Is that to the tune of "La Donna È Mobile" by any chance? Christ, Jasper Carrott, eh? I suspect we can agree on him.

Yes, I'd've included that information if I were less of an ignoramus and knew what it was called. "Macho and prooooooooooud, we sing far too loud."

A strange case, Jasper Carrot. Started off very much as a Billy Connolly lite, mixing anecdotal routines and folky comedy songs, then hooked up with a bunch of mid-80's satirical writers and performers such as Chris Barrie to make 'Carrott's Lib', an overlooked classic which gave us routines every bit as funny as similar attempts on 'Not The Nine O'Clock News'. He's struggled to find material ever since then, of course.

Victoria Wood, though.. I don't know... I do remember enjoying the 'Wood And Walters' shows on ITV, and I think she can turn in a killer phrase more often than most, but she has the unenviable knack of making even the most risque material come across in a very safe manner. Perhaps that's why people like her so much.

Well yeah. I'm not sure why you've prefaced that last bit with "but". I think that's a very good summation of one of her best qualities as a performer.

I don't think Carrott was that bad on the whole. He was very skilled at basic isn't-it-annoying-when-such-and-such-happens observational stuff.

I meant "she has the unenviable knack of making even the most risque material come across in a very safe manner" in a "she takes the sting right out of it" kind of way. It wasn't really a compliment.

Ah.

This is the first result that 'Victoria Wood' throws up on Youtube.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OZCIKjYDf1g

The words "Gardeners' Question Time", "vinyl flooring" and "grouting" get a roar of laughter. So does "baggy Y-fronts" and so does "thermal vest". F.F.F.F.S. This is exactly what I'm talking about. Oh god, and "Judith Chalmers". Oh and now as her big finale she's said "bottom".

Here's the second result.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6AwsegxfzN8

The main joke of which seems to be that she's got a squeaky voice and she's a bit timid and daft. The line "Sometimes they do things in brackets" raised a slight smile, in a three-and-a-half minute sketch. Um, great.

Here's the third.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=46cwOX5Z3rg

"Northernness = funny" in excelsis there, a sketch built on the assumption that words like 'pikelet' and 'barmcake' are inherently funny when spoken very fast in Lancastrian accents. (Oh, and Julie Walters there. She's another one. Overrated as fuck.)

This is really, really poor stuff. I mean, I could keep on ploughing through the other results, but I don't feel the need.

QUOTE:
The words "Gardeners' Question Time", "vinyl flooring" and "grouting" get a roar of laughter. So does "baggy Y-fronts" and so does "thermal vest". F.F.F.F.S.

Er, what's wrong with that? That's the joke. Complaining about those references is a "101 Dalmatians has got too many dogs in it" criticism. That song's brilliant.

The Horse wrote:

QUOTE:

QUOTE:
The words "Gardeners' Question Time", "vinyl flooring" and "grouting" get a roar of laughter. So does "baggy Y-fronts" and so does "thermal vest". F.F.F.F.S.

Er, what's wrong with that? That's the joke. Complaining about those references is a "101 Dalmatians has got too many dogs in it" criticism. That song's brilliant.

Christ.

Well, I really don't know what to say. Other than if that sort of material isn't cosy, I don't know what is.

How do you parody Coronation Street without referring to Northernness?

So it is that you can't see past the superficial subject matter, SR?

I mean, yes, that song isn't exactly Bad Lieutenant. It's jolly and flip and affectionate. It's also pretty staggeringly well constructed. If it were just mentioning Gardener's Question Time for the sake of it, or all Wood's material were the same as that song, you'd have a point, but it isn't and it isn't.

Do you think comedy that references what cosy middle-class couples talk about is automatically offensively cosy itself? Because if so, I think that's some shaky ground you're on.

I've got to side with SR on this one. It wasn't just the material but the way she delivered it - a gurgling mixture of excessive self-deprecation and smug self-satisfaction. I actually think she did and wrote some good things but the stuff SR cites, plus her mannerisms, always put me right off.

Andy C wrote:

QUOTE:
How do you parody Coronation Street without referring to Northernness?

Maybe by ripping the piss out of the idea that Northernness is inherently amusing and cuddly and stuff, rather than just adding to the sum of it? I dunno. Or, you know, just leave well alone.

The Horse wrote:

QUOTE:
So it is that you can't see past the superficial subject matter, SR?

I mean, yes, that song isn't exactly Bad Lieutenant. It's jolly and flip and affectionate. It's also pretty staggeringly well constructed. If it were just mentioning Gardener's Question Time for the sake of it, or all Wood's material were the same as that song, you'd have a point, but it isn't and it isn't.

Do you think comedy that references what cosy middle-class couples talk about is automatically offensively cosy itself? Because if so, I think that's some shaky ground you're on.

Hang on, it's about a woman who wants a shag and a bloke who can't get it up. Apart from that basic premise, it's nothing but a parade of set-pieces like "thermal vest" (like Morrissey getting a cheap laugh with the words 'Newport Pagnell' in that Smiths B-side), so what else am I supposed to refer to?

And spare me the "well-constructed" thing. Richard fucking Stilgoe's songs are "well-constructed". Doesn't make them any good.