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Alexei Sayle's autobiography #2
Thatcher Stole My Trousers
'Enlightening . Funny, smart, original and provocative ... It is hard to imagine the stalwarts of Mock the Week recognising the Druze militia leader Walid Jumblatt in a London cinema' NEW STATESMAN 'Few standups have come close to capturing a fraction of this creative energy in a book . Alexei Sayle is an exception' GUARDIAN "What I brought to comedy was an authentic working-class voice plus a threat of genuine violence - nobody in Monty Python looked like a hard case who'd kick your head in." In 1971, comedians on the working men's club circuit imagined that they would be free to continue telling their tired, racist, misogynistic gags forever. But their nemesis, a nineteen-year-old Marxist art student, was slowly coming to meet them. Thatcher Stole My Trousers chronicles a time when comedy and politics united in electrifying ways. Recounting the founding of the Comedy Store, the Comic Strip and the Young Ones, and Alexei's friendships with the comedians who - like him - would soon become household names, this is a unique and beguiling blend of social history and memoir. Fascinating, funny, angry and entertaining, it is a story of class and comedy, politics and love, fast cars and why it's difficult to foul a dwarf in a game of football. .'Enlightening . Funny, smart, original and provocative ... It is hard to imagine the stalwarts of Mock the Week recognising the Druze militia leader Walid Jumblatt in a London cinema' New Statesman
336 pages, Paperback
First published June 14, 2016
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316 people want to read
About the author
Alexei Sayle
35 books69 followersAlexei Sayle is an English stand-up comedian, actor, author and former recording artist, and was a central figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
April 29, 2016
I’ve always had a soft spot for Alexei Sayle, and some favourable reviews for this second volume of his memoirs inspired me to read this. And the title too, “Thatcher Stole My Trousers”, is great (even better than volume one “Stalin Ate My Homework”).
Anyone who lived through, and enjoyed, the emergence of “alternative comedy” in the UK in the late 1970s, should find much to enjoy here. Alexei has a good memory for the details of social history that bring an account like this to life, along with plenty of amusing anecdotes, some famous pals, and - perhaps most significantly - he’s a good writer, both clever and funny. The book prompted me to laugh out loud a few times, and smile a lot. It also inspired me to revisit a few of his televisual comedic moments on YouTube, especially his appearances on The Young Ones - which still stand up really well.
The book palled in the final third once Alexei was established. I was more engrossed by his tales of working at the Comedy Store (the first alternative comedy club in Britain - can you imagine?), and what preceded it, his years at art college and in teacher training. Molly, his mother, is possibly worthy of her own book, and makes me want to read the first volume. Whilst this might not auger well for any prospective third volume, for now I confidently recommend “Thatcher Stole My Trousers” if any of the above resonates with you.
3.5 / 5
Anyone who lived through, and enjoyed, the emergence of “alternative comedy” in the UK in the late 1970s, should find much to enjoy here. Alexei has a good memory for the details of social history that bring an account like this to life, along with plenty of amusing anecdotes, some famous pals, and - perhaps most significantly - he’s a good writer, both clever and funny. The book prompted me to laugh out loud a few times, and smile a lot. It also inspired me to revisit a few of his televisual comedic moments on YouTube, especially his appearances on The Young Ones - which still stand up really well.
The book palled in the final third once Alexei was established. I was more engrossed by his tales of working at the Comedy Store (the first alternative comedy club in Britain - can you imagine?), and what preceded it, his years at art college and in teacher training. Molly, his mother, is possibly worthy of her own book, and makes me want to read the first volume. Whilst this might not auger well for any prospective third volume, for now I confidently recommend “Thatcher Stole My Trousers” if any of the above resonates with you.
3.5 / 5
August 21, 2023
Alexei Sayle didn’t look like a comedian. Big, burly, and with eyes seemingly loaded into his skull and ready to fire at something, anything nearby, club regulars would joke that he looked like a bouncer promoted to compère by accident. You doubt they ever said it to his face.
Having face was a job requirement. Although it takes over a hundred pages to get there, the night The Comic Store opened and all that came later is the burden of Sayle’s latest volume of memoirs. Although perhaps not up there with the Fall of Carthage or the Siege of Stalingrad, the opening night was undeniably one where history was made. History, Sayle warns us, is a pack of lies told by people who weren’t there. He was.
But Sayle rescues history from too-neat conclusions. He captures the messiness of life, the thousand and one forking paths that might have led anywhere. Sayle was, he is quick to remind us, entirely unqualified for his job as the Comedy Store’s all-powerful host. All his comrades, unlike him, were experienced performers. Before landing the gig Sayle had been an art student of minimal talent, and taught general studies as a part-time lecturer. Thrust before a poorly lit, smelly room teeming with drunks, it forced him to invent a style, and a mode of behaviour for both on and off the stage. Mixing with the crowd was strictly forbidden: his act depended on authority, which fraternising would have diluted fatally.
It seems a sensible idea. The unfortunately named Meard Street, the narrow alley leading to the club’s entrance, was crammed with brothels and ladies offering alternative entertainment to prospective audiences. Evenings frequently degenerated into ‘drunken chaos’, with over a hundred punters baying for blood. Policemen were called to break up the worst nights – none of which, Sayle notes with pride and no small level of bemusement – while he was on. Bluntness and intimidation were his weapons, and effective ones. The Comedy Store, like the Comic Strip that followed it, was a bear pit, but also a kind of crucible. Heir to the punk revolution, it had a manic, confrontational energy no venue would long contain. Within three years, the store’s acts– Sayle, Rik Mayall, Ade Edmundson, French and Saunders, Nigel Planer –would conquer television and change the face of British comedy forever.
A similar sense of catastrophe seems to have followed them to the television studio. The Young Ones, the flagship show that made them, will never watch the same after Sayle recites the injury roster. Explosions were common; health and safety was not. In the first episode, the brick Vyvan bites into explodes, the audience laughs. What the audience doesn’t see is the inside of Ade Edmundson’s mouth being cut wide open. When Rick accidentally causes a stove to explode, the scene plays in slow motion. Not for artistic reasons, like the last scene of Blackadder. It’s because the team forgot they'd already loaded the stove with explosives before breaking for lunch, and loaded a second round afterwards. The resulting fireball wrecked a camera, the shot, and set Rik Mayall ablaze.
These stories are the meat and drink of the text, and they don’t balk at making the chef look bad – rare in comedians' memoirs. There are a few errors of fact. Clive James’ TV column was a fixture of The Observer, not The Sunday Times. When Sayle snarls at Kenny Everett’s speech at the Tory Party Conference, he seems to have missed that Kenny was joking at his hosts’ expense. When he curses his fellow cast members for welcoming Emma Thompson and other members of the Oxbridge set onto the show, he seems to forget that the pins need to be set up before they can be knocked down. A quick look at the script might have told him. Stephen Fry’s character was called Lord Snot.
Sayle is more perceptive about politics, or how politics warp human perception. Marxism was a secular theology. Like all theologies, it didn’t care for facts that stubbornly refused to fit the theory. You can spot a ‘political’ audience, he says, by the time lapse between them hearing a joke and mentally vetting it before laughing. You may laugh, but the observation is a telling one: it stays with you once the laughter stops.
The material is uneven and only really starts when the comedy does – and Sayle’s bitter streak protrudes perhaps a few times too many. But perhaps that's the price of living through history. At least Alexei Sayle was there. We weren’t.
Having face was a job requirement. Although it takes over a hundred pages to get there, the night The Comic Store opened and all that came later is the burden of Sayle’s latest volume of memoirs. Although perhaps not up there with the Fall of Carthage or the Siege of Stalingrad, the opening night was undeniably one where history was made. History, Sayle warns us, is a pack of lies told by people who weren’t there. He was.
But Sayle rescues history from too-neat conclusions. He captures the messiness of life, the thousand and one forking paths that might have led anywhere. Sayle was, he is quick to remind us, entirely unqualified for his job as the Comedy Store’s all-powerful host. All his comrades, unlike him, were experienced performers. Before landing the gig Sayle had been an art student of minimal talent, and taught general studies as a part-time lecturer. Thrust before a poorly lit, smelly room teeming with drunks, it forced him to invent a style, and a mode of behaviour for both on and off the stage. Mixing with the crowd was strictly forbidden: his act depended on authority, which fraternising would have diluted fatally.
It seems a sensible idea. The unfortunately named Meard Street, the narrow alley leading to the club’s entrance, was crammed with brothels and ladies offering alternative entertainment to prospective audiences. Evenings frequently degenerated into ‘drunken chaos’, with over a hundred punters baying for blood. Policemen were called to break up the worst nights – none of which, Sayle notes with pride and no small level of bemusement – while he was on. Bluntness and intimidation were his weapons, and effective ones. The Comedy Store, like the Comic Strip that followed it, was a bear pit, but also a kind of crucible. Heir to the punk revolution, it had a manic, confrontational energy no venue would long contain. Within three years, the store’s acts– Sayle, Rik Mayall, Ade Edmundson, French and Saunders, Nigel Planer –would conquer television and change the face of British comedy forever.
A similar sense of catastrophe seems to have followed them to the television studio. The Young Ones, the flagship show that made them, will never watch the same after Sayle recites the injury roster. Explosions were common; health and safety was not. In the first episode, the brick Vyvan bites into explodes, the audience laughs. What the audience doesn’t see is the inside of Ade Edmundson’s mouth being cut wide open. When Rick accidentally causes a stove to explode, the scene plays in slow motion. Not for artistic reasons, like the last scene of Blackadder. It’s because the team forgot they'd already loaded the stove with explosives before breaking for lunch, and loaded a second round afterwards. The resulting fireball wrecked a camera, the shot, and set Rik Mayall ablaze.
These stories are the meat and drink of the text, and they don’t balk at making the chef look bad – rare in comedians' memoirs. There are a few errors of fact. Clive James’ TV column was a fixture of The Observer, not The Sunday Times. When Sayle snarls at Kenny Everett’s speech at the Tory Party Conference, he seems to have missed that Kenny was joking at his hosts’ expense. When he curses his fellow cast members for welcoming Emma Thompson and other members of the Oxbridge set onto the show, he seems to forget that the pins need to be set up before they can be knocked down. A quick look at the script might have told him. Stephen Fry’s character was called Lord Snot.
Sayle is more perceptive about politics, or how politics warp human perception. Marxism was a secular theology. Like all theologies, it didn’t care for facts that stubbornly refused to fit the theory. You can spot a ‘political’ audience, he says, by the time lapse between them hearing a joke and mentally vetting it before laughing. You may laugh, but the observation is a telling one: it stays with you once the laughter stops.
The material is uneven and only really starts when the comedy does – and Sayle’s bitter streak protrudes perhaps a few times too many. But perhaps that's the price of living through history. At least Alexei Sayle was there. We weren’t.
August 23, 2016
It feels weird to say that I bought this memoir of an alternative comedian known as a star of the most punk sitcom ever recorded ... at Harrod's. But it seemed fitting that I should find, among the shelves of books about royals and oligarchs at the world's most pretentious store, a book about a bloke from Liverpool who created some of 20th century Britain's most insane comedy.
I love Alexei Sayle. He is the perfect blend of smart people doing silly comedy that I have admired my whole life. But I found in reading this a deeper appreciation for him as he navigated an uncertain path from being an aimless art student to joining the cast of The Young Ones.
For all of his manic and crazy work onstage, he is actually a mild-mannered and reflective writer. And he notes this contradiction in this book. He's a skillful writer, making people laugh at his and other's foibles but also portraying humanity in the people around him. Every paragraph is amazingly self-contained, yet the sum total doesn't feel choppy or staccato.
Fans of The Young Ones or alternative comedy or just someone who wants an understanding of what life was like in Liverpool in the '70s or London in the '80s will enjoy this. I can't wait to read more of his work.
Or I could just hear him make some stupid noises.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgO4b...
I love Alexei Sayle. He is the perfect blend of smart people doing silly comedy that I have admired my whole life. But I found in reading this a deeper appreciation for him as he navigated an uncertain path from being an aimless art student to joining the cast of The Young Ones.
For all of his manic and crazy work onstage, he is actually a mild-mannered and reflective writer. And he notes this contradiction in this book. He's a skillful writer, making people laugh at his and other's foibles but also portraying humanity in the people around him. Every paragraph is amazingly self-contained, yet the sum total doesn't feel choppy or staccato.
Fans of The Young Ones or alternative comedy or just someone who wants an understanding of what life was like in Liverpool in the '70s or London in the '80s will enjoy this. I can't wait to read more of his work.
Or I could just hear him make some stupid noises.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgO4b...
April 16, 2018
This is social history as much as autobiography, with an affectionate but unflattering impression of the Seventies in Britain before Thatcher. As such I enjoyed it hugely and I respect the way Sayle has stayed loyal to the Left and been willing to provide a voice of opposition as politics, media and indeed the world of comedy has been colonised by neoliberal ideology.
However, I was not impressed: I felt that too much of the commentary is insufficiently considered and invites critical questions; at times I found his version of events tiresome. What spoiled it most, I suspect, was his insistence on being humorous far more often than appropriate. Although it is on the surface humorous, this is often gallows humour, a tricky and not always helpful way of dealing with nostalgia, disappointment, sadness and the memories of hardship and deprivation. Poverty with its related evils is not heroic but it is not hilarious either – it is plain embarrassing and upsetting. At one point he comments on a visit to Dublin, where he is upset by the street beggars and imagines that England would never allow such displays, only to find that under Thatcher the poor began to gather on the streets of English cities in the same way. Today they are numerous. Such visible poverty is a product of policy, not nature. Its victims are not really ideal material for comedy.
When he refers to the futility of politics on the Left, it is largely the lunatic fringe that he describes, and he points out their disconnection from the practical politics of the unions, local government and public services in which the real British Left was vigorously opposing the pressure of neoliberalism as it emerged before and through Thatcher’s time in office.
He bemoans the council landlord willing to repair a toilet damaged by the tenant (himself) without any sanction for misbehaviour, but he does not consider the implication of authorities who decide to make moral judgements as to which tenants deserve a service and which do not – something that has been exposed brutally by the Theresa May government’s approach to services. His negative impressions of education also fall short of serious commentary. One lesson he failed to learn from his contact with Marxist analysis should be that common sense is a fking useless basis for political and social analysis.
He bemoans the decline of British industry, notably car making, while observing the impact of Japanese producers, and he does separately remark on the ludicrous cars being produced in Australia at this time. A more considered analysis of the problem would have observed that the Japanese were no less a challenge to similarly complacent car makers in the USA. What was coming under strain here was not the industrial policies of Britain’s Labour government in the Seventies, but the Anglo Saxon industrial model which these economies (UK, Australia, US) shared in common. Contrary to popular opinion, Thatcher did not rectify those inherent failings, she intensified them a thousand times.
As for comedy, it would be a mistake to imagine even alternative comedy is the property of the political left. Even that limited space has to be contested and he refers very late in this book to his sudden discovery that his close associates did not in fact share his political values.
In short, his concept of politics and of the Left is rather shaped by his connection with fringe politics and not with practical politics, which apart from the miner’s strike he does not appear to have made any connection with in this account, so it is not entirely helpful when describing what it was that Thatcher’s government destroyed in British society and not entirely funny in its account of these decades.
However, I was not impressed: I felt that too much of the commentary is insufficiently considered and invites critical questions; at times I found his version of events tiresome. What spoiled it most, I suspect, was his insistence on being humorous far more often than appropriate. Although it is on the surface humorous, this is often gallows humour, a tricky and not always helpful way of dealing with nostalgia, disappointment, sadness and the memories of hardship and deprivation. Poverty with its related evils is not heroic but it is not hilarious either – it is plain embarrassing and upsetting. At one point he comments on a visit to Dublin, where he is upset by the street beggars and imagines that England would never allow such displays, only to find that under Thatcher the poor began to gather on the streets of English cities in the same way. Today they are numerous. Such visible poverty is a product of policy, not nature. Its victims are not really ideal material for comedy.
When he refers to the futility of politics on the Left, it is largely the lunatic fringe that he describes, and he points out their disconnection from the practical politics of the unions, local government and public services in which the real British Left was vigorously opposing the pressure of neoliberalism as it emerged before and through Thatcher’s time in office.
He bemoans the council landlord willing to repair a toilet damaged by the tenant (himself) without any sanction for misbehaviour, but he does not consider the implication of authorities who decide to make moral judgements as to which tenants deserve a service and which do not – something that has been exposed brutally by the Theresa May government’s approach to services. His negative impressions of education also fall short of serious commentary. One lesson he failed to learn from his contact with Marxist analysis should be that common sense is a fking useless basis for political and social analysis.
He bemoans the decline of British industry, notably car making, while observing the impact of Japanese producers, and he does separately remark on the ludicrous cars being produced in Australia at this time. A more considered analysis of the problem would have observed that the Japanese were no less a challenge to similarly complacent car makers in the USA. What was coming under strain here was not the industrial policies of Britain’s Labour government in the Seventies, but the Anglo Saxon industrial model which these economies (UK, Australia, US) shared in common. Contrary to popular opinion, Thatcher did not rectify those inherent failings, she intensified them a thousand times.
As for comedy, it would be a mistake to imagine even alternative comedy is the property of the political left. Even that limited space has to be contested and he refers very late in this book to his sudden discovery that his close associates did not in fact share his political values.
In short, his concept of politics and of the Left is rather shaped by his connection with fringe politics and not with practical politics, which apart from the miner’s strike he does not appear to have made any connection with in this account, so it is not entirely helpful when describing what it was that Thatcher’s government destroyed in British society and not entirely funny in its account of these decades.
April 2, 2016
Firstly, this is a very nicely produced book. A bold red cover with evocative black and white photos inside as well as some colour ones. It does Sayle proud. I bought this not having read his first volume (the wonderfully titled, Stalin Ate My Homework) so this was my first encounter with his prose.
Sayle is in no hurry to tell his story. I was halfway through the book before he had reached any level of fame but he tells a compelling a nicely written series of anecdotes about his time at Chelsea Art college and his slow discovery of his very own comic potential. There are some lovely stories about Britain in the 1970s and 80s and the trademark Sayle wit- once again as with books by some other comics "off the tele" I read it imagining Sayle reading it himself and hearing his intelligent but unmistakeable Liverpudlian drawl. It easy to underestimate Sayle's power and his self proclaimed invention of "stand up" and "alternative" comedy. This was in part due to his own confidence in his material and his unique style. Paul Merton (in his own volume) talks about seeing Sayle and being inspired to become a comedian.....So its completely convincing that he could wield such power and that his slowish rise was haphazard and sometimes seemingly accidental but always going to happen at some point. That he had stumbled into Drama teaching was a sort of surprise and his constant underplaying of all skills and achievements that were not "stand up" serves to highlight the focus he needed to succeed. Much credit is given to his girlfriend and subsequent wife, Linda who comes across as the absolute rock that he needed to stay on track. So- a good read with some laughs but only four stars because Sayle tells it (understandably perhaps) as a series of "sets" or "anecdotes" like a good comedian would. However, this structure means that chapters and stories themselves end suddenly with no resolution for follow through and link together clunkily, sometimes upsetting the tone. Overall, its a good, sometimes compelling read and may take me back to his first volume and maybe his fiction.
Sayle is in no hurry to tell his story. I was halfway through the book before he had reached any level of fame but he tells a compelling a nicely written series of anecdotes about his time at Chelsea Art college and his slow discovery of his very own comic potential. There are some lovely stories about Britain in the 1970s and 80s and the trademark Sayle wit- once again as with books by some other comics "off the tele" I read it imagining Sayle reading it himself and hearing his intelligent but unmistakeable Liverpudlian drawl. It easy to underestimate Sayle's power and his self proclaimed invention of "stand up" and "alternative" comedy. This was in part due to his own confidence in his material and his unique style. Paul Merton (in his own volume) talks about seeing Sayle and being inspired to become a comedian.....So its completely convincing that he could wield such power and that his slowish rise was haphazard and sometimes seemingly accidental but always going to happen at some point. That he had stumbled into Drama teaching was a sort of surprise and his constant underplaying of all skills and achievements that were not "stand up" serves to highlight the focus he needed to succeed. Much credit is given to his girlfriend and subsequent wife, Linda who comes across as the absolute rock that he needed to stay on track. So- a good read with some laughs but only four stars because Sayle tells it (understandably perhaps) as a series of "sets" or "anecdotes" like a good comedian would. However, this structure means that chapters and stories themselves end suddenly with no resolution for follow through and link together clunkily, sometimes upsetting the tone. Overall, its a good, sometimes compelling read and may take me back to his first volume and maybe his fiction.
March 12, 2025
Full of vim and off kilter humour. Sayle really is a strange fellow who spearheaded alternative comedy back in the 80s. Worth a read for the joy of the journey, plus a tinge of nostalgia.
Keith Allen was/is a nutter.
Keith Allen was/is a nutter.
September 3, 2019
It is 1971 and the invention of modern British comedy is about to begin... So says the Bloomsbury back cover, and that's pretty much it! Godfather of British stand-up Alexei Sayle, a long time favourite, tells the tale of his young adulthood from the art school days, to teaching drama (via many a pointless job) through to his early successes and first tastes of being a recognised comedy hero. With his usual humour he rewards the reader with many first rate anecdotes and recollections that place us in the mind's eye of the twenty-something or early thirties Alexei while vividly recreating the world of his 1979 or 1982. (Yes, it's mostly in London.)
Throughout this period Alexei would probably have been very far from what he was about to achieve without his partner Linda helping him at every step along the way. Together, they transition away from their Liverpool brand of anarchist-leftist activism and (via the Civil Service) towards a life in leftist-anarchist 'performancism'. In early Thatcherite Britain, the second seemed the more popular.
One weekend, when she was visiting me in London, Linda and I went to the Odeon in Leicester Square to see the newly released Sylvester Stallone movie Rocky. Before the lights went down I noticed in the audience a few rows behind me a mournful-looking, slightly pop-eyed, balding man with a droopy moustache. I whispered to Linda, 'You see that man in the fifth row, I think it's Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Druze militia from the Chouf Mountains of the Lebanon.'
'You're always saying that,' she replied.
'Yes,' I hissed, 'but this time I'm certain.'
He was right. It was Walid Jumblatt. He thought Rocky was 'all right'.
From his days as a late-70s era impostor Civil Servant, Sayle provides a delightful guided lunch-break tour of London's Piccadilly, his "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". There were the UK head offices of Aeroflot and the tourism boards of war torn Lebanon and Northern Ireland among others.
Next there was my favourite, a shop that formed the sole retail outlet of a government agency named the Egg Information Council, which was tasked with the dissemination of all ovum-related data. In their dusty unwashed window were displayed eggcups and a device popular in the 1960s which consisted of a pin on a spring-loaded plunger rather like the instrument diabetics use to take blood samples. With this contraption you could prick the egg you were boiling so that all its contents leaked out into the pan.
Eventually finding his way to a stage, Alexei stumbles on the medium he's most suited for - stand-up comedy. But wary of "the kind of heavy-handed left-wing 'humour'" he wants to avoid, he strives for something different.
What I wanted was smart relevant popular comedy that paid for itself. I was also certain I didn't want to confirm the opinions of the people in the audience like CAST did, rather I wanted to challenge and mock them. After meeting Roland Muldoon I wrote a bit about agitprop theatre that went, 'People think if you've got baggy trousers and a red nose, you're automatically funny. Didn't work for Mussolini, did it?
Smart and relevant, Sayle has always been. This book is a very enjoyable telling of how he came to be a popular comedian, and how he fitted in at the top of the fast-changing and heady atmosphere of what became known in the UK as 'Alternative Comedy'.
Throughout this period Alexei would probably have been very far from what he was about to achieve without his partner Linda helping him at every step along the way. Together, they transition away from their Liverpool brand of anarchist-leftist activism and (via the Civil Service) towards a life in leftist-anarchist 'performancism'. In early Thatcherite Britain, the second seemed the more popular.
One weekend, when she was visiting me in London, Linda and I went to the Odeon in Leicester Square to see the newly released Sylvester Stallone movie Rocky. Before the lights went down I noticed in the audience a few rows behind me a mournful-looking, slightly pop-eyed, balding man with a droopy moustache. I whispered to Linda, 'You see that man in the fifth row, I think it's Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Druze militia from the Chouf Mountains of the Lebanon.'
'You're always saying that,' she replied.
'Yes,' I hissed, 'but this time I'm certain.'
He was right. It was Walid Jumblatt. He thought Rocky was 'all right'.
From his days as a late-70s era impostor Civil Servant, Sayle provides a delightful guided lunch-break tour of London's Piccadilly, his "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". There were the UK head offices of Aeroflot and the tourism boards of war torn Lebanon and Northern Ireland among others.
Next there was my favourite, a shop that formed the sole retail outlet of a government agency named the Egg Information Council, which was tasked with the dissemination of all ovum-related data. In their dusty unwashed window were displayed eggcups and a device popular in the 1960s which consisted of a pin on a spring-loaded plunger rather like the instrument diabetics use to take blood samples. With this contraption you could prick the egg you were boiling so that all its contents leaked out into the pan.
Eventually finding his way to a stage, Alexei stumbles on the medium he's most suited for - stand-up comedy. But wary of "the kind of heavy-handed left-wing 'humour'" he wants to avoid, he strives for something different.
What I wanted was smart relevant popular comedy that paid for itself. I was also certain I didn't want to confirm the opinions of the people in the audience like CAST did, rather I wanted to challenge and mock them. After meeting Roland Muldoon I wrote a bit about agitprop theatre that went, 'People think if you've got baggy trousers and a red nose, you're automatically funny. Didn't work for Mussolini, did it?
Smart and relevant, Sayle has always been. This book is a very enjoyable telling of how he came to be a popular comedian, and how he fitted in at the top of the fast-changing and heady atmosphere of what became known in the UK as 'Alternative Comedy'.
October 12, 2017
Enjoyed this immensely. If you want to read about Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson or Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders you'll be disappointed. Alexei writes about the comic genius that is Alexei. Set against a backdrop of 70's and 80's London, this is the second part of his memoir that covers meeting Linda his extraordinary wife, a series of unfulfilling jobs (tutor, cleaner, clerk) while trying to make a life in comedy to becoming the compere of The Comedy Club and appearing in The Young Ones.
Most interesting of all was Alexei's relationship with his mother - he refers to her as Molly - who clearly had an undiagnosed serious mental health condition. Molly's communist leanings and frequent and frantic outbursts found their way into Alexei's own in-yer-face and intimidating comedic style.
Most interesting of all was Alexei's relationship with his mother - he refers to her as Molly - who clearly had an undiagnosed serious mental health condition. Molly's communist leanings and frequent and frantic outbursts found their way into Alexei's own in-yer-face and intimidating comedic style.
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June 23, 2017I got through this at a fast pace. An enjoyable read. A social history in Alexei's comic style.
July 1, 2019
Bloody funny.
January 19, 2025
Funny in parts, but mostly gained a high rating because it was a very interesting insight into life, politics and comedy back in the 70s/80s
September 18, 2018
Alexei Sayle and I share a few characteristics. Both of us born to communist parents in Liverpool in the 1950s, we both went to college in London and we were both associated with the far left group CPB(ML) - the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist). But then he became a famous stand-up and I became a computer programmer.
So I found this a fascinating account - especially in the early stages.
The biography starts (roughly) at the beginning of his college years and tracks his early dead-end jobs, his start at the Comedy Store and the subsequent career through ‘The Young Ones’, ‘Comic Strip’ and his own TV series and tours. It ends before he started his writing career, so I guess about the 1980s or 1990s.
I read quite a few biographies and this one stands out from the crowd. Alexi is a complicated man who is not always selling himself to the potential ticket-buyers for his next tour. Not all people warm to Alexi, nor would he want them to, I guess, but I do.
His views on art, people, politics and life in general will not be shared by everyone - some of them may be just a joke, intended to provoke a reaction rather than being core beliefs - but he is always engaging. Reading the book is in part biography and in part like talking to an erudite stranger in a pub. Thought provoking or just provoking, it’s a great read.
So I found this a fascinating account - especially in the early stages.
The biography starts (roughly) at the beginning of his college years and tracks his early dead-end jobs, his start at the Comedy Store and the subsequent career through ‘The Young Ones’, ‘Comic Strip’ and his own TV series and tours. It ends before he started his writing career, so I guess about the 1980s or 1990s.
I read quite a few biographies and this one stands out from the crowd. Alexi is a complicated man who is not always selling himself to the potential ticket-buyers for his next tour. Not all people warm to Alexi, nor would he want them to, I guess, but I do.
His views on art, people, politics and life in general will not be shared by everyone - some of them may be just a joke, intended to provoke a reaction rather than being core beliefs - but he is always engaging. Reading the book is in part biography and in part like talking to an erudite stranger in a pub. Thought provoking or just provoking, it’s a great read.
November 2, 2018
I am glad I had read Stalin Ate My Homework, Alexei Sayle's account of his Liverpool Communist upbringing before coming to his story of adult life and how he arrived at comedic success. This second volume would have lost a lot without a fuller understanding of the foundations.
Sayle's style of comedy is savage and ranting and uncomfortable. The book is not like that - the comedic persona is not him. You could argue that he failed at being Bohemian and not just because, although it isn't quite put like this in the book, he married a childhood sweetheart who seems to be a remarkable and grounding woman. I enjoyed so many details of their lives (slightly uncomfortable about all the references to her cooking alongside his elimination of sexist jokes at the comedy clubs he was involved in... but why don't we get the recipe for Linda's five bean salad?) He seems to feel genuinely at least faintly ashamed of some of his lack of diligence in his early jobs and courses rather than almost boastful "What am I like?" you sometimes get in autobiographies... and I found the enduring ethics and perspectives provided by his upbringing interesting. His mother Molly is a book unto herself.
The early part of the book was funny enough to produce noisy evidence of my appreciation, the final third probably falls away a bit.... still interesting but without the momentum and structure.
Sayle's style of comedy is savage and ranting and uncomfortable. The book is not like that - the comedic persona is not him. You could argue that he failed at being Bohemian and not just because, although it isn't quite put like this in the book, he married a childhood sweetheart who seems to be a remarkable and grounding woman. I enjoyed so many details of their lives (slightly uncomfortable about all the references to her cooking alongside his elimination of sexist jokes at the comedy clubs he was involved in... but why don't we get the recipe for Linda's five bean salad?) He seems to feel genuinely at least faintly ashamed of some of his lack of diligence in his early jobs and courses rather than almost boastful "What am I like?" you sometimes get in autobiographies... and I found the enduring ethics and perspectives provided by his upbringing interesting. His mother Molly is a book unto herself.
The early part of the book was funny enough to produce noisy evidence of my appreciation, the final third probably falls away a bit.... still interesting but without the momentum and structure.
January 14, 2021
The 2 stars of this book in many ways are Molly, Alexei's Mum and Linda, his wife. Molly is cantankerous, eccentric, frightening and hilarious in equal measure - I could read a whole book about her but I wouldn't want to meet her. Linda, on the other hand, seems a stabilising and reassuring presence throughout.
This volume of Sayle's autobiography runs from the early 70's to mid 80's and is the story of alternative comedy in tbe UK. Alexei feels like an outsider in every situation - and even when he finds his crowd with The Comic Strip and Young Ones, he realises they have different values to him when they become friendly with Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry and Mel Smith. He's a very funny writer and I prefer his writing to his stand-up. Odd and often surreal cameo appearances from Sting, Michael Elphick, Walid Jumblatt, Val Doonican's wife and Lee Marvin keep it entertaining and the energy never dips.
This volume of Sayle's autobiography runs from the early 70's to mid 80's and is the story of alternative comedy in tbe UK. Alexei feels like an outsider in every situation - and even when he finds his crowd with The Comic Strip and Young Ones, he realises they have different values to him when they become friendly with Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry and Mel Smith. He's a very funny writer and I prefer his writing to his stand-up. Odd and often surreal cameo appearances from Sting, Michael Elphick, Walid Jumblatt, Val Doonican's wife and Lee Marvin keep it entertaining and the energy never dips.
July 2, 2024
Having read Alexei’s first book ‘Stalin ate my homework’ a couple of years ago and not really enjoying it I was put off from reading the second instalment of his life story, however I finally decided to give it a go and I much preferred this book. This instalment actually features Alexei’s comedy career and has a lot less about communism. If you are wanting to read about Alexei’s comedy career like I was then skip the first book and read this instead, although it might be worth noting that Alexei’s background does help to frame his working life when he begins working at the comedy store and his methods and opinions through the timeframe within the book.
As a comedy fan Alexei Sayle is a name that I had frequently heard mentioned and praised amongst comedians and comedy fans, however due to not being born when Alexei was at the height of his career I wasn’t aware of his work but I would repeatedly hear of the enormity of his impact yet he seemed to have disappeared off the comedy scene by the time I was old enough to be aware of him. I read this book to find out from the man himself about his career and what he has been up to in more recent years. It is important to note that sadly with regards to the latter point that the book only covers up to approximately 1985 so I still don’t know what he has been working on in the following years. It possibly feels like there may be space for a third instalment of his life story so I look forward to reading that.
It is an interesting and intriguing read and whilst I’d imagine that the majority of readers are reading to find out about Alexei’s comedy career it is also an insightful look at what it was like to live in London in the 1970’s before it’s gentrification where there was full employment, free education and social housing and before the political upheaval of the 1980’s.
I didn’t realise that Alexei almost single-handedly decided the direction the Comedy Store would take using the gong to remove anyone who was making racist or sexist jokes and in the process creating what would later become known as Alternative Comedy. This is all told in a matter of fact manner, despite his clear impact on the world of comedy I didn’t feel as though Alexei was ever bragging and he would more than have the rights to. He covers all of his early career within this book but never resorts to retelling routines, instead he shows a talent for picking out interesting anecdotes from the working process and behind the scenes information.
This is a great book about the beginnings of the alternative comedy scene, I didn’t know much about Alexei before I read his first book but I really admire that he has always stuck to his morals, hasn’t let success affect him and he seems to be a man of integrity. I look forward to reading his next book.
As a comedy fan Alexei Sayle is a name that I had frequently heard mentioned and praised amongst comedians and comedy fans, however due to not being born when Alexei was at the height of his career I wasn’t aware of his work but I would repeatedly hear of the enormity of his impact yet he seemed to have disappeared off the comedy scene by the time I was old enough to be aware of him. I read this book to find out from the man himself about his career and what he has been up to in more recent years. It is important to note that sadly with regards to the latter point that the book only covers up to approximately 1985 so I still don’t know what he has been working on in the following years. It possibly feels like there may be space for a third instalment of his life story so I look forward to reading that.
It is an interesting and intriguing read and whilst I’d imagine that the majority of readers are reading to find out about Alexei’s comedy career it is also an insightful look at what it was like to live in London in the 1970’s before it’s gentrification where there was full employment, free education and social housing and before the political upheaval of the 1980’s.
I didn’t realise that Alexei almost single-handedly decided the direction the Comedy Store would take using the gong to remove anyone who was making racist or sexist jokes and in the process creating what would later become known as Alternative Comedy. This is all told in a matter of fact manner, despite his clear impact on the world of comedy I didn’t feel as though Alexei was ever bragging and he would more than have the rights to. He covers all of his early career within this book but never resorts to retelling routines, instead he shows a talent for picking out interesting anecdotes from the working process and behind the scenes information.
This is a great book about the beginnings of the alternative comedy scene, I didn’t know much about Alexei before I read his first book but I really admire that he has always stuck to his morals, hasn’t let success affect him and he seems to be a man of integrity. I look forward to reading his next book.
August 17, 2020
Thatcher Stole My Trousers begins with Alexei Sayle attending art school as a working-class Liverpudlian Communist, and ends at the completion of the second season of seminal sitcom The Young Ones. This means that as a memoir it gives a first-hand account of British culture during a tumultuous and revolutionary period, from the man who lit the blue touch paper for alternative comedy.
This second Sayle autobiography documents his rise to fame, going from various dead-end jobs to establishing The Comedy Store, which heralded the introduction of underground stand-up to a mainstream audience. As well as being hilarious, his take on this era is one of being largely unfazed by the prospect of stardom (for instance, Sayle admits to regularly popping around to Sting’s house unannounced just for a chat, not taking into account the gruelling schedule of a mega rock star). And much like his stand-up material, it’s as likely to take aim at his contemporaries and the liberal left that largely made up his audience as the old guard they were reacting against. Thomas, Book Grocer
Purchase this classic here for just $3.00
This second Sayle autobiography documents his rise to fame, going from various dead-end jobs to establishing The Comedy Store, which heralded the introduction of underground stand-up to a mainstream audience. As well as being hilarious, his take on this era is one of being largely unfazed by the prospect of stardom (for instance, Sayle admits to regularly popping around to Sting’s house unannounced just for a chat, not taking into account the gruelling schedule of a mega rock star). And much like his stand-up material, it’s as likely to take aim at his contemporaries and the liberal left that largely made up his audience as the old guard they were reacting against. Thomas, Book Grocer
Purchase this classic here for just $3.00
July 11, 2025
Alexei Sayle's life from 17 to about 30ish. I listened to the audiobook read by the man himself. This gave the book an authenticity it wouldnt have had otherwise and often felt like you were listening to his stand up comedy rather than a portion of his life story - it edges into the surreal, with left-wing political satire and fantastic comic timing . Overall its ok. The parts before he was famous are the best, and explain his anrachic humour a little. I'd liked to of heard more from his mum, who sounds like a bit of a maniac from this book. When he finds his feet on the comedy circuit it becomes a bit staid and dull, although the parts about his film work are very funny. Until his exit from the comedy store, which is dealt with swiftly and brutally, its funny refreshing and probably mainly true. His time at chelsea art college sounds hilarious, as do the characters he meets in bedsit land. Keith Allen is in it a bit towards the end and his younger self seems as repellent as his older self.
January 5, 2024
Years ago I saw Mr Sayle walking along the street and I was so exciting because The Young Ones was one of my favourite shows as a kid but when I saw him I was an adult and decided it would be uncool to approach him. Who am I kidding, I ran up to him like a tragic little fanboy and he was really nice and was happy to shake hands and say hello. I really only read this book to read about the making of The Young Ones and I did read other parts of it but I don't think I read the whole thing. I'm feeling a bit guilty though, after reading other reviews which are pretty glowing I think a proper read is in order.
June 8, 2017
An enjoyable read. It skips from story to story in quite a fast paced fashion, with some of the chapters just being a few pages in length, which I suppose matches his stand-up delivery style. This style did leave me sometimes wanting to know more about particular people or situations. I wouldn't say I roared with laughter at any point, but many of his anecdotes did make me smile. A worthwhile read for anyone who grew up during this period or has an interest in the origins of alternative comedy.
December 19, 2018
Each time I finish a book I like to chuck it overhand across the longest aspect of the house (luckily I rarely finish books outside the home) this book sailed impressively across the living room and into the entry hall of my cheap rental townhouse.
I have never seen Alexie Sayle and read his book on a whim. His humor and history are nonetheless intriguing , even when, like myself, you’re not acquainted with anything he’s been associated with.
I especially liked his devotion to his outrageous bully of a mother and his leftist heart.
Chance rules our lives.
I have never seen Alexie Sayle and read his book on a whim. His humor and history are nonetheless intriguing , even when, like myself, you’re not acquainted with anything he’s been associated with.
I especially liked his devotion to his outrageous bully of a mother and his leftist heart.
Chance rules our lives.
August 18, 2020
An enjoyable recollection of distant happenings, the birth of the alternative comedy world and the perils of unexpected fame. A good follow-up to Stalin Ate My Homework, but sadly for me, it didn't include any incidents from our shared two years at Southport Art School. When I asked him about this, he said that it was hard to write about that period, 'because I was happy there', which in turn made me happy. Some rib-tickling anecdotes scatter themselves throughout this book, and if you are any kind of a fan of his work, you will enjoy this.
August 16, 2021
Fond memories of Alexei Sayle's TV performances in 80s and 90s rekindled by this romp through his journey from Glasgow to London art college, a genuflection at film making and entry into comedy. Thoroughly enjoyed his forays into seedy Soho of 80s, rambling the comedy circuit with his long-suffering and encouraging wife Linda, also a refugee from the tenements of Glasgow. Wonderful asides about Lexi's mum Molly, the lollipop wielding Communist who got back at anything in her way, his gentler Dad, lifelong in the railways.
April 15, 2025
Very enjoyable, especially the background to Alexei's start in comedy, the early days of the Comic Strip and all that followed. I enjoyed the narration by Alexei himself, though he sounded very tired at times. I could have done with less of the tedious, almost James May level of over-detailed, nerdish obsession with guns and cars that had me fast-forwarding like a mad eejit. Mercifully, these were only short blips in an otherwise very engaging book.
Full review to follow.
Full review to follow.
January 24, 2017
this is interesting but not involving
sayle writes really well , it covers an interesting time in british history and politically it is in my wheelhouse but .....
all faults appear to be with everyone else , some sections feel lazy and well it feels disjointed but what he writes well is very good
sayle writes really well , it covers an interesting time in british history and politically it is in my wheelhouse but .....
all faults appear to be with everyone else , some sections feel lazy and well it feels disjointed but what he writes well is very good
May 24, 2017
Not quite as humorous as the earlier volume of his autobiography, and the more successful he becomes, the truer this is. Surprising amount of namedropping, but still some perceptive insights into his own character, an interesting account of the rise of alternative comedy, and a nostalgia fest for me, as I lived in the same area of London at the same time.
September 15, 2017
Well written, and with plenty of references to the Liverpool of the 80's that I (partly) recognised. The main passage that stood out for me was Sayle's observation of the differences between working class Liverpudlians in a pub compared to their London counterparts. I think that is still true today. But the book was just not as funny as I'd hoped it would be...
March 19, 2018
Wonderfully insane at times. An off kilter look back at the life and times of Alexei Sayle in his teenage years to his break through on the comedy scene. Like his style of humour you cannot fail to understand his politics or his opinions on all and sundry. His mother sounds like an, ahem, unusual person. Wonder who Alexei takes after? Not for those of a right wing persuasion.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
April 2, 2019
Picked at the local library. Had no idea who is the author...I guess born too late. In any case, enjoyed his funny memories, plus could relate very often (born in Soviet Union & familiar with communism).
I think the book will be a gem mostly for those who living/or lived in Chelsea/Liverpool & London in 1960/70.
I think the book will be a gem mostly for those who living/or lived in Chelsea/Liverpool & London in 1960/70.
February 15, 2021
Very enjoyable book. Having lived through the period described (albeit being a bit younger) I can remember the impact the new comics had on the scene, a breath of fresh air compared to the lack luster acts available at the time. Agreed with many of Alexei's views at the time. Funny, amusing and informative.
January 13, 2024
I bought this book to read Alexei’s account of the origins of alternative comedy. I did not expect, though, quite how much I would enjoy reading about everything leading up to Alexei’s first gig at the comedy store.
Life growing up with two communist parents, the culture shock between working class Liverpool the Chelsea Art school bourgeois. A deep (perhaps delusional) self belief that survived through various roles he did not fit in. Selling drugs at a loss. Alexei’s life is fascinating and has introduced me to the world of working class intellectuals.
Also, it is hilarious throughout. If you need proof, listen to Imaginary Sandwich Bar on BBCR4 where Alexei reads extracts from the book. This demonstrated to me the importance of comedic timing, as annoyingly many of the lines weren’t as funny when I read them…
Life growing up with two communist parents, the culture shock between working class Liverpool the Chelsea Art school bourgeois. A deep (perhaps delusional) self belief that survived through various roles he did not fit in. Selling drugs at a loss. Alexei’s life is fascinating and has introduced me to the world of working class intellectuals.
Also, it is hilarious throughout. If you need proof, listen to Imaginary Sandwich Bar on BBCR4 where Alexei reads extracts from the book. This demonstrated to me the importance of comedic timing, as annoyingly many of the lines weren’t as funny when I read them…
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