asked him to join the writing team for the radio comedy On The Hour after which he made the natural progression to the television follow up The Day Today (1994). Both shows were highly acclaimed within the industry, winning awards and marshalling a loyal fan base. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Armando Iannucci (born 1964) is a Scottish comedian, radio producer. ... Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve sitcom elements, sketches, and many other forms of comedy found on other mediums. ... On The Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992. ... The Day Today was a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes. ...

At this stage Quantick was still submitting copy to the NME, only giving up in 1995 after an unusually long association with the paper. Around this time he was appearing regularly on Collins and Maconie's Hit Parade (BBC Radio 1 1994–1997), waxing critical about music's stars. This developed into his own named slot in the format: Quantick's World. His relationship with Maconie continued in parallel on the weekly show, The Treament on BBC Radio Five Live — an hour long satirical news round-up. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Andrew Collins Andrew John Collins (born March 4, 1965, Northampton, United Kingdom) is a British journalist, scriptwriter and broadcaster. ... Stuart Maconie (b. ... BBC Radio 1 is a British radio station, specialising in popular music aimed at the 16-24 age bracket. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... BBC Radio Five Live is the BBCs radio service providing live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries. ...

In 1995 Carlton Television broadcast a set of 6 pilot television shows, one of which was Now What?. The series was not picked up for development but Quantick found a writing partner through these proceedings in Jane Bussman. The two went on to write and perform Bussman & Quantick — Kingsize (1998) — a series of sketches and monologues. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Carlton Television was the United Kingdom Channel 3 (ITV) licensee for London and the surrounding areas, Monday 9:25am, to Friday, 5:15pm (and for legal formalities still is; see below). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Quantick rejoined the Chris Morris/Armando Ianucci axis to write for Brass Eye in 1997. The show caused huge controversy as Morris often does, and though Quantick's association with him on Jam (2000) was less explosive, the Brass Eye — Paedophile Special was so controversial that Government ministers initially condemned the programme (without having seen it). Chris Morris in Brass Eye Chris Morris (born June 15, 1962) is an English comedy writer, satirist and radio DJ. Morris was born in Cambridgeshire; both his parents were doctors. ... Armando Iannucci (born 1964) is a Scottish comedian, radio producer. ... Brass Eye is a UK television series of satirical spoof documentaries which aired on Channel 4 in 1997 and was re-run in 2001. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jam is a British comedy television series created by Chris Morris. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Throughout this period he contributed to less provocative fare such as Smack the Pony (1999–2001), Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show and could be heard on BBC Radio 4's 99p Challenge. Smack the Pony was a Channel 4 sketch comedy show that ran from 1999 until 2003. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Harry Enfield Harry Enfield (born May 30, 1961 in Sussex, England) is a comedian educated at Derwent College at the University of York who quickly came to prominence after appearing on Channel 4s Saturday Live in a number of different personae created with Paul Whitehouse. ... BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of chiefly spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ... The 99p Challenge is a spoof panel game on BBC Radio 4. ...

But most importantly Quantick and Bussman were making history. In 2000 they created the world's first Internet sitcom Junkies about three heroin addicts. Quantick also claimed it as the first docusitcom (documentary/sitcom), though some argue a competing claim is made by The Osbournes. It starred long time Morris collaborator Peter Baynham, with Sally Phillips (Smack the Pony) and Peter Serafinowicz (Look Around You). It is still available for download — see External media. The project grew out of the writing pair's frustration with the commissioning process. The average sitcom, they said, costs £200,000 to make and finding funds is too difficult. So they secured the services of cast and crew on a voluntary basis and made a show for less than £4,000. The site received over a million visits in the first eight months. This article is about the year 2000. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... The Junkies was a British sitcom pilot, produced in 2000 for a budget of just £3,500, and distributed over the Internet. ... The Osbournes is an Emmy Award-winning American reality television program broadcast by MTV in the U.S., by CTV in Canada, Channel 4 and MTV UK in the UK, Network Ten,MTV Australia in Australia and TV2 in New Zealand. ... Peter Baynham is a British comedy writer and perfomer born in Cardiff, Wales. ... Sally Phillips (born 10 May 1970, in Hong Kong) is a British comedienne who has appeared in many television programmes, such as Fist of Fun (1995), Comedy Nation (BBC 2), Im Alan Partridge (BBC 2, 1997), Holding the Baby (ITV, 1997), In The Red (BBC 2, 1998), Smack the... Smack the Pony was a Channel 4 sketch comedy show that ran from 1999 until 2003. ... Peter Serafinowicz (born July 10, 1972, Liverpool) is an English comedy actor and voice artist. ... Look Around You is a BBC television comedy series devised and written by Robert Popper and Peter Serafinowicz, and, in the first series only, narrated by Nigel Lambert. ...

In 2001 Quantick collaborated with Collins and Maconie again on Lloyd Cole Knew My Father, a live show where the three recounted "humorous" tales of working as rock "journalists". Part of the conceit was that, far from being a tale of sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll, stories centred on the deflating aspects of the job: the boredom, missing assignments, the idiosyncrasies of fan letters. Quantick missed one performance at Edinburgh's Pleasance Theatre when he went for a walk up a large hill — Arthur's Seat — and froze from exposure. He had to be rescued by firemen. Edinburgh (pronounced ; Dùn Èideann () in Scottish Gaelic) is Scotlands capital, and its second-largest city. ... Arthurs Seat on a summer evening Arthurs Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, a remarkably wild piece of highland landscape in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle. ...

A performance was later broadcast on BBC Radio 2 as a six episode serial. Around this time there was an explosion of nostalgic list shows on British television themed around decades past: I Love the 1980s and I Love the 1990s etc. Quantick was in his element (as was Maconie) scraping the pith from cultural icons and ephemera. BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBCs national radio stations and is the most popular station in the UK. It broadcasts throughout the UK on FM radio between 88 and 91 MHz from its studios in Western House, adjacent to Broadcasting House in central London. ...

In 2003 and 2005 Quantick contributed material to sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... That Mitchell and Webb Sound is a comedy sketch show that appeared on BBC Radio 4 in 2003 and 2005. ...

Throughout, Quantick worked on biographies of musicians and comedians (The Clash, Beck, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks). The Clash were a British rock group that existed from 1976 to 1986. ... Beck Beck Hansen (born Bek David Campbell, July 8, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. ... Lenny Bruce (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), born Leonard Alfred Schneider, was a controversial American stand-up comedian, writer and satirist of the 1950s and 1960s. ... Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor III (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American comedian, actor, and writer. ... William Melvin Hicks better known as Bill Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994), was a controversial American stand-up comedian, satirist, and social critic. ...

Quantick continues to write, and co-presents a weekly program One Way Single Parent Family Favourites on art radio station Resonance FM. He is also part of the writing team of Harry Hill's TV Burp. logo Resonance 104. ... Harry Roy Hill is the stage name of Matthew Hall (born October 1, 1964 in Woking, Surrey and educated at Cranbrook School, Kent), a stand-up comedian who has graduated to being a star of British television by way of a BBC radio series Harry Hills Fruit Corner. ... Harry Hills TV Burp is a British television comedy programme, produced by Avalon Television for ITV1, and hosted by the comedian Harry Hill. ...

Bibliography

• Grumpy Old Men on Holiday — (HarperCollins Entertainment) — Hardcover — May 16 2005 — ISBN 0007201850

• Grumpy Old Men — (HarperCollins Entertainment) — Hardcover — May 31 2004 — ISBN 0007189931

• Revolution: making of the Beatles White Album (The Vinyl Frontier) — (MQ Publications Ltd) — Paperback — June 30 2002 — ISBN 1903318556

• Lenny Bruce (The Cutting Edge) ~David Quantick (Editor) — MQ Publications Ltd — Paperback — November 30 2001 — ISBN 1903318300

• Chris Rock (The Cutting Edge) ~David Quantick (Editor) — MQ Publications Ltd — Paperback — November 30, 2001 — ISBN 1903318297

• Richard Pryor (The Cutting Edge) ~David Quantick (Editor) — MQ Publications Ltd — Paperback — November 30, 2001 — ISBN 1903318289

• Bill Hicks (The Cutting Edge) ~David Quantick (Editor) — MQ Publications Ltd — Paperback — November 30, 2001 — ISBN 1903318270

• Beck (Kill Your Idols Series) (Thunder's Mouth Press) — Paperback — January 1 2001 — ISBN 1560253029

• The Clash (Kill Your Idols) — with John Aizlewood (Editor) (Thunder's Mouth Press) — Paperback — October 1 2000 — ISBN 1560252693

• Dress to Kill (Kill Your Idols) (Virgin Books) — Paperback — June 9 2000 — ISBN 0753504790

Further reading

• Collins, Maconie and Quantick — Some of the Corpses Are Amusing (SOTCAA) — A detailed history of the three men's work to 2001.

External links

• Direct link to Junkies (pilot episode) in Real Video
• Junkies Archive at Cookd and Bombd — archive of the series in DivX format.
• Collins & Maconie's Hit Parade Audio — SOTCAA — Real Audio clips from the radio series.
• SOTCAA article 'Collins, Maconie and Quantick
• Scroll down to Collins and Maconies' Hit Parade clip — Radio Zone
• David Quantick — Amanda Howard Associates (Quantick's Agency) — Quantick's entry at his agency's website
• Resonance FM