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Vic Reeves Big Night Out
''Vic Reeves Big Night Out'' was a cult British comedy stage show and later television series which ran on Channel 4 for two series in 1990 and 1991, as well as a New Year special. Its live incarnation marked the beginnings of the collaboration between Vic Reeves (real name Jim Moir) and Bob Mortimer and started their Reeves and Mortimer (also known informally as Vic and Bob) comedy double act. The show was later acknowledged as a seminal force in British comedy throughout the 1990s, the influence of which continued long afterward. Arguably the most surreal of the pair's work, ''Vic Reeves Big Night Out'' was effectively a parody of the variety shows which dominated the early years of television, but which were, by the early 1990s, falling from grace. Vic, introduced by Patrick Allen as "Britain's Top Light Entertainer and Singer", would sit behind a cluttered desk talking nonsense and introducing the various segments and surreal guests on the show. ''Vic Reeves Big Night Ou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Mortimer
Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, podcast presenter and actor. He is known for his work with Vic Reeves as part of their Vic and Bob comedy double act, and more recently the '' Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing'' series with comedian Paul Whitehouse. He has also appeared on panel shows such as ''Would I Lie to You?'' and ''Taskmaster''. Early life Mortimer was raised with three brothers in the Linthorpe area of Middlesbrough. His father, a biscuit salesman, died in a car crash when Mortimer was seven. At around the same time, Mortimer accidentally burnt down his family's home with a stray firework. Mortimer attended King's Manor School on the site of Acklam Hall in Acklam, Middlesbrough. His schoolmates included Ali Brownlee, who would go on to become a sports presenter on BBC Tees. He had trials for local professional football club Middlesbrough, and although he was not able to join the club as a professional due to arthritis, he still s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jools Holland
Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Magazine, The The, Ringo Starr and Bono. From 1982 until 1987, he co-presented the Channel 4 music programme '' The Tube''. Since 1992, he has hosted '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a music-based show aired on BBC2, on which his annual show ''Hootenanny'' is based. Holland is a published author and appears on television shows besides his own and contributes to radio shows. In 2004 he collaborated with Tom Jones on an album of traditional R&B music. On BBC Radio 2 Holland also regularly hosts the weekly programme ''Jools Holland'', a mix of live and recorded music and general chat and features studio guests, along with members of his orchestra. Education Holland was educate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedic Foil
A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases for the artists' entire careers. Double acts perform on the stage, television and film. The format is particularly popular in the UK where successful acts have included Peter Cook and Dudley Moore (Cook’s deadpan delivery contrasted with Moore’s buffoonery), Morecambe and Wise and ''The Two Ronnies''. The tradition is also present in the US with acts like Wheeler and Woolsey, Abbott and Costello, Gallagher and Shean, Burns and Allen, and Lyons and Yosco. The British-American comedy double act Laurel and Hardy has been described as the most popular in the world. Format Humor is often derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin, and profession but drastically different in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mackintosh
The Mackintosh or raincoat (abbreviated as mac) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made of rubberised fabric. The Mackintosh is named after its Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, although many writers added a letter ''k''. The variant spelling of "Mackintosh" is now standard. Although the Mackintosh coat style has become generic, a genuine Mackintosh coat is made from rubberised or rubber laminated material. History It has been claimed that the material was invented by the surgeon James Syme, but then copied and patented by Charles Macintosh; Syme's method of creating the solvent from coal tar was published in Thomson's ''Annals of Philosophy'' in 1818; this paper also describes the dissolution of natural rubber in naphtha. However, a detailed history of the invention of the Mackintosh was published by Schurer. The essence of Macintosh's process was the sandwiching of an impermeable layer of a solution of rubber in naphtha between two layers of fabr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swiss Toni
Swiss Toni is a British television comedy character played by Charlie Higson. He is a 50-something car dealer, usually depicted wearing a grey suit and with his hair styled in a platinum blond bouffant quiff; his accent is reported to be based on Higson's own poor impersonation of Sean Connery. The character was created by Charlie Higson and Bob Mortimer, and first appeared in 1995 in a sketch in the second series of ''The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer'', attempting to sell a car to the Bra Men. He became best known as a recurring character in another BBC comedy series, ''The Fast Show'', debuting in the show's third series in 1997. He featured in sketches alongside Rhys Thomas as Paul, a junior employee, in which Swiss would typically compare some activity to "making love to a beautiful woman", with the use of comically exaggerated sexual innuendo. Swiss later reappeared in a sitcom, also titled ''Swiss Toni'', which developed both the character and his situation beyond the conf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battenberg Cake
Battenberg or Battenburg (with either 'cake' or 'square' added on the end) is a light sponge cake with different sections held together with jam. The cake is covered in marzipan and, when cut in cross section, displays a distinctive two-by-two check pattern alternately coloured pink and yellow. The large chequered patterns on emergency vehicles in the UK are officially referred to as Battenburg markings because of their resemblance to the cake. Charles Nevin wrote in ''The Independent'': “Battenberg cake is exemplarily British. The first cake was baked in 1884 to celebrate Prince Louis of Battenberg marrying Princess Victoria, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter and Prince Philip’s grandmother.” Early Battenbergs had as many as 25 squares, and food historian Ivan Day states the simplified four-panelled cake occurred when large industrial bakers such as Lyons began producing it. Recipe Bakers construct Battenberg cakes by baking yellow and pink almond sponge-cakes sep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Territorial Army (United Kingdom)
The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Territorial Force from 1908 to 1921, the Territorial Army (TA) from 1921 to 1967, the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) from 1967 to 1979, and again the Territorial Army (TA) from 1979 to 2014. The Army Reserve was created as the Territorial Force in 1908 by the Secretary of State for War, Richard Haldane, when the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 combined the previously civilian-administered Volunteer Force, with the mounted Yeomanry (at the same time the Militia was renamed the Special Reserve). Haldane planned a volunteer "Territorial Force", to provide a second line for the six divisions of the Expeditionary Force which he was establishing as the centerpiece of the Regular Army. The Territorial Force was to be comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Dance Music" as "The Applause" for this new club culture's audience. They became one of the most successful groups of the New Romantic era of British pop and were part of the Second British Invasion of the ''Billboard'' Top 40 in the 1980s, selling 25 million albums and having 23 hit singles worldwide. The band have had eight UK top 10 albums, including three greatest hits compilations and an album of re-recorded material. Their musical influences ranged from punk rock and soul music to the American crooners Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. The band's classic lineup featured Gary Kemp on guitar, synthesiser and backing vocals, his brother Martin Kemp on bass, vocalist Tony Hadley, saxophonist Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble. Gary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan (band)
Japan were an English new wave band formed in 1974 in Catford, South London by David Sylvian (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steve Jansen (drums) and Mick Karn (bass guitar), joined by Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Rob Dean (lead guitar) the following year. Initially a glam rock-inspired band, Japan developed their sound and androgynous look to incorporate electronic music and foreign influences. The band achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, releasing nine UK top 40 hits, including the 1982 top 5 hit single " Ghosts", and scoring a UK top 5 with the live album ''Oil on Canvas'' (1983). The band split in December 1982, just as they were beginning to experience commercial success in the UK and abroad. Its members went on to pursue other musical projects, though they reformed briefly in the early 1990s under the name Rain Tree Crow, releasing an album in 1991. History The band began as a group of friends in the early 1970s. Brothers (birth surname Batt) David S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1988–1997), Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC (2004–2006), and executive chairman of ITV plc (2007–2009). Since 2011, he has been a Conservative Party life peer in the House of Lords. In April 2022, it was announced by the Government that Grade would take up his four year appointment as Chairman of Ofcom from May 2022 and would move to the crossbenches in the House of Lords at the earliest practical opportunity. Early life Grade was born into a Jewish show business family originally called Winogradsky; his father was the theatrical agent Leslie Grade and his uncles were the impresarios Lew Grade and Bernard Delfont. When he was three years old his mother Lynn Smith left the family to conduct a relationship with wrestlin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Yentob
Alan Yentob (born 11 March 1947) is a BBC presenter and retired British television executive. He stepped down as Creative Director in December 2015, and was chairman of the board of trustees of the charity Kids Company from 2003 until its collapse in 2015. Early life Alan Yentob was born into an Iraqi Jewish family in Stepney, London. Soon after he was born, his family moved to Manchester where his father was in business with his wife's family, the Khazams. One example of this collaboration were dealings in ''Haighton Holdings'', published 1951, that shows involvement of his mother Flora, father Isaac and uncle Nadji Khazam. Together they were involved in the UK with various other textile manufacturers plus wholesalers such as ''Spencer, Turner & Boldero'' and '' Jeremiah Rotherham & Co''. The families also had dealings in South Africa with their holding company Anglo-African Investments. The public companies were eventually shed and a few consolidated into Dewhurst Dent, in whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albany Theatre
The Albany is a multi-purpose arts centre in Deptford, south-east London. Facilities include a flexible performance space holding up to 300 seated or 500 standing and a bar, two studio theatres, a performance cafe and rehearsal / meeting rooms. The Albany currently hosts a varied programme of events including music, spoken word, theatre, club nights, and children's shows. Several arts and community organisations are based at the Albany including spoken-word promoters Apples & Snakes and Heart n Soul, who provide opportunities for artists with learning disabilities. History The Albany was originally established as The Deptford Fund in 1894 as a philanthropical group aimed at assisting the local community that had suffered since the closure of the dock in 1869. The fund took on a physical home when the purpose-built "Albany Institute" was opened in 1899 by its namesake, the Duchess of Albany. A daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria, the Duchess was an active patron of the Deptford Fu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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