{{infobox uk place |official name

Brighton |unitary_england Brighton and Hove |lieutenancy_england East Sussex |region South East England |country England |latitude 50.842941 |longitude -0.1313120 |constituency_westminster Brighton Kemptown |constituency_westminster1 Brighton Pavilion |post_town BRIGHTON |postcode_area BN |population_demonym Brightonian |postcode_district BN1, BN2, BN50, BN88 |dial_code 01273 |os_grid_reference TQ315065 |population 155,919 |population_ref |static_image |static_image_caption From top: Brighton Dome, Royal Pavilion, Town Hall, The Lanes and Brighton Pier. |london_distance }}

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove (formed from the previous towns of Brighton, Hove, Portslade and several other villages) in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain. For administrative purposes, Brighton and Hove is not part of the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, but remains part of the ceremonial county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex.

The ancient settlement of ''Brighthelmstone'' dates from before Domesday Book (1086), but it emerged as a health resort featuring sea bathing during the 18th century and became a destination for day-trippers from London after the arrival of the railway in 1841. Brighton experienced rapid population growth, reaching a peak of over 160,000 by 1961. Modern Brighton forms part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation stretching along the coast, with a population of around 480,000.

Brighton has two universities and a medical school (which is operated jointly by both universities).

History[link]

In the Domesday Book, Brighton was called ''Bristelmestune'' and a rent of 4,000 herring was established. In June 1514 ''Brighthelmstone'' was burnt to the ground by French raiders during a war between England and France. Only part of the St Nicholas Church and the street pattern of the area now known as "The Lanes" survived. The first drawing of Brighthelmstone was made in 1545 and depicts what is believed to be the raid of 1514. During the 1740s and 1750s, Dr Richard Russell of Lewes began prescribing seawater at Brighton.

From 1780, development of the Georgian terraces had started and the fishing village became the fashionable resort of Brighton. Growth of the town was further encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent (later King George IV) after his first visit in 1783. He spent much of his leisure time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion during the early part of his Regency. Although contracted forms of the name are attested since the 15th Century, it was not until this period that the modern form of the name came into common use.

The arrival of the London and Brighton Railway in 1841 brought Brighton within the reach of day-trippers from London and population growth from around 7,000 in 1801 to over 120,000 by 1901. The Victorian era saw the building of many major attractions including the Grand Hotel (1864), the West Pier (1866) and the Palace Pier (1899). Prior to either of these structures the famous Chain Pier was built, to the designs of Captain Samuel Brown. It lasted from 1823 to 1896, and featured in paintings by both Turner and Constable.

After boundary changes between 1873 and 1952, the land area of Brighton increased from 1,640 acres (7 km²) in 1854 to 14,347 acres (58 km²) in 1952. New housing estates were established in the acquired areas including Moulsecoomb, Bevendean, Coldean and Whitehawk. The major expansion of 1928 also incorporated the villages of Patcham, Ovingdean and Rottingdean, and much council housing was built in parts of Woodingdean after the Second World War.

More recently, gentrification of much of Brighton has seen a return of the fashionable image which characterised the growth of the Regency period. Recent housing in the North Laine, for instance, has been designed in keeping with the area.

In 1997 Brighton and Hove were joined to form the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, which was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the millennium celebrations in 2000.

Brighton is sometimes referred to as London-by-the-sea.

Landmarks[link]

The Royal Pavilion is a former royal palace built as a home for the Prince Regent during the early 19th century, under the direction of the architect John Nash, and is notable for its Indo-Saracenic architecture and Oriental interior. Other Indo-Saracenic buildings in Brighton include the Sassoon Mausoleum, now, with the bodies reburied elsewhere, in use as a chic supper club.

Brighton Marine Palace and Pier (long known as the Palace Pier) opened in 1899. It features a funfair, restaurants and arcade halls.

The West Pier was built in 1866 and is one of only two Grade I listed piers in the United Kingdom. It has been closed since 1975. For some time it was under consideration for restoration, but two fires in 2003, and other setbacks, led to these plans being abandoned. Plans for a new landmark in its place – the i360, a 183 m (600 ft) observation tower designed by London Eye architects Marks Barfield – were announced in June 2006. Plans were approved by the council on 11 October 2006. , construction had yet to begin, but the area has been cordoned off.

Brighton clocktower, built in 1888 for Queen Victoria's jubilee, stands at the intersection of Brighton's busiest thoroughfares.

Created in 1883, Volk's Electric Railway runs along the inland edge of the beach from Brighton Pier to Black Rock and Brighton Marina. It is the world's oldest operating electric railway.

The Grand Hotel was built in 1864 and the scene of the 1984 Brighton Hotel Bombing. Its nighttime blue lighting is particularly prominent along the foreshore.

The Brighton Wheel opened with some controversy, directly north east of the Brighton Marine Palace and Pier in October 2011 after a previous attempt to locate it in a more central location near the Metropole Hotel, at which time it was to have been the "Brighton O" — a special spokeless design rather than the traditional spoked wheel eventually purchased from its previous home in South Africa.

Churches and places of worship[link]

The 11th century St Nicholas Church is the oldest building in Brighton, commonly known as "The Mother Church". Other notable churches include the large brick-built St Bartholomew's, and St Peter's on an island between the Lewes Road and the London Road. Brighton's Quakers run the Friends' Meeting House in the Lanes. There is an active Unitarian community based in a Grade 2 listed building in New Road, and a Spiritualist church in Norfolk Square. There are also a number of New Age outlets and groups.

Brighton has one synagogue, the Middle Street Synagogue, a Grade II listed building built in 1874–75. It is presently in the process of being gradually restored by English Heritage. There are also several mosques and Buddhist centres.

Nevertheless, Brighton has become known as one of the least religious places in the UK, based upon analysis of the 2001 census which revealed that 66,955 people (27 per cent of the population) profess no religion, almost double the national average of 15 per cent. As part of the Jedi census phenomenon, 2.6 per cent claimed their religion was Jedi Knight.

Beaches[link]

The seafront has bars, restaurants, nightclubs and amusement arcades, principally between the piers. Being less than an hour from London by train has made the city a popular destination, especially with big party groups. Brighton beach has a nudist area (south of the easterly part of Kemptown). Brighton's beach, which is a shingle beach up to the mean low tide mark, has been awarded a blue flag. The Monarch's Way long-distance footpath heads west along the seafront above the beach.

Since the 1978 demolition of the open-air lido at Black Rock, the most easterly part of Brighton's seafront, the area has been developed and now features one of Europe's largest marinas. However, the site of the pool itself remains empty except for a skate park and graffiti wall, and further development is planned including a high-rise hotel which has aroused debate, mirroring proposals for the King Alfred leisure centre in Hove, which were pulled in 2008. In addition, part of the eastern side of the beach has been redeveloped into a sports complex, which has courts for anything from beach volleyball to ultimate Frisbee, and opened to the public in March 2007.

Culture[link]

Art[link]

Brighton's art community is showcased once a year in an artists' open house event during the Brighton Festival. On the seafront between Brighton's two piers is the Artists Quarter, a row of Victorian fishermen's workshops converted to small galleries and studio spaces, where artists, employing a variety of media and styles, publicly present their work.

In 2009 Anish Kapoor exhibited throughout Brighton as part of the Brighton Festival, for which he was also artistic director.

Brighton Museum and Art Gallery in Pavilion Gardens, part of the Royal Pavilion complex, provides permanent collections and temporary exhibitions.

Cinema[link]

Brighton has featured in a number of hit movies including ''Quadrophenia'' (1979), ''MirrorMask'' (2005), ''Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging'' (2008), ''The Young Victoria'' (2009), ''Brighton Rock'' (2010 and 1947) and ''The Boat that Rocked'' (2009).

The Duke of York's Picturehouse, dating from 1910, is the country's oldest purpose-built cinema, which still operates as an arthouse cinema. The are also two multiplex cinemas.

Festivals and rallies[link]

Each May the city hosts the Brighton Festival, the second largest arts festival in the UK (after Edinburgh). This includes processions such as the Children's Parade, outdoor spectaculars often involving pyrotechnics, and theatre, music and visual arts in venues throughout the city, some brought into this use exclusively for the festival. The earliest feature of the festival, the Artists' Open Houses, are homes of artists and craftspeople opened to the public as galleries, and usually selling the work of the occupants. Since 2002, these have been organised independently of the official Festival and Fringe.

Brighton Festival Fringe runs alongside Brighton Festival, and has grown to be the second largest fringe festival in the world. Together with the street performers from Brighton Festival's "Streets of Brighton" events, and the Royal Mile-esque outdoor performances that make up "Fringe City", outdoor spectacles and events more than double during May.

Other festivals include The Great Escape, featuring three nights of live music in venues across the city; the Soundwaves Festival in June, which shows classical music composed in the 21st Century, and involves both amateur and professional performers; Paddle Round the Pier; Brighton Live which each September stages a week of free gigs in pubs to show local bands; Burning the Clocks, a winter solstice celebration; and Brighton Pride (see lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, below). For a number of years, Andrew Logan's Alternative Miss World extravaganza was held in the city.

The Kemptown area has its own small annual street festival, the Kemptown Carnival, and the Hanover area similarly has a "Hanover Day". Local resident Fatboy Slim puts on a "Big Beach Boutique" show most years. An inaugural White Nights (Nuit Blanche) all-night arts festival took place in October 2008. 2009 saw the first Brighton Zine Fest celebrating zine and D.I.Y. culture within the city.

On 1 September 2007, competitors from the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and other countries convened for the World Beard and Moustache Championship. Hosted by The Handlebar Club, categories include Dali moustache, goatee and full beard freestyle. Additionally, Brighton is permanent home to notable moustache advocate Michael "Atters" Attree.

Brighton is the terminus of a number of London-to-Brighton rides,and runs, such as the veteran car run and bike ride. Transport rallies are also hosted on the seafront. Groups of mods and Rockers still bring their scooters and motorbikes to the town, but their gatherings are now much more sedate than the violent 1960s confrontations depicted in Quadrophenia.

Food and drink related festivals include the traditional Blessing of the Fisheries, where barbecued mackerel are eaten on the beach and the more recent Fiery Foods Chilli Festival. There is also a twice-yearly general food festival. The main Sussex beer festival is held in nearby Hove, and there is a smaller beer festival in the Hanover area. Foodies Festival also counts Brighton as one of it's seven national venues, with the event taking place between 25th-27th May at Hove Lawns and including top chefs such as Loyd Grossman.

Brighton is the home of the UK's first Walk of Fame which celebrates the many rich and famous people associated with the city.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community[link]

Brighton is well known for having a substantial LGBT community served by shops, bars and night-clubs in addition to support organisations. It is often referred to as "the gay capital of Britain". The Gay Pride carnival every August attracts thousands. It consists of a carnival parade and a party and funfair in Preston Park.

Museums[link]

Brighton museums include Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, Booth Museum of Natural History, Brighton Toy and Model Museum, and Brighton Fishing Museum the long established social epicentre of the seafront, which includes artefacts from the West Pier. The Royal Pavilion is also open to the public, serving as a museum to the British Regency.

Night-life and popular music[link]

Brighton is considered to be one of the UK's premier night-life hotspots and is also associated with popular music artists such as Fatboy Slim, Kirk Brandon, Tim Booth, Nick Cave, Robert Smith and Jimmy Somerville. There are also live music venues including the Concorde2, Brighton Centre and the Brighton Dome, where ABBA received a substantial boost to their career when they won the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. There are a large number of events and performance companies operating in the city.

Popular indie rock band The Kooks and hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks originated in Brighton.

There are over 300 pubs in the town.

Notable residents[link]

Restaurants[link]

Brigton has about 400 restaurants, more per head than anywhere else outside London. A wide range of cuisines is available, with a particular emphasis on vegetarianism.

Theatre[link]

Theatres include the Brighton Dome and associated Pavilion Theatre, the expanded Komedia (primarily a comedy and music venue but also a theatre), The Old Market which was renovated and re-opened in 2010, and the Theatre Royal which celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2007. There are also smaller theatres such as the Marlborough Theatre and Nightingale Theatre, both above pubs, which attract mostly local productions, and the Brighton Little Theatre.

Economy[link]

Brighton has a high density of businesses involved in media, particularly digital or "new media", and since the 1990s has been referred to as "Silicon Beach".

American Express is building a new headquarters building on John Street, behind its current European headquarters in Edward Street. It employs around 3,000, making it the largest private employer in the city.

Natural cosmetics retailer the Body Shop started in Brighton. Its headquarters are now in nearby Littlehampton.

"The Lanes" form a retail, leisure and residential area near the seafront, characterised by narrow alleyways following the street pattern of the original fishing village. The Lanes contain predominantly clothing stores, jewellers, antique shops, restaurants and pubs. The North Laine area is a retail, leisure and residential area immediately north of the Lanes. Its name derives from the Anglo-Saxon "Laine" meaning "fields". The North Laine contains a mix of businesses dominated by cafés, independent and avant-garde shops, bars and theatres.

Churchill Square is a shopping centre with a floor space of 470,000 sq ft (43,663 m²) and over 80 shops, several restaurants and 1,600 car-parking spaces. It was built in the 1960s as an open-air, multi-level pedestrianised shopping centre, but was rebuilt and enlarged in 1998 and is no longer open-air. Further retail areas include Western Road and London Road.

There are also a considerable number of construction companies within Brighton and Hove that specialise in many different types of construction.

Education[link]

Brighton & Hove City Council is responsible for 80 schools, of which 54 are in Brighton.

The University of Sussex established in 1961 is a campus university between Stanmer Park and Falmer, four miles (6 km) from the city centre. Served by frequent trains (to Falmer railway station) and 24-hour buses, it has a student population of 12,500 of which 70% are undergraduates. The University is currently ranked 8th in the UK, 16th in Europe and 79th in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

The University of Brighton, the former Brighton Polytechnic, has a student population of 20,017 of which 80% are undergraduates. The University is on several sites with additional buildings in Falmer, Moulsecoomb, Eastbourne and Hastings.

In 2003, the universities of Sussex and Brighton formed a medical school, known as Brighton and Sussex Medical School. The school was one of four new medical schools to be created as part of a government programme to increase the number of qualified NHS doctors. The school is also based in Falmer and works closely with the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

A range of non-university courses for students over 16, mainly in vocational education subjects, is provided at the further education college, City College Brighton and Hove. More academic subjects can be studied for 16–18 year-olds at Brighton Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College (BHASVIC) in the Seven Dials area. Varndean College in North Brighton occupies a commanding position. The 1920s building is celebrated for its façade and internal quads. The college offers academic A levels, The International Baccalaureate and vocational courses.

There are state schools and some faith schools. Notable state schools include Longhill High School, Varndean School, Patcham High School, Dorothy Stringer High School, Blatchington Mill School and Sixth Form College, and Brighton Aldridge Community Academy.

There are also a number of private schools, including Brighton College, Roedean School, Steiner School, BHHS and a Montessori School. As with the state schools, some independents are faith-based; Torah Academy, the last Jewish primary school, became a Pre-K/Nursery School at the end of the 2007.

In spring and summer, thousands of students from all over Europe gather to attend language courses at the many language schools.

Politics[link]

:''For the local authority, see Brighton and Hove'' Brighton and Hove is part of three constituencies in the British Parliament: Brighton Kemptown, Brighton Pavilion, and Hove. These three seats are all marginal constituencies. They were held by Labour from 1997 to 2010. At the 2010 British election, Brighton Kemptown and Hove both elected Conservative MPs, Simon Kirby and Mike Weatherley respectively, while Brighton Pavilion elected Caroline Lucas, the first Green MP ever elected to Westminster. Lucas won 16,238 votes (31.3%), compared with Labour's 14,986 votes (28.9%) and the Conservative's 12,275 votes (23.7%). In European elections, Brighton is part of the European Parliament constituency of South-East England.

The political campaigning group Justice? and its SchNEWS newspaper are based in Brighton, at the Cowley Club libertarian social centre; also operating from the town is the Brighton and Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The presence of a British subsidiary of the United States arms company EDO Corporation in Moulsecoomb, Brighton, has been the cause of protests since 2004.

Brighton's citizens have developed a reputation in recent years for their readiness to challenge the views of the council's planning department. One of the main campaigning organisations is savebrighton, founded in 2007 to oppose the overdevelopment of Brighton Marina. Savebrighton has also been active in opposing other planning applications for developments it has regarded as excessive, out of context or otherwise inappropriate. Another group was established in 2010 to hold the local authority to account over alleged irregularities regarding the Brighton Wheel.

Sport[link]

Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club is the city's professional football team. After playing at the Goldstone Ground for 95 years, they were forced to sell it in 1997 to pay off debts. The club spent two years ground-sharing at Gillingham before returning to the town as tenants of the Withdean Athletics Stadium. However, in 2011 the club moved to a permanent home at Falmer at the start of the 2011/12 season, with the first match happening in July 2011. The new stadium, the Falmer Stadium, was built by The Buckingham Group, who also built the MK Dons stadium. The club's notable achievements including winning promotion to the Football League First Division for the first time in 1979, staying there for four seasons, during the last of which they reached the FA Cup final and took Manchester United to a replay before losing 4–0. Notable former managers of the club include Brian Clough, Peter Taylor (born 1928), Peter Taylor (born 1953), Jimmy Melia, Liam Brady, Jimmy Case, Steve Gritt, Brian Horton, Steve Coppell and Mark McGhee. Notable former players include Gareth Barry, Dave Beasant, Justin Fashanu, Dennis Mortimer, Gordon Smith, Frank Stapleton, Howard Wilkinson and Bobby Zamora.

Brighton and Hove is also home to the Sussex County Cricket Club based on Eaton Road in Hove.

Brighton is also the home of one of the oldest Rugby Clubs in England; Brighton Football Club (RFU).

Throughout the year many events take place on Madeira Drive (a piece of roadway on Brighton's seafront), which was constructed in order to host what is commonly held to be the world's oldest motor race, the Brighton Speed Trials, which has been running since 1905. The event is organised by the Brighton and Hove Motor Club and normally takes place on the second Saturday in September each year.

There is also an from time to time a beach soccer competition in a temporary stadium on imported sand on the beach. The inaugural contest in June 2002 featured football stars such as Eric Cantona and Matt Le Tissier.

Brighton has a horse-racing course, Brighton Racecourse, with the unusual feature that when the full length of the course is to be used, some of the grass turf of the track has to be laid over the tar at the top of Wilson Avenue, a public road, which therefore has to be closed for the races.

There is a greyhound racing circuit in Hove, run by Coral, at which Motorcycle speedway racing was staged in 1928.

Basketball team Brighton Bears were in the British Basketball League before dropping out at the end of the 2005/06 season. Their home venue was at The Triangle Leisure Centre in Burgess Hill.

Brighton Ultimate, an ultimate Frisbee team was set up in 1985.

The Brighton and Hove Petanque Club runs an annual triples, doubles and singles competition, informal KOs, winter and summer league, plus Open competitions with other clubs. The club is affiliated to Sussex Pétanque, the local region of the English Pétanque Association, so they can also play at a Regional and National level. The Peace Statue terrain is the official pétanque terrain situated on the seafront near the West Pier.

There are yachting clubs and other boating activities run from Brighton Marina.

Brighton has two competitive swimming clubs. Brighton SC formed in 1860 claims to be the oldest swimming club in England. Brighton Dolphin SC was formed in 1891 as Brighton Ladies Swimming

Climate[link]

Transport[link]

: There are several railway stations, bus services, taxis, and coach services. A Rapid Transport System has been under consideration for some years and in the past it has had trolleybuses, ferries, trams and hydrofoil services.

Frequent trains operate from Brighton Station. Many Brighton residents commute to work in London and destinations include London Victoria, London Bridge, and Gatwick Airport, with trains continuing to Bedford. The fastest service from London Victoria takes 51 minutes. Lines from Brighton serve stations to Worthing, Portsmouth and Southampton in the west and via Lewes to Newhaven, Eastbourne, Hastings and Ashford, Kent in the east. A wider range of long-distance destinations was served until 2007–08 when rationalisation caused the ending of services via Kensington Olympia and Reading and beyond to Milton Keynes, Birmingham and Manchester. Twice-daily services remain, however, on the line west to Bristol.

Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company operates 300 buses. There is also a limited night service. Brighton buses are often named after famous local figures. Brighton also has buses that run on recycled bio-fuel, obtained from locally-sourced used cooking oil; The Big Lemon runs from the University of Sussex into the centre of Brighton regularly. Countryliner operate regular services to the surrounding areas such as Burgess Hill. Brighton seafront is the home of Volk's Electric Railway, the world's oldest electric railway.

Nearest places[link]

Saltdean

Rottingdean

Ovingdean

Hove

Portslade

Patcham

Withdean

Hollingbury

Bevendean

Lewes

Falmer

Moulsecoomb

Whitehawk

Pyecombe

Hassocks

Brighton in fiction[link]

See also[link]

Brighton and Hove

Brighton hotel bombing

Brighton in film

Brighton Marina

Eurovision Song Contest 1974

List of people from Brighton and Hove

Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children

The Evening Argus (newspaper)

References and notes[link]

External links[link]

Category:Brighton and Hove Category:Seaside resorts in England Category:Towns in East Sussex Category:Articles including recorded pronunciations (UK English) Category:Monarch's Way Category:Populated coastal places in East Sussex Category:Former non-metropolitan districts of East Sussex

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Name	Al Murray
Birth date	May 10, 1968
Birth place	Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, England
Medium	Stand-up, Television
Active	1994-present
Genre	Parody, character comedy, insult comedy, musical comedy
Subject	French and Gender stereotypes, Society, British politics
Spouse	Katherine Perry (1998-2000) (Divorced)Amber Murray (2000-2008) (Separated)
Notable work	''The Pub Landlord''''Time Gentlemen Please''''Fact Hunt''''Multiple Personality Disorder''
Influences	Frank Skinner
Nationality	British }}

Alastair James Hay "Al" Murray (born 10 May 1968), is a British comedian best known for his stand-up persona, The Pub Landlord, a stereotypical xenophobic public house licensee. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2007 he was voted the 16th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and again in the updated 2010 list as the 25th greatest stand-up comic.

Early life[link]

Murray was born in Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, the son of Lieutenant Colonel Ingram Bernard Hay Murray (through whom he is a great-great-great-great-great-grandson of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl) and Juliet Anne Thackeray Ritchie (through whom he is a great-great-great-grandson of William Makepeace Thackeray). His grandfather was diplomat Sir Ralph Murray. Murray attended Bedford School and is a graduate of St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he studied modern history. There he performed in the comedy group, the Oxford Revue in a show directed by Stewart Lee.

Personal life[link]

Murray married Amber, in 2000. The couple, who have two daughters, Scarlett and Willow, separated in 2008.

Career[link]

Murray has toured with other comedians including Harry Hill and Frank Skinner. He won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1999, after being nominated in 1996, 1997 and 1998. He started out with an act that involved sound-effect impressions, including of guns, animals and a particularly impressive car boot; a combination that prompted an equal number of plaudits for vocal skill and complaints of tastelessness.

The Pub Landlord[link]

The Pub Landlord is a stereotypical, right-wing, British Patriot with a dislike for anything "un-British". He has a particular dislike of Germans and the French; he will challenge the audience to name any country in the world before producing some plausible instance of Britain bettering it. The character also has a great love for the British 1970s rock band Queen, often getting musician(s) on his show to perform a song of Queen's in their own style.

The character is very different from Murray's real life public-school and Oxbridge background and first appeared in 1994 when Murray was the tour support act for Harry Hill. At that time part of a comedy band called "The Pub Band International" in which he played the drums, they were looking for a link to Hill's act. After trying out a character which they decided didn't work, on the eve of performing at the Edinburgh Festival, Murray created the Pub Landlord.

Murray then made his first television appearances on Hill's TV show playing his big brother Alan ("If it's too hard, I can't understand it!"), and subsequently featured in a short film, ''Pub Fiction'' (1995).

Murray's theatre show with the pub landlord character ''My Gaff, My Rules'' was short-listed for a Laurence Olivier Award in 2002, and he has also appeared in character as the central focus of the television series ''Time Gentlemen Please'', as well as a number of other television appearances, including the ''An Audience with...'' strand. Subsequent theatre tours, ''...A Glass of White Wine for the Lady'' (another catchphrase) and ''Giving it Both Barrels'' also ran to critical acclaim. When asked about the sitcom during live shows, in character as the Pub Landlord, Murray claims to be unhappy with the television series, a joke some have taken literally.

A quiz show, ''Fact Hunt'' presented by Murray as the Pub Landlord and named after the fictional quiz machine of the same name from ''Time Gentlemen Please'' was shown on late-night ITV in 2005.

From January 2006, Murray filled in for Tim Lovejoy on Virgin Radio on Sunday afternoons, in character as the Pub Landlord, and broadcast his final show on 24 December 2006.

His chat show ''Al Murray's Happy Hour'' began airing 13 January 2007 on ITV. The show has won a ''British Comedy Award'' and was nominated for a ''National Television Award''. A new series returned on 12 September 2008, and of this Murray said: }}

Murray was the headliner on 11 July 2009 episode of ''Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow'', which was filmed at the Brighton Dome.

On 18 December 2009, Murray hosted the BBC One TV show, ''Live at the Apollo''.

In May 2011, Murray began hosting a new quiz show, ''Compete for the Meat'' on the UKTV channel Dave. The show will be co-presented by ex-Blue Peter presenter, Zöe Salmon. The prizes will be a frozen Chicken for 1st place, Sausages for 2nd place and Shame for the Losers! (3rd & 4th places).

Other work[link]

As a teenager, Murray was a drummer in a band with his schoolmates. He played drums on the music for his ''Pub Landlord'' TV series and during an appearance by Phil Collins, they performed a duet. He also plays the drums for the rock cover band T-34 and appeared at the Download festival in 2010, returning once again in 2011.

In 2003, Murray appeared on an episode of the BBC's ''Time Commanders'' alongside Kate Silverton, Raji James and Ricky Groves.

In 2004, Murray appeared as a contestant in the first series of ''Hell's Kitchen'', Gordon Ramsay's cookery based reality show on ITV, and in 2005 appeared as a contestant on ''Comic Relief does Fame Academy'' on BBC One. Murray presented ''Al Murray's Road To Berlin'' on the Discovery Channel. This was a series about the last phase of World War II, taking him from the beaches of Normandy, through Arnhem and up the Rhine, ending in Berlin. In the series he drove around in a restored Willys Jeep, and interviewed survivors from both sides of the war. In the episode about Operation Market Garden he parachuted, together with veterans, from a plane, to commemorate the battle.

In 2007, Murray published the book ''The Pub Landlord's Book of British Common Sense''. It consists of The Pub Landlord's opinions and views on a number of topics such as James Bond actors, religion, politics, television, films and Churchill quotes.

Murray starred in ''Al Murray's Multiple Personality Disorder'', a sketch show, which aired in early 2009.

In late 2010, Murray made a documentary on German culture for BBC4 ''Al Murray's German Adventure'' in which he sought to find a different side of the German nation than the one portrayed by his Pub Landlord character.

Also in 2010 Murray was a guest as a 'Star in the Reasonably Priced Car' on Top Gear.

Murray is the Patron of The Cambodian Children's Charity which is a development and relief charity for children in Cambodia.

Murray attended the London protest against the Pope's visit in 2010 and said, "The Pope's opposition to condoms kills people. It is all very well him lecturing us on morals but he should look at his own organisation's view."UKAP

Murray became the host of the BBC Radio 5 Live show ''7 Day Sunday'' in March 2011, taking over from Chris Addison.

Murray has his own crisps named 'Steak and Al Pie' which he is entering in a crisp competition with the host being Gary Lineker. He is up against 'Jimmy Con Carne', (Jimmy Carr), 'Stephen Fry-Up', (Stephen Fry) and 'Frank Roast Dinner', (Frank Skinner).

Murray sat in for Dermot O'Leary Saturday show on BBC Radio 2 on 3 September 2011 and 26 November 2011.

Stand-up DVDs[link]

!Title	!Released	!Notes
''Live - My Gaff, My Rules''	24 November 2003	Live at London's Playhouse Theatre
''...And A Glass of White Wine for the Lady!: Recorded Live at the Playhouse London''	22 November 2004	Live at London's Playhouse Theatre
''Giving It Both Barrels: Live''	29 May 2006	Live at London's Bloomsbury Theatre
''Live at the London Palladium''	19 November 2007
''Beautiful British Tour: Live at the O2''	16 November 2009
''Barrel of Fun: Live''	22 November 2010	Live at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo
''The Only Way Is Epic''	19 November 2012

Books[link]

!Title	!Released
''The Pub Landlord's Book of British Common Sense''	11 October 2007
''The Pub Landlord Says Think Yourself British''	5 October 2009
''The Pub Landlord's Great British Pub Quiz Book''	28 October 2010

References[link]

External links[link]

The Pub Landlord (Official site)

Chortle page (including any forthcoming dates)

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:People from Aylesbury Vale (district) Category:People educated at Bedford School Category:Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Al Category:English comedians Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:Fame Academy participants Category:Virgin Radio (UK) Category:Scottish nobility stubs

name	Fatboy Slim
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Quentin Leo Cook
alias	Fatboy Slim, and others. See pseudonym section
birth date	July 31, 1963
origin	Reigate, Surrey, England
spouse	Zoe Ball (1999–present)
genre	Big beat, Funky Breaks, trip hop, Rave
occupation	DJ, musician, record producer
instrument	Turntables, keyboard, bass guitar, guitar, drums
years active	1979–present
label	Skint, Astralwerks, Southern Fried
associated acts	The Housemartins, Beats International, Freak Power, Pizzaman, The Brighton Port Authority, David Byrne
website	}}

Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook on 31 July 1963 in Bromley, England), also known by his stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s. Cook has achieved considerable success in the UK charts, performing as Fatboy Slim and with The Housemartins, Beats International, and Freak Power. As Fatboy Slim, he has won ten MTV Video Music Awards and two Brit Awards, and his best known tracks include "Weapon of Choice", "Praise You", "The Rockafeller Skank" and "Right Here Right Now". He currently performs as the Brighton Port Authority.

History [link]

Quentin Leo Cook was raised in Reigate, Surrey, England, and was educated at Reigate Grammar School. He played drums in Disque Attack (a British new wave-influenced rock band). When frontman Charlie Alcock was told by his parents that he had to give up the band to concentrate on his O levels, Cook took over as lead vocalist. At Reigate College he also met Paul Heaton with whom he formed the Stomping Pondfrogs. At 18, he went to the Brighton Polytechnic to study a BA in English, politics, and sociology. Although he had begun DJing some years before, it was at this time that he began to develop his skills on the thriving Brighton club scene.

Known as DJ Quentox (The OX that Rocks), Cook and DJ Baptiste started putting on youth club hip hop jams in Brighton, sowing the seeds of the city's flourishing hip hop scene today. These primitive 1980s block parties are recalled in the music documentary ''South Coast'', which documents Brighton's cult hip hop scene from its grass roots to the present day.

In 1985, Cook's friend Paul Heaton had formed a guitar band called The Housemartins. Their bassist quit on the eve of their first national tour, so Cook agreed to move to Hull to join them. The band soon had a hit single with "Happy Hour". They also reached number one just before Christmas 1986 with a version of "Caravan of Love", originally a hit the year before for Isley-Jasper-Isley. However, by 1988 they had split up. Heaton and the band's drummer Dave Hemingway went on to form The Beautiful South, while Cook moved back to Brighton to pursue his interest in the style of music he preferred. It was at this time that he first started working with young studio engineer Simon Thornton, with whom he continues to make records. All of Cook's records released from that point onwards have involved both of them to varying degrees (Thornton is credited in 2004 as "Executive Producer", for example).

Cook achieved his first solo hit in 1989, featuring his future Beats International member MC Wildski, called "Blame It on the Bassline". Credited to "Norman Cook feat. MC Wildski", the song followed the basic template of what was to come in the style of the music of Beats International. It became a modest hit in the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 29.

Cook formed Beats International, a loose confederation of studio musicians including vocalists Lindy Layton, Lester Noel, D.J. Baptiste, rapper MC Wildski, and keyboardist Andy Boucher. Their first album, ''Let Them Eat Bingo'', included the number one single "Dub Be Good to Me", which caused a legal dispute revolving around allegations of infringement of copyright through the liberal use of unauthorised samples: the bassline was a note-for-note lift from "The Guns of Brixton" by The Clash and the lyrics borrowed heavily from "Just Be Good to Me" by The S.O.S. Band. The 1991 follow-up album ''Excursion on the Version'', an exploration of dub and reggae music, failed to repeat the success of its predecessor, as it did not chart.

Cook then formed Freak Power with horn player Ashley Slater and singer Jesse Graham. They released their debut album ''Drive Thru Booty'' in 1994, which contained the single "Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out". The cut was picked up by the Levi's company for use in a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign. In 1996, Cook re-joined Freak Power for their second album, ''More of Everything for Everybody''.

Cook enlisted help from producer friends Tim Jeffery and JC Reid to create a house music album under the name Pizzaman. The 1995 ''Pizzamania'' album spawned three UK Top 40 hits: "Trippin' on Sunshine", "Sex on the Streets", and "Happiness". "Happiness" was picked up by the Del Monte Foods corporation for use in a UK fruit juice ad. The music videos for the three singles were all directed by Michael Dominic.

Cook also formed the group The Mighty Dub Katz along with Gareth Hansome (aka GMoney), Cook's former flatmate. Together they started the ''Boutique'' Nightclub in Brighton, formerly known as the ''Big Beat Boutique''. Their biggest song together was "Magic Carpet Ride".

Fatboy Slim, 1997– [link]

Cook adopted the new pseudonym Fatboy Slim in 1996. The Fatboy Slim album and Cook's second solo album ''Better Living Through Chemistry'' (released through Skint Records) contained the Top 40 UK hit, "Everybody Needs a 303".

Fatboy Slim's next work was the single "The Rockafeller Skank", released prior to the album ''You've Come a Long Way, Baby'', both of which were released in 1998. "Praise You", also from this album, was Cook's first UK solo number one. Its music video, starring Spike Jonze, won numerous awards. On 9 September 1999, he performed "Praise You" at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City, and won three awards, including the award for Breakthrough Video.

In 2000, Fatboy Slim released his third studio album, ''Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars'', and featured two collaborations with Macy Gray and "Weapon of Choice", which also was made into an award-winning video starring Christopher Walken. At the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, Fatboy Slim won 6 awards for "Weapon of Choice", the most awards at the ceremony.

In 2003, he produced Crazy Beat and Gene by Gene from the Blur album ''Think Tank'', and in 2004, ''Palookaville'' was Cook's first studio album for four years.

Fatboy Slim's greatest hits album ''Why Try Harder'' was released on 19 June 2006. It comprises eighteen tracks, including ten Top 40 singles, a couple of Number Ones and two exclusive new tracks – "Champion Sound" and "That Old Pair of Jeans". Most of the songs were shortened and heavily edited, resulting in almost fifteen minutes of unused space on the compact disc release.

In 2006, Cook travelled to Cuba, and wrote and produced two original Cuban crossover tracks for the album ''The Revolution Presents: Revolution'', which was released by Studio !K7 and Rapster Records in 2009. The tracks were called "Shelter" (which featured long term collaborator Lateef); and "Siente Mi Ritmo", featuring Cuba's top female vocal group Sexto Sentido. The recordings took place in Cuba's legendary EGREM Studios, home of the Buena Vista Social Club, and featured a band made up of Cuba's top young musicians, including Harold Lopez Nussa. Another track recorded during these sessions entitled "Guaguanco" was released separately under the Mighty Dub Katz moniker in 2006.

Cook has also been responsible for successful remixes for Cornershop, Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, and Wildchild. In 2008, he did a remix of the track "Amazonas" for the charity Bottletop.

Cook released a mix album in 2010 titled ''The Legend Returns'' as a covermount album in the June 2010 issue of Mixmag.

Cook returned as Fatboy Slim when performing at Ultra Music Festival in Miami in March 2012.

The Brighton Port Authority [link]

The Brighton Port Authority debuted in 2008 with a collaboration with David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal titled "Toe Jam", along with a music video featuring nude dancers with censor bars on them, making pictures and words with them.

The soundtrack album for the TV series ''Heroes'' also includes the BPA's track "He's Frank (Slight Return)" (a cover of a song by The Monochrome Set), with Iggy Pop as vocalist. The video for this track features a near life size puppet of Iggy Pop. An alternative club version was released under the "He's Frank (Washing Up)" title with the video featuring some footage of Iggy Pop acting and saying lyrics.

The band's first album, ''I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat'', is the first to be co-produced by Cook's longtime engineer Simon Thornton, who also sings on one track. The album was released 6 January 2009 exclusively at Amazon.com on CD, with downloadable format and other stores scheduled for a month later on 3 February.

Performances [link]

On 13 July 2002, Fatboy Slim performed the second of his free, open air concerts on Brighton Beach. Although organisers expected a crowd of around 60,000 people, the event instead attracted an estimated 250,000 who crammed the promenade and beach between Brighton's piers. Local police forced the event to end early amid safety concerns, overcrowding, and one death. After the music had finished and the crowd began to dissipate, traffic ensued throughout the Brighton area with many caught in traffic jams until the morning.

In June 2005, Fatboy Slim filled the Friday night headline slot on the "Other Stage" at the Glastonbury Festival. In 2006, Fatboy Slim filled the Saturday headline slot at the Global Gathering festival, Long Marston Airfield in the English Midlands. He played a two hour set, appearing in front of a visual stage set comprising video screens and 3D lighting. A firework display rounded off the show. Having been banned by police from playing in Brighton since 2002, Fatboy Slim was given permission in 2006 to play again in his home town. On 1 January 2007, he played to an audience of more than 20,000 fans along Brighton's seafront. Tickets to the event, titled "Fatboy Slim's Big Beach Boutique 3", were made available only to Brighton residents. The concert was deemed a stunning success by Sussex Police, Fatboy Slim, and the crowd. The Cuban Brothers and David Guetta opened the concert. The next similar event, 'Big Beach Boutique 4', was held on 27 September 2008.

In 2008, Fatboy Slim played at the Glastonbury Festival again, and headlined the O2 Wireless Festival and Rockness Festival. According to an ''NME'' interview, this may have been one of the last times he performed as Fatboy Slim, as he may now focus on his new album, ''The Brighton Port Authority (BPA)''. Also in 2008, Fatboy Slim closed out the famed "Sahara" tent on Friday of the legendary Coachella Valley Music Festival. His introduction included a ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' opening, that has been called by many one of the most memorable Sahara performances ever.

In 2009, he toured Australia in the ''Good Vibrations'' festival. Also in 2009, he played in Marlay Park, Dublin alongside David Guetta, Dizzee Rascal, and Calvin Harris, as well as one huge performance at the Sziget Festival in Budapest. He also performed at V Festival 2009.

At Glastonbury 2009, he played an unadvertised concert in the "pinball-machine" stage at trash city.

In 2010, Fatboy Slim headlined the east dance at Glastonbury Festival. On 18 June 2010, he performed in Cape Town, South Africa as part of the Cool Britannia FIFA World Cup music festival at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. He also performed in Napoli on 15 July, at Neapolis Festival. On 30 May 2011, he performed as the headliner for Detroit's Electronic Music Festival in Detroit, Michigan, USA. 25 September 2011, Fatboy Slim headlined the Terrace at Ibiza's famed Space nightclub's We Love Sundays closing party. On 29 October 2011, Fatboy Slim opened at the San Francisco Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, following up on the 30th, closing out the Red Bulletin/Le PLUR Stage at the Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. On Saturday, 24 March 2012, Fatboy Slim performed a live DJ set on the main stage at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Florida.

Since March 2012, Cook hosts a one hour radio programme titled ''On The Road To Big Beach Bootique 5'' on XFM. It will consist of 10 shows.

Personal life [link]

Cook was awarded a star on the city of Brighton's Walk of Fame, next to that of Winston Churchill.

He married TV personality Zoë Ball in 1999 at Babington House in Somerset; in January 2003, Cook broke up with Ball but three months later, they reconciled. They have a son named Woody Fred Cook (born 15 December 2000) and a daughter named Nelly May Lois (born 14 January 2010). Cook is a 12% shareholder of Brighton & Hove Albion, the football club he has supported since moving to Brighton in the late 1980s.

''Q'' magazine named Fatboy Slim in their ''50 Bands to See Before You Die'' list.

On 4 March 2009, Cook checked into a rehabilitation centre in Bournemouth to fight a "booze addiction" that he has been battling "for some time".

Because of an extended stay in rehab, his performance at Snowbombing, a week-long winter sports and music festival held in the Austrian ski resort of Mayrhofen, was cancelled – with the slot being filled by 2ManyDJs. Cook then left the clinic at the end of March.

Cook completed the inaugural Brighton Marathon on 18 April 2010 in a time of 4:53:10.

Awards [link]

In 1999, the video to "Praise You" won three MTV awards: for best direction (Spike Jonze), best choreography (Jones as "Richard Koufey"), and best breakthrough video. Fatboy Slim's single "The Rockafeller Skank" topped the ''Village Voice'' 1999 Pazz & Jop singles poll. In September 2001, Fatboy Slim's video for "Weapon of Choice", also directed by Spike Jonze, received six prizes at the MTV Video Awards, the most given to a single winner that year. In May 2007, Cook received an Ivor Novello Award for his "outstanding contribution to British music". Cook was also a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. He has won two Brit Awards, in 1999 and 2001, both for British Dance Act.

Gear [link]

For live shows and performances Fatboy Slim uses Rane TTM 57SL mixer with Serato Scratch Live and Serato Video.

Bands and pseudonyms [link]

Norman Cook, now his real name

Beats International

Brighton Port Authority

Cheeky Boy

Chemistry

DJ Delite – used in DJ Tools (e.g. acapellas) for Fatboy Slim singles

Fatboy Slim

Freak Power

Fried Funk Food

Mighty Dub Katz ("Magic Carpet Ride" dance song, 1996)

Pizzaman

Rockaway 3

Sensataria

Son of a Cheeky Boy

Son of Wilmot

Sunny Side Up

The Feelgood Factor

The Housemartins, the indie rock band for which Cook was the bassist for from 1985 to 1988.

Yum Yum Head Food

Discography [link]

; Studio albums

''Better Living Through Chemistry'' (1996)

''You've Come a Long Way, Baby'' (1998)

''Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars'' (2000)

''Palookaville'' (2004)

''Here Lies Love'' (with David Byrne) (2010)

See also [link]

The Chemical Brothers

The Prodigy

The Crystal Method

Notes [link]

External links [link]

Category:Astralwerks artists Category:Electronica musicians Category:English electronic musicians Category:Music in Brighton and Hove Category:English football chairmen and investors Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:People educated at Reigate Grammar School Category:Alumni of the University of Brighton Category:Breakbeat musicians Category:Brit Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:The Housemartins members Category:Remixers Category:People from Hove Category:Big beat musicians Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics

bn:ফ্যাটবয় স্লিম bg:Фатбой Слим ca:Fatboy Slim cs:Fatboy Slim da:Fatboy Slim de:Fatboy Slim et:Fatboy Slim es:Fatboy Slim fa:نورمن کوک fr:Fatboy Slim ko:팻보이 슬림 is:Fatboy Slim it:Fatboy Slim he:פאטבוי סלים ka:ფეტბოი სლიმი lv:Fatboy Slim lt:Fatboy Slim nl:Norman Cook ja:ファットボーイ・スリム no:Fatboy Slim pl:Fatboy Slim pt:Fatboy Slim ru:Fatboy Slim sk:Norman Cook fi:Fatboy Slim sv:Fatboy Slim th:นอร์แมน คุก tr:Fatboy Slim uk:Фетбой Слім

Brighton Beach is an oceanside neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. As of 2007, it has a population of 75,692 with a total of 31,228 households. It is known for its high population of Russian speaking immigrants and as a summer destination for New York City residents due to its beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and its proximity to the amusement parks in Coney Island. In popular culture, the neighborhood served as the setting for the 1983 Neil Simon play ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'', a coming of age story about a family living in the neighborhood during the great depression. In current popular culture, the neighborhood has been used as a setting for New York television shows such as ''Law & Order'', ''Blue Bloods'', and ''Person of Interest''. In August 2011 a reality TV series, ''Russian Dolls'', followed the lives of eight women living in the community.

Location[link]

Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island at Ocean Parkway to the west, Manhattan Beach at Corbin Place to the east, Gravesend at the Belt Parkway to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south (at the Riegelmann Boardwalk/beachfront). It is patrolled by the NYPD's 60th Precinct.

History [link]

Brighton Beach was developed by William A. Engeman as a beach resort in 1868, and was named by Henry C. Murphy and a group of businessmen in an 1878 contest; the winning name evoked the resort of Brighton, England.

The centerpiece of the resort was the large Hotel Brighton (or Brighton Beach Hotel), placed on the beach at what is now the foot of Coney Island Avenue and accessed by the ''Brooklyn, Flatbush, and Coney Island Railway'', which opened on July 2, 1878. After a series of winter storms threatened to swamp the hotel, an audacious plan was developed to move it in one piece 520 feet further inland by placing railroad track and 112 railroad flat cars under the raised 460 ft. by 130 ft. building and using six steam locomotives to pull it away from the sea. Engineered by B.C. Miller, the move was begun on April 2, 1888 and continued for the next nine days, being the largest building move of the 19th century.

Adjacent to the hotel, Engeman built the Brighton Beach Race Course for Thoroughbred horse racing. The village was annexed into the 31st Ward of the City of Brooklyn in 1894.

Brighton Beach was re-developed as a fairly dense residential community with the final rebuilding of the Brighton Beach railway into a modern rapid transit line, known as the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway c. 1920. The subway system in the neighborhood is above ground on an elevated structure.

The years just before and following The Great Depression brought with them a neighborhood consisting mostly of first and second generation Jewish-Americans and, later, concentration camp survivors. Of the 55,000 estimated Holocaust survivors living in New York City as of 2011, most survivors live in Brighton Beach.

Notable establishments included Diamond's (a small clothing store owned by the parents of Neil Diamond), Irving's Deli, Mrs. Stahl's Knishes and The Famous, a kosher restaurant. The summer would bring the crowds, and many world renowned celebrities, to the Brighton Beach Baths (Private Beach Club) and surrounding public beaches.

Today, the area has a large community of Jewish immigrants who left the Former Soviet Union since 1970. Some non-Jewish immigrants, such as Armenians and Georgians, have also settled in Brighton Beach and the surrounding neighborhoods, taking advantage of the already established Russian-speaking community.

Culture[link]

Brighton Beach was dubbed "Little Odessa" by the local populace due to many of its residents having come from Odessa, a city of Ukraine. In 2006, Alec Brook-Krasny was elected for the 46th District of the New York State Assembly, the first elected Soviet-born Jewish politician from Brighton Beach.

The proximity of Brighton Beach to the city's beaches (Brighton Beach Avenue runs parallel to the Coney Island beach and boardwalk) and the fact the neighborhood is directly served by a subway station makes it a popular summer weekend destination for New York City residents.

Transportation[link]

Roadways[link]

Major roadways in Brighton Beach are the Belt Parkway, Coney Island Avenue and Ocean Parkway.

New York City Subway[link]

The BMT Brighton Line has two stations, Brighton Beach and Ocean Parkway, serving the neighborhood. Both are located on an elevated structure over Brighton Beach Avenue. The Q train provides local service north to Manhattan at all times while the B train provides express service weekdays only.

New York City Buses[link]

Buses serving Brighton Beach include the B1, B36, B49, and B68.

Education [link]

Brighton Beach is served by the New York City Department of Education. Manhattan Beach is zoned to PS 225 The Eileen E. Zaglin School for grades K-8, as well as PS 100 The Coney Island School located on Brighton Beach and West 3rd Street for grades K-5 and P.S. 253 The Magnet School of Multicultural Humanities.

Nearby high schools include:

Rachel Carson High School of Coastal Studies

The Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences

William E. Grady Vocational High School

Abraham Lincoln High School

Crime[link]

Brighton Beach is considered a hot spot for the Russian Mafia, though public perception has been that organized crime "has largely gone away." In the 1970s, the most notorious leg of the mafia was the Potato Bag Gang, which served as a robbery gang for larger Russian crime syndicates in New York City. Marat Balagula was a crime boss from Brighton Beach who denies having any connection to the American Mafia or the Russian-speaking Mafia. Also the biggest known yet gang, Buniit gang is the most violent.

In popular culture[link]

The Neil Simon play, ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'', which won two Tony awards in 1983, and its subsequent film adaptation, are both set against the backdrop of Brighton Beach in 1937.

The 1994 film ''Little Odessa'' is set in Brighton Beach.

In Darren Aronofsky's 2000 film, ''Requiem for a Dream'', the character Sara Goldfarb (played by Ellen Burstyn) lives in an apartment on Brighton 6th Street.

In the film ''Lord of War'', the main character, Yuri Orlov, played by Nicolas Cage, lives in Brighton Beach.

In the 2007 crime drama, ''We Own the Night'', the character Bobby Green, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is the manager of a nightclub in Brighton Beach.

In the 2009 film ''Two Lovers'', featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow, the action takes place in Brighton Beach.

Brighton Beach is also featured in the 1990s Russian spy-comedy ''Weather Is Good on Deribasovskaya, It Rains Again on Brighton Beach''.

In the Russian crime film ''Brother 2'', Danila, the protagonist, comes to Brighton Beach from Russia.

In the 1998 novel ''In Every Laugh a Tear'' by Lesléa Newman, developments take place partly in Brighton Beach.

In the 1998 trading autobiography ''The Education of a Speculator'', speculator and hedge fund manager Victor Niederhoffer takes us back to his childhood in Brighton Beach during the 1950s.

In the 2000 novel ''Vector'' by Robin Cook, disillusioned former Russian biochemical worker Yuri Davydov develops weapons-grade Anthrax in the basement of his Brighton Beach home.

Brighton Beach is where Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character Neil McCormick was taken to be beaten and raped in the 2004 film, ''Mysterious Skin''.

In the 2008 video game ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', Brighton Beach is represented by the neighborhood of "Hove Beach". This is in reference to Brighton, England's proximity to, and relationship with, neighboring Hove. The two, having city status, are officially known as Brighton and Hove.

In the songs "Xero Tolerance" and "Hey Pete" by Type O Negative, Brighton Beach is mentioned as the place where Pete is going to kill his cheating girlfriend. The D-train is his means of transportation in these songs. The full title of the band's faux-live album on which these songs appear is "The Origin Of The Feces - Not Live At Brighton Beach".

In the video game, ''XIII'', Brighton Beach is one of the first settings of the game's complex plotline.

The French electronic music group Telepopmusik has a song on their album ''Angel Milk'' entitled "Brighton Beach".

In the space flight simulator ''Orbiter'', there is a fictional base on the moon named Brighton Beach.

On the TV series ''The West Wing'', Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) hails from Brighton Beach.

On the TV series ''Bored to Death'', unlicensed private detective Jonathan Ames investigates a case based at a Russian nightclub in Brighton Beach.

A Lifetime reality TV show called ''Russian Dolls'', documenting the lives of young Russian-Americans and a group of Brighton Beach housewives spending time in a popular Russian nightclub, Rasputin Restaurant, premiered August 11, 2011.

In an episode of the CBS's ''Blue Bloods'' the storyline revolves around the murder of a Russian Mob associate who lived in Brighton Beach. Several scenes are shot on and around the boardwalk.

In Haley Tanner's debut novel "Vaclav and Lena" (2011) action takes place in Brighton Beach

In the episode "Witness" of the TV series ''Person of Interest'' (2011), Reese has to protect a Brighton Beach high school history teacher who's being hunted by the Russian mob.

Brighton Beach is mentioned:

In a Rilo Kiley song "Close Call", in which the lyrics "''She was born on a Brighton pier to a gypsy mother and a bucket of tears...''" are sung.

In a Little Brazil song "Brighton Beach", in which the lyrics, "''I first met her Brighton Beach back in 1973...''" are sung.

In two songs on gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello's album ''Multi Kontra Culti vs. Irony'': "Smarkatch" and "Let's Get Radical".

In the 2002 film ''25th Hour'' during Edward Norton's rant about New York City.

In the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love), when Christian Mann and Oliver Sabel return to Düsseldorf from New York. Christian claims to have learned a new recipe while in "Little Odessa".

Notable residents[link]

Notable current and former residents of Brighton Beach include:

Marat Balagula (born 1943) neighborhood mob boss during the 1980s

Eddie Daniels, clarinettist and saxophonist

Howard Greenfield (1936–86), songwriter

Vyacheslav Ivankov (1940–2009), alleged crime boss

Jack Kirby (1917–1994), comic book artist, co-creator of Captain America during the early 1940s

Lea Bayers Rapp (born 1946), author, journalist, playwright Lynn Ross (stage name), dancer in original 1957 Broadway production of ''West Side Story'' Neil Sedaka (born 1939), songwriter The Tokens, vocal group formed in 1955 at Abraham Lincoln High School

See also[link]

Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad

References[link]

External links[link]

Brighton Beach Neighborhood Association

Russian Community Life Center

Brighton Beach News Russian-American newspaper

NY Mag Everything Guide to Brighton Beach

Category:Neighborhoods in Brooklyn Category:People from Brighton Beach, Brooklyn Category:Russian communities in the United States Category:Populated places established in 1868

de:Brighton Beach fr:Brighton Beach id:Brighton Beach ka:ბრაიტონ-ბიჩი xmf:ბრაიტონ-ბიჩი pt:Brighton Beach ru:Брайтон-Бич (Нью-Йорк) fi:Brighton Beach uk:Брайтон-Біч

colour	#ccf
name	Alan Partridge
first	Radio: ''On the Hour'' Television: ''The Day Today''
gender	Male
occupation	Radio and television presenter, conference host
spouse	Carol (divorced)
significantother	Sonja (separated - still Alan's cleaner though)
children	Fernando PartridgeDenise Partridge
portrayer	Steve Coogan
creator	}}

Alan Gordon Partridge OBE (Honour Removed) is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme ''On The Hour''. A parody of both sports commentators and chat show presenters, among others, the character has appeared in two radio series, three television series and numerous TV and radio specials, including appearances on BBC's Comic Relief, which have followed the rise and fall of his career.

Character[link]

Whereas many of his personality defects are apparent in his appearances in shows such as ''The Day Today'' and ''Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge'', it is largely from ''I'm Alan Partridge'' onwards that his creators began to explore his personality in depth, and most of the observations that follow originated in that show.

Personality[link]

Partridge is characterised as an insecure, superficial and narcissistic 'wally', concerned largely with status, the level of his public profile and, to a lesser extent, the ostentatious possessions this allows him to acquire (such as his beloved Rover and Lexus cars and Bang & Olufsen stereo systems). Despite being a broadcaster, Partridge is a socially incompetent and awkward character prone to one-upmanship, embarrassing social faux pas and displays of deep insensitivity to social norms. His thoughtlessness and selfish lack of interest in anything beyond his own objectives exposes an unsympathetic character that is disliked and privately lampooned by many of those with whom he comes into contact. Among Partridge's few friends are Lynn Benfield, his put-upon and long-suffering personal assistant whom he regularly humiliates, and Michael, an emotionally tortured ex-soldier from Newcastle upon Tyne. It is notable, however, that he treats even these people with little more than disdain despite expecting complete loyalty from them in return; in the first series of ''I'm Alan Partridge'' he does not even seem to be on first-name terms with Michael (who exclusively addressed him as ''Mr Partridge'' throughout the two series). Bizarrely, he appears to have a close friendship with Bill Oddie, who even sends Alan Christmas presents. Partridge is otherwise depicted as being unable to forge genuine friendships or connections with other people (who are, seemingly without exception, repelled by his unpleasant and self-absorbed personality).

Attraction[link]

Partridge is depicted as being a sexually repressed and prudish man, uncomfortable and awkward with overt (or even subtle) displays of sexual or romantic feelings, or what he views as being ‘perverted’ sexual practices. He is particularly disconcerted by homosexuality, and despite describing himself as "homosceptic" at one point appears to entertain homoerotic or bisexual tendencies. This is the subject of numerous running gags in ''I’m Alan Partridge'', in particular his numerous efforts to deny his interest in Bangkok "lady-boys" (whom he describes as ‘fascinating creatures’ whilst insisting that he is merely confused by them and not attracted to them) and a recurrent gag in which he will daydream about performing an erotic dance in a peephole Pringle jumper and a vulcanised rubber thong for a selection of men (usually those who can help further his career in some way, such as BBC Chief of Programming Tony Hayers). He is also quite misogynistic, displaying a tendency to objectify and patronise women (who usually view him with some disdain). Despite this, in the second series of I’m Alan Partridge he manages to sustain a romantic relationship with Sonja, a scatterbrained 33-year-old immigrant from Ukraine who is quite devoted to him. Even this relationship, however, is marked by Alan’s open contempt for her, and it is apparent that her affection towards him is largely unreturned and that his relationship with her is mainly based on the boost to his ego that their 14-year age gap provides (which he is frequently heard boasting about).

Family[link]

No member of Partridge’s family is shown on any of the series that he appears in; however, his dysfunctional relationship with them informs much of the background of the show. In his early appearances, Alan was married to Carol; although never-seen on screen, she can be heard in the mock documentary 'Knowing Knowing Me, Knowing You' that accompanies the BBC Radio 4 series of 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' first broadcast in 1993. Their relationship appeared to be under a lot of strain. In the Christmas special ''Knowing Me, Knowing Yule'', Alan attributed his rash and erratic behaviour to the fact that Carol had left him on Christmas Eve. By the time of ''I'm Alan Partridge'', Alan and Carol are divorced, and while Alan lives in a Travel Tavern, Carol remains in their home with her new boyfriend, who Alan describes unflatteringly as "a narcissistic sports pimp" who apparently enjoys protein drinks. During their marriage, Alan and Carol had two children — Fernando (apparently named after the song by ABBA) and Denise — neither of whom is ever seen or heard on-screen. During the run of ''Knowing Me, Knowing You'', Alan states that Fernando is studying Politics at Christ's College, Cambridge. The next references to Alan's children are made in ''I'm Alan Partridge'', in which Fernando hangs up on one of Alan's rambling go-nowhere telephone conversations, and in which a staff member at the Travel Tavern mentions that Denise has an oddly similar appearance to Alan. It is also revealed that Denise has a pierced navel, and that Fernando seems to spend much of his time in bed with a succession of girlfriends. The final mention of Alan's children is an offhand comment in the second episode of the second series of ''I'm Alan Partridge'', in which Alan glibly states that he has access to his children, but that they have no desire to see him.

Ambitions[link]

Outside of his all-consuming quest to be on television, his various appearances often demonstrate that Partridge does not possess a particularly rich or detailed personal life. In ''I’m Alan Partridge'' in particular, he is often shown to occupy himself with pointless or needless tasks, seemingly just to give himself something to do. This is particularly evident in the first series episode "Basic Alan", over the course of which he walks to a petrol station to buy 12 bottles of windscreen washer fluid for no apparent reason, spends time driving repeatedly around a ring road and purchases a packet of tungsten-tipped screws which he states he has no intention of ever using. Most of the interests he is depicted as having show him as out of touch with modern society in general; he describes Paul McCartney's band Wings as "the band The Beatles could have been". In "Towering Alan" he claims to have a broad taste in music; he is a fan of Kate Bush, the Electric Light Orchestra, UB40, Def Leppard and particularly ABBA, the music of which is a recurrent theme in ''Knowing Me, Knowing You''. In the second series episode "I Know What Alan Did Last Summer" he enthusiastically plays "air-bass" to the Gary Numan song "Music for Chameleons", and in "Never Say Alan Again" is seen drumming along inside his Lexus to the theme of ''Return of the Saint'' which he plays at full volume insensitively at the cemetery whilst having given his assistant Lynn ten minutes to commemorate the anniversary of her mother's passing. The few hobbies he is depicted as indulging in include driving, rambling, birdwatching and collecting celebrity memorabilia.

Political views[link]

Partridge is politically conservative, and his favourite newspaper is the ''Daily Mail'', a right-leaning publication which he claims is "arguably the best newspaper in the world" in the episode ''Bravealan''. He is very pro-law and has a strong stance on criminality, viewing hoodlums and miscreants as "sub-human scum". He also favours the death penalty for treason and murder. Despite these professed views, he appears to have no strong moral compunctions; in one episode he exploits an "all you can fit on a plate" breakfast deal at the Travel Tavern by bringing in a slightly larger plate of his own, a "scam" of which the staff are in fact fully aware but tolerate with amusement. Alan is not a fan of the modern obsession with health and safety, stating on one occasion that political correctness had "gone mad" after being told that naked flames are not permitted on the forecourt of his local petrol station, thus curtailing his plans for a barbecue there. He has admiration for former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and believes she was betrayed by her own party when she was forced out of Downing Street, and in 1997 claimed that the Referendum Party had "more integrity than the whole of the other political parties put together."

He has commented on the troubles in Northern Ireland stating that he believes both Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness to be very clever men, though that he does not trust either of them as he believes Adams looks like a deputy headmaster and McGuinness looks like a clown without make-up. He displays ignorance over the issues that unfolded in Ireland, once chastising the Irish over the potato famine with the remark, "at the end of the day, they will pay the price for being a fussy eater", and also completely misunderstanding the lyrics to Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2, believing the song to "really encasuplated the frustrations of a Sunday" (both of these conversations happened in front of two Irish television producers in ''To Kill A Mocking Alan''). Alan once caused a security alert at Choristers Country Club by booking a room under the name "The Real IRA".

Fictional biography[link]

Early years and career[link]

Within his fictional world, Partridge was born to Dorothy Partridge on 2 April 1955 in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England, and spent his childhood in Norwich. He was often bullied at school, as we find out in an episode of the original ''Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge'' radio show when Alan is hypnotised and regressed to his childhood, and reveals he was called "Smelly Alan Fartridge" by classmate Stephen McCoombs - happily for Partridge now McCoombs has back problems and lives on disability benefits. He claims in his autobiography that this was infantile humour that any self-respecting comedian would have dismissed and that he was particularly sensitive to hygiene issues and if there were anything he did smell of, it would have been Radox and Colgate. In the second series of ''I'm Alan Partridge'', Alan recounts a story about a time he was once caned for having a chalk penis drawn on the back of his school blazer by another student, an incident about which he still feels bitter. The same student also dropped Alan's swimming trunks into a urinal one day at school, despite Alan being his scout pack leader. He appears to have had a lonely childhood, and in a 'Rural Alan' special feature (found on the DVD release of ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge'') recounts how he would ramble about the Norfolk countryside in solitude, singing his favourite pop songs.

After passing two A-levels Partridge attended the (fictional) East Anglia Polytechnic. He later married Carol, who gave birth to Alan's son Fernando and daughter Denise. Carol left Alan for a fitness instructor (whom Alan claims to be an "idiot" and a "narcissistic sports pimp"), and took the children with her.

Radio career[link]

Alan worked his way upwards from a position as a DJ on Radio Smile on St Luke's hospital radio, until he left, after arguments with patients. He then began presenting the drive time ''Traffic Buster'' show on Radio Norwich, where he stayed for five years and was named sports reporter of the year in 1988. He then became a presenter on the BBC's ''Scoutabout'' programme, where he entered into the top eight of BBC sports reporters. Alan soon garnered a slot presenting sports news on BBC Radio 4's ''On the Hour'' programme (1991) presented by Chris Morris. On that show Alan suffered from a severe lack of any sporting knowledge and developed a notable talent for mixed and/or nonsensical metaphors.

Alan got his first starring role in 1992 as host of BBC Radio 4's ''Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge'' (a spoof chat show with fictional guests). A typical question was "You've just published your autobiography. What's that about?" He managed to offend people on his show who would then attempt to disgrace the host. During his tenure on the show, Alan hit a child genius, unknowingly took cocaine, bribed rent boys, lost his wife's car in a bet, was openly homophobic, forced the resignation of a junior government minister and, in the series finale, his guest Lord Morgan of Glossop died of an apparent heart attack.

There was also a one off spoof-documentary about the show called ''Knowing, Knowing Me, Knowing You''. It provided a behind-the-scenes look at how the show was put together and the antagonism between Alan and those who worked for him, as well as giving insight into the problems with his marriage to Carol.

''The Day Today''[link]

''On The Hour'' transferred to television as ''The Day Today'' in 1994, where Alan continued as the inept sports reporter ("This is Sports Desk... I'm Alan Partridge"). Here he bungled his way through a feature on the 1994 FIFA World Cup, gave a colourful report on the previous sporting season, made a complete mess of reporting the recent horse racing tournament, and was beaten up by a female martial-arts instructor.

''Knowing Me, Knowing You''[link]

The transition to television was to be a success for Alan and was swiftly followed by a television version of ''Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge''. The format was largely the same as the radio show, with the addition of a house band under the directorship of Glen Ponder (played by musical comedian Steve Brown). In the sixth episode, Alan accidentally shot dead one of his guests (Forbes McAllister) on air while examining one of Lord Byron's duelling pistols. He was cleared of any wrongdoing by an internal BBC investigation. The show featured an Alan Partridge tie and blazer badge set which, like the Alan Partridge face mask, was produced but never marketed - instead the famous "Tie and Blazer Badge Set" was included as part of a Boxed Set of videos released towards the end of the 1990s.

In reality, ''KMKYWAP'' was a huge success; in the fictional world of Alan Partridge, it suffered from terrible ratings. This was because of "poor scheduling" (The show was aired at the same time as the ''News at Ten'') and Alan's PA, Lynn, claimed that "the ratings started poorly and went downhill from there". In the end the show was taken off the air at the end of the first series.

In 1995, Alan hosted a Christmas special of ''KMKYWAP'', humorously titled ''Knowing Me, Knowing Yule''. One of his guests was the (fictional) director of programming at the BBC, Tony Hayers (later to become Alan's nemesis, played by David Schneider). Alan, with a characteristic lack of subtlety, was seen probing for a new series of ''KMKYWAP''. However, the show was an unmitigated disaster for Alan, as his attempt at product placement was blatantly exposed, and the show climaxed with Alan punching both a man in a wheelchair and Tony Hayers (twice) with his hand inside a roast partridge. After punching Hayers for the first time, Partridge begged "please don't take my chat away from me", then after punching him a second time declared "I'll never work in broadcasting again". Mick Hucknall of Simply Red then played the show out. It was clearly the beginning of the end of his time at BBC television. He was "kept on the books", as it were, for a short while, but after a particularly harrowing meeting with Hayers at the BBC cafeteria (which involved assault by cheese) he was left in no doubt that his BBC TV career was over.

''I'm Alan Partridge''[link]

Partridge next appeared in ''I'm Alan Partridge'' (1997), a look behind the scenes of his rapidly failing career. In this television series, he is seen having gained a slot on the fictional Radio Norwich. He continues to cause offence, this time mainly to his listeners. He also has a bad relationship with his colleague Dave Clifton (played by Phil Cornwell), Alan occasionally insults him while introducing him on his show (for example in ‘Alan Attraction’ Alan says "Here's a man who indeed won't be killing anyone with syphilis"). However Dave usually gets the better of Alan except in ‘Basic Alan’ where he tells Dave to "fuck off" after he torments him over a recent incident with a traffic cone, Dave is stunned by this and lays into Alan by claiming that "dead-air is a crime and that it is terrible that he has to fill it with swearing on his show". Alan's comeback refers to the correct time (7.01am) and that it is Dave's show and he is merely a guest whom Dave has failed to control, he then says "Read the smallprint on your cone-tract". By this stage in his life Alan had been kicked out by his wife and, after wandering around a John Menzies for five hours in a state of depressed homelessness, Alan had been forced to take up residence in the equally fictional Linton Travel Tavern, which he chose because it is "equidistant between London and Norwich". The first episode featured Alan meeting Tony Hayers, begging for a new series on the BBC. Hayers was not impressed, and Alan had to wrap up his production company Peartree Productions (a reference to the Christmas Carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas"), firing all its staff including Jill (whom he had feelings for and had one-night stand with; albeit unsuccessful). During his time at the Linton Travel Tavern, we discovered more about Alan's failed marriage, his children and his obsession with "Bangkok Chick Boys". In ‘Watership Alan’ he was crushed by a dead cow after insulting farmers on his show. And in ‘To Kill a Mocking Alan’ he was nearly kidnapped by his "number one fan", a crazed lunatic called Jed Maxwell.

In the final episode, Tony Hayers died after a fall from a roof, and one of Alan's old friends, Chris Feather, took over as head of programmes at the BBC. However, at the decisive moment when the new executive was about to sign a five-year contract, he keeled over and died, forcing Alan to forge the dead man's signature.

The programme itself is not presented as a documentary, but during the in-character commentary on the DVD release, Alan explains that it is in fact a "post-documentary"; all the events depicted in the series took place, but everyone in the show, apart from himself and his personal assistant Lynn Benfield (played by Felicity Montagu), were actors hired to portray them "after they had actually occurred".

Alan's next appearance was in a 1999 half-hour special filmed for Comic Relief in which Alan started to lose the plot, foreshadowing his mental breakdown in the second series of ''I'm Alan Partridge''. A simulcast between BBC Two and Radio Norwich, Alan appears incoherent and incapable of keeping track of the format of his own show. A second Comic Relief appearance followed in 2001, showing him interviewing a boxing manager, played by Peter Kay. Eventually, this resulted in Alan taking on one of the boxers in the ring and being beaten by the boxer, the manager and his friend Michael.

Coogan was apparently reluctant to continue playing the character, but returned for a second series of ''I'm Alan Partridge'' in 2002.

In the second series Alan was temporarily living in a caravan while waiting for his new house to be built. Despite his five-year contract with the BBC, Alan claims to his old school teacher "Sweaty" Frank Raphael in ‘The Talented Mr. Alan’ that there was "bad blood" between them and they were "bitter bastards" plus every profession has its "shits", so they had to let him go.

Alan returned to radio, securing the "third best slot on Radio Norwich", presenting ''Norfolk Nights'', a big leap from his former timeslot of 4am to 7am, when he presented ''Up With the Partridge''. Alan also presents a military-based quiz show called ''Skirmish'' on the (fictional) cable station UK Conquest, and has a deal with Meteor Productions to make the ''Crash! Bang! Wallop!... What a Video''/''Scum on the Run'' series of car-crash videos.

In the period from his time at the Linton Travel Tavern to his residence in the temporary "static home", Alan suffered a mental breakdown and put on weight, or as he put it, was "clinically fed up" and "repellent to women for two years". This collapse culminated in Alan driving a Vauxhall Vectra to Dundee in his bare feet while gorging himself on Toblerone (in a similar incident, Alan recounts throwing all his tax receipts off a ferry). However, by 2002, his life was firmly back on track, save for the odd glitch. He even had a Ukrainian girlfriend called Sonja, who was 33 years old — 14 years younger than himself (a point Alan emphasises with the smug exclamation, "Cashback!"). This period in Alan's life is documented in his autobiography ''Bouncing Back'', which Alan claims has been described as "lovely stuff" by entertainer Shakin' Stevens.

Memorable moments of this series include Alan dry-vomiting his way through a speech about fireplaces after impaling his foot on a spiked fence; mistakenly getting involved with swingers; attacking a six-foot stuffed Beefeater bear; his summing up the entire opening of ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' in less than a minute during a failed attempt at a 24-hour Bondathon; Lynn's baptism at her Baptist church and, of course, the sad pulping of his autobiography which, despite taking up four weeks of his life to write, simply wasn't selling well (partly because every anecdote ended with the phrase "Needless to say, I had the last laugh".) Unfortunately, Alan tells us, it seems the public was more concerned with buying gangster autobiographies like ''Bad Slags''.

The second series saw a move away from the drier and more realistic style of the first, a move that was at odds with more recent sitcoms, most notably ''The Office''. This led to it being less well received than the first. Surprisingly, producer and co-writer of the series, Armando Iannucci states in the commentary to his own DVD of ''The Armando Iannucci Shows'', that he had recently re-watched the second series of ''I'm Alan Partridge'', and describes it as "terrible". On the DVD commentary of the second series of ''I'm Alan Partridge'', Steve Coogan appears surprised at the over-the-top style he used to play Alan in the 2002 series, calling it "big acting".

Steve Coogan's profile on the BBC Comedy website talks of another series featuring Alan Partridge, entitled ''I'm Still Alan Partridge''. However this was in fact the provisional title for I'm Alan Partridge series 2.

''Anglian Lives''[link]

In 2003, Alan again returned to our screen in a half-hour special of ''Anglian Lives'' (also known as "Anglian Alan"), a fictional regional BBC show. This was presented by Ray Woollard (Peter Baynham, who had appeared previously in 'I'm Alan Partridge' as the voice box using executive from the boat holiday company in 'Watership Alan') and "Digital Dave", and was basically a sycophantic look at Alan's career, past and present; the credits listed it as being executively produced by Alan himself. It shed more detail on Alan's hatred of London, his Toblerone addiction, and his future.

''Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and Other Less Successful Characters: Live''[link]

In October 2008 Alan returned as part of the tour "Steve Coogan is Alan Partridge and other less successful characters". Alan is now a life coach and claims to have helped such celebrities as Ross Kemp, Vinnie Jones, Jeremy Kyle, and the Cheeky Girls. Also, in a recent interview, Coogan confirmed that Partridge would return at some stage, for either a film or a Television special.

Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge[link]

In August 2010, it was reported that Alan Partridge would make a comeback series online for lager giant Fosters. On 8 October 2010, it was announced that the new show, entitled ''Alan Partridge's Mid Morning Matters'', would premiere on 5 November 2010 on Foster's comedy site, http://www.fostersfunny.co.uk . In a press release, Steve Coogan announced, in character:

"''I am delighted to announce that after years as a regional broadcaster on North Norfolk Digital my groundbreaking radio segment, Mid Morning Matters, will now be accessible to a potential audience of billions via the World Wide Web (www).''

''That it has taken Foster’s to help realise my dream of joining the information superhighway is a damning indictment of the established broadcasters whose shabby treatment of me on Sept 10th 2001 was frankly shabby. I made dozens of calls the next day, all of which were ignored.''

''My appreciation must go to Armando Iannucci and Baby Cow for ignoring the lies, God bless them. In the meantime I look forward to “hanging out ‘n’ chillin” with the MySpace generation.''"

After the six episodes aired online, in December 2010, Armando Iannucci confirmed on Twitter that "there will be 6 more Alan Partridge Mid Morning Matters starting in February." This series started on February 4, 2011, as episode 7, and ran every Friday until episode 12 on March 11, 2011.

In ''Mid Morning Matters'' Alan again works as a disc jockey, this time on the fictional station 'North Norfolk Digital'. He is occasionally joined by 'Side-kick Simon', played by Tim Key, who after Episode 10 is fired due to Alan's gradual dislike towards him. Alan is noticeably annoyed when he discovers that Simon had started guesting as a side-kick on another radio show (a late night comedy show). Much of the comedy surrounding Simon was his failure to grasp political correctness on sensitive issues which Alan would have to cover for when Simon slipped. After his departure Alan recruits a new side-kick, 'Zoe' and quickly develops a crush on her. In the twelfth and final episode of Mid Morning Matters, Zoe reveals she is going travelling for three months much to Alan's disappointment. The episode ends with a shot through the window into the recording booth as Zoe hugs Alan and gives him a kiss on the cheek; there is no sound and it is unknown what Alan has said to warrant this reaction. This is a rare low key ending to an Alan Partridge series with the high point culminating in Episode 10 when Alan scolds Side-kick Simon following a practical joke on Alan.

In Episode 3, released on 18 November 2010, Alan invites listeners to vote for "simply the best of Norfolk" (who is the best person Norfolk has produced?) in which he makes reference to Bernard Matthews ("he is tantalisingly close to producing the ten-pence turkey, now there's a thought..."). Matthews died a week later on 25 November 2010.

Following the series, Alan appeared again as part of the Red Nose Day 2011 set for a one-off show akin to the Mid Morning Matters arrangement, and here Side-kick Simon reappears in his former capacity. Here, Alan interviews a nun over whom he sneezes blood by mistake. The series was written by Steve Coogan, Rob Gibbons, Neil Gibbons and Armando Iannucci.

On 4 October 2011 co-writer Neil Gibbons announced on his Twitter feed that a second series of Mid Morning Matters was in development. On 10 November 2011 it was reported that the rights to the current and future series of Mid Morning Matters were to be acquired by Sky to be shown on subscriber-only channel Sky Atlantic.

''I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan''[link]

On 22 July 2011, Armando Iannucci announced on his Twitter feed that "Alan Partridge [had] delivered his autobiography to the publishers". The book was published in the UK by HarperCollins on 29 September 2011, and is entitled ''I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan''. It is available in hardcover and paperback, as well as in CD and downloadable audio and ePub formats, and is also set to be published in Australia on 1 November 2011 and in Canada on 1 December 2011. Alan Partridge promoted his autobiography on ITV's The Jonathan Ross Show show on 1 October 2011. It was met with positive reviews and was a commercial success, compared to his fictional last book 'Bouncing Back' which was panned by critics and didn't sell well.

The Alan Partridge Movie[link]

In August 2004 a small piece appeared in the ''Metro'' newspaper which claimed that: "Steve Coogan got the green light from a US studio to play the spoof DJ on the big screen." Coogan reportedly said: "It's always been my plan to make Alan go global. It's what he lives for really, not just doing the show on Radio Norwich." Other sources confirm the film will be going ahead and ITV has reported that Victoria Beckham will be playing a "demanding diva" in the film. Coogan has since denied that Beckham will appear.

In April 2005, Coogan's production firm Baby Cow announced that an Alan Partridge movie was in the pipeline. It was later revealed the film would involve an al-Qaeda siege. Due to the sensitivities of such a storyline after the 7 July 2005 London bombings, the project was put on hold, but in November 2007, further details of the film were released.

The plot of the film involved Alan Partridge attempting another comeback from local radio, only to have his ambitions thwarted when Middle Eastern terrorists hijack the BBC offices. Coogan had written some dialogue, but has said he is not sure whether he wants to revisit his most famous creation. "Part of me wants to do it, and other things," he said in an interview. Playwright Patrick Marber, whose early collaborations with Coogan included ''The Day Today'' and being the principal writer of both radio and TV versions of ''Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge'', has also been working on the script, but the pair put their plans on hold following the London bombings, for fear the screenplay would appear in bad taste. Actress Felicity Montagu, who plays Partridge's PA Lynne, said last year: "There was a lot of talk about it, but then the London bombings happened and it got put to one side. I'm sure Steve will write an Alan Partridge film eventually. But for the moment I don't think it's happening."

In 2005, Armando Iannucci, who helped Coogan create Partridge, said he did not want to be involved in any movie spin-off, saying: "Steve wants to do an Alan Partridge film, but I couldn't bear to go through that again. For me, the idea of spending two more years in a room with that voice is more than I can take". However, in more recent interviews, Iannucci has been more positive about the idea and it is expected that both he and Peter Baynham will be involved in writing the film.

Armando Iannucci revealed in late March 2010 that Alan won’t be travelling to the USA as the rumours have suggested though: “At the moment we’re just deciding whether we should (make an Alan Partridge movie) and the ideas we’ve come up with are very much Alan in the UK and his ideas of what he could be. We don’t see Alan, for example getting Simon Cowell’s spot on American Idol and going over there. That’s too good for Alan. Alan’s future is always brighter in his head than it is in the real world. I think Alan harbours this distortion that, with reality TV bringing back your Keith Chegwins and your Tony Blackburns and so on that his time will come, but it hasn’t come, he hasn’t had that call.”

Armando Iannucci confirmed in July 2010 that a film is definitely in the works and that Steve and himself have "now agreed a story for the film. It's NOT Alan goes to America."

In November 2011 Peter Baynham said that the movie is happening next year.

The movie's screenplay is currently being written by Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Rob Gibbons and Neil Gibbons - plus Peter Baynham - with the storyline completed in January 2012.

In spring 2012, Armando Iannucci stated that the as-yet-untitled film would be shooting later in the year, released in 2013, and would be directed by Declan Lowney.

Other activity[link]

In 2004 Coogan also gave an interview with ''Now'' magazine, and when asked "Is it true that you're killing off Alan Partridge?", Coogan replied: "No, not at all. What's he up to at the moment? Well, I'd say he's being cryogenically preserved next to Walt Disney. Don't worry. When the day comes that I feel like I need to do something else with him, I'll defrost him and make him funny again."

In November 2008, Coogan stated that he has some ideas for what to do with Partridge next on TV and that he's glad to be well known for playing him, despite it over-shadowing most of his other ventures. "As a character he's given me the opportunity to play lots of other characters and to have other opportunities in film and television. So I can't resent him really. And I enjoy playing him, performing him because it's very comfortable. It's like putting on an old jacket".

List of appearances[link]

''On the Hour'' (BBC Radio 4, series) 1991

''On the Hour'' (BBC Radio 4, series) 1992

''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' (BBC Radio 4, series) 1992

''Knowing, Knowing Me, Knowing You'' (BBC Radio 4, spoof documentary) 1992

''The Day Today'' (BBC Two, spoof news series) 1994

''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' (BBC Two) 1994

''A Christmas Ramble'' (BBC Two, spoof documentary) 1994

''Comic Relief'' (BBC One, with John Thomson) 1995

''Knowing Me Knowing Yule with Alan Partridge'' (BBC Two, Christmas special) 1995

''The Big Snog'' (Live show in support of gay rights) 1996

''I'm Alan Partridge'' (BBC Two, series) 1997

''Clive Anderson: All Talk'' (BBC One, spoof interview) 1997

''Election Night Armistice'' (BBC Two, political satire show) 1997

''Brit Awards'' (ITV, presenting award for Best Video to the 'not unattractive' All Saints) 1998

''Steve Coogan Live: The Man Who Thinks He's It'' (Live show) 1998

''Stephen Fry's "Live from the Lighthouse"'' (Channel 4, spoof interview with Simon Pegg as an AIDS charity worker and Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher) 1998

''Comic Relief'' (BBC Two, half-hour special featuring Bryan Ferry; Partridge sings a Kate Bush medley) 1999

''Comedy Awards'' (performing a duet with Elton John) 2000

''Comic Relief'' (BBC One, featuring Peter Kay) 2001

''I'm Alan Partridge'' (BBC Two, series) 2002

''Anglian Lives'' (BBC Two, spoof career retrospective - also featuring Peter Baynham) 2003

''Cream of British Comedy'' (Live Show, as well as the live show a DVD was released includes Radio Norwich extras such as Alan meets Roger Daltrey) 2005

''Comic Relief'' (BBC One, monologue; KMKY-style (fictional) interview featuring Simon Pegg as the Milky Bar Kid) 2005

''Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and Other Less Successful Characters: Live'' (Live tour, Alan was a featured character in Coogan's 2008 live tour, where he has become a life coach) 2008

''Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge'' (Foster's Funny/Sky Atlantic, New Alan Partridge web/TV series) 2010-present

''Comic Relief Mid Morning Matters'' (BBC One, Comic Relief Special of ''Mid Morning Matters'') 2011

''The Jonathan Ross Show'' (ITV1, Spoof Interview with Jonathan Ross promoting his autobiography) 2011

''The Richard Bacon Show'' (BBC Radio 5Live, Spoof Interview with Richard Bacon promoting his autobiography) 2011

''Under 1 Roof'' (Charity show appearance) 2011

References[link]

External links[link]

British Sitcom Guide

Category:Comedy television characters Category:Fictional broadcasters Category:Fictional disc jockeys Category:Fictional English people Category:People from Norfolk

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