Hovis Presley (3 August 1960 – 9 June 2005) was an English

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

from

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, noted for his down-to-earth humour. Born as Richard Henry McFarlane, he attended

Thornleigh Salesian College Thornleigh Salesian College is a Roman Catholic secondary school in the Astley Bridge area of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. History Thornleigh College was originally a boys school founded in 1925 by the Salesians of Don Bosco at the ...

and went on to graduate from

Bradford University The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

. He went on to have a variety of jobs and travelled widely, from labouring on German railways to teaching English in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and India. The choice of stage persona "Hovis Presley" was in itself a deft example of aspects of his work—ironic word-play, incongruously blending the expected norms of poetry with slightly surreal evocations of ordinary, and distinctively Northern English life. Presley began writing poems and sketches as a teenager but only ventured out onto the

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

comedy circuit at the age of 29. His poem, "I Rely On You" (included in his 1993 anthology, ''Poetic Off Licence''), was used by many couples in wedding ceremonies.Hovis Presley: Bittersweet poet and stand-up comedian
/ref> Presley often performed his poems in a live environment, running an "alternative to alternative comedy clubs" and frequently appearing on

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

with John Shuttleworth and Mark Radcliffe among others. He also appeared on the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

show ''Whine Gums'', which presented many modern poets reading their work. His 1997

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 ...

show (entitled "Wherever I Lay My Hat, That's My Hat") was described as "an hour of great material, lovingly performed" and sold out. Presley, however, was terrified by this level of success and vanished. The shows were pulled and he was eventually found by police. After this he concentrated on smaller-scale events, outside the comedy mainstream, often working for charity. He also taught comedy to drama students at the

University of Salford The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...

, having previously taught

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...

and general studies. He regularly helped out his students by finding them slots at local comedy nights. He died in June 2005 after a heart attack brought on by a viral infection. A tribute night was held in his home town of Bolton on 21 November 2005. The show was held in the Albert Halls, Bolton and was attended by

Johnny Vegas Michael Joseph Pennington (born 5 September 1970), better known as Johnny Vegas, is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He is known for his thick Lancashire accent, husky voice, angry comedic rants, and use of surreal humour. Ve ...

Badly Drawn Boy Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show '' The Magic Ball'', which he saw on TV ...

Graham Fellows Graham David Fellows (born 22 May 1959) is an English actor and musician. He first came to public attention when he released the 1978 single "Jilted John" - a track which mocked the punk-rock vocal stylings of the time. The single reached #4 i ...

, Mark Radcliffe,

Justin Moorhouse Justin Moorhouse (born 15 May 1970) is an English stand-up comedian, radio DJ and actor from Ashton-Under-Lyne. He appeared in ''Phoenix Nights'', ''Looking for Eric'' and Guess The Attendance. Moorhouse has also appeared as a guest on the Dav ...

Bernard Wrigley Bernard Wrigley (born 25 February 1948 in Bolton, Lancashire, England) is an English singer, actor and comedian. He is sometimes known by the nickname "The Bolton Bullfrog". Wrigley's career as a singer and storyteller began in the late 1960s, ...

, Archie Kelly, Susan Vale, Phil Cool, Bob Williamson and Thick Richard.Stars in tribute to Hovis

References

External links

Official Hovis Presley site
* Marissa Burges

(''Guardian'' obituary) 29 June 2005 * Toby Hadok

(''Independent'' obituary) 13 June 2005
Hovis Presley Myspace Memoriam

Hovis Has Left The Building
(BBC Radio 4 programme) {{DEFAULTSORT:Presley, Hovis Writers from Bolton 1960 births 2005 deaths English male comedians Academics of the University of Salford Alumni of the University of Bradford English male poets 20th-century English poets 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English comedians