Boothby Graffoe (born James Martyn Rogers, 1962) is an English comedian, singer, songwriter and playwright. He is particularly known for his surreal sense of humour and work with Canadian band

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is a Canadian Rock music, rock band which was formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming th ...

Early life

Rogers was born in 1962 in Hull,

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

, England. For the latter part of his schooling, he attended

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle, is a co-educational grammar school with academy status in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England. In 2009, there were 877 pupils, of whom 271 were in the sixth form. Although royally chartered by Qu ...

. At the age of 18, he became a member of the redcoats at a

Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...

on the south coast. He named his

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

after an

English village English villages are language education institutions which aim to create a language immersion environment for students of English in their own country. The concept is run as a commercial venture in Spain, Italy, Poland, and Hungary and is quasi ...

while driving back from a gig in the late 1980s. His family still live in the Tattershall area. He claims to be the only comedian in the world named after a

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

village.

Stand-up comedy

Graffoe often incorporates guitar playing into his stage act, through his oddball (and usually slightly twisted) songs, including such titles as "Planet Dog", "Woof" and his album's title track, "Wot Italian" (sometimes referred to as "Umbrella Head Boy"). Some of his song titles are still more surreal, in that they do not reflect the subject matter, such as "Giraffes Don't Play Harmonicas, So It Can't Be a Giraffe" and "The Consequences of Living in a Container". He is currently accompanied by the violinist Nick Pynn, having previously toured with acoustic guitarist Antonio Forcione. He explained his reasons for increasingly irrelevant song titles as – essentially – ways to avoid giving away the key phrases or punchlines in his songs. For instance, he renamed "Umbrella Head Boy" to "Wot Italian" after realising that audiences familiar with his work would ask him to "Play Umbrella Head Boy", thus rendering the surprise element of this line in the song redundant to others. In 2005 he participated in the Danish stand-up tour "Stand-up DK, UK, OK" with Danish comedians Rune Klan, Carsten Eskelund and Geo, this went on tour around Denmark and was never released on DVD. On a tour of Scotland in February–March 2007, Graffoe announced his intention to retire from stand-up comedy and concentrate on writing for

Omid Djalili Omid Djalili (; born 30 September 1965) is a British comedian, actor, and writer. Early life and education Djalili was born on 30 September 1965 in St Mary Abbots Hospital in Kensington, London, to Iranian Baháʼí parents Ahmad and Parvane ...

. He subsequently toured as a warm-up act for Djalili and

, but has recently announced a new tour and album (''Songs for Dogs' Funerals''). He is a regular performer at the annual

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

. Graffoe has won several awards, including the 2002

Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

Award for Excellence, and the Time Out Comedy Award. He has been nominated for British comedy's prestigious Perrier Award.

Radio

Graffoe started his career in 1988 on

BBC Radio Lincolnshire BBC Radio Lincolnshire is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lincolnshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios near Newport Ar ...

, when he presented a two-hour programme (''Boothby Graffoe Live'') on Friday evenings until late 1990. He appeared regularly on BBC Radio 4's '' Loose Ends'' with

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of r ...

. He made the following comedy and music series for Radio 4: * ''The Big Booth'' Radio 4 (2000–01) * '' Boothby Graffoe In No Particular Order'' Radio 4 (2003–05)

Television

In 2003, Graffoe appeared on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the ''Late Night (franchise), Late Night'' franchise originally established by David Letterman. Hosted by Conan O'Brie ...

''. He also caused a stir on '' Opportunity Knocks'' during the late 1980s when he wrapped sellotape around his head for comedy effect. In 2013 he appeared as one of a number of acts in ''

The Alternative Comedy Experience ''The Alternative Comedy Experience'' is a stand-up comedy show that premiered on 5 February 2013 on the Comedy Central channel in the UK. It features live comedy shows, filmed in July 2012 at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh, and behind-the-sc ...

'' performing at The Stand in Edinburgh and also being interviewed backstage by the curator of the show

Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, and deadpan delivery. Lee began his career in 1989 and formed the comedy duo Lee and Herring with Richard ...

Music

In 2004 Graffoe released his first album of songs with Antonio Forcione, ''Wot Italian?''. A second disc followed in 2006, a live recording of a show in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

billed as ''Boothby Graffoe & the Following People'', the backing band including Nick Pynn. Graffoe has acted as support for Canadian band

on its "Last Summer on Earth" 2013 tour and on four of Barenaked Ladies' UK tours: first in 2004 for the ''Barenaked for the Holidays'' tour, then in 2007 on the ''Barenaked Ladies Are Me'' tour, again in 2010 on the band's ''All In Good Time'' tour and finally on the band's ''Detour de Force'' tour in 2022. Boothby mostly performs solo, with various members of the band joining him to play bass (

Jim Creeggan James Raymond Creeggan (born February 12, 1970) is the bassist for Canadian alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies. Early life Creeggan was born in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. His mother taught piano lessons to neighbourhood chi ...

), keyboard ( Kevin Hearn) and drums (guitarist Ed Robertson) for some of the songs. In January 2008, Graffoe joined the line-up for Barenaked Ladies' cruise ''Ships and Dip'', where he performed solo and with members from BNL and other bands on board. The cruise, with a capacity of 2500, provided some North American attendees with their first experience of Graffoe and his comedy. He returned for two further ''Ships and Dip'' cruises in 2009 and 2011. Boothby's third album, ''Songs For Dogs, Funerals.....'' was released in February 2011, featuring studio recordings of three tracks from ''Boothby Graffoe & The Following People'' together with a selection of all-new tracks. Musicians appearing on the album included Nick Pynn, Theseus Gerard and

Dean Friedman Dean Friedman (born May 23, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter who plays piano, keyboard, guitar, and harmonica. Although considered a one-hit wonder in the US, he has had multiple singles chart in other territories and continues to write, ...

. His fourth album, ''Bang! Is This Your Vehicle, Sir?'' was released on 27 February 2012. The album features guest appearances from Nick Pynn, Kevin Hearn,

, and members of Canadian band Thin Buckle. A fifth album, ''Nomad'', was released in March 2013, following a successful campaign on

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

. He has championed the work of surreal songwriter Syd Meats, often including Meats' songs, such as "Far Too Serious", in his set. In the summer of 2013, he served as the first act on Barenaked Ladies' 'Last Summer On Earth Tour,' which also featured

Guster Guster is an American alternative rock band formed in Somerville, Massachusetts. Founding members Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, and Brian Rosenworcel began practice sessions while attending Tufts University and formed the band in 1991. The mem ...

and

Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five was an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprised Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). Th ...

. During 2020, he began a series of online concerts via the Zoom platform, with performances from himself and invited guests such as

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

and Tim Vine.

Stage plays written by Boothby Graffoe

* ''The Condition of the Virgin'', 2001 * ''One Night Stand: God and Adam'', 2002 * ''Hitler Sells Tickets'', 2004 All three plays were subsequently adapted for BBC Radio.

Books

* ''Sit-Down Comedy'' (contributor to anthology, ed

Malcolm Hardee Malcolm Hardee (5 January 1950 – 31 January 2005) was an English comedian and comedy club proprietor. His high reputation among his peers rests on his outrageous publicity stunts and on the help and advice he gave to successful British Alte ...

& John Fleming) Ebury Press/Random House, 2003. ;

DVDs

* ''Boothby Graffoe and the Following People'' – May 2009 * ''The Boothby Graffoe Mish Mash'' – March 2013

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Graffoe, Boothby 1962 births Living people English stand-up comedians English dramatists and playwrights English comedy musicians English male comedians English guitarists English male songwriters Musicians from Kingston upon Hull People from Horncastle, Lincolnshire Butlins Redcoats People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle Writers from Kingston upon Hull English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians Comedians from Kingston upon Hull Comedians from Lincolnshire