 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Boothby Graffoe (born James Martyn Rogers, 1962)[ citation needed ] is an English comedian, singer, songwriter and playwright. He is particularly known for his surreal sense of humour and work with Canadian band Barenaked Ladies.
Rogers was born in 1962 in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. For the latter part of his schooling, he attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle. At the age of 18, he became a member of the redcoats at a Butlins on the south coast. He named his alter ego after an English village while driving back from a gig in the late 1980s. His family still live in the Tattershall area. He claims to be the only comedian in the world named after a Lincolnshire village.
Graffoe often incorporates guitar playing into his stage act, through his oddball (and usually slightly twisted) songs, including such titles as "Planet Dog", "Woof" and his album's title track, "Wot Italian" (sometimes referred to as "Umbrella Head Boy"). Some of his song titles are still more surreal, in that they do not reflect the subject matter, such as "Giraffes Don't Play Harmonicas, So It Can't Be a Giraffe" and "The Consequences of Living in a Container". He is currently accompanied by the violinist Nick Pynn, having previously toured with acoustic guitarist Antonio Forcione.
He explained his reasons for increasingly irrelevant song titles as – essentially – ways to avoid giving away the key phrases or punchlines in his songs. For instance, he renamed "Umbrella Head Boy" to "Wot Italian" after realising that audiences familiar with his work would ask him to "Play Umbrella Head Boy", thus rendering the surprise element of this line in the song redundant to others.
In 2005 he participated in the Danish stand-up tour "Stand-up DK|UK|OK" with Danish comedians Rune Klan, Carsten Eskelund and Geo, this went on tour around Denmark and was never released on DVD.
On a tour of Scotland in February–March 2007, Graffoe announced his intention to retire from stand-up comedy and concentrate on writing for Omid Djalili. He subsequently toured as a warm-up act for Djalili and Barenaked Ladies, but has recently announced a new tour [1] and album (Songs for Dogs' Funerals). He is a regular performer at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Graffoe has won several awards, including the 2002 Adelaide Fringe Award for Excellence, and the Time Out Comedy Award. He has been nominated for British comedy's prestigious Perrier Award.
Graffoe started his career in 1988 on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, when he presented a two-hour programme (Boothby Graffoe Live) on Friday evenings until late 1990.
He appeared regularly on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends with Ned Sherrin.
He made the following comedy and music series for Radio 4:
In 2003, Graffoe appeared on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien and also caused a stir on Opportunity Knocks during the late 1980s when he wrapped sellotape around his head for comedy effect. In 2013 he appeared as one of a number of acts in The Alternative Comedy Experience performing at The Stand in Edinburgh and also being interviewed backstage by the curator of the show Stewart Lee.
In 2004 Graffoe released his first album of songs with Antonio Forcione, Wot Italian?. A second disc followed in 2006, a live recording of a show in Brighton billed as Boothby Graffoe & the Following People, the backing band including Nick Pynn.
Graffoe has acted as support for Canadian band Barenaked Ladies on its "Last Summer on Earth" 2013 tour and on four of Barenaked Ladies' UK tours: first in 2004 for the Barenaked for the Holidays tour, then in 2007 on the Barenaked Ladies Are Me tour, again in 2010 on the band's All In Good Time tour and finally on the band's Detour de Force tour in 2022. Boothby mostly performs solo, with various members of the band joining him to play bass (Jim Creeggan), keyboard (Kevin Hearn) and drums (guitarist Ed Robertson) for some of the songs.
In January 2008, Graffoe joined the line-up for Barenaked Ladies' cruise Ships and Dip, [2] where he performed solo and with members from BNL and other bands on board. The cruise, with a capacity of 2500, provided some North American attendees with their first experience of Graffoe and his comedy. He returned for two further Ships and Dip cruises in 2009 and 2011.
Boothby's third album, Songs For Dogs, Funerals..... was released in February 2011, featuring studio recordings of three tracks from Boothby Graffoe & The Following People together with a selection of all-new tracks. Musicians appearing on the album included Nick Pynn, Theseus Gerard and Dean Friedman.
His fourth album, Bang! Is This Your Vehicle, Sir? was released on 27 February 2012. [3] The album features guest appearances from Nick Pynn, Kevin Hearn, Omid Djalili, and members of Canadian band Thin Buckle.
A fifth album, Nomad, was released in March 2013, following a successful campaign on Kickstarter.
He has championed the work of surreal songwriter Syd Meats, often including Meats' songs, such as "Far Too Serious", in his set.
In the summer of 2013, he served as the first act on Barenaked Ladies' 'Last Summer On Earth Tour,' which also featured Guster and Ben Folds Five.
During 2020, he began a series of online concerts via the Zoom platform, with performances from himself and invited guests such as Robyn Hitchcock and Tim Vine. [4] [5] [6]
All three plays were subsequently adapted for BBC Radio.
Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reached mainstream success in Canada when their debut with Reprise Records, Gordon, featuring the singles "If I Had $1000000" and "Brian Wilson", was released in 1992. The band's popularity subsequently spread into the US, beginning with versions of "Brian Wilson" and "The Old Apartment" off their 1996 live album Rock Spectacle, followed by their fourth studio album Stunt, their breakout success in 1998. The album featured their highest-charting hit, "One Week", as well as "It's All Been Done" and "Call and Answer". Their fifth album, Maroon, featuring the lead single "Pinch Me", also charted highly. In the 2010s the band became well-known for creating the theme song for the sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
Gordon is the debut studio album by Canadian band Barenaked Ladies. It was released through Sire Records on July 28, 1992.
Everything to Everyone is the sixth full-length studio album by Barenaked Ladies. It was released in 2003 and was produced by Ron Aniello. Singles from the album include "Another Postcard", "Testing 1, 2, 3", "For You", "Celebrity" and "Maybe Katie". The content of the album is noted for its increased political commentary over previous albums. This was their last album with Reprise Records before switching to a more independent label, Desperation Records and subsequently Raisin' Records.
Omid Djalili is an Iranian-British actor, comedian, and writer.
Timothy Mark Vine is an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom Not Going Out (2006–2014). He has released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has written several joke books.
"One Week" is a song by Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies released as the first single from their 1998 album, Stunt. It was written by Ed Robertson, who is featured on the lead vocal of the rapped verses. Steven Page sings lead on the song's chorus, while the two co-lead the prechoruses in harmony. The song is notable for its significant number of pop culture references and remains the band's best-known song in the United States, where it topped the Billboard Hot 100. Coincidentally, when the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, it remained in the top spot for one week.
Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle are a Canadian band consisting of Barenaked Ladies multi-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn as the front man, bassist Chris Gartner and drummer Great Bob Scott. The three had previously collaborated as members of the Canadian alternative rock band Look People. Guitarists Martin Tielli and Derek Orford were originally members; the former left the band to pursue other musical interests in the early 2000s, while the latter left due to injury shortly after the release of Night Light in 2004 and never returned to the band other than as a guest performer on four tracks of The Miracle Mile. Brian MacMillan joined the group on guitar and keyboards after Night Light was released, effectively replacing Orford. MacMillan left the group to pursue his own career after the recording of Havana Winter. Mike Rathke is credited as a member of the band on guitar on that album, although he has never performed live with the group. Sheena Ko began performing with the band in 2010 on keyboards and vocals.
Seán Cullen is a Canadian actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for combining improvisation with mimicry and music. He is known for providing voices of characters in shows like Best Ed, Seven Little Monsters, and Almost Naked Animals.
Corky and the Juice Pigs was a Canadian comedy musical group made up of Phil Nichol, Greg Neale, and Seán Cullen. Their output consisted mainly of original comedic songs, largely satirical and often parodying various musical styles.
Kevin Neil Hearn is a Canadian musician who is a member of Barenaked Ladies, and his own group, Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle. He primarily plays keyboards and guitars. He is also a member of Rheostatics.
James Raymond Creeggan is the bassist for Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies.
The Vanity Project is an album released as a side project by Steven Page, then of the band Barenaked Ladies (BNL). It is also the artist name under which the album was released. Its first two singles, "That's All, That's All" and "Wilted Rose", were released in early May 2005; only the latter song had a music video, which was animated.
Jammin' was a musical comedy show on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom. It was presented by Rowland Rivron, who also plays drums. In addition to Rowland, there were two regulars in the band, and two guests - usually one comedian and one musician. The two regulars were usually Dave Catlin-Birch and Steve Brown. When Dave Catlin-Birch is on tour, he was usually replaced by Honka James Roby. Brown replaced original regular Richard Vranch in 2003.
"Brian Wilson" is a song by Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies from their 1992 album Gordon. The song was written by Steven Page as a tribute to the Beach Boys' co-founder Brian Wilson. It was released as a single and peaked at number 18 on the Canadian Singles Chart. In 1998, the song peaked at number 68 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Wilson himself covered the song on his live album Live at the Roxy Theatre (2000).
Barenaked Ladies Are Me is the seventh full-length original-material studio album by Barenaked Ladies. It was their first original-material album since Everything to Everyone in 2003. It was released in September 2006 internationally. The album was also the first full-length original-material album from the band following their decision to become independent rather than re-sign with Reprise. The cover art was created by a group of artists called Team Macho. The name has been cited by the band as a double entendre for "Barenaked Ladies Army".
Barenaked Ladies Are Men is the eighth full-length original-material studio album by Barenaked Ladies, and the second release of material from the 29-song session that bore the companion album Barenaked Ladies Are Me. The two albums were released together under the Are Me title in several "deluxe" release methods before Are Men received its own proper official release in February 2007. In this way, Are Me and Are Men together may be considered the band's seventh full-length original-material studio album. The album's artwork was created by Team Macho who also did similar artwork for the Are Me releases. The title is an extension of the Are Me title. During touring for the two albums, a pre-show video showed an unidentified hand adding various other extensions to the Barenaked Ladies Are Me title.
Nick Pynn is a British musician and composer noted for his use of bass pedals and live looping with electroacoustic stringed instruments. He has been described as an ‘avant folk’ artist, whose early interests were in world folk and experimental music.
Hal Dominic Bart Cruttenden is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, and writer.
Stripped to the Bare Bones is a 1999 live acoustic album by English musician and songwriter Steve Harley. The album was produced by Harley and features Nick Pynn.
Afterplanesman is the third solo studio album by British avant-folk musician Nick Pynn, originally released in May 2004 by Roundhill Music, and re-released in November 2008. Recorded after Pynn helped restore submarines in a Southampton military museum, where he discovered the job that an "afterplanesman" is given on board a submarine, Pynn "saw his position" and named the album accordingly. Playing most of its instruments on the album, Pynn also collaborated with Tom Arnold, and a total of eighteen musical instruments feature on the album, including traditional folk and experimental instruments.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
