'I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, and that's how it comes out' Bill Hicks

My son watched Richard Prior doing stand up last night on DVD with his girlfriend. My son is a huge Prior fan. 'There are bits of Prior in all the best stand up comedians' he says 'Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock are heavily influenced by the man, even Ricky Gervais shows some Prior in his routine'. His girlfriend however wasn't overly impressed and looked on in bewilderment as my son fought for breath, doubled up on the sofa, tears of laughter steaming down his face. He said to me after she left this morning 'I was a bit embarrassed and had to hide behind a cushion. She must think I'm mad' I remember getting worried about my ex years ago, who while watching Billy Connolly, laughed so much I thought he was having a heart attack. He was gasping for breath and getting redder and redder in the face until eventually he collapsed, panting and spend the rest of the evening gulping down air in an effort to stop it happening again. That kind of uncontrollable laughing is wonderful and for me it can't happen often enough. I love watching stand up comedians and shows like Mock the Week, QI and Have I Got News For You. Paul Merton will often say something off the cuff that has me crying with laughter. Andy Parsons, Stephen K Amos, Sarah Milligan and Russell Howard tickle my funny bone and I was disappointed to hear that dear old Frankie Boyle had not signed up for the new series of MTW. And now Boyle has got himself into hot water by upsetting the parents of a child with Downs Syndrome who were in the audience of one of his recent shows. Part of Boyles routine derides people with DS and when he saw a couple talking during his set he challenged them and that's when the extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing conversation took place. The parents of the child were naturally upset at the material and Boyle was no doubt uncomfortable to be 'caught out' in this way. I heard the mother say that he had 'failed to point out this was a sterotypical image of a DS person and not in anyway reflective of all DS children.' Or words to that effect. Hmmm....wouldn't that ruin the 'punchline'? And censoring comedy is impossible isn't it?

I would be most uncomfortable listening to racist, sexist comedy of the type performed by the likes of Jim Davidson and Bernard Manning. I would not buy tickets to go as see them and am unlikely to come across them on mainstream television as their material is dated and unwelcome by today's more enlightened tastes. Boyle is edgy and controversial and - yes - sometimes spiteful. But he is funny. Jokes about race, gender, disability, even paedophilia, are squirmating, cringing and uncomfortable but sometimes they are just....funny. If there is any chance you may be offended - stay at home.

There was an interesting article in the Telegraph this week 'Middle Class use comedy to assert cultural superiority'.

Researchers believe that social hierarchy holds the key to what Britons find funny, with middle class audiences using their preferences as a form of “veiled snobbery”.

The study suggests that working class people generally enjoy observational humour based on everyday life that delivers gratifying, straight forward punchlines. Jim Davidson, Benny Hill, Bernard Manning and Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown were the most popular choices, the study found.

However, comedy regarded as complex and sophisticated – such as Brass Eye and The Thick of It – are the preserve of the middle classes, experts claim.

Meanwhile, comedians such as Eddie Izzard and Frank Skinner, and shows including Peep Show, Monty Python, Mr Bean and Little Britain are universally liked across class boundaries.

“To a certain extent a person’s taste in comedy is indicative of their social class,” said Sam Friedman, a sociologist from the University of Edinburgh, who carried out the study.

“Far from illustrating crumbing class hierarchies, the increasing popularity of comedy among the middle classes simply shows how the privileged are now using their superior cultural skills to distinguish themselves in pop culture as well as the high arts. “Shows like Brass Eye and The Thick of It are lauded by the critics, so to articulate a preference for what is regarded as the most valued comedy is a kind of badge of honour.

“However, one has to posses a certain amount of cultural capital to get many of the jokes, so to revere these shows can be a way of excluding working class people.”

The survey questioned 1,000 people at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe asking their views on 32 comedians and television shows.

Respondents’ were divided into class groups depending on their family background, education and occupation.

Monty Python was found to be the nation’s favourite, making 82 per cent of those questioned laugh regardless of social class.

Mr Friedman added: “Monty Python is universally adored because it has something for everyone – from the slapstick of The Ministry of Silly Walks to the wit of The Life of Brian.

“The interesting aspect the study uncovered was how certain comedies appealed to different social classes for very different reasons.”

It found that most working class people either hadn’t heard of highbrow comedians or expressed a sense of intellectual insecurity about passing judgment. Many said such comedy “went over their heads” or was “beyond them”.

By contrast, many middle class interviewees vehemently objected to low brow comedians and referred to their fans as “ignorant”, “bigoted” or “thick”.

The study quotes one interviewee, who said: “All I would need to hear is ‘I went to see Roy Chubby Brown last week, it was magic’ and I would want to glass them.

“It is the absence of sophistication in all of it.”

Mr Friedman claims that middle class people’s tastes are shaped by their social standing, privileged family background and elite education.

The paper, called The Cultural Currency of a ‘Good’ Sense of Humour: British Comedy and New Forms of Distinction, was presented to the British Sociological Association’s annual conference in Glasgow.



There seems to be a wealth of talented comedians in the UK these days, with rising stars like Michael McKintyre (observational and middle class), Jason Manford (observational, working class and northern), Shappi Khorsandi (observational, Iranian and funny)and David Mitchell (posh, funny and a little bit eccentric). All these talented people make me laugh.

I regularly visit a little comedy club and have seem some comedians fall flat on their faces and others raise the roof with gales of laughter. All of them brave. To get up in a room full of strangers, many of whom are more than a little bit drunk, to react of hecklers, to leave the stage with their tail between their legs, for the sake of their art...brave boys and girls. Like non music lovers I think non comedy lovers are people with dead souls. I was introduced to someone at a party the other week and we were getting along just fine when the conversation turned to comedians. 'Russell Brand?' he said 'The guys just not funny'. I wanted to say 'what you mean is you don't think he's funny, which makes me think you are a bit of a twat' but instead I pointed to a figure disappearing into the kitchen and said 'Oh there's someone I need to speak to urgently. Nice talking to you'.