It was the eminent writer David Quantick who coined the phrase "pop will eat itself" in the 1980s when he was talking about the way musical genres kept cross-referencing each other. Soon afterwards a... more
Blog
Maybe I was not paying attention but the new series of 10 O'Clock Live seemed to slip out without much in the way of advance fanfare last night. Perhaps that was a shrewd move. This is the third run... more
Ricky Gervais has got a lot to answer for. Watching a preview of Ben Elton's new BBC sitcom The Wright Way it appears that he has taken his inspiration from When The Whistle Blows, the fictional... more
When I wrote some thoughts about Jack Carroll on Britain's Got Talent recently I sang his praises but wondered whether he wrote his own material. This prompted the following response on Facebook from... more
I've been thinking about Jack Carroll's triumphant first appearance on Britain's Got Talent and have been trying to decide whether it will be good for the 14-year-old's career or not. Plenty of... more
Television seems to be going through one of its phases where it gives comedians interesting jobs rather than just going "ooh look, how about a nice panel game/quiz show to be charismatically... more
It has been a funny few days for me on Twitter. I did not think I have ever been blocked by anyone and then over the weekend I discovered by accident that two comedians had blocked me. I found out... more
I presume Justin Bieber's latest exploits at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam were not being filmed, which is probably a good thing, given the kerfuffle his "Belieber" scribble has prompted. But... more
Frankie Boyle famously once said that comedians should stop doing stand-up when they reach 40. "The focus really goes," he told the Radio Times in 2009. Boyle turned 40 himself last year so maybe he... more
Exciting news has come Beyond The Joke's way that Stephen Fry is going to be a special guest at the next revived Establishment Club night at Ronnie Scott's on April 24th. Fry will be talking about... more
