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Roy Chubby Brown

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Roy Chubby Brown
Brown in 1993
Birth nameRoyston Vasey
Born3 February 1945 (1945-02-03) (age 79)
Grangetown, North Riding of Yorkshire, England
Years active1960s–present
GenresBlue comedy, insult comedy, political satire, sarcasm, self-deprecation
Subject(s)British politics, sex, celebrities, culture, one liners
Spouse
  • Judith Armstrong
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1967; div. 1969)​
    [1]
  • Sandra Pallent
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1988, divorced)​
    [1]
  • Helen Coulson
    ​
    (m. 2001)​
    [2]
Websiteroychubbybrown.biz

Royston Vasey (born 3 February 1945), better known professionally as Roy Chubby Brown, is an English comedian. His act consists of offensive humour, high profanity, forthright social commentary and outspoken disdain for political correctness.[3]

Early life

[edit]

Roy Chubby Brown was born Royston Vasey[4][5] on 3 February 1945[1] in Grangetown, Middlesbrough in the North Riding of Yorkshire[6] and has a sister named Barbara. He left school without any qualifications, leaving home at the age of fourteen, spent time living rough and moving from job to job, at one point joining the Merchant Navy. He became homeless and for some time slept in a fishing boat in Redcar. He was arrested and taken to a detention centre and then on to borstal, following which he went to prison.[4]

Whilst in prison, Vasey read I Owe Russia $1200 by Bob Hope, which made him decide he wanted to be a stand-up comic. When he saw Ken Dodd perform live, he thought he was so good it inspired him to try comedy himself.[7]

Vasey formed a comedy duo with a fellow ex-Pipelines band member. The duo named themselves Alcock and Brown,[6] as they shared surnames with the pilots of the first transatlantic flight, wearing goggles during their performance. The group eventually disbanded, with Vasey continuing as a comedic act by himself; however the goggles stayed, and became a permanent part of his image.[3]

In 1971, Vasey's manager at the time (George Forster), asked him whether he would try performing blue comedy, to which he agreed.[6] He then took to the stage and said, "Good evening! My wife's got two cunts and I'm one of them."[1] Vasey has said he was nearly beaten up, but that following that performance: "I knew I had something. I took the building site mentality and banter and took it to the stage. I was the first person ever to say the 'C' word on stage in the UK. To be honest, I never looked back."[7]

Career

[edit]

Vasey appeared on the UK television talent show New Faces as Roy Chubby Brown in the 1970s, coming second to a country and western band. He failed the audition for another television talent show, Opportunity Knocks, after saying the word 'arse' during his interview.[4]

Comedy

[edit]

Brown's image is characterised by a clown-like stage costume consisting of a leather flying helmet and goggles,[3] a white shirt, a red bow tie and moccasin slippers, and a multi-coloured patchwork suit (previously made from beer mats because stag night crowds would shower him in beer).[4]

His comedy is considered controversial: frequently making fun of racial and ethnic minorities,[8][9] women, and homosexuals,[10] and described as blue comedy, insult comedy, political satire, sarcasm, and self-deprecation.[4][3]

He eventually began to perform at larger venues, reaching 500,000 people in the UK per year.[11] His breakthrough came in 1990 when Universal Pictures signed him to a home video contract and the video release of From Inside the Helmet. He would release concerts annually every Christmas including The Helmet Rides Again and The Helmet's Last Stand which sold a combined 750,000 units, generating revenue of £9 million.[11] [12]

Film

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In 1993, Brown released U.F.O., a science fiction film in which he featured along with Roger Lloyd-Pack and Sara Stockbridge. It was reviewed poorly, with Empire magazine calling the film "a stand-up show, allowing the comedian to tell his sexist jokes to a race of aliens who charge him for being a misogynist" and rating it 1/5.[13]

In 2012, Brown voiced a talking lamp post in Robin Sheppard's film adaptation of Richard Milward's novel Apples. He also played the Victorian Photographer in the feature film Unconditional (titled Unconditional Love in the USA) directed by Bryn Higgins.

Television

[edit]

Due to the controversial nature of his act,[citation needed] Brown's shows are rarely seen on television, however, a programme called Roy Chubby Brown: Britain's Rudest Comedian was broadcast on Channel 4 in May 2007.[14]

Brown appeared in Series 2 of The League of Gentlemen as Larry Vaughn, mayor of the fictional town of Royston Vasey. The town's name comes from Brown's birth name.[15]

Music

[edit]

One of his best-known songs is "Living Next Door to Alice (Who the Fuck is Alice?)", a cover version of "Living Next Door to Alice", recorded with Smokie. The record spent 27 weeks in the UK Singles Chart, selling 400,000 copies and peaking at number 3 in August 1995. He released a solo single in the winter of 1996 called "A Rocking Good Christmas", written by Ray Hedges; this reached number 51. Brown has also released two albums, Take Fat and Party (1995) and Fat Out of Hell (1996); they achieved positions 29 and 67 in the UK Albums Chart respectively.[16]

Personal life

[edit]

Vasey has seven children from three marriages. He met his current wife Helen in Scarborough in the late 1990s, and lives with her and their two children in Tetney, Lincolnshire.[17]

Vasey was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2002 and had a vocal cord removed.[18]

In 2006, he released an autobiography titled Common as Muck: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown.[19] In December 2011, he self-published a collection of memoirs from his life and career called It's Funny Being Me.[20]

Vasey is a supporter of Middlesbrough Football Club.[6] He is a co-owner of the racehorse Rasaman.[21]

In 2003, Vasey was fined £200 in Blackpool for assaulting a heckler by pulling him from his seat, dragging him across the floor and proceeding to attack him with a golf umbrella. Brown later claimed, "I just wanted the man to stop swearing and being abusive in front of women and children who were on the pier."[22]

In 2009, Vasey was charged with assaulting a 21-year-old pregnant woman in a supermarket car park, but acquitted after the judge ruled due to the "poor quality of the CCTV footage, we are not convinced beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Vasey is guilty of the offence".[23]

Throughout 2014, Vasey was fined for traffic offences on several occasions, including reading The Sun newspaper whilst driving on the A19 road in North Yorkshire.[24]

Stand up releases

[edit]

While Brown has been performing for over 30 years, his live shows have been released around Christmas time since 1990. They have been released by Channel 5 Video Distribution (1990), PolyGram Video (1991–1998) and Universal Pictures (1999–2017), they were released on VHS (1990–2005), DVD (2000–present) and Blu-ray (2010–2012).[25]

Releases

[edit]
  • From Inside the Helmet (1990)
  • The Helmet Rides Again (1991)
  • The Helmet's Last Stand (1992)
  • U.F.O. (1993) [film]
  • Roy Chubby Brown: Exposed (1993)
  • Jingle Bollocks (1994)
  • Clitoris Allsorts (1995)
  • Saturday Night Beaver (1996)
  • Obscene and Not Heard (1997)
  • Chubby Goes Down Under and Other Sticky Regions (1998)
  • You Fat Bastard! (1999)
  • Roy Chubby Brown's Comedy Box (2000) [Compilation]
  • Thunder Bollocks (2000)
  • Stocking Filler! (2001)
  • Standing Room Only (2002)
  • Bad Taste (2003)
  • Giggling Lips (2004)
  • King Thong (2005) (Last release on VHS)
  • Kick-Arse Chubbs (2006)
  • The Good, The Bad And The Fat Bastard (2007)
  • Roy Chubby Brown's Tasty Threesome (2008) [Compilation]
  • Dirty Weekend in Blackpool (2008)
  • Roy Chubby Brown: Mucky Man Box (2009) [Compilation]
  • Too Fat To Be Gay (2009)
  • Roy Chubby Brown's Blue Christmas (2010) [Compilation]
  • Pussy & Meatballs (2010)
  • Front Page Boobs (2012)
  • Who Ate All The Pies? (2013)
  • Roy Chubby Brown's Big Fat Bastard Box (2014) [Compilation]
  • Don't Get Fit! Get Fat! (2014)
  • Hangs Up His Helmet (2015)
  • Great British Jerk Off (2016) [Compilation]
  • The Second Coming (2017)
  • 50 Shades of Brown (2019)
  • Harmless Vulgarity And Friendly Smut (2022)
  • No Foul Language (2023)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Brown, Roy Chubby (2 August 2012). Common As Muck!: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 9781405520478 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Chubby Ties Knot In Las Vegas". Evening Chronicle. 3 May 2001.
  3. ^ a b c d "Comedy review: Roy 'Chubby' Brown". scotsman.com. 4 January 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Comedy saved me - says Ipswich-Regent bound Roy Chubby Brown". East Anglian Daily Times. 24 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Roy 'Chubby' Brown denies assault". BBC News. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d "Interview with Chubby Brown". BBC Tees. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  7. ^ a b Stenning, Paul (24 November 2013). Success – By Those Who've Made It. P. 163. In Flight Books. ISBN 978-1628475869.
  8. ^ Koshy, Yohann (17 November 2014). "I Was the Only Brown Person at Britain's Most Racist Comedy Show". Vice. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  9. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Roy Chubby Brown : Reviews 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  10. ^ Wakefield, Lily (6 September 2021). "'Hate-filled' comedian Roy Chubby Brown blames 'snowflakes' for cancelled gig". PinkNews. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  11. ^ a b Dean, Peter (18 December 1993). "Home-Grown Product Crowds Shelves At U.K. Video Stores" (PDF). Billboard. p. 47. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Roy Chubby Brown: Britain's Rudest Comedian". YouTube. 5 December 2015. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  13. ^ "U.F.O.: The Movie". Empire. 1 January 2000. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Roy Chubby Brown: Filmography". BFI. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  15. ^ "The League of Gentlemen trivia". British Comedy Guide.
  16. ^ "Roy 'Chubby' Brown | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Roy Chubby Brown on living in Lincolnshire and rapping on stage". Grimsby Telegraph. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  18. ^ "'Chubby' Brown: I've got throat cancer". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. 26 April 2002. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2008.
  19. ^ Brown, Roy 'Chubby' (5 July 2007). Common As Muck!: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown. Sphere Books. ISBN 9780751539318.
  20. ^ "It's Funny Being Me". Good Reads. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  21. ^ "Joke's on Chubby as Rasaman leaves him feeling blue". The Observer. London. 20 April 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  22. ^ "'Chubby' couldn't stomach swearing". Evening Gazette. Middlesbrough. 7 August 2003. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  23. ^ "Chubby Brown cleared of assault". 16 March 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Roy Chubby Brown fined for reading newspaper while driving". The Guardian. Press Association. 21 August 2014. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Live and lewd - its Chubby!". Doncaster Free Press. 30 January 2008. Archived from the original on 29 March 2009.
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