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Paul Oldfield, better known by his stage name Mr Methane, is a British
flatulist
A flatulist, fartist, or professional farter is an entertainer often associated with a specific type of humor, whose routine consists solely or primarily of passing gas in a creative, musical, or amusing manner.
History
There are a number of ...
or "professional farter" who started performing in 1991. He briefly retired in 2006 but restarted in mid-2007. He claims to be the only performing farter in the world.
He worked on the railways before focusing on his flatulence performances.
Background
According to ''When Will I Be Famous?'' (2003), a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
book on British variety acts, Oldfield discovered his ability to fart on a whim at the age of fifteen when practicing
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...
.
The next day, eager to share his newfound ability, he performed twenty rapid-fire farts in under a minute for a group of his friends.
Oldfield is able to fart the notes of music in time and in tune and in the late 1980s, after years of work in the railway industry, Oldfield turned professional, performing as an opening act for the
Macclesfield-based bands the Screaming Beavers and the
Macc Lads
The Macc Lads are an English punk rock band from Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Self-proclaimed the "rudest, crudest, lewdest, drunkest band in Christendom", the Macc Lads have typically used irreverent, foul-mouthed and politically incorre ...
. The latter wrote a song about him on their album ''The Beer Necessities''.
Oldfield subsequently travelled to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in the U.S., where he appeared as a guest on ''
The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...
'' as the "British Blaster". While in New York, Mr. Methane also performed a series of fart acts on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
.
In his autobiography, English comic
Frank Skinner talks about the time that
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
, while receiving a lifetime music award, went into a rant live on Australian TV about a duet of "
Da Doo Ron Ron
"Da Doo Ron Ron" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It first became a popular top five hit single for the American girl group The Crystals in 1963. American teen idol Shaun Cassidy covered the song in 1977 and ...
" that Skinner had sung with Mr Methane on his
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
chat show. Spector said that Methane and Skinner had taken his work of art and desecrated it.
In the 1990s, Mr Methane produced a parody of the
Phil Collins song "
In the Air Tonight
"In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album, ''Face Value'', in January 1981.
Collins co-produced "In the Air Tonight" w ...
" titled "Curry In the Air Tonight." Tony Smith, Collins' business manager, refused to let Mr Methane release his parody version, stating that, "This is a very serious song and we cannot see any reason for it to be taken so lightly." Letters between the two parties were reproduced on
The Smoking Gun
The Smoking Gun is a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis. The intent is to bring to the public light information that is somewhat obscure or unreported by more mainstream media sources. Most ...
website.
In July 2004,
Q magazine
''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...
voted Mr Methane's album ''mr methane.com'' the second most bizarre album ever released in a Q special edition titled "The 150 Greatest Rock Lists Ever".
In 2009, Oldfield auditioned for ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...
'', where he announced his intention to "put the art into fart",
but failed to make it through to the live finals. He gave a flatulist performance of the "Blue Danube" waltz and was "buzzed" out by all three judges — despite two of them,
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; né O'Meara; born 30 March 1965) is a British broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. He began his Fleet Street career in 1988 at ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, aged 29, he was ...
and
Amanda Holden
Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...
, laughing uncontrollably, while
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...
called him "a disgusting creature". He received negative reactions from some audience members, while others were seen to be in hysterics. That same year, Mr Methane also auditioned for ''
Das Supertalent
''Das Supertalent'' (''Germany's Got Talent'', ''Got Talent Germany)'' is a German talent show, part of the internationally successful ''Got Talent franchise'', presented by Lola Weippert and Chris Tall. Just like in all other versions of the f ...
'' in Germany, but was eliminated in the semi-finals.
In 2013, Mr Methane performed in The World Farting Championships at
Utajärvi, Finland, though he did not participate in the contest itself.
July 2014, saw Mr Methane release a fart
app for
Android devices. The app had originally been developed in 2010, for the
iPhone, but was rejected by
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
. The app was retired in April 2019.
A former employee of
National Rail
National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...
, Oldfield resides in Macclesfield, England. His residence is officially referred to as Farting House.
DVDs
* Methane, Mr (2000), ''Mr Methane Lets Rip!''
See also
*
Flatulence humor
Flatulence humor, or Rude humour (more commonly known as fart humor) refers to any type of joke, practical joke device, or other off-color humor related to flatulence.
History
Although it is likely that flatulence humor has long been considere ...
*
Le Pétomane
Joseph Pujol (June 1, 1857 – August 8, 1945), better known by his stage name Le Pétomane (, ), was a French flatulist (professional farter) and entertainer. He was famous for his remarkable control of the abdominal muscles, which enabled him ...
*
Roland the Farter
Roland the Farter (known in contemporary records as Roland le Fartere, Roulandus le Fartere or Roland le Petour) was a medieval flatulist who lived in twelfth-century England. Roland the Farter's given name was George. He was given Hemingstone man ...
*
Toilet humour
Toilet humour, or potty or scatological humour (compare scatology), is a type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, diarrhea, constipation, urination and flatulence, and to a lesser extent vomiting and other bodily functions. It see ...
Books
* Featured in Jennings, Charles (1995). "Up North — Travels Beyond The Watford Gap". Abacus. . p. 51.
* Mentioned in Frank Skinner's Autobiography (2001). Frank Skinner by Frank Skinner. Century. . pp. 311–12.
* Chapter on Mr Methane in Kelner, Martin (2003). ''When Will I Be Famous''. BBC Books.
* Featured in Foster, Tim (2007). ''Superman's Pockets''. FiveFootSix.
* There is a lengthy chapter on Mr Methane called "The Man With the Singing Sphincter" in
Jim Dawson
Jim Dawson (born September 10, 1944) is a Hollywood, California-based author who has specialized in American pop culture (especially early rock and roll) and the history of flatulence. A self-proclaimed "fartologist", he has written three books ...
's 2006 book ''Blame It on the Dog: A Modern History of the flatulence''.
Ten Speed Press
Ten Speed Press is a publishing house founded in Berkeley, California in 1971 by Phil Wood. Ten Speed Press was bought by Random House in February 2009 and is now part of their Crown Publishing Group division.
History
Wood worked with Barnes & ...
* The British comedian
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books.
Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...
remembered the time he worked with Mr Methane in his book, ''Saturday Night Peter'' (2009). Century. . Story starts bottom of p. 95.
* The British author
Dougie Brimson writes about Mr Methane in the 'Famous flatuists' chapter of his book ''The Art of Fart: The joy of flatulence''
References
Footnote
Daily Telegraph (London), 17 March 2001* Guardian G2 p. 14 http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/jul/23/edinburghfestival.comedy
* July 2004 The 150 Greatest Rock Lists, Q special edition in the UK and a MOJO special edition overseas, including the US. p. 6. mrmethane.com CD voted No2 in a chart of The 20 Most Bizarre Albums.
* Letters between Mr Methane and Tony Smith personal and business manager to Phil Collins regarding his refusal for Mr Methane to release a parody of "In The Air Tonight" http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/mr-methane-deflated-0
External links
*
Official web site of Mr Methane
{{DEFAULTSORT:Methane, Mr
1966 births
Living people
20th-century British people
21st-century British people
Flatulists
Britain's Got Talent contestants
British entertainers
People from Macclesfield