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Alexei Sayle




Alexei David Sayle is a British Comedian , Actor and author. He was born in Anfield, Liverpool , England on August 7 , 1952 . He was a central part of the Alternative Comedy circuit in the early Eighties.

Sayle grew up in Liverpool , the son of working-class parents who were members of the Communist Party Of Great Britain . In the aftermath of May 1968 , he joined the Communist Party Of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) . After leaving school in dubious circumstances, Sayle took a foundation course in art at Southport before attending Chelsea College Of Art And Design in London .


CAREER

When the Comedy Store opened in London in 1979 , Sayle responded to an advert for 'would-be comedians' and became its first compere.

In 1980 he was seen at the Edinburgh Festival by comedy producer Martin Lewis , producer of '' The Secret Policeman's Balls '' shows and films who became his manager and mentor. Under Lewis' management Sayle became the leading performer at the new " Comic Strip " club. He also secured his own radio series for London's Capital Radio '' Alexei Sayle And The Fish People '' (1981) for which he won a Sony Radio Award (Sayle later released an album based on the show, '' The Fish People Tapes ''. He appeared on '' The Comic Strip Album '' (1981) and recorded his own album '' Cak! '' (1982). He also appeared in the stage show, film and comedy album of '' The Secret Policeman's Other Ball '' (1981-2) alongside established comedic performers. These strategies were all designed to bring Sayle to a broader audience. Following this exposure Sayle began to receive critical acclaim and his popularity grew.

The height of his early fame was with the single " Ullo John! Gotta New Motor? " culled from ''The Fish People Tapes'', produced by Madness and Elvis Costello producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley . Langer had been a member of the Lewis-managed Portsmouth Sinfonia . The single achieved notoriety because of the amount of swear words heard on the 12" single version of the record. After this record's success, Sayle went from being an underground cult hero to a more mainstream career. Some of his early fans felt that he had sold out but this was not detrimental to his commercial success. He became one of Britain's highest-paid voice-over talents providing narration for radio and television commercials.

In the late 1980s, Sayle scored another hit record, "Didn't You Kill My Brother?", which was accompanied by a popular Music Video .

He has starred in many TV series and films, including '' The Comic Strip Presents '', '' The Young Ones '', and many Stand-up Comedy series. He also co-wrote many programmes, including six series of his own stand-up/sketch shows (three series of '' Alexei Sayle's Stuff '' (1988-91), two series of '' The All New Alexei Sayle Show '' (1994-95), and one series of '' Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round '' (1998)). He was credited with providing "additional material" for ''The Young Ones.'' One of his nicknames is the "fat bastard," which is heard in his skits to refer to him; the opening credits for ''Stuff'' featured various characters asking "Who is that fat bastard?" as he passed by. In 1989, Sayle received an International Emmy for ''Stuff''.

Much of Sayle's humour is in the tradition of Spike Milligan and Monty Python with riffs based on an absurd premise. For example a sketch in ''Alexei Sayle's Stuff'' featured Alexei playing the part of Godot , hitch-hiking across contemporary northern England but never managing to get a lift. Political themes are also prevalent. Sayle's trademark costume is a suit and tie a size or two too small for his body, and a usually shaved head.

Sayle alternates his comedic work with performances as a Character Actor ranging from serious ('' Gorky Park '') to humorous ('' Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade ''). He also appeared in the '' Doctor Who '' serial '' Revelation Of The Daleks '' and in a column for a British tabloid newspaper around the same time indicated that he wanted to become the "first socialist Doctor ".

Sayle has also written several novels and short story collections, as well as a Graphic Novel .

He has been married to Linda Rawsthorn since 1974 . In 1995 , he was awarded an honorary professorship at the Thames Valley University .

As of 2006, he can be seen presenting a late night topical discussion show on the Free-to-air digital channel More 4 , and writes a motoring column in '' The Independent '' newspaper.


TV SERIES



RADIO



MOVIES



RECORDS

  • Pop-Up Toasters (single, Springtime/Island, 1981) (as " Alexei's Midnight Runners ")

  • 'Ullo John! Got A New Motor? (single, Springtime/Island, 1982) (7" IS162, 12" 12IS162)

  • Cak! (album, Springtime/Island, 1982)

  • The Fish People Tapes (album, Island, 1984)

  • Panic! (album, Island, 198?)

  • Didn't You Kill My Brother? (single, CBS, 1985) (7" A6553)



BOOKS

  • ''Train To Hell'' (Methuen, 9th February 1984; hardcover ISBN 0413524604, paperback ISBN 0413524701) — novel

  • ''Geoffrey the Tube Train and the Fat Comedian'' (Methuen, 1987; paperback) - Graphic Novel

  • ''Alexei Sayle's Great Bus Journeys Of The World'' (Methuen, October 1989; paperback ISBN 0413626709) — collected columns from Time Out

  • ''Barcelona Plates'' (Sceptre, 17th February 2000; hardback ISBN 0340767529, paperback ISBN 0340767537) — short story collection

  • ''The Dog Catcher'' (Sceptre, 19th July 2001; hardcover ISBN 0340818689, paperback ISBN 0340819448) — short story collection

  • ''Overtaken'' (Sceptre, 1st September 2003; hardcover ISBN 0340767685) — despite ''Train To Hell'', this was publicised as being Sayle's first novel

  • ''Weeping Women Hotel'' (Sceptre, 27th February 2006; hardcover ISBN 0340831219 ) — this is Sayle's latest novel



SOURCES