Al Murrary: the Pub Landlord and me - Telegraph Comedy Al Murrary: the Pub Landlord and me Comedian Al Murray tells the story of his 20-year relationship with his hilariously awful alter-ego, the Pub Landlord. By Al Murray 3:36PM BST 24 Oct 2012 "But you’re nothing like him.” I’ve been playing the Pub Landlord for the best part of 20 years now and I’m still amazed when people say this. “Of course, I’m nothing like him,” I say. After all, as far as I can tell, the Pub Landlord is so preposterous, so ghastly, so plainly — how can I put this? — a joke, I find myself marvelling at the idea that anyone could be like him, let alone me. This is just one of the occupational hazards of playing an alter ego, but one that I’m fine with. Because the gap between him and me is one of the things that, I think, allow the character to work.

I stumbled across the Pub Landlord by accident; he was conceived in the teeth of a particularly immediate deadline in 1994, backstage, 10 minutes or so before I had to go on and compère at the Edinburgh Fringe. Harry Hill, his “adopted son Alan” (Matt Bradstock-Smith, a GP) and I had put together a deliberately ropy band called the Pub Band and taken it to Edinburgh as part of a new show. The show consisted of Harry doing a set, some dancing, a film and then the band providing the big finish. I was meant to compère, but had failed to come up with any shtick that worked. Ten minutes before the first show I had what, in retrospect, was a Eureka moment. As we were playing in a bar, and the show was called *Pub Internationale*, why not say the compère hadn’t shown up (which was true, figuratively speaking) and that the barman, the Pub Landlord, had offered to fill in? Harry said “Yeah OK fine whatever”, and 10 minutes later, with some stuff jotted down, on I went. It worked. While Harry did his set, I jotted some more.

The following day I cut off my hair, the Edinburgh run was a big hit, we went on tour and six months later I had an hour of material ­— in other words, an act. Comedy has always felt like a detour from what I imagined I’d end up doing. I went to Oxford, did a history degree (well, got through a history degree) and found that the comedy scene there was incredibly exciting and offered a possible career that contained things the 21-year-old me liked the look of: interesting and funny people, a fair continuation of a laid-back student lifestyle and plenty of opportunities to show off. Right from the start it was clear to me that the act had legs, because the margins seemed so clear. When you know where the edges are it’s much easier to fill in the rest of the picture. Precisely because I wasn’t being me, I could talk about the things I wanted to talk about without having to wonder whether anyone was interested. Performing as myself I wouldn’t know how to begin. And the last thing I want to do is talk about myself.

Related Articles The world of Al Murray, comedian 12 Aug 2011 The quest for authenticity in stand-up is one I can’t really relate to. Performance is so tied up in ritual and repetition that the idea of “telling the truth” seems to me to be impossible, if not bogus (not to mention solipsistic). Surely authenticity or telling the truth — like being “edgy”, which has somehow been elevated to become “the point of comedy” by people who simply haven’t thought about what they’re saying — are merely tools at comedy’s disposal? Means, not ends. Also, instead of being “truthful”, why not create something? Most of all, I find certainty and being definite very difficult. I have a habit of seeing both sides of lots of things, an attitude which really doesn’t cut it in a stand-up environment. Stand-up involves being definite, certain, sure-footed. And being definite in real life can land you in all sorts of trouble — in fact, it’s often pretty absurd. This is why the Pub Landlord is so certain about lots of things — and often wrong. Or he starts off somewhere reasonable enough and then pushes his argument to the point of certain destruction.

I like the act to contain ambiguity and ambivalence: what are we meant to be laughing at here? What is the point he’s making? If the Pub Landlord contradicts himself, even better. If he confuses some people, then good. Getting into character isn’t something I spend a great deal of time on, and the elements of the Pub Landlord’s back story that I’ve invented have been created as and when they’ve been required and included so long as they’re funny. So the four pub fires the Pub Landlord has died in for tax and insurance purposes, his blighted family life (eg his wife running off with a Frenchman) and his chaotic and frustrated sex life have all come about when looking for laughs. Strictly speaking, he still doesn’t have a name — but a series of billing cock-ups and the erosion of years means my name has been tangled up with the character. I’ve been asked if Al is my real name — which somewhere along the line implies my name is a comedy name.

The costume hasn’t changed since the second year of playing him when, one night in a club in Bristol, my stuff was stolen, the guv’nor there let me into his wardrobe to lend me some clothes, and he had the same jacket, trousers and short white-sleeved shirt as the Pub Landlord — it felt like a cosmic blessing of the character’s look. So why has the Pub Landlord lasted? Partly because I’ve simply stuck with him (perseverance pays off) and the margins of the character are so well worked out. It’s also because, as he’s developed, he’s taken on a new mantle of preposterous self-importance and run with it. This year’s touring show sees the Landlord trying to deliver a national pep talk, because our leaders have let us down and lost the way; he promises to set the country free, while taking in topics such as the euro, figuring out which was the worst government ever, vajazzles, Scottish independence, free speech, and Pippa Middleton’s bum. Something for everyone, I hope. 'The Only Way is Epic’ is at the Queen’s Theatre, London, on Nov 4 and 18 as part of an extended nationwide tour.

A DVD of the show will be available on Nov 19. Tour details and tickets: thepublandlord.com Al Murray - The Pub Landlord | Official Site THE PUB LANDLORD BRAND NEW TOUR FOR 2017 09 February 17 BEXHILL De La Warr Pavilion 11 February 17 ISLE OF WIGHT Shanklin Theatre 09 April 17 NORTHAMPTON Royal and Derngate Theatre 22 May 17 TUNBRIDGE WELLS Assembly Hall Theatre 06 June 17 CORBY The Core at Corby Cube 10 June 17 SCARBOROUGH Spa Publican. Politician. Other thing beginning with P. Philosopher, yeah, that. The nation's critically acclaimed bar-based-braveheart, Al Murray - The Pub Landlord embarks on a common sense campaign to re-Great Britain in his brand new show. We live in troubling times. Europe. The NHS. Whatever the hell is going on in the Middle East. The gathering storm of fortnightly bin collections? Who knows where it will all end? Watch the one man who will answer the call of destiny even though it's an unlisted number.

Watch the one man who will call time on tyranny even though he isn't quite sure what it means. Watch the one man who isn't afraid to say no to women ordering anything other than a glass of white wine (or fruit based drink). "A supremely polished performer" Al Murray Quotes - The Pub Landlord Speaks! Facebook Al Murray holds a pint up. Complete with one of his jokes. Al Murray is best known for his stand-up character the Pub Landlord, a blunt, xenophobic licensee with distaste for anything not British (especially Germans, Scots and the French). First created in the mid-90s, the character is still hilarious. He is well known for catchphrases such as ‘A glass of white wine/fruit-based drink for the lady‘, and for his booming, gurning, lecherous persona who dislikes students. He has released several popular DVDs including My Gaff, My Rules. To celebrate the big guy here are some of his funniest lines. If we had no rules where would we be? France! If we had too many rules where would we be? Germany! We shouldn’t insult the French of course, because they’re not here to defend themselves. And we know how good they are at that.

Is your dad proud of you, son? He’s never said so, has he? George Bush should be the man the Americans send to Mars. On the Swiss: They’re like a flat that will never sell because the Austrians, Germans, French and Italians are neighbours. On the Irish: They’re a sidecar to our motorbike, they’re going nowhere without us. Rugby, posh man’s sport of course, fifteen men on a team, because posh people can afford to have more friends. We do not go in for philosophy in this country. We have our own system. It’s called wondering. The Taliban were bang out of order. If the dishes are done, there’s no need for a mask. Murray sometimes tells audience members what their names mean in Anglo-Saxon. One American woman named Bridget was told her name translated into ‘unwelcome cousin’. See Murray do his stuff live at the Hammersmith Apollo: Murray’s comedy has garnered several awards, including Edinburgh’s coveted Perrier prize, while his theatre show with the pub landlord, My Gaff, My Rules, was short-listed for a Laurence Olivier Award.

A Glass of White Wine for the Lady, another stage tour, ran to critical acclaim, and his chat show Al Murray’s Happy Hour on ITV won a British Comedy Award and was nominated for a National Television Award. Al Murray returns to the Edinburgh Festival this summer (201) with what will no doubt be yet another sell-out show at the Pleasance Theatre, before touring the UK later in the year. DVDs Released There are several DVDs available including Time Gentlemen Please, Giving it Both Barrels and My Gaff My Rules are all available online now. Any comments on the proud Englishman can be left in the comments section below. Rate this comedy Al Murray working on a Pub Landlord film - News - British Comedy Guide Al Murray working on a Pub Landlord film Al Murray working on a Pub Landlord film Wednesday 22nd May 2013, 11:26am Al Murray has revealed he wishes to make a film featuring his Pub Landlord character.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper he said: "I'd love to do a Pub Landlord film - in fact there's a script and some stuff already written." However the comedian stressed that the project might not happen, adding: "But with movies, you have to go and find someone who wants to make it. I guess it's 'in development'. With most projects I always think that until it's in the bargain bin of a service station for £1, it hasn't actually happened!" Murray has been performing his Landlord character since the 1994 Edinburgh Festival, and continues to sell out venues across the country. He has also hosted various television shows as the publican, including 2005 comedy quiz show Fact Hunt , 2007 chat show Al Murray's Happy Hour and 2011 game show Compete For The Meat . Between 2000 and 2002 , he also starred in two cult-hit series of Sky1 sitcom Time Gentlemen Please , set in the guv'nor's run-down pub. Speaking of the character's longevity, Murray said: "I can't believe it - that was never the plan. In fact there was no plan!

The character was invented by accident, the most brilliant, divine accident to have happened. I think to myself, 'How the fuck did that happen?' It's amazing. If I'd sat down to try to work something out, I'd never have come up with it - but it seems to be working." A number of films about British comedy characters have recently been screened or are currently in production. Recent cinema offerings include Keith Lemon: The Film , whilst Alpha Papa , a film based around the character of Alan Partridge, is currently filming. Also filming at the moment is The Harry Hill Movie , featuring a cast including Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent . Murray was speaking to The Sun to promote his new radio show on digital station Planet Rock. Starting this weekend, and running every Sunday from 10am till noon, Murray will present a show called Defender of the Planet Rock Tradition . Speaking at its launch, he said: "As the world faces a relentless assault of cardboard cut-out pop, Planet Rock is the last bastion of amps, riffs and axes. It's an honour to be asked to do my bit." It was also announced today that Murray will be returning to BBC Radio 5 Live .

He has presented topical panel show 7 Day Sunday for the station since January 2012, and the format is set to return for another twelve-part series from next month. However, often broadcast live at the same time as the new Planet Rock show, the returning series will move from Sundays to Saturdays, prompting it to be re-named 7 Day Saturday . Starting in June, 7 Day Saturday will feature regular Andy Zaltzman and guest comedians discussing the week's news. Murray says: "It's going to be great to get our hands on the news a whole day earlier than before." Below is an episode of Mat Ricardo's London Varieties in which Al Murray talks about how he devised and developed The Pub Landlord character.

The interview starts approximately 22 minutes into the video: Comedian Al Murray has a chat about his Pub Landlord character, TV satire and mentally sub-normal medieval fools | John Fleming's blog - SO IT GOES Comedian Al Murray has a chat about his Pub Landlord character, TV satire and mentally sub-normal medieval fools Guns ’n’ Moses (from left) Mike Cosgrave, Al Murray, Dave Cohen and Jim Tavaré In yesterday’s blog , Al Murray talked about his interest in history, Britishness and World Wars. “You were also a drummer in the group Guns ’n’ Moses with Dave Cohen and Jim Tavaré ,” I said when I met him last week. “But you’re not a frustrated drummer and a frustrated historian. You must be rolling in dosh. So you’re not thinking I should have taken a different career path?” “No,” said Al. “I remember on a school report a very long time ago they called me a dilettante and I had to ask my dad what it meant. He said It means someone who dabbles in different things and doesn’t really specialise and I remember thinking That sounds brilliant! That sounds like a good job option.” “Polymath might sound better,” I suggested.

“You’re in an ideal position now. I imagine you don’t desperately need to work.” “Yes and no,” replied Al. “I really love doing the stand-up side. This is the 20th year I’ve been doing the Pub Landlord character. Each time I sit down to write a new show, which is what I’m doing right now, I always realise there’s a whole load of things I could do with it which I haven’t explored yet. The character is the same but, if you watch the shows, they’re all very different from each other, with different textures.” “With Alf Garnett in Till Death Us Do Part ,” I said, “I thought maybe he was a role model for people who agreed with his bigoted views. I never believed he would change people’s views.” “The problem is,” said Al, “if you go too far along that road, you start to argue against irony. The opposite of irony is everything being taken literally. If you’re going to be literal about everything, you’re gonna have to have figurative paintings; you can’t have Impressionism… The thing that’s happening in stand-up comedy at the moment is you’re supposed to be sincere.

Why?” “Why not?” I asked. “Because it’s prescriptive,” said Al, “and art suffers when you get prescriptive. On stage, I don’t talk about me – ever – because I’m not interested and I’m not interested in anyone else being interested. I’d rather talk about the world or ideas. If people really do agree with what the Pub Landlord says then they’re mental, so there’s nothing I can do about them. And isn’t it like a cosmic prank? If people think he’s real, that’s fucking hilarious. I think our job as comics is to be pranksters. We’re not supposed to agree. We’re supposed to cause confusion.” ITV publicity for Al Murray’s Multiple Personality Disorder “In 2009,” I said, “you did do an ITV show Multiple Personality Disorder in which you played lots of different characters and I genuinely thought the range of characters was wonderful and…” “ITV didn’t think that!” laughed Al. “Dealing with TV people! The guy who had been championing me went elsewhere, so we ended up with someone new as commissioner. I loved making that programme. The fun was doing different things and seeing if they’d work.

But, for stand-up, the Pub Landlord is… I’ve got him… When people say Why don’t you do something else? I say Alright, I’ll do that when Jack Dee does his ‘I’m Not Grumpy Any More’ show or Harry Hill does observational comedy or Michael McIntyre talks about American foreign policy.” “So,” I said, “your two big interests are, let’s say, history and comedy. And they come together in this book you’re writing about fools.” Will Sommers, a fool to the Tudors “Well, I’m trying to write it,” said Al. “I’m trying to draw the stuff together and see if I can make it cohere. I found out about Henry VIII’s fool Will Sommers . He survived as a fool through Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and through to Elizabeth I. He survived all four reigns in court. “The traditional reading of that period is it’s a roller coaster politically and religiously. So how did he survive? The answer is either he wasn’t saying anything dangerous at all OR that having him there saying awkward things at the right moment was SO important you could not get rid of him.

The Tudor fools were the last of the classic old-fashioned fools.” “You mean men with funny hats?” I asked. “No,” said Al. “There’s fools and there’s jesters. Jesters are people pretending to be fools. Fools were – although it’s unpalatable for us – essentially people with behavioural and learning difficulties. In the medieval theology of the time, if that was your intellectual capacity, you were regarded as ‘innocent before God’ because you couldn’t understand theology. So you had a Get Out of Jail card. Literally.” “You’re an idiot, so we won’t burn you at the stake,” I said. “Exactly,” agreed Al. “So you could say what you liked. Most of the fools were called ‘naturals’ and they fitted this mental category. Then, separately, you had jesters – ‘artificials’ – who were pretending to be like that and they’re the people who get in the shit because everyone knows they’re pretending – so, when they say the terrible thing that shouldn’t be said, the assumption is You knew what you were saying so you’re for the chop. “A lot of what we think fools were comes at us through art and stage plays.

So we think fools were like the fool in King Lear, but that’s Shakespeare’s dramatisation of what their function was. In fact, you had these people essentially gigging up and down the country and there was a circuit. If you were a man of status, you would have your own fool saying stupid things or juggling or farting. Farting was very big in the 12th century.” Al Murray writing new ideas in Soho last week “And there was a circuit?” I asked. “And a career structure,” added Al. “This was an era when mentally ill people were not locked away. That didn’t happen until the 18th century. Before that, you had ‘village idiots’ and everyone knew who they were and what their problems were and they had a role. And they were innocent before God. “In the Domesday Book , there’s a fool who was probably one of Edward The Confessor’s fools who has retired out to the Welsh Marches who has a big estate – so he’s really rich.

But he’s been removed or exiled because he’s a previous king’s jester and we need a new one for the Normans.” “Do you think fools were mentally sub-normal,” I asked, “or might they have been autistic, where there’s a mixture of high intelligence and social awkwardness?” “That whole spectrum,” said Al. “Different people with different problems. I think we would now be incredibly uncomfortable about laughing at them. You only have to look at the response to Ricky Gervais’ TV show Derek where he’s pretending to be someone who would have had a role as a fool… The response to that is super-uncomfortable for a lot of people. “Fools were very important, because they spoke the truth. There are examples of them giving the king bad news because no-one else dared. The fool had a licence to speak truth to the powerful.” “Nowadays,” I said, “I suppose we have satirists.” “Well,” said Al, “there’s this preposterous idea that people in the 1960s invented satire. They did it on TV and what was unusual about them was they were people who could have been in the Establishment taking the piss out of the Establishment.

The Goon Show was a satire of Britain in the 1950s, but Spike Milligan was blue collar, so he doesn’t get that elevation as a great satirist because he’s not from the Establishment. He had not rejected something in becoming a satirist.” “Is he a satirist or a surrealist?” I asked. “Well,” said Al. “The Goon Show had the absurdities of National Service, was about rationing, was about Class. It’s all in there, but Spike Milligan dressed it up as something else. The 1960s satire boom, though, was… It’s a bit like me… My grandfather ( Sir Ralph Murray ) was a diplomat, my dad worked in management at British Rail, so he was a sort of civil servant and that’s where I was heading – or a lawyer or something. To do comedy was a bit of a departure.” “You’ve got no showbiz background?” The Navy Lark with (on left) Stephen Murray “My great uncle Stephen Murray was an actor. I never knew him. He was in The Navy Lark on radio when his serious actor career mis-fired a little.

But that was always like Your great uncle Stephen’s an actor… Phoah! That’s really weird!” “I remember Stephen Murray always played authority figures,” I said. “Which is what his brother was,” said Al. “His brother was an ambassador.” (Al did not mention to me that he is a great-great-great-great-great-grandson of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl nor that his great-great-great-grandfather was author William Makepeace Thackeray .) “Most satire,” I suggested, “is sort of elitist, whereas what you’re doing with the Pub Landlord is populist. Are you sneaking in under the radar?” “Maybe,” said Al. “Whenever there’s a round-up of what’s going on in satire, I always think: Why am I not on this list?” “Maybe,” I suggested, “because you are appealing to Joe Public in general and not exclusively to Guardian readers?” “Maybe,” said Al. “It always makes me laugh. I think Oh, come on! At least give me a mention!

Or at least print ‘some people say it is but it isn’t’ .” ‘…his great-great-great-grandfather was author William Makepeace Thackeray.’ Typical show business nepotism… Watching War Films With My Dad is excellent. Great interview. Al Murray's Pub Landlord character to land in Dubai again | The National The comedian Al Murray performs on stage. Courtesy EMPICS Entertainment Al Murray's Pub Landlord character to land in Dubai again Jerry Seinfeld returns to stand-up comedy The UK comic Al Murray's most popular creation, The Pub Landlord character, is returning to Dubai in a brand new tour called The Only Way Is Epic. Murray tells us why he is back and how the show is a nightly chance to blow off some steam. Dubai is becoming your locale. Is the audience here different to that in the UK? You know what? It's not so different. My whole thing is to speak to the audience that is put in front of me, so Dubai is like anywhere else, to be honest. Although there are a lot of British expats and they have a certain mentality, but there is lots of everyone else as well. The variety in the audience - that's what I like about coming to Dubai.

When you created The Pub Landlord, was it your intention to perform the character to non-British audiences as well? I think, because the character goes on about being British, what he really is, is just a man who has a one-eyed view of the world. He thinks his country is the absolute answer to everything, but also at the same time he is saying my country is the best in the world but not as good as it used to be, which is obviously a contradiction. I think those people exist everywhere. The Pub Landlord's humour derives from his irony. Do you fear some people won't get where you are coming from? That is the deal with the devil you make when you decide to do something that is ironic or ambiguous. By the same virtue, I don't like it when I am told what to think by a comic. I like the idea of coming on and doing something that is ambiguous or confusing; that I find a more interesting environment to operate in. Is performing as The Pub Landlord therapeutic? Absolutely. It is therapeutic in the sense that I find certainty in others quite bewildering. Very often, people express very firm opinions about things and I think that leads to all sorts of problems.

I like being uncertain and being in a grey area about stuff and The Pub Landlord is so certain about everything that he ends up being wrong about everything. How different is Al Murray from The Pub Landlord? We couldn't be more different, but we do share some things. I like the sound of my own voice and he and I both share that firmly. But we are different people. He is certain about everything, I am not really. He is self-consciously British in everything he does and I don't even know what that means. Is there a bit of the character in all of us? I think there is. Because he is a reaction to stuff and reacting to things is easy. But coming up with sensible answers to them is much more difficult. He is the person that reacts rather than just acts. That would be liberating, to just react without thinking of the consequences. There is a line in the show where it says: "I say it the way I see it, but which I mean I say the first thing that comes to my head and I don't really think it through on any level." The freedom to do that is intoxicating, but it would also probably get you punched in the face most of the time.

Is that a real pint you are holding when you are performing in Dubai? We are allowed a pint, but it's a pint of non-alcoholic lager. If that means I can perform and do my thing in Dubai then it is the tiniest concession to make and doesn't shatter the illusion at all. For those who have not seen the orginal Pub Landlord show, what can they expect? They should expect common sense solutions to everyday problems and a rallying cry to save civilisation from itself. ï¿½ Al Murray's The Only Way Is Epic tour touches down at The First Group Theatre, Madinat Jumeirah, today and will show until Friday. Tickets are now sold out. Melbourne International Comedy Festival review: Al Murray's The Empire Strikes Back Melbourne International Comedy Festival review: Al Murray's The Empire Strikes Back Richard Watts AL MURRAY – THE PUB LANDLORD – THE (BRITISH) EMPIRE STRIKES BACK ★★★1/2 Forum Theatre, until April 3 SHARE Al Murray is a satirist of colonialism par excellence in The (British) Empire Strikes Back.

Photo: Supplied English comedian Al Murray's 'The Pub Landlord' character is more than 20 years old, but has aged like a vintage cheddar: he's complex, full-bodied and a little nutty. Entering to The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) from Star Wars, Murray instantly establishes himself as a satirist of colonialism par excellence. Simultaneously, his love of empire is obvious – he is after all one of many public figures who campaigned against Scottish independence in 2014. An audience predominantly comprised of backpackers and other British exiles may not have appreciated Murray's well-researched jokes about Reclaim Australia and the flaws of several decades worth of Australian prime ministers, but his audience interactions – the dominant part of the show – went down like the ARA General Belgrano in the Falklands War: swiftly, but with consequences. Murray's interactions feature a quick-witted but quiet cruelty, never quite overt enough to be called bullying, but unsettling all the same.

Advertisement Al Murray's Pub Landlord on campaign trail in Thanet - BBC News BBC News Al Murray's Pub Landlord on campaign trail in Thanet 3 February 2015 Close share panel Image copyright Pete Dadds/Avalon/PA Image caption Al Murray formed the Free United Kingdom Party to contest the South Thanet seat Comedian Al Murray, who is standing for parliament in his guise as The Pub Landlord against UKIP leader Nigel Farage, has been on the campaign trail. He is contesting the South Thanet seat, in Kent, in the general election after forming the Free United Kingdom Party. Mr Murray, 46, visited a pub, a brewery and a school in the constituency. He said: "If I were to win then I would definitely open a pub because I'm going to nationalise pubs if I get the chance." Mr Murray, whose character is based around a love for all things British, said his party represented "rational common sense".

On why he chose Thanet, he said: "I heard destiny's call like a trumpet in the far distance and it sounded like it was saying Thanet, so Thanet had to be the place." 'Amazing Britain' He said one of his manifesto pledges including making Thanet the capital city and "demilitarising" North and South Thanet. "Why can't North and South Thanet walk in harmony together," he said. He has also promised that beer will cost "1p a pint", although "crisps will remain at the current price". Image copyright Pete Dadds/Avalon/PA Image caption Al Murray kissed the ground at Margate railway station, which is not in South Thanet During his visit to the Charles Dickens School in Broadstairs, Mr Murray said he was meeting "the adults of tomorrow" to tell them about "their chance to change this nation from Great Britain to Amazing Britain". Asked how seriously he was taking the election campaign, he said: "Well, only a fool wouldn't take the general election seriously. And a vote for me is a vote for common sense." A website has been set up for his campaign, carrying the slogan: "Other parties offer the moon on a stick.

We'll do better than that: a British moon on a British stick." His party is using an upturned pound sign for a logo, in a clear parody of the UKIP symbol. Murray is standing in a constituency which the Conservative Party won from Labour at the previous election in 2010. Media captionAl Murray said he was "the only person prepared to stand up and be an actual character" in the election Al Murray - IMDb IMDb Actor | Writer | Producer Al Murray was born on May 10, 1968 in Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, England as Alastair James Hay Murray. He is an actor and writer, known for Time Gentlemen Please (2000), Happy Hour (2007) and Harry Hill (1997). He has been married to Amber Murray since 2000. They have two children. He was previously married to Katherine Perry.

See full bio » Born: Al Murray | Mock The Week Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Mock The Week Wiki ( List of appearances ) Alastair James Hay "Al" Murray (born 10 May 1968), is a British comedian best known for his stand-up persona, "The Pub Landlord," a stereotypical xenophobic public house licensee. In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy and in 2007 he was voted number sixteen on Channel 4's hundred greatest stand-ups. Contents Edit Murray was born in Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, the son of Lieutenant Colonel Ingram Bernard Hay Murray and his wife Juliet Anne Thackeray Ritchie, through whom he is a great-great-great-grandson of William Makepeace Thackeray . His grandfather was diplomat Sir Ralph Murray. Murray attended Bedford School and is a graduate of St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he studied history. There he performed in the comedy group, the Oxford Revue in a show directed by Stewart Lee. He married his wife, Katherine A. Perry in 1995.

List of appearances Edit Murray has toured with other comedians including Harry Hill, Jim Tavaré and Frank Skinner. He won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1999, after being nominated in 1996, 1997 and 1998. He started out with an act that involved sound-effect impressions, including of guns, animals and a particularly impressive car boot; a combination that prompted an equal number of plaudits for vocal skill and complaints of tastelessness. The Pub Landlord Edit The Pub Landlord is a stereotypical lower middle class British nationalist with a dislike for anything "un-British". He has a particular dislike of Germans and the French; he will challenge the audience to name any country in the world before producing some plausible instance of Britain bettering it. Catchphrases include "All hail to the ale!", "...beautiful British name!", "Time-waster!", "You DISGUST me!", "Pint for the fella... Glass of white wine/ fruit-based drink for the lady!", "The point is this..." "if we had no rules where would we be? France! And if we had too many rules where would we be?

Germany!", "Is your dad proud of you, son? He's never said so, has he?" and "I was never confused", which is an allusion to a supposed gay interlude in his character's early identity. The character also has a great love for the British 1970's rock band Queen, often getting the musician(s) on his show to perform a song of Queen's in their own style. The character first appeared in 1994 when Murray was the tour support act for Harry Hill (Murray cut his TV teeth on Hill's TV show playing his 'big brother Alan': "If it's too hard, I can't understand it!"), and subsequently featured in a short film, Pub Fiction (1995). Murray's theatre show with the pub landlord character My Gaff, My Rules was short-listed for an Laurence Olivier Award in 2002, and he has also appeared in character as the central focus of the television series Time Gentlemen Please, as well as a number of other television appearances, including the An Audience with... strand.

Subsequent theatre tours, ...A Glass of White Wine for the Lady (another catchphrase) and Giving it Both Barrels also ran to critical acclaim. When asked about the sitcom during live shows, in character as the Pub Landlord, Murray claims to be unhappy with the television series, a joke some have taken literally. A quiz show, Fact Hunt presented by Murray as the Pub Landlord and named after the fictional quiz machine of the same name from Time Gentlemen Please was shown on late-night ITV in 2005. From January 2006, Murray filled in for Tim Lovejoy on Virgin Radio on Sunday afternoons, in character as the Pub Landlord, and broadcast his final show on 24 December 2006. His chat show Al Murray's Happy Hour began airing 13 January 2007 on ITV. The show has won a British Comedy Award and was nominated for a National Television Award. A new series returned on 12 September 2008. Murray was the headliner on the 11 July 2009 episode of Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, which was filmed in Brighton.

On 18 December 2009, Murray hosted the BBC One TV show, Live at the Apollo. Other work Edit As a teenager, Murray was a drummer in a band with his schoolmates. He played drums on the music for his Pub Landlord TV series and during an appearance by Phil Collins, they performed a duet. In 2003, Murray appeared on an episode of the BBC's Time Commanders alongside Kate Silverton, Raji James and Ricky Groves. In 2004, Murray appeared as a contestant in the first series of Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay's cookery based reality show on ITV, and in 2005 appeared as a contestant on Comic Relief does Fame Academy on BBC One. Murray presented Al Murray's Road To Berlin on the Discovery Channel. This was a series about the last phase of World War II, taking him from the beaches of Normandy, through Arnhem and up the Rhine, ending in Berlin. In the series he drove around in a restored Willys Jeep, and interviewed survivors from both sides of the war. In the episode about Operation Market Garden he parachuted, together with veterans, from a plane, to commemorate the battle.

In 2007, Murray published the book The Pub Landlord's Book of British Common Sense. It consists of The Pub Landlord's opinions and views on a number of topics such as James Bond actors, religion, politics, television, films and Churchill quotes. Al Murray starred in Al Murray's Multiple Personality Disorder, a sketch show, which aired in early 2009. Murray is the Patron of the charity , which is a development and relief charity for children in Cambodia. Works My Gaff, My Rules (2003) ...and a Glass of White Wine for the Lady! (2004) Giving It Both Barrels (2006) Live at the Palladium (2007) Al Murray's Multiple Personality Disorder (2009) Beautiful British Tour Live at the O2 (2009)

Question: Which British comedian has a character called ‘The Pub Landlord’?
Answer: Al Murray