# Rodney Rude

Rodney Rude (born Rodney Malcolm Keft, 29 January 1943 in Nowra, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian-born blue stand-up comedian, poet, writer, and musician.
Rude is best known for his bawdy humour and has released 12 albums and five videos all distributed locally by EMI Records. Rude has been nominated for the ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release nine times between 1987 and 2009, and has won two Mo Awards. He officially retired from performing live shows on 9 December 2016.

## Early career

Rude began his career performing with travelling tent shows on the showground circuit in the early 1960s, singing and playing guitar. His habit of altering the lyrics of songs to amuse himself and his audience prompted him to become a comedian. He left Australia in the mid-1960s to tour the world, and to live and work in the United States, Canada, and Europe under various stage names. In 1981, he was asked by Barry Wain to return to Australia to set up Sydney's Comedy Store, and started working as the club's compere.

## Style

Rude's comedy is energetic and aggressive, peppered with expletives and his trademark rat-tat-tat laugh, and typically suitable for adult audiences only. Recurring stage props often included a small ukulele for short musical pieces, hats too small for his head, oversized clown shoes, metal tea strainers used to imitate a fly (insect) and material from his grandfather's joke book. There were several regular characters that appeared in his act; most notably 'Bishop Rude' while wielding a toilet plunger, 'Harry Muff (The Diver)' - where Rodney would dress in a shirt to below his waist and short pants with belt around his knees - and 'Half Rude', where Rodney would bend himself at the knees into a fabricated set of prosthetic legs with foam around his backside to create a false pair of buttocks. He would regularly 'pivot'; a twist of his upper body and head to one side accompanied by a howl of, "naaaaahhhh!".
Rude's interaction with his audiences ('trendsetters') is a key part of his act, including the famous 'limericks' toward the end of each show. Positive hecklers were frequent at any Rude concert because his quick-fire responses were an integral part of his act, making it something of a badge of honour for an audience member to be put down by a Rude comeback. His catchphrase "You know what I hate?", which preceded several of his jokes, was always responded to by the audience calling out in unison,"What do you hate, Rodney!?"

## Discography
### Live and compilation albums

List of albums, with selected details and chart positions :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | AUS | Certifications |
| Rodney Rude Live | Released: July 1984 Format: LP, Cassette Label: EMI Music (EMX 430018) Recorded at Di Di's, Sydney | 1 | |
| I Got More | Released: August 1985 Format: LP, Cassette Label: EMI Music (EMC 271) Recorded at Middleback Theatre | 7 | |
| Rude Rides Again | Released: November 1986 Format: LP, Cassette Label: EMI Music (EMC 297) Recorded on the Gold Coast, Queensland | 24 | |
| Not Guilty | Released: December 1988 Format: LP, Cassette, CD Label: EMI Music (GET 791446) | 30 | |
| A Legend | Released: October 1991 Format: Cassette, CD Label: EMI Music (GET 797987) Recorded in Perth, Australia | 36 | |
| Classic Rude: The Best of Rodney Rude | Released: 1992 Format: CD Label: EMI Music (7809874) Compilation album | — | |
| Live – Rats Arse Tour I Don't Give a Rats Arse | Released: 1996 Format: CD Label: Kemalda (CAT#011) Recorded during the 1995 Rats Arse Tour | 64 | |
| More Grunt | Released: November 1998 Format: CD Label: EMI (4982752) Recorded live on stage | 23 | ARIA: Gold |
| Ya' Mum's Bum | Released: October 2000 Format: CD Label: EMI (5296642) Recorded live on stage | 22 | ARIA: Gold |
| Rude Bastard | Released: October 2002 Format: CD Label: EMI (5435452) Recorded live on stage | 17 | ARIA: Platinum |
| Twice as Rude | Released: October 2004 Format: CD Label: EMI (8754772) Recorded live on stage | 35 | |
| Frog Sack | Released: November 2006 Format: CD Label: EMI (09463819382 1) Recorded live on stage | 30 | |

### Video releases

| Title | Details | Certification |
| Rude Rude Rodney Rude on Video | Released: 1984 Label: Format: VHS | |
| Rude Rides Again | Released: 1987 out Label: Format: VHS | |
| I Don't Give a Rats Arse | Released: 1996 Label: Kemalda Format: VHS | |
| Get Rude On – Live on Stage Vol. 4 | Released: 2002 Label: Kemalda Format: VHS | ARIA: Platinum |
| Rodney Rude Goes the Growl | Released: 2008 Label: | |

## Awards
### ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Rude has been nominated for ten awards.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 1987 | Rude Rides Again | Best Comedy Release | Nominated |
| 1987 | Rude Rides Again | Highest Selling Album | Nominated |
| 1989 | Not Guilty | Best Comedy Release | Nominated |
| 1992 | A Legend | Best Comedy Release | Nominated |
| 1999 | More Grunt | Best Comedy Release | Nominated |
| 2001 | Ya Mum's Bum | Best Comedy Release | Nominated |
| 2003 | Rude Bastard | Best Comedy Release | Nominated |
| 2005 | Twice As Rude | Best Comedy Release | Nominated |
| 2007 | Frog Sack | Best Comedy Release | Nominated |
| 2009 | Rodney Rude Goes the Growl | Best Comedy Release | Nominated |

### Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Rodney Rude won two awards in that time.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) |
| 1985 | Rodney Rude | Best Comedy Act of the Year | Won |
| 2006 | Rodney Rude | Outstanding Contribution to Australian Comedy | Won |