"500 Miles" (also known as "500 Miles Away from Home" or "Railroaders' Lament") is a folk song made popular in the United States and Europe during the 1960s folk revival. The simple repetitive lyrics offer a lament by a traveler who is far from home, out of money and too ashamed to return. The song is generally credited as being written by Hedy West,^[1][2] and a 1961 copyright is held by Atzal Music, Inc.^[1] Some recordings have also credited Bobby Bare, Curly Williams, and/or John Phillips as co-writers.^[3] David Neale writes that "500 Miles" may be related to the older folk song, "900 Miles," which may itself have origins in the southern American fiddle tunes "Reuben's Train" and "Train 45".^[3][4]

"500 Miles" is West's "most anthologized song."^[5] The song appears on the 1961 self-titled debut album by The Journeymen;^[6] this may have been its first release.

The song was heard on the February, 1962 Kingston Trio live album College Concert (a 1962 US#3). It was further popularized by Peter, Paul & Mary (it was the second track on their US#1, May 1962 debut album).^[7][8] Rewritten with new lyrics (by Bobby Bare), it charted as a hit single by American country music singer Bobby Bare in 1963 (#10 US, #7 NOR, #9 SWE, #16 DEN).^[5] Bare's version features a spoken recitation following the repeat of the Refrain, before he sings one original line of his second verse. Following this, he makes a transition from the key of G to the key of D for the Third Verse, featuring a counterpoint portion by the backup singers, before making a transition back to the key of G for the last refrain, before the song's fade. The lyrics feature heavily in the Bob Dylan song "I Was Young When I Left Home". It has also been recorded by the Brothers Four, Sonny & Cher, Johnny Rivers, Alexander Rybak, The Hooters, Reba McEntire, Jackie DeShannon, The Seekers, Elvis Presley, The Highwaymen, The Seldom Scene, Nick Cave, Richard Anthony, Franco Battiato, Rosanne Cash, Bad Astronaut, Peter and Gordon, Eric Bibb, Hootenanny Singers, the innocence mission, Joan Baez, the Persuasions and many others.^[9] In an episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Jim Nabors, in the title role, sang the song to character Lou-Ann Poovie, played by Elizabeth MacRae, resulting in Lou-Ann choosing Gomer as her boyfriend.

In other languages[link]

Richard Anthony had a hit with a French version of the song, Et j'entends siffler le train, (I hear the whistle of the train) in 1962.^[10] In 1963 the German version, Und dein Zug fährt durch die Nacht, (And your train goes through the night) was a success for Peter Beil.

See also[link]

• American fiddle
• List of Train Songs

References[link]

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 500

The world in 500

Year 500 (D) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Patricius and Hypatius (or, less frequently, year 1253 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 500 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events[link]

By place[link]

Europe[link]

• Possible date for the Battle of Mons Badonicus: Romano-British and Celts defeat an Anglo-Saxon army that may have been led by the bretwalda Aelle of Sussex or possibly Cerdic of Wessex (approximate date; suggested dates range from 490 to 517). This battle may have influenced the legend of King Arthur.
• Possible date at which Fergus Mór begins his reign – the historicity of Mór is doubtful.
• Approximate beginning of the Heptarchy period in the history of England.
• Approximate year of the founding of the Kingdom of Essex.
• The Frankish Kingdom is formed.
• The monument of Ale's Stones is built in Sweden (approximate date).
• Burial in catacombs ends (approximate date).

Asia[link]

• Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei China becomes sovereign of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

America[link]

• Uxmal is founded (approximate date).

Africa[link]

• Traders from southern Arabia settle in northern Ethiopia.

Births[link]

• Erzhu Shilong
• Procopius, historian (approximate date)
• Theodebert I, king of Austrasia (approximate date, could also have been 495)
• Theodora, empress of Byzantium
• Tribonian, jurist in the Roman Empire (approximate date)
• Bhavaviveka, Indian Madhyamaka Scholar
• Xie He, Chinese artist (d. c. 535) (approximate date)

Deaths[link]

• Zu Chongzhi, Chinese mathematician

References[link]

A mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet (1,760 yards, or about 1,609 metres). The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile (1,852 metres, about 6,076.1 feet).^[1] There have also been many historical miles and similar units in other systems that may be translated into English as miles; they have varied in length from 1 to 15 kilometres.

The exact length of the land mile varied slightly among English-speaking countries until an international agreement in 1959 established the yard as exactly 0.9144 metres, giving a mile of exactly 1,609.344 metres. The United States adopted this international mile for most purposes, but retained the pre-1959 mile for some land-survey data, terming it the US survey mile. In the US, statute mile formally refers to the survey mile, about 3.219 mm (⅛ inch) longer than the international mile (the international mile is exactly 0.0002% less than the US survey mile).

Use of the mile as a unit of measurement is now largely confined to the United Kingdom^[2], the United States^[3], and Canada.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Etymology[link]

The word mile originally derives from the Old English word mīl which in turn was ultimately derived from the Latin word millia meaning "thousand".^[10] The English mile is derived from the Latin mille passuum (one thousand paces) but in other countries the word "mile" (meile in German, mijl in Dutch) was derived from the Latin miliarium spatium (one thousand "intervals").^[11]

Various historic miles/leagues from a German textbook dated 1848 (given in feet, metres and fractions of a meridian

Roman mile[link]

The Romans were first to use the unit of long distance mille passuum (literally "a thousand paces" in Latin, where each pace was two steps). It denoted a distance of 1,000 paces or 5,000 Roman feet, and is estimated to be about 1,479 metres (1,617 yards). This unit, now known as the Roman mile,^[12] spread throughout the Roman Empire, often with modifications to fit local systems of measurements.

Historical miles in the Arabic world and Europe[link]

• The Arab mile (or Arabic mile) was a unit of length used by medieval Muslim geographers. Its precise length is uncertain, but is believed to be around 1925 metres.^{[citation needed]}
• The Danish mil (traditional) was 24,000 Danish feet or 7532.5 metres. Sometimes it was interpreted as exactly 7.5 kilometres. It is the same as the north German Meile (below).^[13]
• The Meile was a traditional unit in German-speaking countries. It was 24,000 German feet; the SI equivalent was 7586 metres in Austria or 7532.5 metres in northern Germany. There was a version known as the geographische Meile, which was 4 Admiralty nautical miles, 7,412.7 metres, or 1/15 of a degree of latitude.^[14]
• The Hungarian mile (magyar) mérföld was the traditional unit in Hungary, equal to 8353,6 m (old times sometimes varied between 8937,4 m and 8379,0 m)
• In Norway and Sweden, a mil is a unit of length equal to 10 kilometres and commonly used in everyday language. However in more formal situations, such as on road signs and when there is risk of confusion with English miles, kilometres are used instead. The traditional Swedish mil spanned the range from 6000-14,485 metres, depending on province. It was however standardized in 1649 to 36,000 Swedish feet, or 10.687 km.^[13] The Norwegian mil was 11.298 kilometres. When the metric system was introduced in the Norwegian-Swedish union in 1889, it standardized the mil to exactly 10 kilometres.^[13] Mil is still commonly used when measuring fuel consumption in vehicles; e.g., 0.5 litre per mil.
• The Portuguese milha was a unit of length used in Portugal and Brazil, before the adoption of the metric system. It was equal to 2087.3 metres.^[15]
• The Russian milya (русская миля) was a traditional Russian unit of distance, equal to 7 verst, or 7.468 km.
• The hrvatska milja (Croatian mile) is 11,130 metres = 11.13 km: the length of an arc of the equator subtended by 1/10 of a degree,^[16] first used by Jesuit Stjepan Glavač on a map from 1673.
• The banska milja (also called hrvatska milja) (mile of Croatian Ban, Croatian mile) was 7586 metres = 7.586 kilometres, or 24,000 feet (the same as the Austrian mile).^[17]

Historical miles in Britain and Ireland[link]

The statute mile (1593) of Elizabeth I was not the only definition of the mile in Britain and Ireland. Perhaps the earliest tables of English linear measures, Arnold's Customs of London (c. 1500) indicates a mile consisted of 8 furlongs, each of 625 feet, for a total of 5000 feet (1666⅔ yards, 0.947 statute miles, 1524 metres):^[18] this is the same definition of the mile in terms of feet as used by the Romans. The "old English" mile of medieval and early modern times appears to have measured about 1.3 statute miles (1.9 km).^[19] The 17th century cartographer, Robert Morden, had multiple scales on his maps—for example, his map of Hampshire showed two different miles that had a ratio of 1 : 1.23^[20] and his map of Dorset had three scales with a ratio of 1 : 1.23 : 1.41.^[21] In both cases, the smallest mile appears to be the statute mile.

Scots mile[link]

The Royal Mile in Edinburgh is roughly a Scots mile long.

The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, i.e., from the Castle down to Holyrood Abbey, is approximately the same length as the Scots mile.^[22] English miles were imposed in 1824 by an Act of Parliament.

Equivalent to:

• Scottish measures: 320 falls; or 8 Scots furlongs
• Metric system: 1807 metres
• Imperial system: 1,976 yards (about 1.12 miles)

Robert Burns spoke of Scots miles in the first verse of Tam O' Shanter

"While we sit bousing at the nappy,

An' getting fou and unco happy,

We think na on the lang Scots miles,

The mosses, waters, slaps and stiles,

That lie between us and our hame,

Where sits our sulky, sullen dame,

Gathering her brows like gathering storm,

Nursing her wrath to keep it warm."

The Scots mile was longer than the English mile, but varied in length from place to place.^[23] It was formally abolished by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland in 1685,^[24] and again by the Treaty of Union with England in 1707,^[25] but continued in use as a customary unit during the 18th century. It was obsolete by the time of its final abolition by the Weights and Measures Act 1824.^[23] An estimate of its length can be made from other Scots units: in Scots, the rod was usually called the fall or faw, and was equal to six ells of 37 inches.^[26] As there are 320 rods in a mile and 1.0016 Imperial inches in a Scots inch, this would make the Scots mile equal to 5,920 Scots feet (1,976.5 imperial yards, 1.12 statute miles). Other estimates are similar.^{[18] [27]}

Irish mile[link]

The Irish mile was longer still.^[19] In Elizabethan times, four Irish miles was often equated to five English, though whether the statute mile or the "old English" mile is unclear.^[19] By the seventeenth century, it was 2,240 yards (6,720 feet, 1.27 statute miles, 2,048 metres).^[10][28][29] Again, the difference arose from a different length of the rod in Ireland (usually called the perch locally): 21 feet as opposed to 16½ feet in England.^[28][30]

From 1774, through the 1801 union with Britain, until the 1820s, the grand juries of 25 Irish counties commissioned surveyed maps at scales of one or two inches per Irish mile.^[31][32] Scottish engineer William Bald's County Mayo maps of 1809–30 were drawn in English miles and rescaled to Irish miles for printing.^[33] The Howth–Dublin Post Office extension of the London–Holyhead turnpike engineered by Thomas Telford had mileposts in English miles.^[34] Although legally abolished by the Weights and Measures Act 1824, the Irish mile was used till 1856 by the Irish Post Office.^[35] The Ordnance Survey of Ireland, from its establishment in 1824, used English miles.^[36]

In 1894, Alfred Austin complained after visiting Ireland that "the Irish mile is a fine source of confusion when distances are computed. In one county a mile means a statute mile, in another it means an Irish mile".^[37] When the Oxford English Dictionary definition of "mile" was published in 1906,^[38] it described the Irish mile as "still in rustic use".^[10] A 1902 guide says regarding milestones, "Counties Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Antrim, Down, and Armagh use English, but Donegal Irish Miles; the other counties either have both, or only one or two roads have Irish".^[39] Variation in signage persisted till the publication of standardised road traffic regulations by the Irish Free State in 1926.^[40] In 1937, a man prosecuted for driving outside the 15-mile limit of his licence offered the unsuccessful defence that, since the state was independent, the limit ought to use Irish miles, "just as no one would ever think of selling land other than as Irish acres".^[41] A 1965 proposal by two TDs to replace statute miles with Irish miles in a clause of the Road Transport Act was rejected.^[42] The term is now obsolete as a specific measure,^[43] though an "Irish mile" colloquially is a long but vague distance akin to a "country mile".^[44]

Statute mile[link]

The statute mile was so-named because it was defined by an English Act of Parliament in 1593, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The statute states: "A Mile ſhall contain eight Furlongs, every Furlong forty Poles, and every Pole ſixteen Foot and a half." (35 Eliz. cap. 6.)^[45] It was thus 1760 yards (5280 feet, about 1609 metres).^[18] For surveying, the statute mile is divided into eight furlongs; each furlong into ten chains; each chain into four rods (also known as poles or perches); and each rod into 25 links. This makes the rod equal to 5½ yards or 16½ feet in both Imperial and US usage.

The exact conversion of the mile to SI units depends on which definition of the yard is used. Different English-speaking countries maintained independent physical standards for the yard that were found to differ by small, but measurable, amounts and even to slowly shorten in length.^[46] The US redefined the US yard in 1893, but this resulted in US and Imperial measures of distance having very slightly different lengths. The difference was resolved in 1959 with the definition of the international yard in terms of the metre by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK and the US.^[47] The "international mile" of 1760 international yards is exactly 1609.344 metres.^[48]

The difference from the previous standards was 2 ppm, or about 3.2 millimetres (⅛ inch) per mile. The US standard was slightly longer and the old Imperial standards had been slightly shorter than the international mile. When the international mile was introduced in English-speaking countries, the basic geodetic datum in North America was the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27). This had been constructed by triangulation based on the definition of the foot in the Mendenhall Order of 1893, with 1 foot = ¹²⁰⁰⁄₃₉₃₇ metres and the definition was retained for data derived from NAD27, but renamed the US survey foot to distinguish it from the international foot.^[49]

The US survey mile is 5280 survey feet, or about 1609.347 218 694 metres.^[50] In the US, statute mile formally refers to the survey mile,^[51] but for most purposes, the difference between the survey mile and the international mile is insignificant—one international mile is exactly 0.999 998 of a US survey mile—so statute mile can be used for either. But in some cases, such as in the US State Plane Coordinate Systems (SPCSs), which can stretch over hundreds of miles,^[52] the accumulated difference can be significant, so it is important to note that the reference is to the US survey mile.

The North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83), which replaced the NAD27, is defined in metres. State Plane Coordinate Systems were then updated, but the National Geodetic Survey left individual states to decide which (if any) definition of the foot they would use. All State Plane Coordinate Systems are defined in metres, and 42 of the 50 states only use the metre-based State Plane Coordinate Systems. However, eight states also have State Plane Coordinate Systems defined in feet, seven of them in US Survey feet and one in international feet.^[52] State legislation in the US is important for determining which conversion factor from the metric datum is to be used for land surveying and real estate transactions, even though the difference (2 ppm) is hardly significant, given the precision of normal surveying measurements over short distances (usually much less than a mile). Twenty-four states have legislated that surveying measures be based on the US survey foot, eight have legislated that they be based on the international foot, and eighteen have not specified which conversion factor to use.^[52]

The old Imperial value of the yard was used in converting measurements to metric values in India in a 1976 Act of the Indian Parliament.^[53] However, The current National Topographic Database of the Survey of India is based on the metric WGS-84 datum,^[54] which is also used by the Global Positioning System.

Metric mile[link]

The term metric mile is used in sports such as track and field athletics and speed skating to denote a distance of 1500 metres (about 4921 ft). In United States high school competition, the term is sometimes used for a race of 1,600 metres (about 5249 ft).^[55]

Nautical mile[link]

On the utility of the nautical mile
Each circle shown is a great circle– the analog of a line in spherical trigonometry– and hence the shortest path connecting two points on the globular surface. Meridians are great circles that pass through the poles.

The nautical mile was originally defined as one minute of arc along a meridian of the Earth.^[56] Navigators use dividers to step off the distance between two points on the navigational chart, then place the open dividers against the minutes-of-latitude scale at the edge of the chart, and read off the distance in nautical miles.^[57] The Earth is not perfectly spherical but an oblate spheroid, so the length of a minute of latitude increases by 1% from the equator to the poles. Using the WGS84 ellipsoid, the commonly accepted Earth model for many purposes today, one minute of latitude at the WGS84 equator is 6,046 feet and at the poles is 6,107.5 feet. The average is about 6,076 feet (about 1,852 metres or 1.15 statute miles).

In the United States the nautical mile was defined in the 19th century as 6,080.2 feet (1,853.249 m), whereas in the United Kingdom, the Admiralty nautical mile was defined as 6,080 feet (1,853.184 m) and was about one minute of latitude in the latitudes of the south of the UK. Other nations had different definitions of the nautical mile, but it is now internationally defined to be exactly 1,852 metres.^[58]

Related nautical units[link]

The nautical mile per hour is known as the knot. Nautical miles and knots are almost universally used for aeronautical and maritime navigation, because of their relationship with degrees and minutes of latitude and the convenience of using the latitude scale on a map for distance measuring.

The data mile is used in radar-related subjects and is equal to 6,000 feet (1.8288 kilometres).^[59] The radar mile is a unit of time (in the same way that the light year is a unit of distance), equal to the time required for a radar pulse to travel a distance of two miles (one mile each way). Thus, the radar statute mile is 10.8 μs and the radar nautical mile is 12.4 μs.^[60]

Abbreviation and symbol[link]

There have been several abbreviations for mile (with and without trailing period): mi, ml, m, M. In the United States, the National Institute of Standards and Technology now uses and recommends mi,^[61] which avoids confusion with metres, millilitres, etc., but in everyday usage (at least in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada), units such as miles per hour and miles per gallon are almost always abbreviated as mph or mpg (rather than mi/h or mi/gal).

Grid system[link]

Cities in the continental United States often have streets laid out by miles. Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Miami, are several examples. Typically the largest streets are about a mile apart, with others at half-mile and quarter-mile intervals.^{[citation needed]} In the Manhattan borough of New York City "streets" are close to 20 per mile, while the major numbered "avenues" are about six per mile. (Centerline to centerline, 42nd St to 22nd St is supposed to be 5250 feet while 42nd to 62nd is supposed to be 5276 ft 8 in.)^{[citation needed]}

Idioms[link]

Even in English-speaking countries that have moved from the Imperial to the metric system (for example, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand), the mile is still used in a variety of idioms. These include:

• A country mile is used colloquially to denote a very long distance.
• "A miss is as good as a mile" (failure by a narrow margin is no better than any other failure)
• "Give him an inch and he'll take a mile" - a corruption of "Give him an inch and he'll take an ell" ^[62][63] (the person in question will become greedy if shown generosity)
• "Missed by a mile" (missed by a wide margin)
• "Talk a mile a minute" (speak at a rapid rate)
• "To go the extra mile" (to put in extra effort)
• "Miles away" (lost in thought, or daydreaming)
• "Milestone" (an event indicating significant progress)

See also[link]

Science portal

The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers on stage April 2010.
Background information
Born	(1962-03-05) 5 March 1962 (age 50) (both) Leith, Scotland
Origin	Auchtermuchty, Fife, Scotland
Genres	Folk rock, New Wave, power pop
Instruments	Vocals, acoustic guitar, tambourine
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Chrysalis
Website	Proclaimers.co.uk
Members
Charlie Reid Craig Reid

The Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid. They are probably best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way" and "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)". The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents. They have released nine studio albums from 1987 until the present, as well as two compilation albums and a DVD.

In 2011, the band scored history in Scotland when two of their tracks, "Sunshine on Leith" and "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" were featured on Scotland's Greatest Album (2011).

History[link]

Career[link]

The band playing live in 2008

Craig Reid and Charlie Reid were born in Leith in 1962, and grew up in Edinburgh, Cornwall and Auchtermuchty. When they stayed in Auchtermuchty they attended Bell Baxter High School. After several punk rock bands at school they formed The Proclaimers in 1983.

The pair came to public attention when an Inverness based fan sent their demo to the British band The Housemartins, who were impressed enough to invite The Proclaimers on their 1986 UK tour. The exposure of the tour won them a January 1987 appearance on the British pop music television programme The Tube on Channel Four;^[1] "Letter from America" peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart,^[2] whilst the album This is the Story went gold. The follow-up album Sunshine on Leith featured "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" and "I'm On My Way".^[2] They had a hit with their EP King of the Road, which reached number 9 in UK in 1990.

In March 2007 they recorded a new version of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" with television comedy characters Andy Pipkin (played by Matt Lucas) and Brian Potter (Peter Kay) for the Comic Relief charity. A long list of celebrities were featured in the music video for this new version, including David Bellamy, Rod, Jane and Freddy, Paul O'Grady, David Tennant, Frank Sidebottom and many more. This new version of the song reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.^[2]

The band was one of The B-52s' touring partners on their Funplex tour in Australia and New Zealand in November 2009, alongside Mental as Anything.

In addition, they featured in VH1's 100 greatest one hit wonders ("I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" having been their only US hit single).^[3]

Influence[link]

The brothers are fans of Hibernian Football Club, and "Sunshine on Leith" has become a club anthem, being played at home matches for important fixtures, such as the Edinburgh derby versus Heart of Midlothian FC, the club's city rivals. Charlie and Craig Reid appeared at their Easter Road stadium for the 'Hands Off Hibs' campaign in 1990 when Wallace Mercer, a wealthly Edinburgh businessman with direct connections to Hearts FC, attempted a takeover of the club but was defeated by fan pressure.

They are also well-known supporters of Scottish independence and have at various stages of their lives been activists for the Scottish National Party, expressing such views during their promotional tour of Britain in March 2007.^[4] However in April 2007 Charlie Reid announced that he had switched his allegiance to the Scottish Socialist Party in protest at the Scottish National Party's receipt of funding from big business.^[5] Many of their songs reflect their political views, such as "Letter from America" and "Cap in Hand".

On 16 May 2006 the twins announced their participation in a campaign to free a fellow Scot, Kenny Richey, from his death row sentence in Ohio, including an appearance at a charity concert.^[6] Also, in 2010 they participated with Billy Bragg in a show supporting Reprieve, charity that fights the death penalty. The Proclaimers also support other charities such as The Lighthouse Foundation (addiction victims), AICR (cancer research), Drake Music Scotland (help disabled people through music) or 500 miles (amputees or disabled people in Africa).

Discography[link]

EPs[link]

1. King of the Road (1990)
2. 17 (Acoustic EP) (2009)

Studio albums[link]

Compilation and Remastered albums[link]

Soundtracks[link]

1. The Crossing (1990) (song, "King of the Road")
2. Benny and Joon (1993) (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
3. Dumb and Dumber (1994) (song, "Get Ready")
4. Bye Bye Love (1995) (song, "Bye Bye Love")
5. Bottle Rocket (1996) (song, "Over And Done With")
6. Slab Boys (1997) (songs, "Maybe Baby" and "No Particular Place to Go")
7. Shrek (2001) (song, "I'm on My Way")
8. How I Met Your Mother (2007, 2009 – episodes Arrivederci, Fiero; Duel Citizenship) (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")
9. Mama's Boy (2008) (song, "Then I Met You")
10. Burke and Hare (2010) (song, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)")

DVD[link]

1. The Best of the Proclaimers 1987–2002
   (2002)
   

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official UK website
• Official North American website
• Comprehensive Discography
• The Proclaimers Exclusive Interview
• The Proclaimers on Twitter
• The Proclaimers on Facebook
• The Proclaimers on MySpace

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (August 2011)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2010)

Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer from Lancashire. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing (2000), Phoenix Nights (2001), Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere (2004), Britain's Got the Pop Factor... (2008) and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours. Kay has sold over 10 million DVDs, a UK record for a comedian.

Early career[link]

Peter Kay was born in Farnworth, near Bolton, Greater Manchester, to an English father, Michael John Kay (1939–1999), and an Irish mother, Margaret Deirdre O'Neill, who hails from County Tyrone.^[3] He attended Mount St Joseph High School, leaving with one GCSE in Art. He took several menial jobs, including working in a toilet roll factory, a Netto supermarket, a cash and carry, and a bingo hall, which later inspired episodes or sequences in That Peter Kay Thing. He began a degree course at Liverpool Hope University but was unable to cope with the written work and dropped out. He then attended the University of Salford where he studied for a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Media Performance, which he completed, this involved a stand-up course at which he excelled. His first stand-up was a competition in Manchester hosted by later co-star and co-writer of Phoenix Nights, Dave Spikey. Kay was last on the bill and won the competition, beating fellow stand-up comedian Johnny Vegas. His earliest appearance was an interview with Granada Television in which he listed the contents of his room, as well as detailing his experience meeting Jimmy Savile. This would later be used in That Peter Kay Thing in the role of Leonard de Tomkinson. Kay's experience working at the Manchester Evening News Arena inspired him to wear the official yellow jacket of the MEN Arena for the final performance of his Mum Wants a Bungalow tour Kay has said that he sought a career in comedy. During his time working as a cinema usher, he experimented with stand-up, participating in several local events as well as others at the Comedy Store in Manchester. After losing his job at the cinema, Kay was presented with the choice between finding another menial job or moving into comedy.

After he entered and won Channel 4's So You Think You're Funny contest in 1997, his first semi-professional stand-up appearances were at the 1998 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where he received a prestigious Perrier Award nomination. During this time, he also appeared at various other clubs such as London's influential Comedy Store and the Barracuda Club in Lincoln. Although this led to a certain level of public recognition, it was only after his heavily-promoted show Live at the Top of the Tower in 2000 that Kay attained mainstream recognition. During this period, he appeared on several chat shows, such as Parkinson and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, where he had previously been a warm up man. Production also began on Phoenix Nights, which was to see him achieve critical acclaim as well as mainstream success. Subsequent advertisements, for John Smith's Bitter, which imitate the realistic style of Phoenix Nights, saw Kay develop his catchphrases "'ave it!" and "two lamb bhunas".

1997–2000: Early career and productions[link]

Kay's first TV project was in an episode of New Voices, a comedy series which showcased up and coming talent. His episode, "Two Minutes", written by Johanne McAndrew, saw him play a getaway driver as two of his mates attempted to rob a pub of its takings. This was broadcast in 1997. After appearing on BBC2's The Sunday Show presenting his own slot entitled "Peter Kay's World of Entertainment", Kay made an episode of Channel 4's The Comedy Lab, "The Services", in 1998. This served as a pilot for the later That Peter Kay Thing. His idea for this series was to create a testbed for ideas and concepts that he could later use within other series. The idea of having several characters all played by himself was something with which Kay experimented.

After a favourable reception to the pilot, That Peter Kay Thing was devised. It was based solely on the experiences of Kay's earlier life working in several menial jobs. The range of characters included Brian Potter, who would go on to become the primary character in Phoenix Nights, and who Kay said was a combination of all his bosses' personalities along with the voice of a man he knows. The eccentric Leonard de Tomkinson is reputedly based on a real man named Leonard who used to visit Peter during his working time at the local Majestic Garage. Following the series' success, Kay and his co-writers, Neil Fitzmaurice and Dave Spikey, used the episode "In The Club" as the basis for Phoenix Nights.

Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights was his notable TV programme, written by him, Dave Spikey and Neil Fitzmaurice and set in a newly refurbished social club run by wheelchair-bound Brian Potter. The club was based on an episode of That Peter Kay Thing entitled "In The Club". The cast of Phoenix Nights was made up almost entirely of stand-up comics whom the writers had met on 'the circuit'. The show was an immediate hit. It followed the story of the club and the various events that happened there. Expertly written, much of the humour was somewhat implicit – relying on subtle background clues and hints or paradoxes. The first series was partly filmed at St Gregory's Social Club in Farnworth,^[4] Lancashire, where the exterior, hallways and function suite were all used. Other sets, such as the Jocky Wilson suite, were built at Granada Studios. For the second series, all filming took place at St Gregory's.

Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere was a spin-off of Phoenix Nights. Featuring the bouncer characters from the show played by Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness and even featured at times characters from Phoenix Nights. Notably this did not include the characters portrayed by his former co-writers Neil Fitzmaurice or Dave Spikey, the latter's character instead being represented by a body double in brief scenes.

Made for Channel 4 to be shown on a Friday, 6 episodes were made and broadcast from November to December 2004. The DVD of the series was released in October 2005, but unlike previous DVDs does not feature commentary from either Kay or McGuinness, instead opting for "surprise" commentators. In December 2005, a spoof workout DVD was also released, starring McGuinness and Kay, entitled Max and Paddy's: The Power Of Two. All the music was once again written (or co-written with Peter Kay) by Toni Baker who did all the music for Phoenix Nights and Max & Paddy's Road to Nowhere.

On 17 April 2006, Channel 4 broadcast a "Peter Kay Night", showing out-takes from Phoenix Nights (previously featured on DVD), a behind-the-scenes documentary of the Mum Wants a Bungalow tour and also the whole Peter Kay Live in Manchester show. During this evening, Kay was seen in character as Max (from Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere & Phoenix Nights) discussing the tribute with Paddy (Patrick McGuinness). Max stated that he disliked Peter Kay and thought that Channel 4 was going downhill for dedicating an entire night to him. Paddy wondered why ITV have not snapped up Kay. Max is shown to be ignorant of current events, failing to realise that civil partnerships are now legal and that Elton John has made use of it, to controversial news stories involving Michael Barrymore, Gary Glitter, Diana, Princess of Wales and Michael Jackson. Channel 4 repeated the "Peter Kay Night" on 25 March 2007 and again on 12 October 2008 which included Peter's new show Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice.

Since 2002, Kay has featured in television advertisements for John Smith's beer (despite being teetotal),^[2] through which the catchphrase—"'Ave it!"—gained popularity for an unceremonious hoof upfield in a football-themed advert.

He later claimed in his autobiography that he never meant to use "ave-it", he just said it after kicking the ball successfully.

He also voiced the "Tizer Head" in 2001 advertisements for Tizer, which were used to sponsor CD:UK.

Kay appeared in the Marks and Spencer Christmas advert for 2010 which began airing late October 2010.

2000–2011: Stage shows[link]

Kay has released several DVDs of live performances, including Live at the Top of the Tower, Live at the Bolton Albert Halls, Peter Kay: The Live Collections (the previous two combined) and Peter Kay: Live At Manchester Arena.

Kay appeared on stage at the Queen + Paul Rodgers concert at Manchester's MEN Arena (with Patrick McGuinness) and in Hyde Park in 2005 both as himself and in the persona of Brian Potter.

Kay also appeared at the BBC's televised charity event Comic Relief in 2003 and 2005, sharing the stage with Alan Partridge (actor Steve Coogan) in 2003. As part of the 2005 event, on 14 March Kay promoted a re-release of Tony Christie's 1971 hit "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo?". The song had earlier featured in Phoenix Nights, and Kay performed in the accompanying music video. On Sunday 20 March 2005, the single reached number one in the UK Singles Charts, and stayed there for seven consecutive weeks. In 2007 he released "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", originally by The Proclaimers, with Matt Lucas for Comic Relief.^[5]

Kay introduced British band James at V2007 and again the next year in Liverpool on their 2008 spring tour. He performed a short set and even wrote a request on the setlist, which the band performed as an encore. A recording of this is available on the limited edition Live in 2008 CD sold on the subsequent tour (listed as "a couple of extra bits").^[6]

In November 2009, Kay announced that he will play four (later extended to 20) dates in Manchester in April and May 2010 with a tour entitled "The Tour that Doesn't Tour Tour.” The reason given for restricting the tour to Manchester only was so that Peter could remain close to his family. On 27 November 2009 during an interview on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Kay announced that, due to the demand and extra dates, the tour will most likely tour, jokingly renaming it The Tour That Doesn't Tour Tour...Now On Tour. Venues for tour include London's O2 Arena, Birmingham's National Indoor Arena and LG Arena, Cardiff International Arena, Sheffield Arena, SECC, Belfast Odyssey, Dublin The O2, Liverpool Arena, Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, which will take place in November 2010 and April 2011 and then end again at Manchester and entitled 'The Tour That Doesn't Tour...Now On Tour...The Farewell Tour'. In October 2010 Kay announced 6 further dates for 2011, due to phenomenal demand.

From February 2007, Kay played flamboyant gay director Roger DeBris in the Mel Brooks musical, The Producers for the Manchester leg of the UK Tour, at the Manchester Palace Theatre until 12 May 2007. He reprised his role later in the year at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow.

He also appeared in the Royal Variety Performance 2008, which was staged at the London Palladium on Thursday 11 December.^[7] He hosted 2009's Royal Variety Performance at the Blackpool Opera House.

1998–2005: Film career[link]

Kay's film appearances have included minor roles in, Going Off Big Time (1999) with Neil Fitzmaurice, 24 Hour Party People (2002), Roddy Smythe Investigates (2003) and The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005). He also provided a voice to the character PC McIntosh for the film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005).

Guest appearances[link]

In 2000, Kay guest appeared in one episode of the popular police drama Heartbeat playing a thief. He also sang at the end of the episode. In addition, he appeared in the first episode of the 2002 series of the BBC's comedy-drama Linda Green, playing a pizza delivery man who ended up being something of a soulmate to the eponymous heroine.

He has had two cameo roles in Coronation Street. The first, in the late 1990s, was a brief appearance as a shopfitter, but in January 2004 he co-wrote his own scenes, appearing alongside real-life good friend, Sally Lindsay, who played Shelley Unwin.

On 17 June 2006, Kay appeared in a Doctor Who episode titled "Love & Monsters". His character, the sinister Victor Kennedy, proved to be an alien called the Abzorbaloff in disguise.^[8] Although the episode itself was quite comedic, Kay's role was more serious than those he normally plays.

Kay has also appeared twice alongside British band Take That, in An Audience with Take That and as Geraldine McQueen in Take That Come To Town. He also co-wrote The Winner's Song and Once Upon A Christmas Song with Take That member, Gary Barlow.

Chat shows[link]

Kay has appeared on numerous chat shows, including Parkinson, The Paul O'Grady Show, The Jonathan Ross Show and The Late Late Show in Ireland. When he appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show (ITV1) at Christmas 2005, he came on in a Christmas tree costume. For his second appearance with Paul on The New Paul O'Grady Show (Channel 4) he was dressed as a Catholic Nun wearing a large mask of himself, mimicking the front cover of his new book, The Sound of Laughter. At Christmas 2006 he made a third appearance, this time dressed up as a snowman. On his fourth appearance, on 5 June 2007, he came onto the set dressed as a chicken. He also co-hosted Top of the Pops in character as Brian Potter alongside Fearne Cotton in January 2006.

In September 2006 he co-presented the Edith Bowman afternoon show on BBC Radio 1 where he revealed that he had written a third series of Phoenix Nights. In addition two specials of Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere have been penned.

On 15 March 2007, he was the first guest of the inaugural recording of Danny Baker's All Day Breakfast Show.^[9]

He appeared as a guest on the last ever Parkinson show on ITV on 16 December 2007, making a return to the programme on which he'd been a warm-up act years before. He hugged everyone on the show. He also brought with him a bag of 'goodies' including party hats and also a lollipop man's outfit as a joke for Parkinson's use during his retirement.

Another appearance on The Paul O'Grady Show, had him coming into the studio with the same exaggerated mask used on the cover of his autobiography Saturday Night Peter. The theme tune of Saturday Night Fever accompanied him, as well as the white suit also worn on the cover. He appeared on Paul O'Grady Live in 2010.

Kay has also appeared on This Morning and caused much hilarity with presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford when he appeared in 2009 and 2010, especially when Kay talked about a dog's lipstick and Embarrassing Bodies. In 2010, it ended with an encounter with Holmes and Kay when Holmes called Langsford a 'Chubby Chaser'.

When the The Jonathan Ross Show was on BBC1, Kay appeared where he announced he would remake the film series Die Hard in Manchester, renamed 'Die Well 'Ard'. When the show moved to ITV1, he appeared there and was similarly amusing when he wandered around the set, revealing that the backdrop was not actually a view of the cityscape of London and wore a mixture of moustaches in order to ruin the editing of the show.

Other projects[link]

Kay has released three autobiographies, two of them are called The Sound of Laughter and Saturday Night Peter, both books have parody titles of movies, The Sound of Music and Saturday Night Fever. He has just recently released a new book named The Book That's More Than Just a Book.

Awards[link]

In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 Funniest British Comedians. In addition, he made an appearance in a 2005 poll of comedians and critics to find The Comedians' Comedian, a search for the 50 greatest funnymen of all time. In March 2005 he also came top in a survey sponsored by the Jongleurs comedy club chain to find Britain's favourite comedian.

In 2006, a Channel 4 television show 100 Greatest Funny Moments voted him at the Number 1 spot, most notably for his stand-up act, Mum Wants a Bungalow tour at the Bolton Albert Halls, including his description of a family wedding and Bullseye.