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Simon Munnery, also known as his characters "Alan Parker: Urban Warrior" and "The League Against Tedium", is an English comedian.
He performs mainly to an
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
audience but has pierced the mainstream both with his
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
show in 1997 and his
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
television series ''
Attention Scum!
''Attention Scum'' was a 2001 television comedy series created by Simon Munnery and Stewart Lee. It starred Munnery as his "League Against Tedium" character and contained acerbic stand-up routines atop a transit van and sketches including mainsta ...
'' in 2001. His stand-up is often
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
and political and almost always
surreal
Surreal may refer to:
*Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art
* "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki
* ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze
*Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor
...
.
Munnery's experimental style is reflected in his makeshift, often elaborate
props
A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...
. As "The League" he often wore a hat crafted from a kettle,
epaulets
Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales'' ...
that contained working model tanks, and shoes covered in roses. In ''Buckethead'' he played a character who performed the entire show with a metal bucket over his head.
Early life
Born in Middlesex, Munnery grew up in
Bedmond
Bedmond is a village in the Three Rivers district of the English ceremonial county of Hertfordshire. It is located around north of the larger village of Abbots Langley. Bedmond belongs to the civil parish of Abbots Langley and at the time of t ...
and was educated at
Watford Grammar School for Boys
Go Forward with Preparation
, established = 1884 ( Single-sex)
, type = partially selective academy
, religious_affiliation =
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
, head = Ian A. Cooksey
, r_head_label =
, ...
, where he earned four
A Levels
The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
. He read
natural science
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
s at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
but soon lost interest in science and joined the
Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University.
History
Footlights' inaugural ...
. In 1987, he became vice-president with
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''.
Early life and education
Bradshaw was educated at Haberdashers ...
as president. After graduating with "a very high
third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
", he did various menial jobs before making his big break into comedy. He has described praise of his work as implying his work occupies a place between "unfunny comedy" and "shit art".
Munnery had a short-lived career as a video game programmer. His most famous title was a version of ''
Asteroids
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
'' for the
Commodore International
Commodore International (other names include Commodore International Limited) was an American home computer and electronics manufacturer founded by Jack Tramiel. Commodore International (CI), along with its subsidiary Commodore Business Mach ...
VIC-20
The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PE ...
(a game that
Jeff Minter
Jeff Minter (born 22 April 1962) is an independent English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 19 ...
once described as a "pile of wank"). He also authored several games for the
ZX81
The ZX81 is a home computer that was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Dundee, Scotland, by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and designed to be a low-cos ...
(''Road Race'', ''
Breakout'' and ''
Space Invaders
is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter and set ...
'') and the
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as t ...
. The VIC-20 games he wrote were ''Asteroids'', ''
Cosmiads'' and ''
Scramble
Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Scramble'' (video game), a 1981 arcade game
Music Albums
* ''Scramble'' (album), an album by Atlanta-based band the Coathangers
* ''Scrambles'' (album)
...
''.
Career
Stand-up comedy
While at university, Munnery took part in a stand-up double-act called ''God and Jesus'' with
Stephen Cheeke. He also worked (along with
Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...
,
Patrick Marber
Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter.
Early life
Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benjam ...
,
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer, whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the leadin ...
and
Stewart Lee
Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall.
Lee b ...
) at the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
in a piece called ''The Dum Show''.
Munnery was brought to the attention of a comedy community as the compere of a post-alternative comedy
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
called ''
Cluub Zarathustra
Cluub Zarathustra was a fringe comedy cabaret act and troupe active between 1994 and 1997. It began as a comedy club in Islington, London, twice went to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and was eventually given a Channel 4 television pilot. It is al ...
'' performed originally in London and later at the Edinburgh Festival. ''Cluub Zarathustra'' featured
Stewart Lee
Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall.
Lee b ...
,
Kevin Eldon
Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge' ...
,
Sally Phillips
Sally Elizabeth Phillips (born 10 May 1970) is an English actress, television presenter, and comedian. She co-created and was one of the writers of the sketch comedy show ''Smack the Pony''. She is also known for her roles in '' Miranda'' as Ti ...
,
Johnny Vegas
Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, overweight appearance, angry comedic rants, and us ...
,
Julian Barratt
Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongs ...
,
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer, whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the leadin ...
,
Roger Mann
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...
,
Jason Freeman and the music of
Richard Thomas and
Loré Lixenberg
Loré Lixenberg is a British mezzo-soprano, active in contemporary and experimental music.
She studied composition with Andy Vores, Robert Saxton and John Woolrich and attended masterclasses with Peter Maxwell Davies. She studied voice with N ...
. A television pilot was made of Cluub Zarathustra for
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 1996, but was never broadcast. It became the subject of a book by
Robert Wringham
Robert Wringham (born 28 November 1982) is a British writer, best known for his humor writing and as the editor of '' New Escapologist'' magazine. His first collection, ''A Loose Egg'', was shortlisted for the 2015 Leacock Medal. He has also ...
in 2012.
Munnery's
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
shows include ''Trilogy'', ''Buckethead'' and ''Simon Munnery's Annual General Meeting''.
His 2006 Edinburgh Fringe show, ''AGM'', included the opportunity for the audience to raise questions to discuss as group (such as "is there a God?"). The experience would often continue after the main show, when he takes the audience on tours around town, taking in art galleries, drinks and visits to other shows.
In 2010, Munnery hosted a
Bright Club event at the
Bloomsbury Theatre
The Bloomsbury Theatre is a theatre on Gordon Street, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, owned by University College London. The Theatre has a seating capacity of 547 and offers a professional programme of innovative music, drama, come ...
.
Television
''Futurtv'' ("Not 'Future TV', oh no. It can't be 'Future TV' – it's right now!") was a BBC production for
UK Play from 1999. There were 13 15-minute episodes. As well as Simon Munnery, it included ''
Kombat Opera Presents'' (Loré Lixenberg and
Richard Thomas) and a selection of pop videos.
Munnery wrote and hosted the 1999 TV comedy game show, ''
Either/Or
''Either/Or'' (Danish: ''Enten – Eller'') is the first published work of the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Appearing in two volumes in 1843 under the pseudonymous editorship of ''Victor Eremita'' (Latin for "victorious hermit"), it o ...
''.
''
Attention Scum!
''Attention Scum'' was a 2001 television comedy series created by Simon Munnery and Stewart Lee. It starred Munnery as his "League Against Tedium" character and contained acerbic stand-up routines atop a transit van and sketches including mainsta ...
'' was a television series produced for the
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. ...
...
and directed by
Stewart Lee
Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall.
Lee b ...
, which aired from February 2001. It starred Munnery as 'The League Against Tedium', a character who drove around the United Kingdom in an adapted
transit van
The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...
, preaching to the masses with the help of an opera singer (
Loré Lixenberg
Loré Lixenberg is a British mezzo-soprano, active in contemporary and experimental music.
She studied composition with Andy Vores, Robert Saxton and John Woolrich and attended masterclasses with Peter Maxwell Davies. She studied voice with N ...
), a sedated vampire (
Richard Thomas), and a monkey (Munnery's wife Janet).
Munnery also appeared in sketches in the first series of ''
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' is a British comedy series created by and starring Stewart Lee and broadcast on BBC Two. It features stand-up comedy and sketches united by a theme for each episode. It was script-edited by Chris Morris and was ...
'' in 2009, and in Lee's ''
The Alternative Comedy Experience
''The Alternative Comedy Experience'' is a stand-up comedy show that premiered on 5 February 2013 on the Comedy Central channel in the UK. It features live comedy shows, filmed in July 2012 at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh, and behind-the-sc ...
'' for
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
.
Radio
During the 1990s he made several series for
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, one based around his ''League Against Tedium'' character. Others were vehicles for his Alan Parker character, including ''
Alan Parker
Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts ...
'', ''
Alan Parker's 29 Minutes of Truth'', and ''
Alan Parker, Road Warrior'' for which he won the Sony Radio Award.
Munnery has returned to radio in the early 2000s, hosting ''Simon Munnery's Experimental Half Hour'' ("experimental in that it lasts an hour") and ''Simon Munnery Weakly Chats'' on
Resonance FM
Resonance 104.4 FM is a London based non-profit community radio station specialising in the arts run by the London Musicians' Collective (LMC). The station is staffed by four permanent staff members, including programme controller Ed Baxter and ...
. He also wrote and performed two four-part
Radio 4 series called "Where Did It All Go Wrong?", which were broadcast in the summer of 2003 and the spring of 2005.
In 1999, together with
John Hegley
John Richard Hegley (born 1 October 1953) is an English performance poet, comedian, musician and songwriter.
Early life
He was born in the Newington Green area of Islington, London, England, into a Roman Catholic household. He was brought up i ...
, he made a comedy series for BBC Radio 4 called ''
The Adventures of John and Tony''.
Munnery featured as a "genius" on
Dave Gorman
David James Gorman (born 2 March 1971) is an English comedian, presenter, and writer.
Gorman began his career writing for comedy series such as ''The Mrs Merton Show'' (1993–1998) and ''The Fast Show'' (1994–1997), and later garnered ac ...
's ''Genius'' show on Radio 4.
Books
* ''Sit-Down Comedy'' (contributor to anthology, ed
Malcolm Hardee
Malcolm Hardee (5 January 1950 – 31 January 2005) was an English comedian and comedy club proprietor.
His high reputation among his peers rests on his outrageous publicity stunts and on the help and advice he gave to successful British alter ...
& John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ;
* ''How To Live'',
P.O.W
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
, 2005. ; Republished by
Go Faster Stripe
Go Faster Stripe is an independent film production and distribution company that operates out of the Chapter Arts Centre, in Cardiff, Wales. The company specialises in the recording of live shows by stand-up comedians who, while in the public ...
, 2018
* ''Wall & Piece'', (contributor), by Banksy, Century, 2006. ;
* ''You Are Nothing'', (interviewee), by Robert Wringham, Go Faster Stripe, 2012.
Other works
Munnery has several CDs available: ''Alan Parker – Blast From The Past'' (featuring
Stewart Lee
Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall.
Lee b ...
on guitar and
Al Murray
Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor, musician and writer from Hammersmith. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and in 2007 he was voted the 16th gr ...
on drums), ''Simon Munnery's Experimental'' Half Hour (2 CD's from the Resonance FM radio show of the same name), ''AGM'' recorded live at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2003, and ''BucketHead: Phenomenon Anon And On'' and ''Mr Bartlett & Mr Willis'' (2011) written and co-performed by
Kevin Eldon
Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge' ...
.
In 2007, Simon appeared as Alan Parker on a music track by
The Orb
The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...
called ''Grey Clouds'', a take off of their earlier track ''
Little Fluffy Clouds
"Little Fluffy Clouds" is a single released by the British ambient house group the Orb. It was originally released in November 1990 on the record label Big Life and peaked at number 87 on the UK Singles Chart. The Orb also included it on their ...
''. It features on the
Annie Nightingale album called ''
Y4K
Distinctive Records (formerly Distinct'ive Records) is a UK based record label founded in 1995. The label has hundreds of releases from artists, most notably Hybrid, Way Out West, and Ils.
History
Distinctive Records was initially founded ...
'' on
Distinct'ive Records
Distinctive Records (formerly Distinct'ive Records) is a UK based record label founded in 1995. The label has hundreds of releases from artists, most notably Hybrid, Way Out West, and Ils.
History
Distinctive Records was initially founded ...
.
Two DVDs of his work were released in 2007 – the first ''IAMTV'', covering his Perrier Award Nominated show from the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe, was closely followed by ''Hello'' produced by
Go Faster Stripe
Go Faster Stripe is an independent film production and distribution company that operates out of the Chapter Arts Centre, in Cardiff, Wales. The company specialises in the recording of live shows by stand-up comedians who, while in the public ...
, a more recent stand-up performance.
In the 1990s, he regularly contributed a column to ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' as "Alan Parker: Urban Warrior".
In 2009, Munnery starred in an award-winning animated rotoscope short, titled ''Yellow Belly End'', co-written and directed by Philip Bacon, a student of the National Film and Television School. In the nine-minute film, Munnery appears in a bird costume and contemplates a cliff. He is credited as "Bird".
In 2017, Munnery was interviewed by fellow comedian
Stuart Goldsmith
Stuart Goldsmith (born 1977) is an English actor, stand-up comedian and former street performer. He has presented the '' Comedian's Comedian'' podcast since 2012.
Career
Goldsmith grew up in Bristol and trained at Circomedia circus school. He ...
for his podcast the ''Comedians Comedian''. They discussed the inspiration for some of Munnery's ground breaking characters amongst other topics.
In 2020, artist
Andy Holden curated a retrospective of the artwork of Simon Munnery, tilted ‘What Am I?’ It was first shown at Ex-Baldessarre, Bedford, and then toured to Stroud Valley Art Space.
References
External links
Simon Munnery– official site
New Statesman– Munnery's writing for ''The New Statesman'', 2006–2008.
Simon Munnery's Comedy CVResonance FMHow to Live– Munnery's book at ''First Against the Wall''.
CERN Podcast– Simon Munnery and
Kevin Eldon
Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge' ...
visit CERN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munnery, Simon
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
English male comedians
Living people
People educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys
1967 births
20th-century English comedians
21st-century English comedians