Look up noble in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Noble may refer to:

• Nobility, a hereditary caste
• Noble gas, chemical elements in group 18 (old-style Group 0) of the periodic table
• Noble metal, metals that are resistant to corrosion or oxidation
• Noble polyhedron, polyhedra which are isohedral (face-transitive) and isogonal (vertex-transitive)
• Noble (English coin), a medieval gold coin
• Noble (Manx coin), a platinum bullion coin
• Noble and Greenough School, a private boarding and day school in Massachusetts
• Noble (album), the debut album of Versailles

Places[link]

United States

• Noble, Illinois
• Noble, Louisiana
• Noble, Missouri
• Noble, Oklahoma

People[link]

• Sir Andrew Noble, 1st Baronet (1831-1915), British physicist
• Ann C. Noble, a sensory chemist and retired professor from the University of California, Davis
• Arthur Noble (1695–1746), a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia
• Bill Noble, an Australian rugby league footballer
• Brian Noble (disambiguation)
• David Noble (disambiguation)
• Denis Noble (born 1936), British physiologist and emeritus professor at the University of Oxford
• Elmer Noble (1909–2001), a parasitologist
• Emma Noble (born 1971), an actress and model, former daughter in law of Sir John Major
• Frank Noble (born 1945), a footballer who played for Peterborough United
• Gladwyn Kingsley Noble (1894–1940), an American zoologist
• Sir Iain Noble, 3rd Baronet (born 1935), a champion of Gaelic from Skye
• James Noble (senator) (1785–1831), a 19th century U.S. senator
• James Noble (actor) (born 1922), a 20th century U.S. actor
• Jamie Noble (born 1976), a professional wrestler
• John H. Noble, an American inmate of the Soviet Gulag at Vorkuta
• Lee Noble, a British car designer and owner of Noble Automotive
• Mark J. Noble (born 1987), an English footballer
• Matthew Noble (1818–1876), a British sculptor
• Noble (musician), a guitarist of indie/rock band British Sea Power
• Ray Noble (1903-1978), a British bandleader, composer and actor
• Ray Noble (baseball) (1919-1998), a Cuban baseball player
• Reg Noble (1895–1962), a former NHL Hockey player
• Richard Noble (born 1946), a former land speed record holder
• Ross M. Noble (born 1976), a British stand-up comedian, born in Cramlington, England
• Sierra Noble (born 1990) a Canadian musician
• T. Tertius Noble (1867–1953), a British organist and composer
• Trisha Noble (born 1944), an Australian singer and actress
• Warren Noble (inventor), inventor of electric stove
• William Noble (disambiguation)
• Young Noble (born 1978), an American rapper
• Miguel de la Espriella (born 1947), a Colombian artist who goes by the name of "Noble"

Fictional characters[link]

• Donna Noble, a companion in the sci-fi series Doctor Who and her parents — Geoff and Sylvia Noble
• The Noble Family, a fictional family of comic book superheroes, appearing in their series, Noble Causes
• Noble, the humanoid werewolf form of Savage/Noble, the only fully organic Transformer, from the Beast Machines series
• NOBLE team, a UNSC special warfare unit composed of Spartans, biochemically augmented supersoldiers that appear in Halo: Reach

Businesses and organizations[link]

• Noble Automotive, a British automobile manufacturer
• Noble Corporation, a Cayman Islands company providing offshore drilling rigs and platforms
• Noble Energy, an American company engaged in the exploration for and production of petroleum and natural gas
• Noble Group, Hong Kong-based trading firm
• Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, natural history museum in Norman, Oklahoma

Acronyms[link]

• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
• North of Boston Library Exchange, a cooperative effort of 28 libraries

See also[link]

• Nobel (disambiguation)
• Integrity
• Chivalry
• Courage
• Self-sacrifice

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Method Man
December 21, 2010
Background information
Birth name	Clifford Smith
Also known as	Meth, Tical, Johnny Blaze, Methtical, Shakwon, Iron Lung, Hot Nikkels, MZA, John J
Born	(1971-04-01) April 1, 1971 (age 41)[1][2] Staten Island, New York City, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, actor
Years active	1990–present (rapping) 1995–present (acting)
Labels	Def Jam
Associated acts	Wu-Tang Clan, Redman, Erick Sermon, LL Cool J, The Notorious B.I.G., DMX, Xzibit, Shyheim
Website	method-man.com

Clifford Smith (born April 1, 1971),^[3] better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man & Redman. He won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" with Mary J. Blige. In 2007, the writers of About.com placed him on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007).^[4]

Method Man appeared in the motion pictures Belly, How High, Garden State as well as a minor role in The Wackness. More recently, he appeared as a crewman in George Lucas' film Red Tails. On television, he and hip-hop collaborator Redman co-starred on the short-lived Fox sitcom Method & Red, and he had a recurring role on HBO's Oz as Tug Daniels and as Calvin "Cheese" Wagstaff on the acclaimed HBO drama series The Wire.

Early life[link]

Born in Staten Island, New York, on April 1 , 1971, Clifford Smith divided his childhood between his father's Long Island residence and his mother's home in the Park Hill section of Staten Island aka Killa Hill.^[5] He has two sisters, Terri and Missy.^[5]

Rapping career[link]

[edit] 1992–96: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and Tical

As Wu-Tang Clan ascended to hip hop stardom, Method Man was always one of the most visible members of the collective. He was one of only two members to get a solo song on the group's debut album Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers and he was the first to release a solo album under the Clan's unusual contract which allowed its members to release albums under any record label (Method chose to sign with rap label Def Jam). Method Man's solo debut, Tical (1994) was critically acclaimed and well received, entering the American charts at #4 and eventually selling in excess of one million copies. That album featured the hit single "All I Need" which was later remixed featuring Mary J Blige, which won a Grammy "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need,"). during this time Method Man also became close friends with The Notorious B.I.G., and was the only guest rapper featured on his debut album Ready to Die. He was also featured on Spice 1's album "AmeriKKKa's Nightmare" on the track "Hard 2 Kill". In 1995, he was also featured on "Got the Flava" off Showbiz and A.G.'s album Goodfellas. In 1996, Method Man appeared on Tupac Shakur's album All Eyez on Me, on the song "Got My Mind Made Up" alongside his rhyme partner Redman, The Dogg Pound (Daz and Kurupt) and Inspectah Deck (Rebel INS), whose verse did not make the released album version (although his nickname "Rebel INS" can be heard as the song fades).

[edit] 1997–98: Wu-Tang Forever and Tical 2000: Judgement Day

On June 3, 1997 the Wu-Tang Clan released their Grammy-nominated multiplatinum double CD Wu-Tang Forever, the long-awaited follow up to 36 Chambers. The album has sold over 8.3 million copies to date worldwide.

His second solo album was Tical 2000: Judgement Day, released in 1998, which was heavily influenced by the apocalypse theories surrounding the forthcoming end of the millennium, and which featured myriad guest appearances from his fellow Wu-Tang MCs, proving for the world that Method Man is in fact America's most blunted(with the help of Red Man). The album was certified double platinum. Other guest appearances include Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, D'Angelo, Chris Rock, Mobb Deep, Redman, and brief cameos from Russell Simmons, Bishop Don "Magic" Juan, Janet Jackson, and Donald Trump. The album sold better than his first fueled by the party track "Judgment Day" and the D'Angelo collaboration "Break Ups 2 Make Ups", earning Platinum and Gold certifications in the U.S. and Canada respectively. Reviews for the album were mixed and its long runtime and abundance of intermittent comedy skits were widely criticized. Producers on this album included True Master, 4th Disciple and the RZA.

[edit] 1999–2000: Blackout! (with Redman)

Method Man was part of the very successful Hard Knock Life Tour with Jay-Z, Redman, Ja Rule, and DMX. During this tour, Method Man & Redman recorded Blackout!, a light-hearted, bass-heavy, profanity-laced, party record with an EPMD-evoking emphasis on funky beats and the mischievous wit and cool flows and good rhythm of the two MCs. The album reached platinum status quickly, both in the U.S. and Canada, fueled by "Da Rockwilder", "Cereal Killa", "1, 2, 1, 2", "Tear It Off" and "Y.O.U.". This album also featured three previously released tracks on which the two collaborated.

Their success would lead the duo on to star in movies and TV shows, become product spokespersons and household names, but also associated them with marijuana use in the media. The most immediate results of their success was their co-starring roles in the major motion picture film How High, their endorsement deal for Right Guard, Redman's starring role in Seed of Chucky and a short-lived sitcom on Fox Television entitled Method & Red.

[edit] 2000–04: The W, Iron Flag, and Tihkal 0: The Prequel

The Wu-Tang Clan released The W on November 21, 2000 and Iron Flag on December 18, 2001. The W received both critical and commercial success for the group, while Iron Flag did receive some but not to the effect of The W. The efforts earned two more platinum plaques for the Wu-Tang Clan.

In 2004, Meth released his third solo album Tical 0: The Prequel, which featured the hit party single "What's Happenin'" with Busta Rhymes. Hip hop critics voiced their displeasure with the album, many agreeing that Tical 0 felt like generic party rap and featured too many mainstream guests, detracting from his own performances. Regardless, this album sold reasonably well and was certified gold record by the RIAA relatively quickly, but would not see the platinum success of his previous solo releases. There was trouble even before the album's release when Method apparently complained to the press about excessive interference from Def Jam over the album's beats (Meth supposedly desired more input from Wu-Tang leader RZA). On its release, many fans and critics were taken aback by its strong "mainstream" or "commercial" sound, highlighted by the guest appearances of pop-rap stars like Missy Elliott and P. Diddy, two artists that are involved with much different facets of rap music.

P. Diddy was one of the executive producers for the album, although Meth later voiced his displeasure with the final product. "On the third LP, it was suggested (by Def Jam) to bring in Harve Pierre and P. Diddy. Who am I to argue? Puff knows how to sell some records. But that wasn't the direction to go in, and I know that."^[6]

[edit] 2006–07: 4:21... The Day After

Method Man at the 2007 Eurockéennes.

Method Man's fourth album, entitled 4:21: The Day After was released in August 2006 with a star lineup of producers featuring Havoc, Erick Sermon, Scott Storch, Allah Mathematics, Mr. Porter, and, most importantly to Meth, RZA. This time around, a more focused Method Man went back to his hip hop roots and both hip hop fans and the media took notice. He did an interview on the ItsHipHop.Tv.^[7] Despite this being one of Meth's strongest solo efforts to date, the album failed to do well commercially due to it having no single or video, which Method Man has held discontent towards his own label for. However, he has been touring strongly all over the world to promote the album, and has appeared onstage with fellow Wu-Tang member Inspectah Deck, as well as New York up and comers Saigon, and Gat Murdah. Meth contributed various reasons for the problems between him and his label, Def Jam. While he puts most of the blame on personal agendas in the Def Jam offices, Meth did take some blame, himself, for giving into his record label.

In early May 2007, Method Man's camp leaked the street single "New York New York" which became a popular track on the internet.^[8]

[edit] 2007–10: Blackout! 2

On March 27, 2007, Redman confirmed on BET's Rap City: Tha Bassment that the sequel to How High, How High 2, is currently being written.

In an April 10, 2007 Onion AV Club interview,^[9] Redman hinted that there would be a second collaborative album with Method Man, with work beginning in midsummer or early September.

In early 2008, a remake of the Smoothe da Hustler and Trigger tha Gambler classic Broken Language was released to the internet by the duo entitled Broken Language 2008, fueling rumors of a Blackout! sequel coming soon. This rumor was further fueled by the duo while performing in Gainesville, Florida at the University of Florida. A Blackout! 2 LP was scheduled for a December 9, 2008 release but was recently pushed back to the first quarter of 2009, with a new release date on May 19. Bun B has confirmed that he will guest star on Blackout! 2 – in April 2009, a single has been released named City Lights, produced by Nasty Kutt ^[10] Also producers such as Erick Sermon, Rockwilder and Pete Rock have announced their presence on the album.

The duo has finished their Still High tour with Termanalogy, the Alchemist, and Evidence of Dilated Peoples.

[edit] 2011–present: Crystal Meth

Crystal Meth is Method Man's upcoming fifth studio album.^[11][12][13] The album has no confirmed release date. The Crystal Meth was first announced before Method Man began working on his and Redman's sophomore collaboration album, Blackout! 2. In the liner notes of that album, it was given a scheduled release date for 2009. The album, however, was further postponed until it was later mentioned in an MTV interview it would be released in early 2010.^[11] no update on the album's progress or release date has been made. At a concert on the 23 of December 2010 Method Man told the crowd to look for his album in March 2011. However the album was pushed back to an unknown release date.

In a recent interview with The Come Up Show following a recent performance in Canada in April 2011, Method Man replied with this regarding his current 'weed-loving' image:"When you get older and you've got kids and your kids are going to school and you know [their] teachers...and they see how active you are and concerned [you are] with your kids' education or well being, it's hard to sit there and be taken seriously if people are always talking about he's always high...which is totally not the case," he said. "When I first came out, I was young, we were doing our thing, we smoked a lot...and we didn't care if the world knew. Now, I have to use more discretion because of my kids. This is not for me; everything I do is for them now, so I use a bit more discretion and I don't put weed as a forefront any more."

On October 5, 2011, a new single from Method Man, titled "World Gone Sour (The Lost Kids)", was released on iTunes.^[14] Recently, he confirmed that the album will come out next year and will have the usual line-up of producers including RZA, Rockwilder, Erick Sermon, 3rd Digala of Digem Tracks and some other new underground producers he's begun to work with.^[15] He also expressed a desire to work with Odd Future frontman Tyler, The Creator.^[16] It was recently announced via Facebook that Crystal Meth will be his last album & to be fully produced by RZA.

Acting career[link]

In the early 2000s Method Man began a career in acting. He has had recurring roles in critically acclaimed television shows such as HBO's Oz as Tug Daniels, HBO's The Wire in which he plays Prop Joe's nephew Cheese, The Twilight Zone and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He and Redman hosted a pilot on MTV called Stung. He has made numerous appearances as himself on TV shows such as Mind of Mencia and Chappelle's Show.

Method Man portrays Drops on CSI, a wealthy Las Vegas party promoter who clashes with the CSI team, specifically investigator Nick Stokes, in their investigations involving his clubs or entourage. His first appearance on CSI as Drops was in the 2006 episode "Poppin' Tags". He resumed the role in the 2007 episode "Big Shots" and again in the 2008 episode "Drops Out".

His first prominent role came in 1998 with the film Belly along with fellow rappers Nas and DMX. He has since added many credits to his name, including roles in the films Garden State, One Eight Seven, and many others, with starring roles in the feature films such as How High and Soul Plane. On March 27, 2007 Redman confirmed on BET's show Rap City that the sequel to How High was being written. The script for How High 2 is being written by Dustin Lee Abraham of CSI, who also wrote the first movie. In 2005 Method Man also had a cameo in the horror movie Venom, where he played a deputy who shortly into the movie is killed. He appears in the 2008 movies The Wackness and also, Meet the Spartans.

Method Man stars in the episode "Snitch" of Law & Order SVU as the main antagonist. The episode was first broadcast December 4, 2007.

Method Man has made an appearance in the Def Jam series of video games. In Fight for NY he voiced Blaze, one of the main characters. In Icon, he voiced Gooch, a major character in the storyline. In Underground, He voiced Meth, one of the major characters. He made a guest appearance in the music video for the 2003 "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, where he played the role of her boyfriend. He also appeared in Beanie Sigel's music video "Feel It in the Air", where Method Man played an undercover cop leading an operation against Sigel.

Method Man has fallen back from pursuing more acting roles after the situation with his sitcom on Fox left a bad taste in his mouth,^[17] and now mostly just acts if the project is being handled by a friend of his, as was the case with CSI and The Wire. He also played an arsonist and a wealthy executive as well as main antagonist in an episode of the fox TV show The Good Guys.

Method Man appears as a hip hop business mogul in an episode of Burn Notice.

Method man had a cameo appearance in the 1997 film Cop Land as a physically violent fleeing criminal that throws Peter Berg's character off of a New York rooftop. Method Man has also appeared in the TV drama Wonderland, as a patient in a mental hospital.

Method man plays a small role in the 2011 film "The Sitter" starring Jonah Hill. In 2012 he played crewman "Sticks" in George Lucas' movie Red Tails about the Tuskegee airmen.

Other ventures[link]

Method Man appeared in the 1995 documentary entitled The Show. There is a memorable scene in which Method Man, on a train in Japan, gets into an argument with U-God and Ghostface Killah, over camera time, radio interviews, and clothing mishaps.

In 2006, Method Man appeared on the MTV reality game show Yo Momma in the first episode of Season 1.

Method Man is the first of the Wu-Tang Clan to produce a series of eponymous graphic novels for Hachette Book Group USA's imprint Grand Central Publishing^[18] (to be followed by GZA and Ghostface Killah).^[19]

Personal life[link]

He became engaged to his wife in 1999 and they married in 2001.^[5] He has three children: two sons (born in 1996 and 2001), and one daughter (born in 1997). Method Man also has collabed with Rochester rapper "Dale Mahoney" on his project "Jordans&Drugs" in 2012.^[20]

Legal issues[link]

On Thursday May 17, 2007 Method Man was arrested in New York City on marijuana charges. His Mercedes-Benz convertible was pulled over at the Battery Tunnel en route to Manhattan, and when he rolled his window down the officer noticed a strong smell of marijuana. "It was like something out of Cheech & Chong. He rolls down the window and the smoke would choke a horse," a source later said.^[21] The arresting officer said he noticed two blunts and a plastic bag with more marijuana in plain view. Upon further inspection more marijuana was found under the driver's seat. The arrest was made at about 10 P.M. Thursday night near the Battery Tunnel toll booths on Hamilton Ave. in Carroll Gardens. He was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of marijuana, operating a motor vehicle under the influence and driving an uninspected motor vehicle. He later made many public service appearances to try to make up for it, most notably at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn.^[22]

On October 5, 2009, Method Man was arrested at his home in Staten Island for income tax violations.^[23] He was accused of failing to file income tax returns for the state of New York between 2004 and 2007 and owes nearly $33,000 in taxes. On June 28, 2010,^[24] Method Man plead guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to a conditional discharge^[25] and paid a $106,000.00 fine.^[24]

Controversies[link]

Wu-Tang management[link]

In 2003, Method Man criticized Oli "Power" Grant and Mitchell "Divine" Diggs, the managers of the Wu-Tang business.^[26] "Number 1 on my shit list right now is Divine from Wu-Tang management. He took something major from me that he had no intention of giving back."^[27] Divine is multiplatinum record producer RZA's brother who along with Oli "Power" Grant took over the business end of Wu-Tang around 1997.

Aside from the financial issues, Method Man was unhappy with the decision to bring Wu-Tang into the fashion world for a brief period of time with Wu-Wear, despite the brand being a major money-maker for the group. "When Wu-Wear started making shoes and sneakers and pants, it was shoddy material. I never rocked that shit."^[27]

Wendy Williams[link]

In 2006 Method Man had a highly personal and highly publicized conflict with TV talk show host Wendy Williams on The Breakdown, an internet show on ONLOQ.com. Williams talked on air about Method Man's wife having cancer, which was something he had wanted to keep very private and even her own family members had not yet known about. He said that people who lived next door to him didn't even know, but Williams had dug it up and made it public over the radio. Because of this leaked information, Method Man and his wife had many problems.^[28]

Williams also reported rumors that Method Man had even been having an affair with his wife's doctor. Method Man first heard of this while in recording sessions in Los Angeles.

Sean Combs[link]

During a concert in 2006, Method Man criticized Diddy's decisions on the posthumous The Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter album, saying that Biggie never would have worked with some of the subpar rappers. "They got niggas on that album Big would have never rocked with," Meth said of the album. "Musically, I ain't fuckin' with Puff Daddy".^[30] He also brought up the fact that he was the only other rapper that Biggie chose to have on his debut album Ready To Die. He was featured on the track "The What".

Previously, Diddy had been one of the executive producers for Method Man's 2004 album Tical 0: The Prequel, to which Meth later voiced his displeasure on the final product. From then on, he focused on production from within the clan and its closely tied collaborators.

Fox Television[link]

He starred in a Fox sitcom called Method & Red in late 2004, however after only a short time on the air the show was put on hiatus and never returned. Method Man later complained in the press about Fox's influence on the show's style, claiming that "there's been too much compromise on our side and not enough on their side" and bemoaning the network's decision to add a laugh track. Before the show even aired for the first time, he was telling fans not to bother watching it. He told the newspaper:

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

Method Man filmography

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Method Man

• Method Man at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website

Ross Noble
Ross Noble performing his show Noodlemeister at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Birth name	Ross Markham Noble
Born	(1976-06-05) 5 June 1976 (age 36) Newcastle upon Tyne, England[1][2][3]
Medium	Stand-up, Television
Nationality	British
Genres	Improvisational comedy, Surreal comedy, Absurdist humour
Influences	Billy Connolly
Spouse	Fran Noble (1 daughter)
Notable works and roles	Unrealtime Sonic Waffle Randomist Fizzy Logic Noodlemeister Nobleism Things
Website	Official Website

Ross Markham Noble^[4] (born 5 June 1976 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is an English stand-up comedian from Cramlington, Northumberland.

Noble rose to mainstream popularity through making appearances on British television, particularly interviews and on celebrity quiz shows such as Have I Got News for You.^[5] He has also released DVDs of several of his tours.

In 2007 he was voted the 10th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups^[6] and again in the updated 2010 list as the 11th greatest stand-up comic.

Stand-up performance[link]

Noble's stand-up routine is a largely improvised and surreal performance with a stream of consciousness delivery. Often, a large percentage of his set becomes based around heckles and conversations with members of the audience.^[5][7] Although he does often have a few set topics which he performs throughout a tour, he describes the planning for the entire show as "about four words on a piece of scrap paper".^[8]

Noble often mimes actions on-stage to help the audience visualise his surreal ideas, for example, telling the audience to never put a blanket over an owl, and exactly what an owl neck detection device is ("just a stick with a pointy bit on it") or showing the audience how to serve double header ice creams properly after considering his own made-up plot of 24 in which Jack Bauer escapes a cell using a greasy goose.^[9]

Noble has commented that his shows are similar to 24, in that he juggles many topics and unfinished stories throughout the show, due to his unpredictable performance style, interruptions from hecklers or because he has drifted off into another surreal conversation. Thus the audience pesters Noble to tell the ending of his unfinished stories, which are usually eventually concluded at the end of his shows. His most famous example is in his Randomist tour, where he started to tell a story about him being interviewed after Live 8 near the beginning of a show in Newcastle, which he did not finish until the end of the performance, around two hours later.^[10] This relates to an earlier comment he made in his Regent's Park show, saying that his mind "Tends to wander off [the point] slightly," and later added that "[he] can open up too many tangents at once… it's a never-ending expanding spiral of possibilities." At which point, he forgot what he was talking about.^[11]

Career[link]

Early years[link]

Noble is originally from Cramlington, Northumberland, England. "The ultimate in dullness" helped him with his career - he found little to do in his hometown so he became particularly imaginative.^[12] At the age of 11, it was discovered that he was dyslexic. Because of this, Noble decided to work within a career which did not rely on academic skills. He had a brief stint as a street juggler with a friend, and aspired to join a circus. He joined a clown troupe and sold balloons as a stilt-walker, before deciding to become a comedian after winning tickets to a comedy show.^[13] As a teenager, Ross was a member of the youth theatre at the People's Theatre in Heaton. He was also a backing singer for the Kane Gang. In 1997, he was doing warm-ups at the BBC for Friday Night Armistice.

Noble has been performing stand-up since the dyslexia diagnosis, and appeared in his local comedy club at the age of 15, despite licensing laws that prohibited him working there and forced him to leave through the kitchen.^[7] Noble studied performing arts at Newcastle College, after he told his careers adviser at school he wanted to be a comedian. He later stated that this had no effect on his stand-up ability, as he believes that the information taught is not important in being a good performer.^[14]

Stand-up career[link]

Since starting as a stand-up comedian, Noble has won many awards, including a Time Out award winner in 2000 for his Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Chickenmaster, and a Perrier Award nomination in 1999 for another Edinburgh show Laser Boy. He has since achieved great popularity in both the UK and Australia, where he has toured extensively every year since 2001. Noble's 2003 show Unrealtime was the best-selling show at the Edinburgh Fringe,^[15] before transferring to London's West End for a month long season at the Garrick Theatre where it played to packed houses. A recording of this tour was shown on BBC Two in 2004, and a double DVD set was released later that year.

During 2004, Noble performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and other venues with his show Noodlemeister. His 2005 UK tour, Randomist, ran from September to December, of which he continued in Australia during 2006. In April 2006, Noble was involved in a motorbike accident, and both fractured and dislocated his collarbone. Conveniently he crashed right outside a hospital. Noble performed his shows over the following weeks with his arm in a sling.^[16] During his 'Things' tour, in Bristol on 1 March 2009, he claimed that before the ambulance officers would help him, he was forced to do his Stephen Hawking impression.

Whilst performing in Edinburgh in September 2006 for his Fizzy Logic tour, a fight broke out during the gig, caused by a drunken member of the audience arguing with another. Also, in his Edinburgh gig, some one gave him a basket of mini-muffins with faces printed on them; this is related to a sketch from Noble's DVD 'Sonic Waffle', in which he mentions his hobby of finding faces in muffins.^[17] At another gig, he found someone filming the show on their mobile phone and confiscated the phone. He then recorded a video on it himself.^[18] After finding that several people recorded his finale skit, "The falling owl stunt", Noble encouraged the entire audience to record the stunt simultaneously and post them on YouTube, in an attempt to achieve, "The largest number of videos showing exactly the same thing."^[19] He then took his tour to Australia in February 2007, during which he filmed a documentary about his travels around the country.^[20]

In 2007 Noble finished his Nobleism tour in the UK^[21] with a show in Liverpool on 21 October 2007 which was screened live to 43 Vue cinemas. If the event had sold out, he would have played to over 10,000 people.^[22] Upon walking offstage, Noble enquired if the broadcast had succeeded and was informed by a technician that "it worked perfectly... but we lost Aberdeen". To this day, Noble maintains that this is the "coolest thing anyone has ever said" to him.^[23]

Noble likes to have spontaneous material related to each specific show, and therefore encourages heckling and has increasingly indulged in the audience giving him gifts during shows. At a gig at the Edinburgh Playhouse during Noble's 2005 Randomist tour, a member of the audience put his feet up on the stage, and later removed his shoes and put them on the stage instead. It is now traditional for the entire front row of an Edinburgh audience to place their shoes upon the stage during the interval, which causes Noble much amusement when he returns.^[24]

Noble performed at the 2008 Latitude Festival and rounded off his set by leading everyone in the tent in a huge conga line (which quickly turned into a stampede) to a vegan food stand so they could all ask for pies and sausage rolls.^[25][26]

The DVD of his show Nobleism was released in November 2009, after a legal battle with his previous manager prevented a release in 2008 as originally planned.

TV and radio[link]

Guest appearances[link]

Noble has not done any acting work on TV or radio, as he prefers stand-up for giving him the freedom to say what he wants without being influenced by a script or crew.^[8] Nevertheless, he has made many TV appearances, which mainly take the form of interviews and panel game participation. In the UK, he has appeared on BBC's Johnny Vaughan Tonight and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.^[27] Noble has also made twelve appearances, the highest number of appearances of any guest, on BBC One's Have I Got News for You^[28] including the first show guest presented by Paul Merton. His most memorable appearance on the show saw him and Paul Merton answer all their questions wrong, and getting no points in the entire show.^[29] He was Paul Merton's guest on Room 101, where he wanted to consign to history the likes of Craig David, cartoon animals who wear clothes, people who look like cats, clipboards and Christian rock music. He makes regular contributions to BBC Radio 4's Just a Minute^[30] and has also appeared on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue^[31] and presented 4 At The Store.^[32] In July 2007, Ross featured, as part of his "In The Company Of...", on the Colin Murray show on BBC Radio 1, and in August 2007 Noble appeared on Steve Wright in the Afternoon on BBC Radio 2.^[28]

In Australia, he has guested on such TV and radio shows as Network Ten's Rove (Live),^[27] The Panel,^[27] Good News Week and Thank God You're Here,^[33] the ABC's The Glasshouse,^[27] Spicks and Specks, and A Quiet Word With ...,^[34] as well as Triple M radio show Get This, and regular appearances on Triple J.

In Ireland, he appeared on the first series of Tubridy Tonight, where he went over to a prop bookcase to inspect if the books were real. Upon reading one book, he found a photo of Mike Yarwood on one page, which he cut out and wore as a mask for a portion of the interview.^[35]

In 2010 he made three guest appearances on British comedy panel show QI.

In July 2011 Ross appeared in the second episode of the 17th series of Top Gear. On the show he revealed that he currently owns earth moving machines as well as an Abbott 433 self propelled gun, which he calls his "Tank". He did a lap around the Top Gear track in 1.43.5, beating Tom Cruise and placing him in second place behind John Bishop.

In 2012 he was a regular panelist on That Sunday Night Show on ITV.

In April 2012 he featured on Triple J for a day where he co-hosted some shows, and played an imaginative game of cluedo, where they found people from around Melbourne that matched the cluedo characters names to come in to the studio and play.

Hosted series[link]

Besides making various guest appearances, Noble has been the host of an Australian radio show, and the subject of two BBC radio series. Noble's worldwide travels as a stand-up were the subject of his own BBC Radio 4 series Ross Noble Goes Global, produced by Danny Wallace. This series, recorded between April and May 2001, saw him recording his observations as he travelled around various countries. In January 2005, Noble joined Australian comedienne Terri Psiakis in co-hosting Ross and Terri, the weekday lunch shift on national radio station Triple J. Following on from Ross Noble Goes Global, Radio 4 broadcasted a new series called Ross Noble On… during January to February 2007. The 4-episode series followed his 2006 UK tour, featuring performances in Brighton, York, Manchester and Newcastle.^[36] All of the Radio 4 programmes have since been released as BBC audio CDs.

Noble once again teamed up with Terri Psiakis on Triple J for two weeks of Ross and Terri in January 2006. This second period on Triple J also saw Ross and Terri founding "Pants Across Australia", during which, 4 pairs of trousers were sent to the north, south, east and west extremities of Australia and then back to Melbourne.^[37] Ross and Terri did not return to this slot in 2007, however Terri Psiakis and Amy Blackmur (the pair's producer from their 2006 show) did present a limited run of shows during a similar time frame earlier in the year, under the working title "T 'n' A" ("Terri and Amy"). As well as this, Terri and Amy decided to continue in the evening slot of 6pm - 10pm.^[37]

In 2007, Stunt Baby Productions filmed a documentary about Ross Noble's 95-day Fizzy Logic tour of Australia. Ross Noble travels by motorbike when touring, which for this tour travelled on a BMW R1150GS Adventure (as mentioned during the encore of one of his Canberra gigs), covering a distance of approximately 26,000 km around Australia clockwise from Brisbane. The show was broadcast as "Ross Noble's Australian Trip" on UK TV channel Five from Monday 28 September 2009 at 10pm for 6 weeks, repeating at the same time on Fiver on the following Thursdays. The show aired in Australia on Channel 10 on Mondays at 10:00pm.

Personal life[link]

Noble has a daughter, Elfie, with his Australian-born wife Fran. He lived on a farm in St Andrews, a semi-rural town on the northern outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, until it was destroyed by the 2009 Victorian bushfires along with all his material possessions. Noble and his family were not harmed in the fire.^[38][39] The family moved back to England in 2010.^[40]

A keen biker and off-road rider, Noble is also a fan of MotoGP, WSBK and The Isle of Man TT. He has created an off-road track in the paddock at his home, and has a number of vehicles to use on it, including an FV433 Abbot SPG self-propelled gun. Noble has competed in many races, notably, The Romaniacs and the 24 hour Dusk to Dawn. Noble has attended several track days in 2011, most recently at Brands Hatch on the GP circuit as a guest of MSV aboard his Triumph Daytona 675R.^[41]

Charity[link]

Following the 2009 Victorian bushfires, Noble has used this unfortunate event in his act and donates profits from the sale of the show's programme/poster (or "postergram" as it's called) to a charitable fund to help those similarly affected.

Noble supports British charity Riders for Health and donated money earned from limited edition signed posters together with bucket collections after each gig from his Nonsensory Overload tour to Riders for Health. This raised £42,000 for Riders. Noble has attended their fundraising event Day of Champions on a number of occasions, most recently at Silverstone in 2010. Ross also voiced the Riders for Health BBC Radio 4 appeal aired just before Christmas 2010.^[42]

In May 2011, to celebrate his 20th anniversary of stand up, Noble teamed up with Triumph Motorcycles who were also celebrating a milestone, having just produced their 500,000th bikes (since the company was re-launched 20 years ago) and did the Ross Noble "Sit Down" Tour. Using only Twitter as a guide, Noble travelled around the UK on the unique Triumph Speed Triple guided by his Twitter followers and accompanied by a film crew. The Triumph Speed Triple was auctioned by Bonhams at the Goodwood festival of speed on 1 July 2011, with all the proceeds (£8,000) going to Noble's charity of choice, Riders for Health.^[43]

In July 2011, Noble competed in the Red Bull Romaniacs, which is "one of the toughest extreme motorcycle events on the planet" ^[44] as part of the Desert Rose Racing Team with fellow rider Clive "Zippy" Town (Dakar 2006) with both riders on 350 Exc-F KTM's ^[45]

Tours[link]

These dates apply to Noble's tours.^[46]

• Laser Boy (1999)
• Chickenmaster (2000)
• Slackers' Playtime (2001–2002)
• Sonic Waffle (2002–2003)
• Unrealtime (2003–2004)
• Noodlemeister (2004–2005)
• Randomist (2005–2006)
• Fizzy Logic (2006–2007)
• Nobleism (2007)
• Headspace Cowboy (2008–2009) (Australian tour only)
• Things (2009–2010)
• Nonsensory Overload (2010–2012)
• Mindblender (2012)

DVD releases[link]

Several recorded performances of Noble are available on DVD, notable for the large amount of extras that appear on them.^[47] Noble's recorded shows are mostly dominated by Noble with just a few moments of audience participation. Throughout the rest of his tour Noble is more relaxed, with the audience joining in. However the audience can sometimes dominate a show, as seen on the extra "Live in Birmingham" gig on the Randomist DVD.^[48] All of Ross' DVDs are region free, with the exception of Unrealtime.^[49]

Unrealtime[link]

• Released: 11 October 2004

A Double DVD set which includes a performance of Noble's Unrealtime show at the Garrick Theatre, as well as a performance at the 100 Club. Also Noble on tour backstage footage and a quiz to unlock extra footage. Also contains a 'Trivia Track' which contains spoof "facts" relating to the show's content.^[48]

Sonic Waffle[link]

• Released: 3 October 2005

The single DVD contains the uncut last night performance from London's Vaudeville Theatre, complete with commentary and, "commentary on the commentary," audio tracks. It also includes his 'meat on the face' performance from the BBC television series Jack Dee Live at the Apollo, which has an audio commentary opinion where Noble is joined by a Cantonese interpreter. The DVD also offers the viewer to play a game of celebrity muffins.^[48]

Randomist[link]

• Released: 6 November 2006

A 4-disc set which contains unedited performances from the City Hall in Newcastle, the Victoria Hall in Stoke, the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham and the town hall in Melbourne, Australia. The extras include the documentaries Ross' Highland Fling and Ross' Australia Tour, and an interactive quiz. The fourth disc contains the Randomiser, and an hour's worth of randomised live performance clips from York, Manchester and Liverpool. Commentary is included for three of the shows, which was recorded consecutively and described by Noble as "4 hours of me going slowly insane in a small box".^[48]

Fizzy Logic[link]

• Released: 12 November 2007

Fizzy Logic is Noble's 4th DVD set, consisting of two discs. The first contains a full performance recorded in Canberra during 2007, and a documentary charting his New Zealand circuit. The second contains six shows from his UK tour and special seventh from Southend, which is unlocked by being able to find out where the previous six shows were performed.^[47]

Nobleism[link]

• Released: 9 November 2009

Nobleism is Noble's 5th DVD set. It was released in the UK on 9 November and in Australia on 13 November 2009. It consists of two discs. Disc one features his live stand-up show from the Empire Theatre, Liverpool. Disc two has bonus show footage, a Ross Noble interview with Dr Oliver Double and episode one of Ross Noble's Australian Trip. At the same time of being filmed at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool the show was simultaneously broadcast, via satellite, to 45 Vue Cinemas nationwide.

Things[link]

• Released: 29 November 2010

Ross Noble's new DVD set is a two-disc set. Disc one features the main live show from Manchester on his 'Things' tour. Disc two features highlights from a show performed in a large stadium in Brisbane, highlights from shows in Canberra and Melbourne, a full-length unedited version of his interview on Carpool and his appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross where he had a mock fight with host Jonathan Ross. A limited edition set contained an additional third disc containing highlights from a recording in Aberdeen. The DVD is dedicated to Noble's father, Malcolm who died that year.

The Headspace Cowboy[link]

• Released: 14 November 2011

On his official YouTube channel he upload his weekly free clip called "Toucan Bastards" at the end of the clip he announced his new DVD. Upon its release it was confirmed to be the never before seen 2008 tour. The DVD is slightly different to Ross' previous releases due to the fact that rather than one continuous main show it is split into six pieces spreading over two discs approximately 45 to 50 minutes each making this Noble's longest DVD as far as its running time. The DVD also includes a third disc containing bonus material including a commentary on all six shows, unseen bits taken from the show and Ross' Sit Down Tour.

References[link]