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On Behalf of the Committee: A History of Northern Comedy
£50.10
From the Industrial Revolution to our own digital age – via music hall, Variety, working men’s clubs, radio, cinema & television – northern-born comedians have been at the heart of British popular culture.
This witty and informative book investigates why that should be so, while also celebrating the contributions of such household favourites as George Formby, Gracie Fields, Al Read, Frank Randle, Hylda Baker, Jimmy Clitheroe, Les Dawson, Morecambe & Wise, Victoria Wood, Vic and Bob, Steve Coogan, Caroline Aherne, Johnny Vegas and Peter Kay along the way.
On Behalf of the Committee is a rich reassessment of British comedy history and cliché-free confirmation that you really do have to laugh – or else you’d cry.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Scratching Shed Publishing Ltd, 1st edition (20 Nov. 2009) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 656 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0956007562 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0956007568 |
| Dimensions | 15.6 x 5.5 x 23.4 cm |
by Mrs. P. Maud
A great read for anyone interested in comedy and its history. Almost 650 pages, this huge book covers most of the 20th century from George Formby Sr to Peter Kay. Highly recommended
by Kindle Customer
A. Very funny trawl through mainly Northern comedians from the end of the nineteenth century through the twentieth and into the Noughties. All the well known comedians and some long forgotten.A very amusing yet I intelligent array of details about each person, date of birth , upbringing, other jobs and forays into comedy before making it big, or not.
by TheGardener8
Tony Hannan gives us a comprehensive tour through the highways and byways of British comedy from the earliest days of what became Music Hall to the interweb.
Thankfully he doesn’t try to over analyse why anything is funny. The coverage is comprehensive and his judgements are well argued, even if you don’t agree with them.
I would recommend anyone with even a passing interest in comedy, northern or otherwise, to read this book.
by P. Spencer
For three pound on kindle this was an absolute delight. My childhood memories of watching “a good turn” is brought back to life. Wonderful stuff that only a true Northerner such as myself would “get”. Marvellous.
by rightknee1
As a fan of comedy I found this a very entertaining and enjoyable read. Gave a brief glimpse of how comedy came to be staged and from there went on to talk about some very famous Northern Comedians, a few names I had not heard of but after a quick look on You Tube was able to connect with them. If you love your comedians you will enjoy this book.
by John Towell
woderful book very imformative the content and the length ( nearly 700 pages ) and i personally was not peturbed at the price i think £20 for a piece of classic history on these giants of radio and film was a steal frank randall george formby al read and countless others some which i confess i had not heard of dont let the price put you off it is worth every penny the seller deserves a mention everything was first class buy it while you can remember you seldom regret the things you do only the things you dont
by M. J. Hunter
Brilliantly written. Although called ‘A History Of Northern Comedy’ this really is a book of who’s who in British comedy since the turn of the last century. Brought back many nostalgic moments. Highly recommended.
by Yorkypud
Great book, its a real insight to early and late comedy both the origins of the shows and the comedians, must say when you read the book you will need a pen and paper to recap and look into the many different aspecs of this interesting book.