Chris Sugden (1952 – 2024) was an English humorist from
Norfolk
Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, best known for his portrayal of fictional folk singer Sid Kipper, the younger half of
the Kipper Family. He was the author of books including ''Prewd and Prejudice'': ''A Norfolk Exile'', a satire of ''
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
Edith Blackwell Holden (26 September 1871 – 15 March 1920) was an English artist, writer and art teacher. She was influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and specialised in painting animals and plants. While collecting flowers from a river ...
''.
Personal life
Born in
West Runton in 1952, Sugden initially studied pharmacy at
Leicester Polytechnic before starting a PhD at the
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...
. He is the author of ''Prewd and Prejudice'' (1994) in which the heroine Miriam Prewd spends a traumatic year of 'Norfolk exile'. Written in his characteristic dead-pan style, ''Prewd and Prejudice'' concerns itself with the Norfolk countryside, misconceptions about Norfolk and its self-deprecating folk. Sugden wrote that "the national papers seemed to think that it took the mickey out of country people, while the Norfolk people thought it ridiculed Londoners".
Sugden is also the author of ''The Cromer-Sheringham Crab Wars'' and the song "Like a Rhinestone Ploughboy". He is the compiler of an (as yet) unpublished rhyming dictionary of Norfolk place-names for song-writing purposes. In 1996 he published ''The Ballad of Sid Kipper''.
The ''
Eastern Daily Press
The ''Eastern Daily Press'' (''EDP'') is a regional newspaper covering Norfolk, northern parts of Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to ...
'' columnist Keith Skipper claimed that Sugden is "probably the county’s finest ambassador who captures the true spirit of Norfolk, teaches it tricks, then sends it to run riot across the land".
In 2006, Sugden presented a series of podcasts for Channel 4 radio called "The Kipper Country Code", as Sid Kipper.
His website no longer exists, but is available via web archive.
On 4 April 2024, friends and family confirmed on social media that he had passed away the previous evening.
Albums
The Kipper Family (with Dick Nudds aka Henry Kipper)
*Since Time Immoral (1984)
*The Ever Decreasing Circle (1985)
*The Crab Wars (1986)
*Fresh Yesterday (1988)
*Arrest These Merry Gentlemen (1989)
*In the Family Way (1991)
*Two-Faced (2011)
Sid Kipper
*Like A Rhinestone Ploughboy (1994)
*Spineless (1997)
*Boiled in the Bag (1997)
*East Side Story (2000)
*Cod Pieces (2002)
*Chained Melody (2003)
*In Season (2007)
*Gutless (2011)
Books
*''Prewd and Prejudice'' (1994)
*''Crab Wars'' (1999)
*''Cod Pieces'' (2001)
*''Man of Convictions'' (2003)
*''The Ballad of Sid Kipper'' (1996) (out of print)
References
External links
Sid Kipper's websiteThe Kipper Family: Sid and Henry Kipper tribute siteSid Kipper at Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugden, Chris
1952 births
People from West Runton
Alumni of the University of East Anglia
Alumni of De Montfort University
English male comedians
English humorists
Comedians from Norfolk