''No Cure for Cancer'' is one of

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. A native of Massachusetts, Leary first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song "Asshole (song), Assh ...

's standup routines from the early 1990s. It was made into a television special, a book, and a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

, all with the same title. Leary's routine focuses on

vegetarians Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

cigarette smoking Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and ingesting the resulting smoke. The smoke may be inhaled, as is done with cigarettes, or simply released from the mouth, as is generally done with pipes and cigars. The practice is believed ...

, drug use, and

political correctness ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

Compact disc

The album was recorded live at

Irving Plaza Irving Plaza (known through sponsorship as Irving Plaza, powered by Klipsch and formerly known as the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza) is a ballroom-style music venue located within the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on October 10, 1992, and at Sorcerer Studios,

Track listing

# "

Asshole The word ''asshole'' (in North American English) or arsehole (in all other major varieties of the English language), is a vulgarism used to describe the anus, and often used pejoratively (as a type of synecdoche) to refer to people. History ...

" – 4:26 # "Drugs" – 8:24 # "Rehab" – 4:03 # "More Drugs" – 7:06 # "Smoke" – 5:28 # "Meat" – 4:01 # "Death" – 5:01 # "The Downtrodden Song" – 1:22 # "Traditional Irish Folk Song" – 2:00 # "Voices in My Head" – 3:37

Personnel

– vocals * Adam Roth – guitar, mandolin, bass, vocals *

Chris Phillips Chris Phillips (born March 9, 1978) is a Canadian businessman and former professional ice hockey player. Phillips was a member of the Ottawa Senators for his entire career, which began with the 1997–98 season and ended with the 2015–16 seaso ...

– vocals, bass, acoustic and 12-string guitar * Breda Mayock – violin * Ger Mayock – pennywhistle * C.P. Roth – keyboards * Don Castagno – drums, percussion * Pete Mark – congas * Steve Remote – chief engineer *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering engineer

Television special

The television version of ''No Cure for Cancer'' was first broadcast by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on February 3, 1993, followed by

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

in the United States on February 20, then in Australia on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

on April 6, 1994.

DVD

In 2005, the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

''Complete Denis Leary'' was released. A collection of his most famous stand-up performances including: ''No Cure for Cancer'' and '' Lock 'n Load''. Special features include: the music videos for "Asshole" and "Love Barge", and the ''Making of No Cure for Cancer'', a documentary with Leary and others.

Accusations of plagiarism of Bill Hicks

Although Leary had been friends with fellow comedian

Bill Hicks William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material—encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy—wa ...

for many years, when Hicks heard ''No Cure For Cancer'', he felt that Leary had stolen his act. The friendship ended abruptly as a result, and was still unsettled when Hicks died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

13 months later, at the age of 32. Over the years, several comedians have publicly stated they believe Leary stole Hicks' persona and attitude, in addition to his material. Jokes on the album about

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

and " good men dying young" are frequently cited as bearing similarities to Hicks' routines. According to

Cynthia True ''The Mighty B!'' (stylized in all caps) is an American animated television series created by Amy Poehler, Cynthia True, and Erik Wiese for Nickelodeon. The series centers on Bessie Higgenbottom, an ambitious Honeybee girl scout who believes ...

's biography ''American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story'', after listening to ''No Cure For Cancer'', Hicks was furious. "All these years, aside from the occasional jibe, he had pretty much shrugged off Leary's lifting. Comedians borrowed, stole stuff and even bought bits from one another.

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...

and

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

were famous for it. This was different. Leary had, practically line for line, taken huge chunks of Bill's act and ''recorded'' it." In the August 2006 ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'', an interviewer told Leary, "Much has been written about you and comedian Bill Hicks...People have accused you of appropriating his persona and material." Leary replied:

Charts

References

External links

{{Authority control Denis Leary albums Works involved in plagiarism controversies 1993 live albums 1993 debut albums A&M Records live albums Live comedy albums Spoken word albums by American artists 1990s comedy albums Stand-up comedy albums