A tragi-comic

Warning, the following posting contains swearing. So anyone who is easily offended, please go away now. Unless you are 14 years old, at which point you will be eagerly reading on.

So, Bernard Manning is dead. Good riddance to racist rubbish.

The amount of after the fact justification and tip-toeing around the issue is amazing. So lets demolish those arguments one by one, viewers.

"He made me laugh."

Lets get one thing straight, Manning was possibly the finest technical comedian this country has ever produced. By technical, I mean in terms of timing, crowd control, stage presence and so on. Hugely experienced, he could and did bring all of that to the table every single gig. He cancelled one gig in 60 years. I totally respect that. When doing straight TV stuff, he was awesome. They showed a clip of the Comedians last night, telling a joke about a bloke in a zoo. I laughed out loud at a beautifully timed joke.

Manning had plenty of jokes, thousands. I laughed at a lot of them. Which is why when he starts on the "two black fellas....", "this Jew...", "a pair of poofs" stuff it was so utterly unnecessary. "He made me laugh" and "he's racist and misogynist" aren't mutually exclusive.

He didn't need that. He was much, much better than that.

"The world moved on, and he was left behind."

A comedians set always changes. Old jokes can be dusted off, classic gags work any time, any place. A set evolves and is shaped by the world around it, by audience feedback, by writing, by refining. A gigging comic will end up with an arsenal of jokes, ready for any situation and as mentioned, Manning had thousands.

A couple of years ago, I was priviliged to see Mick Miller. A comic of the "old school", he did the defiantly "alternative" XS Malarkey in Fallowfield. He didn't have to do it, God knows the money wasn't anywhere near his usual amount. But Miller wanted to see if he could connect to a different audience, he wanted to see if he could do it. His set was a complete triumph, proof that funny really is funny no matter where, no matter what the audience. It takes skill, but it also takes desire. Miller got a whole legion of new fans that night, myself included.

So to say Manning didn't have the ability to change is wrong. He had the ability to tone it down, he had the repertoire to enable him to drop the hate stuff. He chose not to. The times did not leave him behind, he decided to stay there. In a world of hate, in a world of casual racism. A deliberate choice.

And then spent time bemoaning the fact. Endlessly slagging those who he perceived as usurping him. As Manchester found a new generation of comics (Caroline Aherne, John Thomson) he airily dismissed them, claiming most of the time to "never have heard of them".

He wouldn't have. They didn't exist in the 70s.

That is why I have no sympathy for him. I am left with a feeling of what might have been. All that talent, that hard work, that vast array of experience, knowledge... wasted. Not only his talent, but the opportunity to pass that on to other comics and to inspire people to take up comedy. How much of a gigantic loss is that?

"He packed out clubs up and down the country"

And Westlife sell a lot of records, which tells you all you need to know about popularity being a barometer of quality. I do find it interesting that while the likes of Chubby Brown will sell out nights at the 2,700 seat Apollo and Eddie Izzard sold 18,000 tickets for two nights at the MEN, Bernard didn't do anything like that sort of sized gig. Always Working Mens Clubs, always 250 seats or less. To put that in perspective, thats the sort of numbers the Manchester Comedy Store or Frog and Bucket do most weekends.

"You are just one of The PC Brigade."

Interesting, this one. First off, I am quite defiantly non-PC. I do all sorts of jokes, poking fun at everything. Crucially, I can tell the difference between being poking fun and out and out hate.

Second, why does being anti-hate automatically make me one of the killjoy ban mob? Why is being anti-racist "spoiling someones fun"?

Finally, just because something is offensive, does not mean it is automatically non-PC. In fact, as this rather excellent article demonstrates, want appears to be non-PC is precisely the opposite. (Although Little Britain walks a fine line.)

From his self-penned obituary: In fact the Queen once told me with a smile, after a Royal Command Performance, how much she liked my act. If it was good enough for her, it should have been good enough for anyone.

So, Bernard, how did she react to the one about the "P**i, the poof and the two n*****rs going into the bar"? I'd love to have seen her face when that one popped out. (Although, I have no doubt Philip would have enjoyed it.)

Again, from his self-penned obituary: "I was an equal opportunities comedian. Unlike them, with all their little checklists and taboos and easy targets, I never discriminated against anyone or anything. I was quite happy to get a laugh out of any situation. All that mattered to me was whether the gag was funny or not."

Easy targets? Easy targets such as minorities. Easy targets such as cockle-pickers whose only crime was to be Chinese in Morecambe Bay. Easy targets such as people who daren't answer back - cowed into submission by Mannings incredible ability to flay any target in his audience. To be black, gay, non-English or even to sneeze in his presence made you fair game in Mannings world. Fair game to be belittled with cruelty and humour for the benefit of the mob. There is a word for people who do that - bullying.

The above quote from the man himself isn't quite true. Because when it came to the subject of jokes about his wife, or his mother, both of whom he was close to and loved dearly until they died, they were off limits. Too close to home for the bully.

I sometimes have to explain that audiences are welcome, encouraged into comedy clubs - but thanks to Manning, there is the residual prejudice that to watch comedy live is to run the risk of being torn apart, embarassed in front of your friends. Not that it doesn't happen, but it happens far, far less frequently than you expect. The best comedy performers respect their audience, take them to places they might not want to go and think about things in a new way. For far, far too many people, Manning simply reinforced their prejudices and never challenged their views, instead reinforcing them with iron words.

"But how does Manning differ from (insert comedian here)?"

In some cases he doesn't, and I don't like those comedians either. (Jim Davidson was smart enough to keep his obscene stuff away from the telly.) In the case of, say, Jerry Sadowitz, then the offence is a whole new kettle of fish. Sadowitz delights in pissing his audience off, pressing any button he wants to get his effect. Manning reinforces the prejudices and avoids anything he doesn't like. Retreating into the confort of the familiar.

The closest is Ricky Gervais, and he walks a very careful line. Generally by being clever enough to make himself the butt of the joke. If you play the idiot, then what you say is idiotic, and if you say bad things, then it shows them as idiotic. That is how the Alf Garnett character worked. Garnett would say unsayable things, and be shown up for it.

"But Mike, have some respect for the blokes family."

Whoa, hold on there. Who has had a go at them? Who brought them into the discussion? Clue: Not me. If someone had a pop at the family right now, that would be out of order, but noone has, and I don't think anyone intends to. So trying to deflect the criticism and comment by bringing in innocent bystanders to support your point is just plain wrong.

When Graham Chapman died, the world was a less funny place. When Spike Milligan died, the world was a less funny place. Now Bernard Manning has died, the world has one less joke teller.

And finally.

"It was always an act. They were always just words, a script, and he didn't really mean it."

I'd just like to say 'Good riddance Bernard, you racist misogynistic fucker.'

And if anyone is offended by that, remember they are just words, its just a script, and I don't really mean it.