Comic Relief 2011: Susan Boyle surprise duet of I Know Him So Well with Peter Kay helps raise £42m by 10pm | Daily Mail Online comments She's long held Elaine Paige as her musical hero - and now Susan Boyle has become something of a hero herself for helping raise a staggering amount of money for Comic Relief by covering one of her songs. The former Britain's Got Talent star, 49, made a surprise appearance on tonight's Red Nose Day extravaganza on BBC1 singing I Know Him So Well with Peter Kay, 37, in his Geraldine McQueen incarnation from his spoof Britain's Got The Pop Factor...On Ice. The duet was previously recorded by Elaine and Barbara Dickson from the musical Chess and was a Number One hit for four weeks in 1985. Scroll down to see Elaine and Barbara's original performance...

Game for a laugh: Susan Boyle and Peter Kay covered Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson's I Know Him So Well for Red Nose Day On song: The pair's hilarious performance boosted the Comic Relief coffers to a massive £42m by 10pm Funny for money: Some of the bits of the spoof were spot on when it came to the original 1985 video of the Number One hit Susan and Peter hilariously spoofed the original video of the song, which was written by Tim Rice along with Abba's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaes. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share Susan and Peter's version meanwhile goes on sale on Monday to raise even more money for Comic Relief. In a nod to the original video in all its Eighties glory, Susan has an enormous perm which keeps getting bigger, and at one point, the pair cook toast over an open fire.

In harmony: The pair actually turned out a sterling cover of the song, originally from the Tim Rice and Abba Eighties musical Chess Hair raising: Susan's normally modest curls kept increasing during the course of the spoof video Red hot performance: Viewers appeared to adore the pair's version of I Know Him So Well and donated in their droves After the pair finished singing, they were seen emerging from the studio and walking down a corridor at BBC's Television Centre, where Susan was heard saying to Peter: 'Hurry up then, I want a cup of tea.' Peter then replies: 'Alright, keep your hair on' - at which point they both take off wigs to reveal shiny bald heads underneath. Wigging out: Susan and Peter were definitely being funny for money during their dazzling duet Song take-off: Susan and Peter appeared to have a great laugh making the video for their version of I Know Him So Well Moments later, presenters Fearne Cotton and Lenny Henry revealed that aftere just three hours on air, Susan and Peter's performance had boosted the sum total to a whopping £42m. The single and a DVD of their version of I Know Him So Well goes on sale on Monday.

A look at 25 years of Comic Relief singles | Daily Star Latest News A look at 25 years of Comic Relief singles IT’S not often you hear the music of Sir Cliff Richard, the Spice Girls, the Saturdays and Peter Kay in the same place. Published 12th March 2011 Tony Christie and Peter Kay The best tunes have been included on an album, Now That’s What I Call Comic Relief But when it comes to Comic Relief, anything is possible. This year the charity celebrates 25 years of raising money for good causes at home and abroad and they are just some of the celebs who have recorded fund-raising singles. Now the best tunes have been included on an album, Now That’s What I Call Comic Relief. We can also reveal that this year’s big charity song will see Britain’s Got Talent star Susan Boyle, 49, teaming up with Peter Kay’s transsexual singer alter ego Geraldine McQueen. The oddball pair will per- form No 1 hit I Know Him So Well from the musical Chess. The song is a favourite of Susan’s, and was a chart-topper in 1985 for Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson.

Susan and Peter, 37, have filmed a spoof of the original video which will air on Red Nose Day next Friday. The song is not included on the album – it’s available to download from Monday – but there’s a feast of other treats to enjoy. The Comic Relief single tradition began in 1986 when Sir Cliff teamed up with comedy stars The Young Ones for a new version of his hit Living Doll. Sitcom stars Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer and Christopher Ryan shouted along to the chorus. Sir Cliff, 70, says: “It’s great a whole new generation will get to hear this. Living Doll was so much fun to record and I laughed all day on the video set with The Young Ones.” Back in 1997, the Spice Girls teamed up with a fivesome of funnygirls called the Sugar Lumps to release a special version of Who Do You Think You Are? Jennifer Saunders was a hilarious Ginger Spice, Dawn French got Posh, Kathy Burke was Sporty, Lulu was Baby and Llewella Gideon played Scary. One of the best-known Comic Relief hits was (Is This The Way To) Amarillo.

Sung by Tony Christie, now a sprightly 67, and mimed in the video by comic Peter, it was the best-selling single of 2005. Peter was back two years later where he played his Phoenix Nights character Brian Potter, alongside Matt Lucas as Little Britain faker Andy Pipkin and The Proclaimers, for (I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles. With the funnymen both in wheelchairs, they changed the lyrics from “walk 500 miles” to “roll 500 miles”. Matt, 37, says: “The Proclaimers are my absolute favourite band of all time. It was a true honour to be allowed to destroy one of their greatest songs.” Comic Relief got sexy in 2009 when The Saturdays sizzled with Just Can’t Get Enough. It didn’t do so well, though, and is the only Comic Relief single not to top the charts in 14 years.

It was back to funny last time out, with Gavin And Stacey stars Rob Brydon, 45, and Ruth Jones, 44, teaming up with Welsh hero Sir Tom Jones, 70, for a version of Islands In The Stream – a song the actors sang together on the show. The album also contains tracks by McFly, Westlife, Boyzone and even Mr Bean, and features the videos for all 18 songs. At least £6.50 of the £9.99 cost goes to Comic Relief. ● Now That’s What I Call Comic Relief is available to download from Monday exclusively at itunes.co.uk/rednoseday Susan Boyle stars in Comic Relief music video of 'I Know Him So Well' with Peter Kay | News Articles | TellyMix Susan Boyle stars in Comic Relief music video of 'I Know Him So Well' with Peter Kay Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comedian Peter Key is to carry on his tradition of funny Comic Relief videos this year by teaming up with Britain's Got Talent star Susan Boyle. The funnyman will be recording a parody video of classic hit 'I Know Him So Well' with the now world famous singer in order to raise money for the charity event.

Kay will reprise his reality TV winner character Geraldine McQueen from spoof talent show 'Britain’s got the Pop Factor' for the duet, which will premiere this evening during the Comic Relief telethon on ITV1. “I just thought it would be a laugh and so I wrote to Susan Boyle and she was really up for it," Kay told the Bolton News. "She was great on the day and worked very hard. We filmed at studios in Salford and carried on from 8am to 1am the next morning. “We stuck very closely to the original and when you see the Paige and Dickson version, you can see how similar they are. We have obviously added some funny bits in, but they are fairly subtle – I think it works better that way.” He added: “I hope people will enjoy it and that it raises lots of money for Comic Relief.” FanPal.com | Contact Peter Kay | Write to Any Star Don't have an account yet? Join FanPal.com Today! Biography Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian and actor.

His 2010-11 stand-up comedy tour was officially inaugurated into the Guinness World Records as the most successful of all time, playing to over 1.2 million people. He has written, produced, and acted in several award winning television and film projects. In addition, he has authored three books. In 2015, he starred in BBC sitcoms Peter Kay's Car Share and Cradle to Grave. In 2016, Kay won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Male Comedy Performance and the BAFTA TV Award for Best Scripted Comedy for Car Share. Read more... Career Peter Kay was born and brought up in Farnworth, Lancashire, where he attended St Ethelbert's R.C. School, then Mount St Joseph High School, leaving with one GCSE in art. He took several minor jobs, including working in a toilet roll factory, a Netto supermarket, a cash and carry, and a bingo hall, which later inspired episodes for That Peter Kay Thing. He began a degree course at the University of Liverpool but dropped out because he was given an unconditional offer to attend a Higher National Diploma (HND) in media performance at the University of Salford.

He then attended the University of Salford's school of media, music and performance, where he studied for an HND in Media Performance, which he completed; this involved a stand-up course. His first stand-up was the competition the North West Comedian of the Year, which was held in Manchester and hosted by Dave Spikey, who would later be the co-star and co-writer of Phoenix Nights. Kay was last on the bill and won the competition, beating Johnny Vegas. Kay has said that he sought a career in comedy. However, Kay continued to work part-time as an usher at his local cinema in Bolton whilst performing stand-up locally. When the cinema closed, Kay was presented with the choice between finding another menial job or moving into comedy full-time. 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.

Although this led to a certain level of public recognition, it was only after his first live video 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 Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Parkinson, on the latter of which he had previously served as warm up. It was at this time that 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 Kay's first TV project was in a 1997 episode of New Voices, a comedy series which showcased rising 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.

After presenting a slot titled "Peter Kay's World of Entertainment" on BBC2's The Sunday Show, Kay made an episode of Channel 4's Comedy Lab, "The Services", in 1998, which won a Royal Television Society award for best newcomer. This served as a pilot for That Peter Kay Thing. 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, which was an immediate hit. Set in a newly refurbished social club run by wheelchair-bound Brian Potter, the first series was filmed in part at St Gregory's Social Club in Farnworth, Greater Manchester, where the exterior, hallways and function suite were used. In 2004, Kay followed the success with Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, a spin-off of Phoenix Nights. The show featured the bouncer characters from the show - played by Kay and Paddy McGuinness - and at times also featured other characters from Phoenix Nights. Six episodes were made and broadcast from November to December 2004 by Channel 4. The DVD of the series was released in October 2005.

In 2005, Kay was awarded a Rose d'Or at the international television festival in Montreux for Best Performance by an Actor. 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 "180 - A Tour Documentary" which followed Kay behind the scenes of his Mum Wants a Bungalow tour and screened the whole Peter Kay Live in Manchester Arena show. In 2008, he returned to television after an absence four years with the BAFTA-winning satire of reality talent shows, Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice, which he co-wrote with Paul Coleman . The two-hour special was screened on Channel 4 on 17 October 2008. Kay won his second Royal Television Society award for best actor for playing Geraldine McQueen, a transsexual dinner lady from Ireland.

2000-2011: Stage shows Kay has released several DVDs of live performances, including Live at the Top of the Tower, Live at the Bolton Albert Halls (which holds the record as biggest selling British stand-up DVD), Peter Kay: The Live Collections (the previous two combined), Peter Kay: Live at Manchester Arena, and Peter Kay Live - The Tour That Didn't Tour Tour (which was recorded during his fifteen-night sold-out run at The O2 in London). 2007-present: BBC sitcoms In 2007, Kay followed this success with a re-release of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", originally by the Proclaimers, for Comic Relief. The video featured a celebration of British talent. In 2009, Kay switched his musical fund-raising to Children in Need with the release of Peter Kay's All Star Animated Band, which had taken two years to complete. He brought together over 100 animated children's characters in a six-minute animated medley.

These characters included Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, SpongeBob SquarePants, Paddington Bear, the Wombles, Fireman Sam, Peppa Pig, Postman Pat and the cast of Thunderbirds. It also featured some the characters' original voice artists including Bernard Cribbins , Neil Morrissey and Ringo Starr . The video was premiered on BBC1 on Friday 20 November 2009. Kay returned his support to Comic Relief in 2011 with a cover version of "I Know Him So Well". The song was re-recorded by multi-platinum selling singer Susan Boyle and Kay in the guise of Geraldine McQueen from Britain's Got the Pop Factor. The video which accompanied the single was also directed by Kay and identically parodied the original video shot for shot. It premiered on Comic Relief on Friday, 18 March 2011. Return to stand-up In November 2009, after an absence of seven years, Kay announced a return to stand-up with four (later extended to 20) dates at the Manchester Arena the following April with a show entitled "The Tour that Doesn't Tour Tour".

Demand for tickets caused him to announce soon after that the show would be toured. In January 2012, the tour entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful stand-up comedy tour of all time, playing to a total of 1.2 million people. Theatre work In February 2007, Kay played flamboyant gay director Roger DeBris in the Mel Brooks musical, The Producers at Manchester's Palace Theatre for 120 shows. He returned to the role for the last week of the UK tour of the production at Cardiff's Millennium Theatre in December 2007. Guest appearances He appeared in the first episode of the 2002 series of 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 Sally Lindsay, who played Shelley Unwin. On 17 June 2006, Kay appeared in the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters".

His character, the sinister Victor Kennedy, proved to be an alien called the Abzorbaloff in disguise. Kay was included in the Independent on Sunday's "Happy List" in 2009 as "simply Britain's best comedian", and - as an exception to their general rule - was included again in 2010 for also raising funds for Children in Need. Discography 2005: The Best of Peter Kay - So Far Singles Peter Kay Explained Peter Kay Explained Jason Manford [3] Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English comedian and actor . His 2010-11 stand-up comedy tour was officially inaugurated into the Guinness World Records as the most successful of all time, [4] playing to over 1.2 million people. He has written, produced, and acted in several award winning television and film projects. In addition, he has authored three books. In 2015, he starred in BBC sitcoms Peter Kay's Car Share and Cradle to Grave .

In 2016, Kay won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Male Comedy Performance and the BAFTA TV Award for Best Scripted Comedy for Car Share. Career Peter Kay was born and brought up in Farnworth , Lancashire , where he attended St Ethelbert's R.C. School, then Mount St Joseph High School , leaving with one GCSE in art. He took several minor jobs, including working in a toilet roll factory, a Netto supermarket , a cash and carry, and a bingo hall, which later inspired episodes for That Peter Kay Thing . He began a degree course at the University of Liverpool but dropped out because he was given an unconditional offer to attend a Higher National Diploma (HND) in media performance at the University of Salford . He then attended the University of Salford's school of media, music and performance, where he studied for an HND in Media Performance, which he completed; this involved a stand-up course. His first stand-up was the competition the North West Comedian of the Year, which was held in Manchester and hosted by Dave Spikey , who would later be the co-star and co-writer of Phoenix Nights . Kay was last on the bill and won the competition, beating Johnny Vegas .

Kay has said that he sought a career in comedy. However, Kay continued to work part-time as an usher at his local cinema in Bolton whilst performing stand-up locally. When the cinema closed, Kay was presented with the choice between finding another menial job or moving into comedy full-time. 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 . Although this led to a certain level of public recognition, it was only after his first live video 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 Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and Parkinson , on the latter of which he had previously served as warm up. It was at this time that 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 Kay's first TV project was in a 1997 episode of New Voices, a comedy series which showcased rising 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. After presenting a slot titled "Peter Kay's World of Entertainment" on BBC2's The Sunday Show , Kay made an episode of Channel 4's Comedy Lab , "The Services", in 1998, which won a Royal Television Society award for best newcomer. This served as a pilot for That Peter Kay Thing . 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, which was an immediate hit.

Set in a newly refurbished social club run by wheelchair-bound Brian Potter, the first series was filmed in part at St Gregory's Social Club in Farnworth , Greater Manchester , where the exterior, hallways and function suite were used. In 2004, Kay followed the success with Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , a spin-off of Phoenix Nights. The show featured the bouncer characters from the show – played by Kay and Paddy McGuinness – and at times also featured other characters from Phoenix Nights. Six episodes were made and broadcast from November to December 2004 by Channel 4. The DVD of the series was released in October 2005. In 2005, Kay was awarded a Rose d'Or at the international television festival in Montreux for Best Performance by an Actor. 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 "180 – A Tour Documentary" which followed Kay behind the scenes of his Mum Wants a Bungalow tour and screened the whole Peter Kay Live in Manchester Arena show.

In 2008, he returned to television after an absence four years with the BAFTA-winning satire of reality talent shows, Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice , which he co-wrote with Paul Coleman. The two-hour special was screened on Channel 4 on 17 October 2008. Kay won his second Royal Television Society award for best actor for playing Geraldine McQueen, a transsexual dinner lady from Ireland. 2000–2011: Stage shows Kay has released several DVDs of live performances, including Live at the Top of the Tower, Live at the Bolton Albert Halls (which holds the record as biggest selling British stand-up DVD), Peter Kay: The Live Collections (the previous two combined), Peter Kay: Live at Manchester Arena, and Peter Kay Live – The Tour That Didn't Tour Tour (which was recorded during his fifteen-night sold-out run at The O2 in London).

2007–present: BBC sitcoms In 2007, Kay followed this success with a re-release of " I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) ", originally by the Proclaimers , for Comic Relief. The video featured a celebration of British talent. In 2009, Kay switched his musical fund-raising to Children in Need with the release of Peter Kay's All Star Animated Band, which had taken two years to complete. He brought together over 100 animated children's characters in a six-minute animated medley. These characters included Thomas the Tank Engine , Bob the Builder , SpongeBob SquarePants , Paddington Bear , the Wombles, Fireman Sam, Peppa Pig, Postman Pat and the cast of Thunderbirds. It also featured some the characters' original voice artists including Bernard Cribbins , Neil Morrissey and Ringo Starr . The video was premiered on BBC1 on Friday 20 November 2009. Kay returned his support to Comic Relief in 2011 with a cover version of "I Know Him So Well".

The song was re-recorded by multi-platinum selling singer Susan Boyle and Kay in the guise of Geraldine McQueen from Britain's Got the Pop Factor. The video which accompanied the single was also directed by Kay and identically parodied the original video shot for shot. It premiered on Comic Relief on Friday, 18 March 2011. Return to stand-up In November 2009, after an absence of seven years, Kay announced a return to stand-up with four (later extended to 20) dates at the Manchester Arena the following April with a show entitled "The Tour that Doesn't Tour Tour". Demand for tickets caused him to announce soon after that the show would be toured. In January 2012, the tour entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful stand-up comedy tour of all time, playing to a total of 1.2 million people. [5] Theatre work In February 2007, Kay played flamboyant gay director Roger DeBris in the Mel Brooks musical, The Producers at Manchester's Palace Theatre for 120 shows.

He returned to the role for the last week of the UK tour of the production at Cardiff 's Millennium Theatre in December 2007. Guest appearances He appeared in the first episode of the 2002 series of 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 Sally Lindsay , who played Shelley Unwin . [6] On 17 June 2006, Kay appeared in the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters". [7] His character, the sinister Victor Kennedy, proved to be an alien called the Abzorbaloff in disguise. Kay was included in the Independent on Sunday 's " Happy List " in 2009 as "simply Britain's best comedian", and – as an exception to their general rule – was included again in 2010 for also raising funds for Children in Need.

[8] [9] Discography 2005: The Best of Peter Kay – So Far Singles Max and Paddy's Power of Two (Max) (2005) Stand-up DVDs In December 2011, it was reported that Kay had sold over 10 million DVDs, a UK record for a comedian and more than the combined sales of best selling films Avatar and Mamma Mia! [18] Live At The Top Of The Tower (22 November 2000) – Live at Blackpool Tower Live At The Bolton Albert Halls (10 November 2003) – Live at Bolton 's Town Hall Live At The Manchester Arena (2005) – Live at the Manchester Arena Peter Kay's Special Kay (17 November 2008) Live – The Tour That Didn't Tour – Tour (7 November 2011) – Live at London 's The O2 Live & Back on Nights (19 November 2012) Notes and References News: The Guardian profile: Peter Kay . The Guardian. London, UK. 7 August 2010. Gareth. McLean. 15 October 2004.

News: The secret of Barker's success . 4 October 2005. 22 September 2008. BBC News. London, UK. Ian. Youngs. The Third Year – 2011 | Susan Boyle The Third Year – 2011 January 1 – June 30, 2011 JANUARY On Ken Bruce show on BBC Radio 2, chose ten favorite songs, two were played each day of the week (Jan. 3–7); At new home in Blackburn, house-warming party for close friends and family (Jan. 15); In London; presented with plaque from Sony for 14 million CDs sold in the past 14 months (Jan. 21); Named Scot of the Year, 2010 (Jan. 24); To perform at Scottish Variety Awards Ceremony in Glasgow, March 19 (announced Jan. 28). FEBRUARY Sang “The Third Man” theme as backing track for Sapporo’s Premium Yebisu Beer commercial (Feb. 21).

MARCH To Pie Factory, Salford, Greater Manchester, England; taped “I Know Him So Well” with UK comedian Peter Kay as Geraldine McQueen for BBC Comic Relief (March 1); To Glasgow; launched WEE BOX Campaign for Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) (March 9); “I Know Him So Well” duet with Peter Kay as Geraldine McQueen broadcast on BBC’s Comic Relief (March 18); To Glasgow; Scottish Variety Awards, sang LIVE “Perfect Day,” “Who I Was Born To Be”, and “I Dreamed A Dream”; introduced by Scottish actress Elaine C Smith, received Outstanding Achievement Award; to be on episode of TV sitcom, Rab C. Nesbitt (March 19); In Livingston; presented with large handmade Birthday Quilt by fans at Meet & Greet (March 20).

APRIL 50th Birthday; attended World Fan Meeting in Broxburn, and private birthday party in West Lothian, (April 1); In Glasgow at Celtic Park, attended Davie Hay Tribute Dinner (April 10); Second anniversary of airing of Britain’s Got Talent audition, when Susan sang “I Dreamed A Dream” (April 11); In Blackpool, England for Press Launch at unveiling of Wax-Susan at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (April 19); Vacationed in Londonderry, Northern Ireland and vicinity over Easter weekend (April 22–25). MAY Duet with Jackie Evancho, “A Mother’s Prayer”, released on Jackie’s debut album, Dream With Me (May 3); Recording for third album in London studios; tweet from Producer Steve Mac: “Studio w/ ‘Lil’ Susie B.’ Album Starts!” (May 12); Official Susan Boyle Website: “Music on third album chosen solely by Susan” (May 26); On vacation in Rome (May 31–June 2).

JUNE Received commemorative plaque at Blackburn Gala Day for putting hometown of Blackburn “on the map” (June 11); I DREAMED A DREAM©, a new musical with Elaine C Smith as Susan, to open in Newcastle at Theatre Royal, March 2012; slated to tour UK (June 17); To perform on China’s Got Talent Finale at Shanghai’s Grand Stadium, July 10 (June 21). ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ July 1 – December 31, 2011 Flew to Shanghai, China (July 7); Performed LIVE at Shanghai Grand Stadium, sang “Who I Was Born To Be” and “I Dreamed A Dream”; live audience of 80,000, estimated TV audience of 400 million (July 10); On vacation in Galway and Knock, Ireland (July 22–25). AUGUST Album #3 to have new song by Emeli Sandé, “This Will Be The Year” (Aug.

6); In New York City on business; photo shoots with Osca Humphrey for his upcoming documentary, “Susan Boyle: An Unlikely Superstar”; Meet & Greet with 20 Susa-fans, previewed 4 tracks on Album #3 (Aug. 18–20); Album #3 titled Someone To Watch Over Me (Aug. 30); In Los Angles, performed “You Have To Be There” from Abba’s musical Kristina on America’s Got Talent Semifinal (taped Aug. 30, aired Aug. 31). SEPTEMBER audio of “You Have To Be There” on Soundcloud.com; USMagazine.com with exclusive media release of studio audio of “You Have To Be There” (Sep. 20); On vacation in and around Galway, Ireland (Sep. 23–25); 1:17-minute track of “Someone To Watch Over Me” on the Susan Boyle page at Amazon (US) (Sep. 26); World exclusive of new song, “Return” to be played by Paul O’Grady on BBC Radio 2 on October 2 (Sep.

27); Studio audio of Susan’s cover of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” released exclusively at RollingStone.com (Sep. 29). OCTOBER To Los Angeles (Oct. 1), sang “Unchained Melody” for Dancing With The Stars (taped Oct. 3, aired Oct. 11); Premier of “Return” by Paul O’Grady on BBC Radio 2 (aired Oct. 2, taped Sep. 7); Premier of “You Have To Be There” music video at USAToday.com (Oct. 5); “Mad World” premiered by Paul O’Grady on BBC Radio 2 (Oct. 9); Dancing With The Stars aired with “Unchained Melody” (Oct. 11); Rab C. Nesbitt aired with cameos by Susan and Joanne (Oct. 12); “Unchained Melody” music video released in Australia on NineMSN.com (Oct. 14); To London (Oct. 14), sang “Unchained Melody” for results show of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing (taped Oct. 15, aired Oct.

16); “This Will Be The Year” premiered on BBC Radio 2 (Oct. 16); Interview with Amy Robach aired on NBC’s The Today Show (Oct. 18); “Sukiyaki” extra track on Japanese edition of Someone To Watch Over Me (Oct. 19); To London; Susan to appear in Australia on X-Factor and The Today Show in November (Oct. 23); Taped “Autumn Leaves” and “Both Sides Now” on The Alan Titchmarsh Show (Oct. 24, aired Nov. 7); Taped interview for BBC Breakfast Show (Oct. 24, aired Oct. 25); “Mad World” premiered on Music AOL.com (Oct. 27); “Autumn Leaves” premiered on AARP.Music.com (Oct. 28); Feature article in The Sunday Times (London) (Oct. 30); Flew to New York City to begin promotion of Someone To Watch Over Me (Oct. 31). NOVEMBER In New York studios, taped interviews for later broadcast; taped “Both Sides Now” for The View; Someone To Watch Over Me released in US; by evening, album was #1 on Amazon US (Nov.

1); On NBC’s Today Show, snuggled with Bill Cosby, sang LIVE “Both Sides Now”; late in day flew to Los Angeles (Nov. 2); In Los Angeles studios, taped interview and “Both Sides Now” for Piers Morgan Tonight; very late at night began flight to Sydney, Australia (Nov. 3); ABC’s The View aired with “Both Sides Now” (taped Nov. 1); CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight interview and “Both Sides Now” aired (taped Nov. 3); Osca Humphrey’s documentary, “Susan Boyle: An Unlikely Superstar” premiered in UK (Nov. 4) and in US (Nov. 6); In flight to Australia (Nov. 4); arrived early morning in Sydney (Nov. 5); Visited Wildlife Sydney at Darling Harbour, met the media and koalas, “Susa-roo” boinged (Nov.

6); In UK, interview with Paul O’Grady aired on BBC Radio 2 (taped Oct 2; aired Nov 6); Cruised Sydney Harbour and had Meet & Greet with Aussie Susa-fans (Nov 7).In UK; The Alan Titchmarsh Show aired with “Autumn Leaves” and “Both Sides Now” (taped Oct. 24; aired Nov.7); Someone To Watch Over Me released (Nov. 7); Interview aired with Richard Glover on Sydney Radio; taped interview with Molly Meldrum; sang “Autumn Leaves” LIVE on Australian X-Factor (Nov. 8); Taped interviews for later broadcast; hosted very first Question & Answer session with fans via Twitter (Nov. 9); LIVE on Today Show (AUS), interview and sang “Both Sides Now”, “Autumn Leaves”, and “Who I Was Born To Be”; interview with Molly Meldrum aired; interview with Alan Jones on Sydney Radio; taped interview with Michael Holland of ONE News New Zealand; began flight back to UK (Nov. 10); Returned to UK via Bangkok— Around the World in 12 Days!! (Nov.

11); Someone To Watch Over Me debuted #1 in Australia (Nov. 12); Someone To Watch Over Me debuted #1 in UK— only solo female singer to have 3 consecutive albums debut #1 on UK Albums Chart in less than 2 years; interview with Michael Holland aired on ONE News in New Zealand (Nov 13); To London (Nov. 16), taped interview for ITV’s Lorraine; interview and performance of “Both Sides Now” taped for ITV’s This Morning (Nov. 17); Debut LIVE performance of “Enjoy The Silence” on BBC’s Children In Need (Nov. 18); Interview with Lorraine Kelly aired on ITV’s Lorraine (Nov. 22, taped Nov. 17); Interview and “Both Sides Now” aired on ITV’s This Morning (Nov. 23, taped Nov. 17); In the US, taped performance of “Autumn Leaves” aired on Today with Kathie Lee & Hoda (Nov. 25, taped Nov. 2); The Gift nominated for a Grammy (Nov. 30). DECEMBER Photographic portrait in Scottish National Gallery (Dec. 1); On cover of Scottish Woman and lead article (Dec.

8); In-depth interview with Chrissy Iley in DailyMail.co.uk with photos by Charlie Gray (Dec. 9); Susan’s Blog, “Why I Finally Feel I’ve Beaten My Demons in 2011” in Huffingtonpost.co.uk (Dec. 14); Comic Relief : definition of Comic Relief and synonyms of Comic Relief (English) Website Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia . [1] The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief . Comic Relief is one of the two high profile telethon events held in the United Kingdom, the other being Children in Need , held annually in November. Comic Relief was launched live on Noel Edmonds ' Late, Late Breakfast Show on BBC1 , on Christmas Day 1985 from a refugee camp in Sudan. The idea for Comic Relief came from the noted charity worker Jane Tewson , who established it as the operating name of Charity Projects, a registered charity in England [2] and Scotland.

[3] The charity states that its aim is to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people, which we believe requires investing in work that addresses people's immediate needs as well as tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice.". [4] One of the fundamental principles behind working at Comic Relief is the "Golden Pound Principle" where every single donated pound (£) is spent on charitable projects. All operating costs , such as staff salaries , are covered by corporate sponsors , or interest earned on money waiting to be distributed. Currently, its main supporters are the BBC , BT and Sainsbury's supermarket chain. The BBC is responsible for the live television extravaganza on Red Nose Day; BT provides the telephony, and Sainsbury's sells merchandise on behalf of the charity. Since the charity was launched in 1985, Comic Relief has raised over £ 750 million.

[5] Critics of Comic Relief and other BBC charity events say[ citation needed ] that the BBC is diverting funds from well established charities and smaller charities, there is no accountability for who decides on where the money is held or spent[ citation needed ], and the main beneficiary is the BBC – goodwill and free programming – the bankers who hold the funds – and especially the celebrities promoting themselves on prime-time TV for free. The July 2010 accounts for charity registration 326568[ citation needed ] show grant payments of £59 million pounds, net assets of £135 million pounds, with an investment portfolio held in a range of managed pooled funds and fixed term deposits. The average fulltime staff was 214, with 14 staff paid over £60,000 with remuneration for the year, excluding pensions, for Kevin Cahill, Chief Executive of £120,410. In 2002, Comic Relief and BBC Sport teamed up to create Sport Relief , a new initiative, aiming to unite the sporting community and culminate in a night of sport, entertainment and fund-raising on BBC One.

Sport Relief is a biennial charity event, and the campaign deliberately alternates years with Red Nose Day, Comic Relief's flagship event. Red Nose Day occurs in odd-numbered years, and Sport Relief in even-numbered years. In 2009, Comic Relief launched a website calling for a financial transaction tax, the "Robin Hood" tax. Contents 13 External links Red Nose Day history Red Nose Day is the main way in which Comic Relief raises money. The first Red Nose Day (RND) was held on 5 February 1988 and since then they have been on the second or third Friday in March. RND 2011 was on 18 March. Red Nose Day is often treated as a semi- holiday [ citation needed ]; for example, many schools have non- uniform days. The day culminates in a live telethon event on BBC One, starting in the evening and going through into the early hours of the morning, but other money-raising events take place. As the name suggests, the day involves the wearing of plastic/foam red noses which are available, in exchange for a donation, from Sainsbury's and Oxfam shops.

On television The television programming begins in the afternoon, with CBBC having various related reports, money-raising events and celebrity gunging . This is all in-between the regular programmes, but after the six o'clock news , the normal BBC One schedule is suspended at 7 pm in favour of a live show, with a break at 10 pm for the regular news programme . Whilst the BBC News at Ten is aired on BBC One, Comic Relief continues on BBC Two , and then resumes on BBC One at 10:35 pm, with each hour overseen by a different celebrity team. These celebrities do the work for free, as do the crew, with studio space and production facilities donated by the BBC. Regular themes throughout the shows include parodies of recent popular shows, films and events, and specially filmed versions of comedy shows. Smith and Jones , and a parody sketch starring Rowan Atkinson are both regularly featured – the first being Blackadder: The Cavalier Years (1988).

1980s and 1990s 1988 The First Red nose day was held on Friday 5th February 1988 with the Slogan: “The Plain Red Nose” 1989 The Second Red nose day was held on Friday 10th March 1989 with the Slogan: “Red Nose Day 2” 1991 The Third Red nose day was held on Friday 15th March 1991, with the slogan “The Stonker” 1993 The Fourth Red nose day was held on Friday 12th March 1993 with the slogan “The Invasion of the Comic Tomatoes” 1995 The Firth Red Nose day was held on Friday 17th March 1995, with the slogan “What A Difference A Day Makes” 1997 event The 1997 "Red Nose Day" event, held on 14 March, Its Slogan for the year was “Small Change – Big Difference" and raised over £27m for charitable causes.

[6] The Spice Girls song " Who Do You Think You Are " became the official Comic Relief single of this event and sold 672,577 copies. [7] 1999 event The 1999 "Red Nose Day" was held on 12 March and raised over £35m. [8] A parody of the Doctor Who series, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death , starring Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor , was featured during the show, as was Wetty Hainthropp Investigates, a Victoria Wood parody of Hetty Wainthropp Investigates . On Radio 1, Simon Mayo set the record of 37 hours of consecutive broadcasting (which was later broken in March 2011 by Chris Moyles on the same station for 52 hours, " BBC Radio 1's Longest Show Ever with Chris Moyles and Comedy Dave for Comic Relief ", the world record for the longest show in radio history).

The 1999 Comic Relief song was "When the Going Gets Tough" by Boyzone 2000s 2001 event The 2001 "Red Nose Day" was held on 16 March. The total raised was £61,000,140.[ citation needed ] As well as donations on the night of the TV show, money is raised from countrywide sponsored events and from merchandising , particularly of the red noses themselves. 5.8 million red noses were sold,[ citation needed ] approximately one tenth of the UK population. The final of Celebrity Big Brother 2001 aired as well. 2003 event The 2003 "Red Nose Day" was held on 14 March. The fund raising activities included Lenny Henry providing the voice of the speaking clock between 10 and 23 March with the cost of the call going to Comic Relief.

On the night of the live show itself, £35m was raised, an on-the-night record.[ citation needed ] A total of £61,477,539 was raised that year, setting a new record.[ citation needed ] Jack Dee stood outside at the top of a pole for the duration of the show, parodying the acts of David Blaine . Celebrity Driving School led up to the event, with the test results announced during the telethon: they all failed. The hosts of "Red Nose Day" 2003 were: 2005's telethon, more than any other, severely overran[ citation needed ] and many pre-filmed segments were cut short, including Harry Hill's TV Burp , Smith and Jones , and Lenny Henry as Condoleezza Rice . The uncut versions have never been screened. McFly released the official single, a double A-side of " All About You/You've Got a Friend " which reached Number 1 in the UK singles chart, and also Number 1 in the Irish singles chart. The cover is predominantly red and features the members of McFly dressed in red, wearing red noses, in honour of Red Nose Day.

Raised by March 2006: £65 m.[ citation needed ] 2007 event Main article: Red Nose Day 2007 2007's Red Nose Day was held on 16 March. Its tagline is "The Big One" which is also representative of the novelty nose. Walkers , Kleenex and Andrex also promoted the charity, as well as Sainsbury's. Some of the sketches shown were: The Vicar of Dibley . [9] Also intended to be shown was A Question of Comedy, a comedy quiz utilising the format (and set) of A Question of Sport , and hosted by Jack Dee , with team captains Frank Skinner , Dara Ó Briain , [10] and Mr. Bean and guests including Jade Goody . However, in light of the Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy involving Goody, the pre-recorded segment was scrapped by BBC producers. [11] [12] In the lead up to Red Nose Day many different fund raising events occurred: Beginning Friday 9 March 2007, the BBC Radio 1 breakfast team staged a tour around the UK entitled The Chris Moyles Rallyoke.

The tour involved seven Karaoke nights held in a well known UK location featuring members of the public and well known celebrities and music artists. Most Radio 1 shows report on their progress, and hold competitions to win tickets to be at the final on Red Nose Day, and also to win the contents of a truck donated by various celebrities. As well as raising money at each event, the profit of the phone-in competitions go to Comic Relief making a total of £ 600,000 [13] Televised events included a third series of Comic Relief Does Fame Academy , and a celebrity version of The Apprentice entitled Comic Relief Does The Apprentice has also been screened. Also a special hybrid of Top of the Pops and Top Gear titled Top Gear of the Pops was made for Red Nose Day. It featured its presenters Jeremy Clarkson , Richard Hammond and James May singing with Justin Hawkins , as well as Top Gear segments such as The Cool Wall.

Fund raising merchandise sold during the 2007 campaign included the Big One (Red Nose) itself, ' Walkears ', an Andrex Puppy with a red nose, a special Little Britain Live DVD and the official single, which was a cover of Aerosmith 's 'Walk This Way' sung by Girls Aloud and Sugababes . The last episode of the Vicar of Dibley was aired as part of the show, starring the usual cast. It featured Sting taking part with a celebrity and non-entity television show, swapping wives with the vicar's husband Harry. The special Little Britain Live featured famous people such as: Dennis Waterman , Chris Moyles , Jonathan Ross , Kate Moss and Russell Brand . Kate Moss played a chav , Russell Brand played a transvestite , and both Chris Moyles and Jonathan Ross were brought on as either small parts, or people who came up to the audience to be embarrassed .

There were several sketches from Catherine Tate : in which David Tennant (who she would work with again a year later in Doctor Who, which is referenced to & joked about within the sketch) became a school teacher; Daniel Craig fell in love with Tate; mouthy teenager Lauren was given work experience at 10 Downing Street , leading to Tony Blair using her catchphrase "Am I bovvered?"; and foul-mouthed "Nan" appeared with Noel Edmonds on Deal or No Deal . To gain additional money, Peter Kay and Matt Lucas released a cover of The Proclaimers hit, I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) , and released it as a single 'I Would Roll (500 Miles)' (both were playing wheelchair bound characters from Little Britain and Phoenix Nights ). It also featured numerous celebrity guests. There was also a live show from The Mighty Boosh . 2009 event Main article: Red Nose Day 2009 The 2009 event took place on Friday 13 March 2009. Fundraisers had three different nose designs to choose from: "this one", "that one" and "the other one" – all with different facial expressions.

The Saturdays provided the official single, a cover of ' Just Can't Get Enough '. A variety of events and promotions took place in the run up to the big day. Comic Relief's Chief Executive announced that the UK's landmarks were going red before the big day. Claudia Winkleman and Steve Jones presented a new Comic Relief show called Let's Dance for Comic Relief . A special limited edition Mr. Men book, Mr. Funny's Red Nose Day, [14] went on sale with £2 from the sale of each book going to Comic Relief. Between 3 February and 23 March 2009, Kimberley Walsh , Cheryl Cole , Gary Barlow , Chris Moyles , and Fearne Cotton raised money by lending their voices to the BT Speaking Clock . Dialling 123 was one of the ways BT hopes to raise more than £300,000, as the company donated 10p for each call received from a BT landline.

[15] The Red Nose Climb saw nine celebrities successfully scale the peak of Kilimanjaro at 19,330 feet (5,890 m) to reach the summit of Africa's highest mountain to raise money for Comic Relief. [16] On 27 February 2009, Gary Barlow , Ronan Keating , Chris Moyles , Ben Shephard , Cheryl Cole , Kimberley Walsh , Denise Van Outen , Fearne Cotton , and Alesha Dixon set off to Tanzania to tackle Mount Kilimanjaro with project manager and guide Jeremy Gane of Charity Challenge . The Climb has already raised in excess of £3.3 million with over £1.8 million coming from the audience of Radio 1 (a record for the station). All nine celebrities reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro on Saturday 7 March 2009. Cheryl Cole, Fearne Cotton, Denise Van Outen and Ben Shephard reached the summit first at sunrise, followed closely by Ronan Keating and Gary Barlow .

The following took place during the live broadcast on the night: David Tennant and Davina McCall presented the first hour of the main live Comic Relief show. Main article: Red Nose Day 2011 The 2011 event took place on Friday 18 March 2011. A staggering amount was raised on the night, reaching a record-breaking £74.3 million, the highest ever 'on the night' total. The evening was hosted by Lenny Henry , Fearne Cotton , James Corden , Davina McCall , Michael McIntyre , Graham Norton , Jack Whitehall , Kevin Bridges , Claudia Winkleman and Jonathan Ross . Whitehall and Bridges hosted the late night show with some of their favourite comedy clips in their Comic Relief Late Night Lock In.

Pieces included Harry Hill (an Autumnwatch-based update of the Goodies episode "Scatty Safari"), James Corden as Smithy, a crossover between Miranda and Pineapple Dance Studios , the cast of Outnumbered , The Inbetweeners Rude Road Trip, Geraldine McQueen duetting with Susan Boyle , Goldie Lookin' Chain 's Newport State Of Mind, a celebrity chef-themed episode of The Choir , the premiere of the Comic Relief video for Take That 's single Happy Now , Armstrong and Miller , a preview presentation of Chris Lilley 's Angry Boys , a special edition of Alan Partridge's Mid-Morning Matters , and Uptown Downstairs Abbey – a parody from Jennifer Saunders and Adrian Edmondson (produced in the style of French and Saunders ) including appearances by Victoria Wood , Harry Enfield , Joanna Lumley , Patrick Barlow , Dale Winton , Olivia Colman , Tim Vine , Simon Callow and the voices of Michael Gambon and Harry Hill . As well as comedy shows, special canonical mini-episodes of EastEnders and Doctor Who were also aired. Musical guests included Adele , Annie Lennox , Elbow , JLS , Take That , The Wanted , and The Axis of Awesome .

The event included many other famous figures including Ross Kemp , Gordon Brown , Sebastian Coe , David Cameron , Rio Ferdinand , Paul McCartney and many more. In addition to the continued absence of Rowan Atkinson, two more prominent supporters of the charity were absent for the 2011 – this was the first ever Comic Relief event to feature no input from Dawn French, and the first for over ten years to feature no input from Matt Lucas. Similarly, several other frequent contributors from previous years appeared only in appeal films or as part of the 24 Hour Panel People event. Lenny Henry however finally returned after an absence to perform comedic material. TV & Radio programmes that led up to the main event include: Radio 1's Longest Show Ever with Chris Moyles and Comedy Dave for Comic Relief Snack food manufacturer, Walkers created four new crisps flavours for Comic Relief 2011. Each flavour is named after a British comedian; Frank Skinner's Roast Dinner , Jimmy Con Carrne , Steak and Al Pie and Stephen Fry Up . [18] The Wanted released the official comic relief 2011 single "Gold Forever" on 13 March.

Other Comic Relief singles include George Michael 's cover of the 1987 song " True Faith " by New Order and the Take That song " Happy Now " featuring Take That and Fake That consisting of David Walliams , James Corden , John Bishop , Alan Carr and Catherine Tate . [19] More than a hundred celebrities are to be involved in "Twit Relief", an event on Twitter. [20] Lord Prescott is going to read the Shipping Forecast on BBC Radio 4 to raise money for Comic Relief on Saturday 19 March 2011 at approximately 00:48. British Airways set a new Guinness World Record for 'highest stand up comedy gig in the world' in support of Red Nose Day 2011 , with Dara Ó Briain , Jack Whitehall and Jon Richardson . The airline raised £800,747 for Comic Relief through their charity partnership 'Flying Start'. Presenters Past Red Nose Days Merchandise Various items of merchandise have been sold to promote and raise money for Comic Relief. In 1991, The Totally Stonking, Surprisingly Educational And Utterly Mindboggling Comic Relief Comic was published by Fleetway .

Conceived, plotted and edited by Neil Gaiman , Richard Curtis , Grant Morrison and Peter K. Hogan , it featured contributions from a vast array of British comics talent, including Jamie Delano , Garth Ennis , Dave Gibbons , Mark Millar , Simon Bisley , Mark Buckingham , Steve Dillon , D'Israeli , Jamie Hewlett and Bryan Talbot . ( Alan Moore , arguably Britain's most famous comics writer, was not credited as working on the book having sworn never to work for Fleetway again, but was said [21] to have worked with partner Melinda Gebbie on her pages.) The comic was unique in that it featured appearances by characters from across the spectrum of comics publishers, including Marvel and DC superheroes, Beano , Dandy , Eagle and Viz characters, Doctor Who , the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , in addition to a cavalcade of British comedy figures (both real and fictional). These were all linked by the twin framing narratives of the Comic Relief night itself, and the tale of "Britain's meanest man" Sir Edmund Blackadder being persuaded to donate money to the event.

The comic "sold out in minutes", raising over £40,000[ citation needed ] for the charity, and is now a highly prized collectors' item. Comic Relief have also sold Fairtrade Cotton Socks from a number of vendors. This is mainly for their Sport Relief charity. In 1993 a computer platform game was released, called Sleepwalker . The game featured voice overs from Lenny Henry and Harry Enfield , and several other references to Comic Relief and tomatoes; the theme for the 1993 campaign. In 2001 J. K. Rowling wrote two books for Comic Relief based on her famous Harry Potter series, entitled "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "Quidditch Through the Ages". In 2007, Walkers complemented the usual merchandise by adding their own take on the red nose, promoting red ears instead. The large ears, dubbed 'Walk-ears', are based on a very old joke involving the actual ears of ex-footballer Gary Lineker , who has fronted their ad campaign since the early 1990s. Walkers previously promoted the charity in 2005, making four limited edition unusual crisp flavours.

The 2007 game for Red Nose Day, “Let it Flow”, could be played online . This game was developed by Matmi, worldwide viral marketeers, and set in the African wilderness. Mischievous hyenas had messed up the water irrigation system which fed the crops. Using your brain, you had to help re-arrange the pipes to let the water flow to the crops to keep them alive. Once the pipes were arranged, you needed to operate the elephant’s trunk to pump the water through the water pipes. For the 2007 campaign Andrex , known for their ad campaign fronted by a Labrador puppy , gave away toy puppies with red noses. As a Supporting Partner Jackpotjoy has launched two Red Nose Day Games for Red Nose Day 2011. The Red Nose The most prominent symbol of Comic Relief is a plastic/foam "red nose", which is given in various supermarkets and charity shops such as Oxfam in exchange for a donation to the charity and to make others laugh. People are encouraged to wear the noses on Red Nose Day to help raise awareness of the charity.

The design of the nose has been changed each year, beginning with a fairly plain one, which later grew arms, turned into a tomato and even changed colour. In 2007, the red nose was made of foam; this was to facilitate the "growing" of the nose (by rolling it in the user's hands) to keep in line with that year's tagline, The Big One. See the table below. Larger noses are also available, and are designed to be attached to the fronts of cars, buildings, and, in 2009, a 6 metre diameter inflatable nose was attached to the DFDS Seaways cruiseferry King of Scandinavia. However, the nose's material used for buildings was classed as a fire hazard. and was banned from the Comic Relief Does Fame Academy shows. Chronology of noses As of 2011, there have been 17 different Red noses over 13 Comic Relief shows. (Three noses were used for 2009 & 2011). Year That One The Other One Three noses were available. Nose 1 (This One) had a big smile with mouth open.

Nose 2 (That One) had glasses on and a smile with the teeth closed. Nose 3 (The Other One) had a shocked look. All three came with six stickers depicting each of the noses, the RND 09 logo and tag-line "Do something funny for money"; a sticker to introduce your nose by name, which said, "Hello, my nose is:" shortly followed by a blank to write in a name; and a small booklet of nose-related jokes. 2011 Monster Noses There were three different 'monster noses' for RND 2011. Their names were Honkus, who had a furry face with a large mouth with sharp teeth and small eyes near the top of the head. Chucklechomp, who had small round spectacles and a large mouth, and Captain Conk who was roughly based on a pirate with a black skull and crossbones bandana and an eyepatch. Each nose came with a circular leaflet which contained monster related jokes and pictures of the three monster noses. 2011 was also the year an Augmented Reality version of the nose was created as part of the Red Nose Day website .

Via a webcam the users head was converted into a giant red nose which could then be recorded as a short movie and posted to Facebook and/or YouTube. Chronology of car noses A selection of Red Nose Day "car noses" have been produced over the years, to show support for the charity while out on the road. They have traditionally been a curved nose which attaches to the car's radiator grille. In 2009, this was replaced with a magnetic design owing to safety concerns. [22] The original grill-attachable design returned for 2011, for the first time since 1999. [23] Year A red plastic nose with hands, which attached to the car's radiator grille at the front. 1993 The Tomato Nose A red plastic nose with a green tomato stalk, which attached to the car's radiator grille at the front with cable ties. 1997 The Aerial Nose A small red plastic nose which attached to the car's aerial. This nose was sold in Texaco fuel stations. 1999 The Hands Nose Another red plastic nose with hands and '1999' in golden adhesive numbers, which attached to the car's radiator grille at the front with cable ties.

2001 The Big Sticky Car Nose A small plastic nose with wings, synonymous to The Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament on Rolls-Royce cars, for attaching to the car's bonnet with a suction cup on the base. The Big Sticky Nose featured a face designed by Aardman animators, the creators of Wallace and Gromit. 2003 The Hairy Air Freshener Nose A small plastic nose with a smiley face and red tuft of hair, attached to the driver's rear-view mirror . 2005 The Air Freshener Nose A small plastic nose with a smiley face and colourful koosh-like elastic hair, for attaching to the driver's rear-view mirror. 2007 Big Smelly Nose Balls Two furry air freshener noses with black spectacles, which dangled from the driver's rear-view mirror, synonymous with furry dice from the 1950s. 2009 The Magnetic Nose A thin and flat magnetic nose, with a grinning face, which attached magnetically to the car's bonnet. 2011 The Monster Nose A return to the curved plastic nose, featuring a monster face, which attached to the car's radiator grille at the front with cable ties.

Comic Relief charity singles In April 1986 the first Comic Relief charity single was released. It featured Cliff Richard and the cast of The Young Ones in a rendition of "Living Doll". Some of the money raised from the sale of each single is donated to Comic Relief. Normally a song is released just before the official Red Nose Day . There have been exceptions, such as "(I want to be) Elected" which was released to coincide with the 1992 UK general election . Before 1995's song, they were all more-or-less comedy records, mostly involving an actual band or singer, and a comedy group. From 1995 on, they have been generally more serious, although the videos still feature comical moments. 2003 saw a return to the format of old. From 2005 onwards, two comic relief songs have been released each red nose day, a song by a mainstream artist, and a comedy song.

In 1991 music video was created called Helping Hands which included numerous children's TV puppet personalities, including characters from 'The House of Gristle', 'Fraggle Rock', 'Rainbow', 'Roland Rat', 'Thunderbirds', 'Round the Bend', 'Bill & Ben', 'The Gophers', 'Spitting Image', 'Jim Hensons Tale of the Bunny Picnic' and more. The song was never released. Release Susan Boyle & Geraldine McQueen No.11 ( Week end 27th) ^1 "Is This the Way to Amarillo", though released expressly with the intent of proceeds going to Comic Relief, was not an official Comic Relief single. The song was originally performed by Peter Kay (lipsynching to Tony Christie 's voice) during the evening, and was later released as a single. It was the number one single for seven weeks, and in its first week it outsold the rest of the Top 20 combined. ^2 In 2007, a version of The Proclaimers song "500 Miles", released on 19 March, featured Peter Kay and Matt Lucas as their wheelchair-user characters Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin .

Before its official release, the song reached Number 3 based on downloads alone. The single reached Number one on 25 March, knocking official Comic Relief single "Walk This Way" off the top spot. ^3 In 2009, the comedy release took prominence over the single release by a mainstream recording artist. Gavin and Stacey 's Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon covered "Islands in the Stream" for the event, with this being released on the week of Comic Relief. The Saturdays released their record a week earlier. In addition, the first Red Nose Day Schools' song ('Make Someone Happy') was published in 2007. A CD of the song, together with backing tracks and fundraising ideas was sent free of charge to all primary schools in the UK in February by the education music publisher 'Out of the Ark Music'. Schools will be free to use the song in assemblies, singathons, or other fundraising activities. A second Red Nose Day Song has been released for every school in the UK to use free of charge. It can be downloaded from the Red Nose Day 09 website, or watched on YouTube, and a copy is being sent to every primary school in the UK.

It has again been published by "Out of the Ark" music, and contains a more upbeat melody than the 2007 song. It was recorded at Hook Studios, Hook , Surrey, by the Out of the Ark Choir, which is completely made up of children. The children in the video wear Stella McCartney 's special edition Comic Relief T-Shirts, and has been filmed in black and white so only the red stands out. Criticisms There has been some concern about the lack of gender equality in the causes supported by Comic Relief, with much funding going to politicised women's charities or charities focusing on females. Writing in The Spectator Ross Clark raised the question, "why do all these women’s charities ... feel the need to disguise their fundraising in the pratfest that is Comic Relief rather than appealing directly to the public?" He added, "are they worried that if the British public realised where their money was going they would be less inclined to be so generous?" [25] There is also concern over adverts for unpaid interns to work alongside highly paid BBC and Comic Relief staff.

[26] The British Stammering Association criticised comedian Lenny Henry for his opening sketch for the 2011 Comic Relief, during which he spoofed the film The King's Speech and grew impatient with Colin Firth 's portrayal of King George VI as he stammered over his speech. The Sun reported that the British Stammering Association had branded the sketch as "a gross and disgusting gleefulness at pointing out someone else's misfortune". [27] [28] Similar events outside the United Kingdom United States Inspired by the British charity, a United States Comic Relief charity was founded in 1986 by Bob Zmuda . Comic Relief is an irregularly held event, televised on Home Box Office (HBO), which has raised and distributed nearly US$50 million toward providing health care services to homeless people throughout the United States. Comedians Robin Williams , Billy Crystal , and Whoopi Goldberg are hosts of the event. The 1989 HBO Comic Relief show debuted the song " Mr. President ", written by Joe Sterling , Ray Reach and Mike Loveless . The song was sung by Al Jarreau and Natalie Cole .

On 18 November 2006, the event was revived as a fundraiser for those affected by Hurricane Katrina , and was simulcast on TBS . [29] Richard Curtis also created the Idol Gives Back special for American Idol , which follows the same basic premise as Comic Relief, with specially filmed shorts, performances and footage of the stars of the show visiting impoverished countries. Australia In 1988, the Red Nose Day concept was adopted by the SIDS and Kids organisation to help raise funds for research into sudden infant death syndrome . Since then, Red Nose Day in Australia is held annually on the last Friday of June. [30] An Australian version of Comic Relief, Comic Relief Australia, has also been set up. [31] It plans to divide the money raised between Australian causes (at least 40%) and overseas charities largely in Asia Pacific (at least 40%).[ citation needed ] Following a campaign encouraging people to buy articles such as red wristbands, the first telethon -style event was held on 6 November 2005 on the Seven Network . It followed the established format, with comedy interspersed with examples of the sorts of charities to benefit.

According to its website, this raised over AUS $800,000. Another telethon was broadcast on 27 November 2006 on Seven Network . The 2006 Comic Relief Show was held under the title '50 Years of Laughs' celebrating 50 years of Television in Australia. It was hosted by Colin Lane , and featured presenters such as Amanda Keller , Mikey Robbins , Ugly Dave Grey and Derryn Hinch interviewing Kylie Mole . Germany The German TV station Pro 7 initiated a similar event in 2003. By selling red noses, money is collected for the charity foundations PowerChild, Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendstiftung (lit., German Child and Youth Foundation), and Comic Relief. The event is called 'Red Nose Day', and took place annually in March or April from 2003 to 2006. However ratings and the collected donations fell way short of expectations in 2006, resulting in no main show being produced in 2007 and 2008.

In 2003, Nena (who is famous for her hit song 99 Red Balloons) released an updated version of her song Wunder Gescheh'n (miracles happen) for the charity. In 2010, the Red Nose Day returned on Pro7. It took place on 25 November. Russia A similar charity campaign, entitled "Red Nose, Kind Heart", was launched in Russia on 1 April 2007. The main goal of the drive, held between 1 April and 19 May 2007 by the Liniya Zhizni (Life Line) foundation, is raising money to help children afflicted with serious diseases (such as heart diseases). Finland In 2002, the Finnish national broadcaster YLE started an annual charity event, which initially went under the title "Ylen hyvä". In 2007, the event adopted the name "Nenäpäivä" (Nose day), and the use of red noses to more closely follow the example of the British event.

Iceland Dagur rauða nefsins (Red Nose Day) has been held in support of UNICEF since 2006. It has featured the sale of red noses to raise funds and has enjoyed support and publicity from many local celebrities and televised events on the national broadcaster, RÚV See also

Question: Peter Kay, as 'Geraldine McQueen', recorded 'I Know Him So Well' for Comic Relief last year in a duet with which singer?
Answer: SUSAN BOYLE