Stewart Lee | |
|---|---|
 Lee in March 2008 | |
| Born | Stewart Graham Lee (1968-04-05)5 April 1968 (age 56) Wellington, Shropshire, England |
| Education | Solihull School |
| Alma mater | St Edmund Hall, Oxford (BA) |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | stewartlee |
Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, and deadpan delivery.
Lee began his career in 1989 and formed the comedy duoLee and Herring withRichard Herring. In 2001, he co-wrote and co-directed the West End hit musicalJerry Springer: The Opera, a critical success that sparked a backlash fromChristian right groups who staged a series of protests outside its early stagings. In 2011, he wonBritish Comedy Awards for Best Male Television Comic and Best Comedy Entertainment Programme for his seriesStewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle. He has written music reviews for publications includingThe Sunday Times.[1]
In 2009The Times referred to Lee as "the comedian's comedian, and for good reason" and named him "face of the decade". In 2012, he was placed at No. 9 on a poll of the 100 most influential people in UK comedy.[2] In 2018,The Times named him as the best current English-language comedian.[3][4]
Stewart Graham Lee was born on 5 April 1968 inWellington, Shropshire.[5] He was adopted as a child and grew up inSolihull, West Midlands.[6] His adoptive parents separated when he was four, and he was raised by his mother.[7] He attended theSolihull School on a part scholarship,[8] and received what he calls a "waifs and strays bursary" because he was adopted.[7] He participated in the school's mountain-walking club, which went on regular excursions toSnowdonia; the original members of thegrindcore bandNapalm Death also took part.[9] As a teenager, Lee suffered fromulcerative colitis,[10] which he has said caused significant weight loss and made him look "cadaverously thin".[9] He has described how at the age of 16, he was "doing a lot of reading, going to gigs, buying records and listening to theJohn Peel show".[9] He later read English atSt Edmund Hall, Oxford, graduating with a2:1.[11]
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While a student atOxford in the 1980s, he wrote and performed comedy in a revue group calledThe Seven Raymonds withRichard Herring,Emma Kennedy andTim Richardson but did not perform in the well-knownOxford Revue, though he did write for and direct the 1989 production. Having moved toLondon and begun performingstand-up comedy after university, he rose to greater prominence in 1990, winning the prestigiousHackney Empire New Act of the Year competition.
With Herring, Lee wrote material forBBC Radio 4'sOn the Hour (1991), which was anchored byChris Morris and was notable for the first appearance ofSteve Coogan's celebrated character,Alan Partridge, for which Lee and Herring wrote early material. Owing to creative differences with the rest of the cast, Lee and Herring did not remain with the group whenOn The Hour moved to television asThe Day Today.
In 1992 and 1993, he and Herring wrote and performedLionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World for BBC Radio 4, before moving toBBC Radio 1, for one series ofFist of Fun (1993), followed by three series ofLee and Herring. In 1995-6 two series of a television version of Fist of Fun were broadcast by BBC2, followed in 1998-9 by two series ofThis Morning With Richard Not Judy. Throughout the late nineties he continued performing solo stand-up (even whilst in the double act Lee and Herring) and collaborated with, amongst others,Julian Barratt andNoel Fielding ofThe Mighty Boosh. Indeed, though Barratt and Fielding had worked together in the past, the first seeds of the Boosh were sown while working as part of Lee's Edinburgh showKing Dong vs Moby Dick in which Barratt and Fielding played a giant penis and a whale, respectively. Lee returned the favour by going on to direct their 1999 Edinburgh show,Arctic Boosh, which remains the template for their live work.
In 2001 Lee published his first novel,The Perfect Fool.[12] In the same year he performedPea Green Boat, a stand-up show which revolved around the deconstruction of theEdward Lear poem "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" and a tale of his own broken toilet. This would later be condensed to focus mainly on the poem itself, and a 15-minute version aired on Radio 4. In 2007, Go Faster Stripe released a 25-minute edit on CD and 10" Vinyl.
During late 2000 and early 2001, Lee retired from stand-up comedy.[13] 2001 became the first year since 1987 that he did not perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[14] While Lee found himself gradually performing less stand-up and moving away from the stage, he continued his directorial duties on television. Two pilots were made forChannel 4,Cluub Zarathustra andHead Farm, but neither was developed into a series. The former featured all the ingredients that would later appear inAttention Scum, aBBC Two series fronted bySimon Munnery's "League Against Tedium" character, which also featuredKevin Eldon,Johnny Vegas and Roger Mann, as well asRichard Thomas and opera singerLore Lixenberg.
At the 2003Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Lee directed Johnny Vegas's first DVD,Who's Ready For Ice Cream?. In 2004, he returned to stand-up comedy[15] with the showStandup Comedian.[16] Lee is a regular music critic forThe Guardian. In 2003, he said that his favourite bands includeThe Fall,Giant Sand andCalexico and that he listens to "a lot ofjazz,60s andfolk music but I really likeMs. Dynamite andThe Streets".[1]
In January 2005,Jerry Springer: The Opera, asatirical musical/opera written by Lee and Richard Thomas and based uponThe Jerry Springer Show, was broadcast on BBC Two, following a highly successfulWest End run for several years, and as a prelude to the show's UK Tour.Christian Voice led a number of protest groups who claimed that the show was blasphemous and highly offensive. In particular, they were angered by the portrayal of Jesus. Disputes arose, with supporters claiming that most of the protesters had neither seen the show nor knew of its content. Others supported the right to freedom of speech. Several Christian groups protested at some of the venues used during the UK Tour. The show was broadcast with a record number of complaints prior to its transmission. In total, the BBC received 55,000 complaints.[17] A private court case brought by Christian Voice against Lee and others involved with the production for blasphemy was rejected by amagistrates' court.
In 2006, finding himself "really broke" he appeared as a guest on three comedy panel shows. The first wasNever Mind The Buzzcocks, whereSimon Amstell made frequent mock-offended references to the controversy overJerry Springer: The Opera.[18] This was followed by appearances onHave I Got News For You and8 Out of 10 Cats, before Lee decided to quit them altogether. A profile in theFinancial Times in 2011 stated Lee did not want to alienate his audience in exchange for quick money by such appearances, as working as a stand-up had been the only thing that had generated reliable income for him.[19]
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, a comedy series featuring standup and sketches, began a six-episode run on 16 March 2009.[20] The executive producer wasArmando Iannucci and the script editor was Chris Morris.[21] The first episode received positive reviews fromThe Independent and theDaily Mirror.[22][23] Lee wrote a negative review of the show inTime Out in which he described himself as "fat" and his performance as "positively Neanderthal, suggesting a jungle-dwelling pygmy, struggling to coax notes out of a clarinet that has fallen from a passing aircraft".The Guardian described it as "the kind of TV that makes you feel like you're not the only one wondering how we came to be surrounded by so much unquestioned mediocrity".[24] One of the show's few negative reviews came in theSunday Mercury, "His whole tone is one of complete, smug condescension".[25] Lee used the line to advertise his next stand-up tour.[26] Lee frequently uses negative reviews on his posters in order to put off potential audience members who are unlikely to be fans of his comedy style.[19][27] The first episode was watched by approximately one million viewers.[28] The series was the BBC's second most downloaded broadcast during its run. In May 2010, the series was nominated for aBAFTA TV Award for best comedy programme.[29] The series won a BAFTA for best comedy programme in 2012.[30] The show was cancelled after four seasons on BBC Two.[31]
Although Lee had been supported by less established acts on his comedy tours before (includingJosie Long andTony Law), 2011 marked a shift in his career towards doing a lot to promote other creative comedy talents. He producedAt Last! The 1981 Show, featuring veteran alternative comedians includingAlexei Sayle andNorman Lovett at the Royal Festival Hall in May 2011 and by 2013 he was fronting a comedy showcase onComedy Central calledThe Alternative Comedy Experience which featured 38 comedians who identified withalternative comedy, includingRobin Ince,Sam Simmons andEleanor Tiernan.[32] The show ran for 25 episodes 2013–14, but in 2015 Lee confirmed that Comedy Central were not commissioning a third series.[33]
In September 2020,Asian Dub Foundation (a political band from London who had a Top 40 hit with "Buzzin'" in 1998) released a song called "Comin' Over Here", which was based on a sketch fromLee's Comedy Vehicle about the UKIP party leaderPaul Nuttall.[34] In December 2020, Lee teamed up with Asian Dub Foundation to release a video for the song, which was at that time part of an internet campaign (in the style ofLadBaby, Rage Against The Machine et al.) to get the record to number one in time for the chart published by the Official Charts Company on 31 December 2020, thereby making the record the 'Brexit Day Number One'.[35] On 1 December 2020, the song debuted at number 65, making it the week's highest new entry and the best selling single of the week (though "Comin' Over Here" was absent from the Official Audio Streaming Chart Top 100).[36][37][38][39] In 2020, Lee wrote the documentary filmKing Rocker about singerRobert Lloyd and the bandThe Nightingales. The film featuredFrank Skinner,Marc Riley,Robin Askwith, Duran Duran'sJohn Taylor andSamira Ahmed.[40] In 2022, Lee removed his material fromSpotify because it refused to stopThe Joe Rogan Experience spreadingCOVID-19 misinformation on its platform.[41]
Lee took part in "A Show for Gareth Richards" at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023, which was staged by fellow comediansMark Simmons and Danny Ward to honour Richards life after he died in a car-crash in April 2023. The show won the first Victoria Wood award at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2023[42] and raised almost £20,000 for Gareth's family.[43]
In 2023 Lee wrote a contemporary version of the Porter scene for theRoyal Shakespeare Company production ofMacbeth. Director Wils Wilson said "The Porter is dark, funny, edgy, political, clever, a truth teller - Stewart is all of these things, and straight away I knew I wanted to ask him to write to. He has a really deep understanding of how comedy works. The Porter scene is a strange meta moment in Macbeth and I knew Stewart would enjoy playing with that."[44]
In 2024 Lee performed his latest tour show "Basic Lee" atThe Lowry in Salford, which was filmed and broadcast on 20 July bySky Comedy, asStewart Lee, Basic Lee: Live at the Lowry. The film was produced by Drum Studios in association with Awkward Films, with producer director Colin Dench.[45][46]
Lee's influences includeTed Chippington,Arnold Brown,Norman Lovett,Jerry Sadowitz,Simon Munnery,Kevin McAleer andJohnny Vegas.[47][48]
His comedy covers a wide range of forms and subject material. It is oftentopical,observational,self-deprecating andabsurd. Notable routines have focused on topics likereligion,political correctness and artistic integrity. He also employsmeta-humour,[49] openly describing the structure and intent of the set while onstage, andabolishing the illusion of his routines as spontaneous acts.[50]
Lee's delivery uses various onstagepersonae, frequently alternating between that of an outspokenleft-wing hero and that of adepressed failure andchampagne socialist. In an ironic manner, he often criticises the audience for not being intelligent enough to understand his jokes, saying they would prefer more simplistic material, or enjoy the work of more mainstream "arena" comedians such asMichael McIntyre orLee Mack;[7] He will also scold them as abias-seeking "liberal intelligentsia".[51] His routines often culminate in feigneddepressive episodes andnervous breakdowns.
Lee caused controversy on hisIf You Prefer a Milder Comedian tour with a routine aboutTop Gear presenterRichard Hammond. Referring to Hammond's accident while filming in 2006, in which he was almost killed, Lee joked, "I wish he had been decapitated". When he wasdoorstepped by aDaily Mail journalist, Lee quoted the routine by replying "It's a joke, just like onTop Gear when they do their jokes".[52] He said, "People who read things like that in theMail on Sunday and who think Clarkson is funny aren't going to come and see me, so it doesn't matter".[52] Explaining the joke, Lee said:
The idea of what's acceptable and what's shocking, that's where I investigate. I mean, you can't be onTop Gear, where your only argument is that it's all just a joke and anyone who takes offence is an example of political correctness gone mad, and then not accept the counterbalance to that. Put simply, ifClarkson can saythe prime minister is a one-eyed Scottish idiot, then I can say that I hope his children go blind.[53]
In anObserver interview,Sean O'Hagan says of the Hammond joke that Lee "operates out in that dangerous hinterland between moral provocation and outright offence, often adopting, as in this instance, the tactics of those he targets in order to highlight their hypocrisy".[53]
After accepting an honorary fellowship from St Edmund Hall, Oxford, Lee gave a lecture to aspiring writers in which he discussed the fact that performers such asFrankie Boyle, Michael McIntyre,Jack Whitehall andAndi Osho used writers who were not credited.[54][55] He compared the practice to athletes using performance-enhancing drugs.[56] Along withplagiarism and extremism, Lee has brought moral issues surrounding stand-up to the public's attention.[57]
Lee married comedianBridget Christie in 2006;[7][58][59] they separated amicably in 2021.[60] He lives inStoke Newington and has two children.[61][7][53][62] He is a patron ofHumanists UK, a member ofArts Emergency[63] and an Honorary Associate of theNational Secular Society.[64][65][66]Lee has stated that he had an unofficialautism diagnosis from his GP.[67]
As of 2024, Lee is in a relationship with fellow comedianRosie Holt.[68]
| Title | Publisher | Released | ISBN | OCLC | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fist of Fun | BBC Books | 1995 | 0-563-37185-4,978-0-563-37185-4 | with Richard Herring | |
| The Perfect Fool | Fourth Estate | 2001 | 1-84115-365-6,978-1-84115-365-0 | novel | |
| How I Escaped My Certain Fate – The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian | Faber and Faber | 2010 | 9780571273126 | OCLC 712913144 | |
| The 'If You Prefer a Milder Comedian Please Ask For One' EP | Faber and Faber | 2012 | 9780571279845 | OCLC 755071819 | |
| Content Provider: Selected Short Prose Pieces, 2011–2016 | Faber and Faber | 2016 | 9780571329021 | OCLC 955202799 | |
| March of the Lemmings: Brexit in Print and Performance 2016–2019 | Faber and Faber | 2019 | 9780571357024 | OCLC 1130766718 |
| Title | Publisher | Released | ISBN | OCLC | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sit-Down Comedy | Ebury Press/Random House | 2003 | 0-09-188924-3,978-0-09-188924-1 | contributor to anthology, edMalcolm Hardee & John Fleming | |
| More Trees to Climb | Granta Books | 2009 | 978-1846271984 | byBen Moor (foreword) | |
| Death To Trad Rock | Cherry Red | 2009 | 978-1-901447-36-1 | byJohn Robb (foreword) | |
| The Wire Primers: A Guide to Modern Music | Verso Books | 2009 | 978-1844674275 | chapter onThe Fall | |
| I'm a Joke and So Are You: Reflections on Humour and Humanity | Atlantic Books | 2018 | 9781786492616 | byRobin Ince (foreword) | |
| The Bloater | Vintage Classics | 2022 (reprint) | 9781784877804 | byRosemary Tonks (foreword) | |
| Melt It! The Book of the Iceman | Go Faster Stripe | 2023 | 978-1-8384571-5-0 | by Anthony Irvine and Robert Wringham (afterword) |
| Title | Released | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Stand Up Comedian | 17 October 2005 | 2 entertain |
| 90s Comedian | 15 November 2006 | Go Faster Stripe |
| 41st Best Stand Up Ever | 28 July 2008 | Real Talent |
| If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One | 11 October 2010 | Comedy Central |
| Carpet Remnant World | 12 November 2012 | Comedy Central |
| Stewart Lee: Content Provider | 24 September 2019 | BBC |
| Title | Released | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle – Series One | 7 September 2009 | 2 entertain |
| Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle – Series Two | 20 June 2011 | 2 entertain |
| Fist of Fun – Series One | 2011 | Go Faster Stripe |
| Fist of Fun – Series Two | 2012 | Go Faster Stripe |
| The Alternative Comedy Experience – Season One | 18 November 2013 | Comedy Central |
| Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle – Series Three | 10 November 2014 | 2 entertain |
| The Alternative Comedy Experience – Season Two | 10 November 2014 | Comedy Central |
| Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle – Series Four | 10 October 2016 | 2 entertain |
| Title | Released | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| King Rocker | 6 February 2021 | Sky Arts |
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stewart Lee | 1994 | |
| King Dong vs Moby Dick | 1997 | |
| American Comedy Sucks, And Here's Why | 1998 | One off lecture at Edinburgh Fringe |
| Stewart Lee's Standup Show | 1998 | |
| Stewart Lee's Badly Mapped World | 2000 | |
| Pea Green Boat | 2002–03 | |
| Stand Up Comedian | 2004 | DVD Release |
| 90s Comedian | 2005 | DVD Release |
| What Would Judas Do? | 2007 | |
| 41st Best Stand Up Ever | 2007 | DVD Release, work in progress title:March of the Mallards |
| Scrambled Egg | 2008 | Work in Progress – notes towardStewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle Series 1 |
| If You Prefer A Milder Comedian, Please Ask For One | 2009 | DVD Release |
| Vegetable Stew | 2010 | Work in Progress – notes towardStewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle Series 2 |
| Flickwerk 2011 | 2011 | Work in Progress – notes towardCarpet Remnant World |
| Carpet Remnant World | 2011–12 | DVD Release |
| Much A Stew About Nothing | 2013–14 | Work in Progress – notes towardStewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle Series 3 |
| A Room with a Stew | 2015–16 | Work in Progress – notes towardStewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle Series 4 |
| Content Provider | 2016–18 | Recorded for BBC2 and released on DVD. |
| Snowflake/Tornado | 2019–22 | Shown on BBC2 in 2022. |
| Basic Lee | 2022–24 | Recorded for Sky |
| STEWART LEE vs THE MAN-WULF | 2024- |
