(born
7 August 1952 ,
Anfield, Liverpool ,
England ) is a
British Comedian ,
Actor and
Author . He was a central part of the
Alternative Comedy circuit in the early Eighties.
Sayle grew up in
Liverpool , the son of Jewish working-class parents who were members of the
Communist Party Of Great Britain . In the aftermath of
The May 1968 Uprising , he joined the
Communist Party Of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) . After leaving school, Sayle took a foundation course in art at Southport, before attending
Chelsea College Of Art And Design in
London .
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 ''), who became his manager. Sayle went on to become the leading performer at the new
Comic Strip club. He also secured a 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 ''
Cak! '' (1982). He also appeared in the stage show, film and comedy album of ''
The Secret Policeman's Other Ball '' (1981-82).
In 1982, Sayle joined Central Television's late-night alternative cabaret show ''
O.T.T. ''. He left nine weeks into the show's run, citing disappointment with the low-brow old-school comedy that was present in the show. He was replaced by Manchester based comedian
Bernard Manning .
The height of his early fame was with the single "
Ullo John! Gotta New Motor? ", produced by
Madness and
Elvis Costello producers
Clive Langer and
Alan Winstanley . The twelve inch version of the single achieved notoriety due to its extensive use of profanity. The record's success changed Sayle's comedy career from cult status into the mainstream.
Sayle went on to become one of the UK's highest paid voiceover talents and star in various TV series, including ''
The Young Ones '', in which he was credited with providing "additional material", ''
Whoops Apocalypse '', and ''
The Comic Strip Presents '' (he co-wrote one episode -"
Didn't You Kill My Brother? ", which also starred
Beryl Reid ). In 1985, he appeared in the ''
Doctor Who '' serial ''
Revelation Of The Daleks ''. In a column for a British tabloid newspaper around the same time, he indicated that he wanted to become the "first Socialist
Doctor ".
Also in 1985, Sayle released another single, ''
"Didn't You Kill My Brother?" '', which was accompanied by a popular
Music Video , and the album ''
"Panic" '', the cover of which parodies the cover of the
Michael Jackson album "
Off The Wall ".
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). Sayle is often referred to as a "fat bastard" in his skits; the opening credits for ''Stuff'' featured various characters asking "Who's that fat bastard?" as he passed by.
In 1989, Sayle was awarded an International
Emmy for ''Stuff''. In conversation with
Mark Thomas on
BBC Radio 4 's informal chat-show
Chain Reaction , Sayle revealed that the first he knew of the award was when he watched
Channel 4 News and saw, to his amazement,
Benny Hill collecting the award on his behalf.
Much of Sayle's humour is in the tradition of
Spike Milligan and
Monty Python with riffs based on an absurd premise. His television comedy is notable for cynicism, intelligence and political awareness, although he also employs physical comedy. Sayle's trademark appearance is his shaved head, five o'clock shadow, and a suit that's a size or two too small. As a consequence of a mild insult at Muslims in general on ''Stuff'', Sayle was the subject of a ''
Fatwa '' declaration from a Syrian Muslim cleric.
Sayle alternates his comedic work with performances as a
Character Actor ranging from serious (''
Gorky Park '') to humorous (''
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade '').
In a transition from a more performance-oriented career to one of writing, Sayle has also written several novels and short story collections and a
Graphic Novel . In 2006, he was writing a motoring column in ''
The Independent '' newspaper. He also had a column in EMAP's ''Car'' magazine for a time.
In 1995, he was awarded an honorary professorship at
Thames Valley University .
On November 3rd, 2006 he presented a thirty-minute program on
BBC Radio 4 which reviewed the
Chopwell miners 80 years after it (Chopwell) became known as Little Moscow. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/pip/48cfy/
He has been married to
Linda Rawsthorn since 1974, and has one son who is now in his early twenties.
- ''Sorry About Last Night
- ''Itch
- ''Nightvoice
- 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, CBS, 1985)
- Didn't You Kill My Brother? (single, CBS, 1985) (7" A6553)
- ''The Alexei Sayle Pirate Video'' (Springtime, 1982)
- ''Train To Hell'' (Methuen, 9 February 1984; hardcover ISBN 0-413-52460-4, paperback ISBN 0-413-52470-1) — novel co-written by David Stafford
- ''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 0-413-62670-9) — collected columns from Time Out
- ''Barcelona Plates'' (Sceptre, 17 February 2000; hardback ISBN 0-340-76752-9, paperback ISBN 0-340-76753-7) — short story collection
- ''The Dog Catcher'' (Sceptre, 19 July 2001; hardcover ISBN 0-340-81868-9, paperback ISBN 0-340-81944-8) — short story collection
- ''Overtaken'' (Sceptre, 1 September 2003; hardcover ISBN 0-340-76768-5) — despite ''Train To Hell'', this was publicised as being Sayle's first novel
- ''Weeping Women Hotel'' (Sceptre, 27 February 2006; hardcover ISBN 0-340-83121-9 ) — Sayle's latest novel
