Roy Chubby Brown (born 3 February 1945) is an English

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

whose act consists of offensive humour, high

profanity Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...

, forthright social commentary and outspoken disdain for

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 ...

Early life

Roy Chubby Brown (born Royston Vasey) Vasey, was born on 3rd February 1945 in Grangetown,

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used ...

and has a sister named Barbara. He left school without any qualifications, leaving home at the age of fourteen, spent time living rough and moving from job-to-job, at one point joining the Merchant Navy. He became homeless and for some time slept in a fishing boat in

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a populatio ...

. He was arrested and taken to a detention centre and then on to

Borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

, following that, went to jail." His style of

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

consists of offensive humour, high

, forthright social commentary and outspoken disdain for

. Whilst in prison, Vasey read ''I Owe Russia $1200'' by

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...

, which made him decide he wanted to be a stand-up comic. When he saw

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A lifel ...

perform live, he thought he was so good it inspired him to try comedy himself. Vasey formed a comedy duo with a fellow ex-Pipelines band member. The duo named themselves Alcock and Brown, as they shared surnames with the pilots of the first transatlantic flight, wearing goggles during their performance. The group eventually disbanded, with Vasey continuing as a comedic act by himself; however the goggles stayed, and became a permanent part of his image. Vasey's manager at the time (1971) George Forster, asked him whether he would try performing

blue comedy Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy". Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...

, to which he agreed. In 1971, he took to the stage and said, "Good evening! My wife's got two cunts and I'm one of them." Vasey has said he was nearly beaten up, but that following that performance: "I knew I had something. I took the building site mentality and banter and took it to the stage. I was the first person ever to say the 'C' word on stage in the UK. To be honest, I never looked back."

Career

Vasey appeared on the UK television talent show ''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...

'' as Roy Chubby Brown in the 1970s, coming second to a

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while t ...

band. He failed the audition for another television talent show, '' Opportunity Knocks'', after saying the word '

arse Arse or ARSE may refer to: * A Commonwealth English slang term for the buttocks * Arse, the name for the Iberian settlement of modern-day Sagunto * Arse (district), a district in the South Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra province, Sumatra, Indonesi ...

' during his interview.

Comedy

Brown's image is characterised by a clown-like stage costume consisting of a

leather flying helmet During the first years of aviation, pilots started wearing leather flying helmets as a form of protection from the cold and the noise of aircraft engines. Leather was becoming a popular choice for protective gear with the rise of motor sport and ...

and

goggles Goggles, or safety glasses, are forms of protective eyewear that usually enclose or protect the area surrounding the eye in order to prevent particulates, water or chemicals from striking the eyes. They are used in chemistry laboratories and ...

, a white shirt, a red bow tie and

moccasin A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather that has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional pane ...

slippers, and his trademark multi-coloured patchwork suit (previously made from beer mats because stag night crowds would shower him in beer). His comedy is considered controversial due to its subject being:

Blue comedy Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy". Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...

, insult comedy,

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where s ...

sarcasm Sarcasm is the caustic use of words, often in a humorous way, to mock someone or something. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although it is not necessarily ironic. Most noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly distinguished by the inflection ...

self-deprecation Self-deprecation is the act of reprimanding oneself by belittling, undervaluing, disparaging oneself, or being excessively modest. It can be used as a way to make complaints, express modesty, invoke optimal reactions or add humour. It may also be u ...

British politics The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, currently Charles III, King of the United Kingdom, is the ...

, sex,

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

and one liners.

Film

In 1993, Brown released '' U.F.O.,'' a

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstel ...

starring himself,

Roger Lloyd-Pack Roger Anthony Lloyd-Pack (8 February 1944 – 16 January 2014) was an English actor. He is best known for playing Trigger in ''Only Fools and Horses'' from 1981 to 2003, and Owen Newitt in '' The Vicar of Dibley'' from 1994 to 2007. He later st ...

and

Sara Stockbridge Sara Stockbridge (born Sarah Jane Stockbridge; 14 November 1965) is an English model, actress and author. In the second half of the 1980s, she was the muse of fashion designer Vivenne Westwood. Early life Stockbridge was born in Woking, Surr ...

. It was reviewed poorly, with

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

calling the film "a stand-up show, allowing the comedian to tell his sexist jokes to a race of aliens who charge him for being a misogynist" and rating it 1/5. In 2012, Brown voiced a talking lamppost in

Robin Sheppard Robin Sheppard (sometimes credited as Robin Shepperd) is a British television director who has directed ''Lucky Jim'', '' Octavia'', ''Cherished'', ''The Bad Mother's Handbook'', and episodes of '' Kingdom'', '' Casualty'', ''Playing the Field'', ...

's film adaptation of

Richard Milward Richard Milward (born 26 October 1984 in Middlesbrough) is an English novelist. His debut novel ''Apples'' was published by Faber in 2007. He has also written ''Ten Storey Love Song'' and most recently ''Kimberly's Capital Punishment''. Raise ...

's novel ''

Apples 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, ' ...

''. He also played the Victorian Photographer in the feature film ''Unconditional'' (titled ''Unconditional Love'' in the USA) directed by Bryn Higgins. He eventually began to perform at larger venues, with his breakthrough coming in 1990, as

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

signed him to a home video contract, where he would release concerts annually every Christmas, eventually going on to sell 250,000 copies. His most recent UK release was in 2019, and he continues to perform concerts in the United Kingdom, and occasionally overseas at British tourist destinations.

TV

Vasey appeared in the second series of ''

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the live ...

'' as the town's mayor. The fictional town where the characters were based had been named Royston Vasey from the start. Brown's live shows are rarely seen on television; however, a programme about Brown called ''Roy Chubby Brown: Britain's Rudest Comedian'' was broadcast on

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

in May 2007.

Music

One of his best-known songs is "Living Next Door to Alice (Who the Fuck is Alice?)", a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

of "

Living Next Door to Alice "Living Next Door to Alice" is a song co-written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Originally released by Australian pop band New World in 1972, the song charted at No. 35 on the Australian chart. The song later became a worldwide hit for British ...

", recorded with Smokie. The record spent 27 weeks in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, selling 400,000 copies and peaking at number 3 in August 1995. He released a solo single in the winter of 1996 called "A Rocking Good Christmas", written by

Ray Hedges Ray "Madman" Hedges is an English songwriter and record producer from Surrey, England who has had over 60 top 20 singles and albums including seven UK number-ones as producer and or writer with many on his own record labels. Career Hedges has ...

; this reached number 51. Brown has also released two albums, ''Take Fat and Party'' (1995) and ''Fat Out of Hell'' (1996); they achieved positions 29 and 67 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

respectively.

Personal life

Vasey has seven children from three marriages. He met his current wife Helen in Scarborough in the late-1990s, and lives with her and their two children in Tetney,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

. Vasey was diagnosed with

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

in 2002 and had a

vocal cord In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speec ...

removed. In 2006, he released an autobiography titled ''Common as Muck: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown''. In December 2011, he self-published a collection of

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

s from his life and career called ''It's Funny Being Me''. Vasey is a supporter of Middlesbrough Football Club. He is a co-owner of the racehorse Rasaman. In 2003, Vasey was fined £200 in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

for assaulting a heckler by pulling him from his seat, dragging him across the floor and proceeding to attack him with a golf umbrella. Brown later claimed, "I just wanted the man to stop swearing and being abusive in front of women and children who were on the pier." In 2014, Vasey was fined for reading ''The Sun'' newspaper whilst driving on the

A19 road The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road. Although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in Doncaster, but the old r ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

Stand up releases

While Brown has been performing for over 30 years, his live shows have been released around Christmas time since 1990. They have been released by Channel 5 Video Distribution (1990),

PolyGram Video PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to b ...

(1991–1998) and

(1999–present), they were released on VHS (1990–2005), DVD (2000–present) and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

(2010–2012). The release due for November 2011 was delayed until 2012 due to the venue, technical and timing issues.

Releases

* ''From Inside the Helmet'' (1990) * ''The Helmet Rides Again'' (1991) * ''The Helmet's Last Stand'' (1992) * ''U.F.O.'' (1993)

ilm Ilm or ILM may refer to: Acronyms * Identity Lifecycle Manager, a Microsoft Server Product * '' I Love Money,'' a TV show on VH1 * Independent Loading Mechanism, a mounting system for CPU sockets * Industrial Light & Magic, an American motion ...

* ''Roy Chubby Brown: Exposed'' (1993) * ''Jingle Bollocks'' (1994) * ''Clitoris Allsorts'' (1995) * ''Saturday Night Beaver'' (1996) * ''Obscene and Not Heard'' (1997) * ''Chubby Goes Down Under and Other Sticky Regions'' (1998) * ''You Fat Bastard!'' (1999) *''Roy Chubby Brown's Comedy Box'' (2000) ompilation* ''Thunder Bollocks'' (2000) * ''Stocking Filler!'' (2001) * ''Standing Room Only'' (2002) * ''Bad Taste'' (2003) * ''Giggling Lips'' (2004) * ''King Thong'' (2005) * ''Kick-Arse Chubbs'' (2006) * ''The Good, The Bad And The Fat Bastard'' (2007) *''Roy Chubby Brown's Tasty Threesome'' (2008) ompilation* ''Dirty Weekend in Blackpool'' (2008) *''Roy Chubby Brown: Mucky Man Box'' (2009) '' ompilation' * ''Too Fat To Be Gay'' (2009) *''Roy Chubby Brown's Blue Christmas'' (2010) ompilation* ''Pussy & Meatballs'' (2010) * ''Front Page Boobs'' (2012) * ''Who Ate All The Pies?'' (2013) *''Roy Chubby Brown's Big Fat Bastard Box'' (2014) ompilation* ''Don't Get Fit! Get Fat!'' (2014) * ''Hangs Up His Helmet'' (2015) * ''Great British Jerk Off'' (2016) ocumentary * ''The Second Coming'' (2017) * ''50 Shades of Brown'' (2019) * ''Harmless Vulgarity And Friendly Smut'' (2022) *

References

External links

*https://www.roychubbybrown.biz/ *
Reviews of Roy Chubby Brown in concert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Roy Chubby 1945 births Living people Comedians from Yorkshire English male comedians English stand-up comedians English racehorse owners and breeders People from Grangetown, North Yorkshire People from Middlesbrough Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians