Alternative Cabaret was a collective of politically motivated performers and musicians. It was set up by Tony Allen and

Alexei Sayle Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gr ...

in the summer of 1979 shortly after they had met at the newly opened London

Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

. They quickly recruited comedians Jim Barclay,

Andy de la Tour Andy de la Tour (born 1948) is an English actor and screenwriter. In films he appeared in '' Plenty'', ''Notting Hill'', the Roman Polanski's ''Oliver Twist'', '' 44 Inch Chest'', and '' The Confessions'', and in television '' The Young Ones'' ...

and

Pauline Melville Pauline Melville FRSL (born 1948) is an English/Guyanese-born writer and former actor of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry, who is currently based in London, England. Among awards she has received for her writing – which encompasses short ...

; plus folk duos Chisholm and Stevens and Gasmask and Hopkins, and jazz

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

band Combo Passe. Echoing what was already happening in a few

fringe theatre Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fre ...

s, most notably the Albany Deptford and the Half Moon Mile End, members were encouraged to open regular club nights under the name Alternative Cabaret in pub function rooms, student union bars and community venues around London. The flagship Alt Cab night was run by Allen and Sayle in the back bar of the Elgin in Ladbroke Grove, between August 1979 and May 1980. While always an adamant non-member Keith Allen was a regular guest at many Alt Cab club nights. Among other regular guests were

Maggie Steed Maggie is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret. Maggie may refer to: People Women * Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician * Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist * Maggie Alderson (born 1959), Aust ...

and Arnold Brown. The non-racist, non-sexist, and often radical slant to the material of Alternative Cabaret’s comedians soon became the main attraction and the focus of press interest; as a consequence the phrase

Alternative Comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

became parlance and was employed to describe an emerging approach to comedy entertainment across the London fringe including The Comedy Store where audiences and performers were still often being polarised into opposing Alternative and Traditional camps. Shortly before he parted company with Alternative Cabaret, Alexei Sayle joined Tony Allen to play the Edinburgh festival in Aug 1980 with Late Night Alternative at the Heriot-Watt Theatre. From October 1980 he fronted the first season of alternative cabaret titled ''The Comic Strip'' at the Boulevard Theatre within the

Raymond Revuebar The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court (now the location of The Box Soho nightclub), in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-frontal ...

, bringing in selected stand-up acts from the Comedy Store, a lineup who were soon to become television stars with ''

The Comic Strip Presents The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The c ...

''. Meanwhile in 1981 Allen returned to the Edinburgh festival with Andy De La Tour, Jim Barclay and Pauline Melville and Alternative Cabaret at the Assembly Rooms was a noted hit. Highlights of the ensuing national tour were released as an album ‘Alternative Cabaret’ on original records later that year. Having served its purpose, Alternative Cabaret then quietly disbanded and merged into what was becoming the thriving London Alternative Comedy circuit.

References

{{reflist Comedy genres Comedy collectives 1979 establishments in England 1981 disestablishments in England

See also

References