Have I got a treat for you guys this week! Michael McIntyre is one of my favorite British comedians right now. That’s a bit of a controversial statement as there are a lot of McIntyre haters out there. He’s become seemingly omnipresent in the UK recently, racking up an impressive number of appearances on various chat shows and panel games. He’s also become one of the most mocked stand-ups out there because of his distinctive style – floppy bangs, pacing or skipping around the stage, observational humor – and seemingly meteoric rise to fame. He’s only really gotten noticed in the last five years or so and he played sold out shows in Wembley Arena in 2009. He’s got the goods, though. I think you’ll enjoy him, too.
Michael McIntyre - Photo by Andrew Crowley, Telegraph.co.uk
Well, let’s just jump right in, shall we? TDF Pamela promised you his take on how the Scots invented the kilt, so here it is. McIntyre is a generally family friendly comedian, but only if that family doesn’t mind a few four-lettered words. And a bit of suggestion [nudge nudge, wink wink], but nothing too out of bounds. The following clip is from “Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Road Show”, a touring comedy concert where he does his own stand up and shares the bill with up and coming comedians. Many comedians (some of whom will get their own features in this series) have said that appearing on “Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow” is what took them from small clubs to bigger rooms and headlining tours.
Despite a name like McIntyre, he’ll be the first to admit he’s a posh English bloke. Though he wouldn’t use the world bloke because that’s not what posh people say. But he does like calling attention to the distinctly Scottish notion of patriotism by taking things and not calling them Scottish, making them Scottish.
From north of Hadrian’s Wall to your kitchen! This next clip is about the spices in your cupboard. They hate the salt and pepper because they always get used. Hate them so much!
When you go on vacation, you check out travel sites for hotel ratings, don’t you? Everyone does! And it doesn’t matter how awesome the place seems, someone gave it a one-star review. McIntyre covers that problem and other travel related issues here:
Last winter, Britain experienced record snowfall, blanketing pretty much the entire island in white. Naturally, it was a common topic of discussion, even when McIntyre appeared on “Friday Night With Jonathan Ross”:
As I said, Michael McIntyre is everywhere in the UK. He must have a teleporter or a body double or an army of clones. Here he is appearing on the panel game “Would I Lie To You”, where the object of the game is to bluff your way through a story that’s either true or one you’ve never seen before and throw off the opposing team under cross examination. Here’s his story about a car that could only turn left:
Sadly, it looks like the only Michael McIntyre media available in North America is the audio version of his comedy DVD “Hello Wembley!” but even that is limited availability. For a man so omnipresent in Britain, he’s pretty much a non-entity over here. Good thing the lovely UK viewers are good about sharing his stuff on YouTube. McIntyre’s got a new series of “Comedy Roadshow” starting up and it would be a shame to miss it.
Some additional links:
- Twitter @McInTweet. Linked to his website so it’s official, but it’s obviously his “people” tweeting for him.
- Official website: www.MichaelMcIntyre.co.uk.
- Video: Swansea, Bread of Heaven and the Welsh language. A personal favorite. Love it more than the kilt sketch in fact, because Swansea’s like my second home. And I learned what Welsh I know from road signs, too! Bws! Tacsi! Ambiwlans! XD
- Video: Photobombing American tourists in Edinburgh!
- Video: The Man Drawer. It’s a slow builder, but worth the wait. :)
- Video: Poking fun of Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) to his face! From an episode of “Have I Got News For You” (another panel game) *synching is off*
- Video: The North/South language divide. From “Mock The Week”.
- Video: Don’t f*** with the Scots or their money. And be careful trying to use Scottish money in England!
