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John Richard Hegley (born 1 October 1953) is an English performance poet, comedian, musician and songwriter. He has a reputation for wry and surreal humour, mostly performance-oriented or designed for younger audiences, and often sung or accompanied by music he himself plays; his material incorporates "a mix of anecdotes, jokes, idiosyncratic observations, confessions and surreal narratives".


Early life

Hegley was born in the
Newington Green Newington Green is an open space in North London between Islington and Hackney. It gives its name to the surrounding area, roughly bounded by Ball's Pond Road to the south, Petherton Road to the west, Green Lanes and Matthias Road to the north, ...
area of
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
(north London, UK) into a Roman Catholic household. He was brought up in
Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...
and later
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, where he attended Rodway School (now Mangotsfield School). After school he worked as a bus conductor and civil servant before attending the
University of Bradford 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 ...
, where he gained a BSc in European Literature and the History of Ideas and Sociology. Hegley has French ancestry (his father's name was René) and claims he is descended from the composer
Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; ; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of ...
. His paternal grandmother was a dancer with the Folies Bergère.


Career

Hegley began his performing career at London's
Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Com ...
in 1980, and toured as one half of The Brown Paper Bag Brothers with Otiz Cannelloni. He received national exposure when he appeared with his backing band the Popticians on ''
Carrott's Lib ''Carrott's Lib'' is a British satirical comedy series broadcast between 2 October 1982 and 30 December 1983. It starred Jasper Carrott and a cast of many comedians. The show was a satirical comedy and sketch show, featuring many comedians who w ...
'' in 1983, and recorded two sessions for
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
in 1983 and 1984. Hegley published his first poetry collection in 1984, ''Visions of the Bone Idol (Poems about Dogs and Glasses)'' – pieces from which were later incorporated into ''Glad to Wear Glasses''. Further collections followed whose subject matter ranges from the surreal and the humorous through to the personal and emotional. There are several recurring themes in his work, including oddities such as glasses, dogs or Romans, along with self-targeted pathos and ribbing, and reminiscences of his childhood in Luton. He was presenter of the Border Television series ''Word of Mouth'' – in which numerous contemporary poets performed their work – in 1990, and the
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...
series ''Hearing with Hegley'' from 1996 to 1999. His other television appearances include '' Wogan'' and ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...
''. In 1998, Hegley's poem "Malcolm" came second in a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
survey to find Britain's most popular comic poem. In 1999 he starred in a
Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFT ...
-directed revival of the musical ''
The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his chor ...
'' in London's West End. In September 1999, together with Simon Munnery, he wrote and performed in a comedy series for BBC Radio 4 entitled '' The Adventures of John and Tony''. Hegley frequently performs live and is a regular at the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
. His stage act includes elements of poetry, music (he plays the
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
and is often accompanied by a
double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...
ist), comedy and references to Luton Town Football Club. He also likes to utilise audience participation in his shows, for example by having a dog drawing competition during the interval, or by asking his audience to try writing poetry themselves. The University of Luton awarded him an honorary LL.D. in 2000, and he has also led creative writing courses at the university. Hegley launched " Warning: May Contain Nuts", a project using comedy to increase awareness of mental illness. He performed these shows in 2010 with other performers, including comic Mackenzie Taylor, talking about mental illness.


Books

* ''Visions of the Bone Idol (Poems about Dogs and Glasses)'' illustrated by Linda Leatherbarrow (Little Bird Press 1984) ASIN: B0016ZKLU2 * ''The Brother-in-Law and Other Animals'' (Down the Publishing Company 1986) * ''Poems for Pleasure'' (Hamlyn 1989) * ''Glad to Wear Glasses (glad to have ears)'' illustrated by Linda Leatherbarrow (Andre Deutsch 1990) * ''Can I Come Down Now, Dad?'' (Methuen 1991) * ''Five Sugars, Please'' (Methuen 1993) * ''These Were Your Father's'' (Methuen 1994) * ''Love Cuts'' (Methuen 1995 and Mandarin 1996 ) * ''The Family Pack'' (Methuen 1997: incorporating ''The Brother-in-Law and Other Animals'', ''Can I Come Down Now, Dad?'' and ''These Were Your Father's''. ) * ''Beyond our Kennel'' (Methuen 1998) * ''Dog'' (Methuen 2000) * ''My Dog is a Carrot'' (Walker Books 2002) * ''The Sound of Paint Drying'' (Methuen 2003) * ''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. ; * ''Uncut Confetti'' (Methuen 2006) * ''The Ropes: Poems To Hold on To'' (editor with Sophie Hannah) (Diamond Twig 2008) * ''The Adventures of Monsieur Robinet'' (Donut Press 2009) * ''Stanley's Stick'' (Hodder's Children's Books 2012) * ''Peace, Love & Potatoes'' (Serpent's Tail 2012) * ''New & Selected Potatoes'' (Bloodaxe Books Ltd 2013) * ''I am a Poetato: An A-Z of poems about people, pets and other creatures'' (Frances Lincoln Children's Books 2013 ''hardback''; Otter Barry Books 2022 ''paperback'' ) * ''A Scarcity of Biscuit: Pieces drawn largely from the letters, life and laughter of John Keats'' (Caldew Press, 2021)


Discography

* "Spare Pear" / "Mobile Home" (1984) double A-sided single of Peel session recordings, with the Popticians * "I Saw My Dinner on TV" (1988) single with the Popticians * '' Saint and Blurry'' (1993) poems and music * ''Hearing with Hegley'' (1996) BBC audio-cassette taken from the radio series of the same name * ''Family Favourites'' (2006) poems and music


References


External links


John Hegley's Word Wild Web Site
(alternatively, se
archived page
*
Wayback archived page

Profile at the British Council website
(alternatively, se
Wayback archived page

Hegley at the ''Guardian''.
(alternatively, se
Wayback archived page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegley, John 1953 births Living people English male poets Comedians from Bristol Comedians from Bedfordshire Writers from Bristol English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English people of French descent Alumni of the University of Bradford People associated with the University of Bedfordshire Edinburgh Comedy Festival English male comedians 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians Singers from the London Borough of Islington Comedians from the London Borough of Islington People from Newington Green