Roy Chubby Brown

Roy Chubby Brown (born Roy[1] or Royston[2] Vasey, 3 February 1945) is an English stand-up comedian whose act consists of offensive humour, high profanity, forthright social commentary and outspoken disdain for political correctness.[5]

Roy Chubby Brown
Birth nameRoy[1] or Royston[2] Vasey
Born3 February 1945 (1945-02-03) (age 76)
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)​
[3]
Sandra
​
(div. 1998)​

Helen Coulson
​
(m. 2001)​
[4]

Early life

Brown was born at 78 Broadway in Grangetown, Middlesbrough in the North Riding of Yorkshire.[6] He has a sister named Barbara. He left home at the age of 14, spent time living rough, and moved 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. In 2011, he said “I was more or less living off scraps. Then I got arrested and taken to a detention centre and then I got borstal, then I went to jail just being a complete and utter ****hole really.”[7] He also spent time in a borstal and prison.[8]

Whilst in prison Brown 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 live, he thought he was so good it inspired him to try comedy himself.[9]

Once released, Brown began his performing career alongside his cousins as a drummer in their band The Pipelines, who mainly featured at working men's clubs.[10] When the group split, Vasey formed a comedy duo with a fellow ex-Pipelines band member. The duo named themselves Alcock and Brown, as they shared the same surnames of 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, retaining the goggles.

His manager asked him whether he would try performing blue comedy, to which he agreed. In 1971 he took to the stage and said, "Good evening! My wife's got two cunts and I'm one of them." Brown 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."[9]

Career

Brown appeared on the UK television talent show New Faces 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.[11]

Comedy

Brown's image is characterised by a clown-like stage costume consisting of a flying helmet and goggles, a multicoloured patchwork jacket and trousers, a white shirt, a red bow tie and moccasin slippers.

During his career, his shows have revolved around various right-wing views and insulting numerous groups and individuals, primarily ethnic minorities and women.[12][13][14] In 2002, during the recording of Standing Room Only he mocked the Queen Mother who had died just hours before. He maintains a loyal fan base in the north of England.

Brown's live shows are rarely seen on television; however, a programme about Brown called Roy Chubby Brown: Britain's Rudest Comedian was broadcast on Channel 4 in May 2007.[8]

Film

In 1993, Brown released U.F.O., a science fiction film starring himself, Roger Lloyd-Pack and Sara Stockbridge. It was reviewed poorly, with Empire 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.[15] In 2012, Brown voiced a talking lamppost in Robin Sheppard's film adaptation of Richard Milward's novel Apples.

He eventually began to perform at larger venues, with his breakthrough coming in 1990, as Universal Pictures signed him to a home video contract, where he would release concerts annually every Christmas, eventually going on to sell 250,000 copies.[16] They would also release U.F.O. in 1993, a film about Vasey's character being kidnapped by aliens. In 1995, his parody of Living Next Door to Alice hit the UK charts. From 1999, he starred in The League of Gentlemen, as the mayor of the fictional town of Royston Vasey.

His most recent UK release was in 2017, and he continues to perform concerts in the United Kingdom, and occasionally overseas at British tourist destinations.

TV

Brown appeared in the second series of The League of Gentlemen as the town's mayor. The fictional town where the characters were based had been named Royston Vasey from the start.

Music

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, peaking at number 3 in August 1995.[17] He released a solo single in the winter of 1996 called "A Rocking Good Christmas", written by Ray Hedges; this reached number 51.[17] 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.[17]

Personal life

Brown 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.[18]

Brown was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2002 and had a vocal cord removed.[8][19]

In 2006, he released an autobiography entitled Common as Muck: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown.[20] In December 2011, he self-published a collection of memoirs from his life and career called It's Funny Being Me.[21]

He is a supporter of Middlesbrough Football Club.[6] He is a co-owner of the racehorse Rasaman.[22]

In 2003, Brown 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."[23]

In 2014, he was fined for reading The Sun newspaper whilst driving on the A19 road in North Yorkshire.[24]

Stand up releases

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–present), they were released on VHS (1990–2005), DVD (2000–present) and Blu-ray (2010–2012). The release due for November 2011 was delayed until 2012 due to the venue, technical and timing issues.

Releases
  • 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)
  • 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) [Documentary]
  • The Second Coming (2017)
  • 50 Shades of Brown (2019)

References
  1. "Index entry". General Register Office for England and Wales. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  2. "Roy 'Chubby' Brown denies assault". BBC News. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  3. Brown, Roy Chubby (2 August 2012). Common As Muck!: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN 9781405520478 – via Google Books.
  4. Chronicle, by Evening (3 May 2001). "Chubby Ties Knot In Las Vegas". chroniclelive.
  5. Brown, Malcolm (4 July 2008). "Comedy review: Roy 'Chubby' Brown". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  6. "Interview with Chubby Brown". BBC Tees. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  7. Wayne Savage, "'Comedy saved me'" says Ipsiwch-Regent bound Roy Chubby Brown' https://www.eadt.co.uk/what-s-on/comedy-saved-me-says-ipswich-regent-bound-roy-chubby-brown-1-1135369
  8. "Roy Chubby Brown: Britain's Rudest Comedian". 8 May 2007. Channel 4. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  9. Stenning, Paul (24 November 2013). Success – By Those Who've Made It. P. 163. In Flight Books. ISBN 978-1628475869.
  10. "Who the Fuck is Roy Chubby Brown? - The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  11. "Comedy saved me says Ipswich Regent-bound Roy Chubby Brown". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  12. "VICE - I Was the Only Brown Person at Racist Roy 'Chubby' Brown's Gig". www.vice.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  13. Bennett, Steve. "Roy Chubby Brown : Reviews 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  14. "Are we set for a resurgence in right-wing comedy?". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  15. "U.F.O.: The Movie". Empire. 1 January 2000. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  16. "Roy Chubby Brown: Britain's Rudest Comedian". Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  17. "Roy 'Chubby' Brown | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  18. "Roy Chubby Brown on living in Lincolnshire and rapping on stage". Grimsby Telegraph. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  19. "'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.
  20. Brown, Roy 'Chubby' (5 July 2007). Common As Muck!: The Autobiography of Roy 'Chubby' Brown. Sphere Books. ISBN 9780751539318.
  21. "It's Funny Being Me". Good Reads. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  22. "Joke's on Chubby as Rasaman leaves him feeling blue". The Observer. London. 20 April 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
  23. "'Chubby' couldn't stomach swearing". Evening Gazette. Middlesbrough. 7 August 2003. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  24. Association, Press (21 August 2014). "Roy Chubby Brown fined for reading newspaper while driving". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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