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The Sound of Laughter
Peter Kay's unerring gift for observing the absurdities and eccentricities of family life has earned himself a widespread, everyman appeal. These vivid observations coupled with a kind of nostalgia that never fails to grab his audience's shared understanding, have earned him comparisons with Alan Bennett and Ronnie Barker. In his award winning TV series' he creates worlds populated by degenerate, bitter, useless, endearing and always recognisable characters which have attracted a huge and loyal following.In many ways he's an old fashioned kind of comedian and the scope and enormity of his fanbase reflects this. He doesn't tell jokes about politics or sex, but rather rejoices in the far funnier areas of elderly relatives and answering machines, dads dancing badly at weddings, garlic bread and cheesecake, your mum's HRT...His autobiography is full of this kind of humour and nostalgia, beginning with Kay's first ever driving lesson, taking him back through his Bolton childhood, the numerous jobs he held after school and leading up until the time he passed his driving test and found fame.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
July 30, 2019
A witty autobiography from Peter Kay. For the most part the focus is on his life before fame and we mostly hear of his long list of part time jobs. I remember watching Pheonix Nights in the early 00s and found Kay and co very amusing and his brand of humour does translate relatively well in this novel.
May 5, 2020
Peter Kay's best selling autobiography captures his early years from school through to college and part-time working. A North Western lads view of going to a Catholic School run by Nuns, part-time work in a cash-and-carry, a petrol station, the Manchester Arena and more has probably never been funnier. What makes this book special is how it shows how hard Peter worked in his life to earn money to pay for his college... and driving lessons. How he was always on the look out for the next opportunity to earn legally. The book is so obviously Kay's creation as it has his 'voice' written all over it; his transparency, earnestly and comedy are all astounding, and to top it all off he appears to be just as good a story teller on page as he is on stage! 8.5 out of 12.
September 14, 2011
I bought and read this book in about 2008, even though I don't generally go for memoirs or biographies, as such (though I am aware that I've read a couple more; one was a biography on Kevin Costner)...
I did find it a page-turner, and it's certainly different from many books out there ;)
For those who don't know who the Hell Peter Kay is; he's a Northern English (Bolton, Lancashire) comedian ;)
It basically covers how he started off in work, gained material from funny (kind of) things that happenned to him, then went into stand up comedy. Followed by a couple of television shows and commercials...
Is it funny? Some parts may make you smile (depending on your sense of humour, he's not funny to everyone, and not all the time), but I didn't find it a 'laugh out loud' read...
Example: In one of his places of work, he rounds a corner with a work friend and finds armed masked robbers and staff on the ground. One guy, in a Mickey Mouse or Colonel Ghadafi mask points a sawn-off shotgun at him and tells him "Get Down!" Peter Kay replies "What, you mean dance?" *Laughing*
Okay, maybe some parts are actually 'laugh out loud' funny ;)
The thing that struck me as a little odd, or maybe just not healthy, I'm not sure; Was how much he relied on his mother (I'm not saying that's a bad thing, or maybe I am *smiling*)... I mean like cooking his meals when he's an adult (daily, not occassionally), though he was obviously very close to his mother (and I certainly don't object to that)... At one point he leaves home to go to college, he packs his clothes and duvet and goes to catch a train. Okay, so far this isn't weird ;) But then, after one day (or something close) he decides it's not for him and he phones his mother... He says that college is okay, then asks what she's having for dinner... Then, as he's actually in a phone booth at the end of the street, he rushes down and knocks on his mother's door (then goes in for his dinner)...
Maybe it's just me... I do understand showing your mother that you love her. I understand spending time with her... But I was cooking my own meals when I was 14 years old, doing my own washing and shopping (and my mother's shopping)... Okay, that may not be 'normal' either LMFAO... But I also left home at 18, so maybe it's just me... It's certainly my opinion ;)
I enjoyed reading it the first time, but I wouldn't want to read it again.
I did find it a page-turner, and it's certainly different from many books out there ;)
For those who don't know who the Hell Peter Kay is; he's a Northern English (Bolton, Lancashire) comedian ;)
It basically covers how he started off in work, gained material from funny (kind of) things that happenned to him, then went into stand up comedy. Followed by a couple of television shows and commercials...
Is it funny? Some parts may make you smile (depending on your sense of humour, he's not funny to everyone, and not all the time), but I didn't find it a 'laugh out loud' read...
Example: In one of his places of work, he rounds a corner with a work friend and finds armed masked robbers and staff on the ground. One guy, in a Mickey Mouse or Colonel Ghadafi mask points a sawn-off shotgun at him and tells him "Get Down!" Peter Kay replies "What, you mean dance?" *Laughing*
Okay, maybe some parts are actually 'laugh out loud' funny ;)
The thing that struck me as a little odd, or maybe just not healthy, I'm not sure; Was how much he relied on his mother (I'm not saying that's a bad thing, or maybe I am *smiling*)... I mean like cooking his meals when he's an adult (daily, not occassionally), though he was obviously very close to his mother (and I certainly don't object to that)... At one point he leaves home to go to college, he packs his clothes and duvet and goes to catch a train. Okay, so far this isn't weird ;) But then, after one day (or something close) he decides it's not for him and he phones his mother... He says that college is okay, then asks what she's having for dinner... Then, as he's actually in a phone booth at the end of the street, he rushes down and knocks on his mother's door (then goes in for his dinner)...
Maybe it's just me... I do understand showing your mother that you love her. I understand spending time with her... But I was cooking my own meals when I was 14 years old, doing my own washing and shopping (and my mother's shopping)... Okay, that may not be 'normal' either LMFAO... But I also left home at 18, so maybe it's just me... It's certainly my opinion ;)
I enjoyed reading it the first time, but I wouldn't want to read it again.
May 5, 2019
Hilarious from page one, had to keep stopping as I couldn't see to read through the tears of laughter. Loved it!
February 2, 2022
Tonally, it’s exactly what you’d expect from the family-friendly comedian, even though some of it really hasn’t aged well in terms of political correctness.
It was a breezy read - funny and generally very light.
Only a small slither at the end was about his standup - the vast majority was his late teen years. It’s a shame because I would have liked much more about his comedy career.
It was a breezy read - funny and generally very light.
Only a small slither at the end was about his standup - the vast majority was his late teen years. It’s a shame because I would have liked much more about his comedy career.
May 27, 2019
Not my cup of tea. I have enjoyed Peter Kay as a comedian but as a writer, no. I find that having to read “joke” every three sentences is a real put off particularly when the joke is not funny. This book being an autobiography I wanted to know something of the man and how he got to be a comedian. It was quite clear early on that Peter really didn’t have the material for an autobiography. Shame.
November 8, 2008
One of the best autobiograhys I have read. You can just imagine Peter Kay writing it and is just what you expect from him. I did, however, expect the book to be more about his comedy career & more recent happenings.
September 10, 2017
Brilliant - a laugh a minute, sentimental but not schmaltzy memoir of the comedian Peter Kay.
August 11, 2019
A comedian writes about his early life.
I found this book laugh out loud funny in places.
Reading time around five hours.
I found this book laugh out loud funny in places.
Reading time around five hours.
May 13, 2022
Something about this memoir reminds me of that episode of 30 Rock when Tracey remembers he has a memoir due to the publisher the next day. He absconds with a few writers and locks them all in a room where he free-form discusses random events of his life as the writers dictate and look up stuff about him on Wikipedia.
When they’d come up with something on the internet the writers though was weird he’d shrug, clearly not remembering if it were true or not, and telling the writers to include it. It was great because at the end of the 24 hour long session he ended his draft of the book by telling about the meeting at the publishing house where he pitched his memoir. Only then remembering the publisher rejected it. So, oops.
That was what this was. Just random anecdotes from this gentleman’s life. I don’t think it was going anywhere. It was just stuff that happened. Much of it hilariously funny, but still, just stuff. It was read by said gentleman in the audiobook version I listened to. It was throughly enjoyable because he obviously would be sitting in his home, sitting down to read his quota for the day and would start rambling about whatever came to mind. Even including rummaging through his desk drawers and telling me, the listener, what he found.
If you think that what he found was funny, it was not. It was like a grocery list of things you’d find in a desk. Sometimes he’d be reading, and he’d remember something not included in the ‘official’ version that he was actually reading from, then share a story, only to realize after he started reading again that he’d written it after all, so then I’d have to listen to it again. It was so weird.
And it was charming too. I can’t say it was bad because I really liked it, but that was mostly because of the conversational way he’d read, interrupt himself for a while, them come back to reading again. I can’t help but think if I’d read the printed version I would have been disappointed. Mostly because I don’t know who this is, I just wanted something light after the icky feeling I got from the hellworld of Joe Ambercrobie’s fiction I’d just binged.
So, weird. Funny. Boring. Repetitive. Good. Bad… it’s all there. If you know who this is, I’d recommend the audiobook where he spends 1/3rd the time ‘off-script’ and talking about whatever he feels like. If you don’t know who this is, like me, you may enjoy it, but it won’t be the same, probably.
When they’d come up with something on the internet the writers though was weird he’d shrug, clearly not remembering if it were true or not, and telling the writers to include it. It was great because at the end of the 24 hour long session he ended his draft of the book by telling about the meeting at the publishing house where he pitched his memoir. Only then remembering the publisher rejected it. So, oops.
That was what this was. Just random anecdotes from this gentleman’s life. I don’t think it was going anywhere. It was just stuff that happened. Much of it hilariously funny, but still, just stuff. It was read by said gentleman in the audiobook version I listened to. It was throughly enjoyable because he obviously would be sitting in his home, sitting down to read his quota for the day and would start rambling about whatever came to mind. Even including rummaging through his desk drawers and telling me, the listener, what he found.
If you think that what he found was funny, it was not. It was like a grocery list of things you’d find in a desk. Sometimes he’d be reading, and he’d remember something not included in the ‘official’ version that he was actually reading from, then share a story, only to realize after he started reading again that he’d written it after all, so then I’d have to listen to it again. It was so weird.
And it was charming too. I can’t say it was bad because I really liked it, but that was mostly because of the conversational way he’d read, interrupt himself for a while, them come back to reading again. I can’t help but think if I’d read the printed version I would have been disappointed. Mostly because I don’t know who this is, I just wanted something light after the icky feeling I got from the hellworld of Joe Ambercrobie’s fiction I’d just binged.
So, weird. Funny. Boring. Repetitive. Good. Bad… it’s all there. If you know who this is, I’d recommend the audiobook where he spends 1/3rd the time ‘off-script’ and talking about whatever he feels like. If you don’t know who this is, like me, you may enjoy it, but it won’t be the same, probably.
January 15, 2025
This was very enjoyable. When I worked for W H Smith as a Christmas temp, this book flew off the shelves. Having been to see him live last year and going again this year, I decided to read it.
It's a very easy read as you would imagine and just right for a cold January week. It took very little time to read and finish it.
I was pleased that this book covers support for using libraries and that he used them very often. I worked in a Music library as part of my library career and it was a great job and so it was with great pleasure I read the following, "I joined my local library who fortunately had just started hiring out music on record and cassette.....Foolishly, the library also provided the public with 'reservation cards' which enabled you to order music of your choice.I must have been responsible for using up their entire yearly budget as every weekend you'd find me in the music shops of Bolton armed with a fistful of 'reservation cards' and a biro. " I have to tell him, he may think he was unusual in this pursuit of his love of music but he would only be like many other library borrowers of music. It was very very popular at that time and on Saturdays the staff didn't sit down except for when they were at lunch. It was none stop with queues out of the door.
He also writes about his days working for the arena in Manchester when it first opened. He said they opened with the Torvill and Dean tour, which I think was 1990 because I went to that tour in that very venue! Who knows he may have been on on the very day I was in the audience. What odd coincidences for me in this book.
It's certainly worth a read and I'm sure many people will be able to resonate with at least 1 story he tells in this book. If you are looking for something to cheer you up at this time of the year and you haven't read this, Peter's book could be just the thing.
It's a very easy read as you would imagine and just right for a cold January week. It took very little time to read and finish it.
I was pleased that this book covers support for using libraries and that he used them very often. I worked in a Music library as part of my library career and it was a great job and so it was with great pleasure I read the following, "I joined my local library who fortunately had just started hiring out music on record and cassette.....Foolishly, the library also provided the public with 'reservation cards' which enabled you to order music of your choice.I must have been responsible for using up their entire yearly budget as every weekend you'd find me in the music shops of Bolton armed with a fistful of 'reservation cards' and a biro. " I have to tell him, he may think he was unusual in this pursuit of his love of music but he would only be like many other library borrowers of music. It was very very popular at that time and on Saturdays the staff didn't sit down except for when they were at lunch. It was none stop with queues out of the door.
He also writes about his days working for the arena in Manchester when it first opened. He said they opened with the Torvill and Dean tour, which I think was 1990 because I went to that tour in that very venue! Who knows he may have been on on the very day I was in the audience. What odd coincidences for me in this book.
It's certainly worth a read and I'm sure many people will be able to resonate with at least 1 story he tells in this book. If you are looking for something to cheer you up at this time of the year and you haven't read this, Peter's book could be just the thing.
January 7, 2023
A firm favourite in our house with pretty much everything he has done on both the stage and screen. I listened to this on audible, read by the man himself and found it a frank and funny book, made all the more so by the tea breaks he has while reading it. I would heartily recommend it to anyone who is a fan or indeed any lover of biographies.
I loved it and genuinely laughed out loud at points!
I loved it and genuinely laughed out loud at points!
December 26, 2024
Hallelujah I’ve finally finished it! I love Peter Kay but this didn’t half drag. Although I did laugh at lots of moments because as I was reading it I was hearing his voice. This was interesting to hear about his life before his fame but just a bit long :/ but I’ve finished my 2024 reading goal of reading a non-fiction book every month! 12/12✅
November 25, 2018
It wasn't as good as I expected, but I did enjoy it. It picked up and got more interesting towards the end
January 23, 2022
It was an entertaining and enjoyable read!
January 30, 2024
Laughed out loud every chapter, audiobook with his own commentary. Who doesn’t love Peter Kay?????
September 1, 2024
it's peter kay so ofc it's gonna be funny
November 6, 2025
I think if I’d read this book, I wouldn’t have rated it so highly, but I listened to it on audible (with added material) and it was laugh-out-loud funny.
August 30, 2022
Love Peter Kay - made me laugh out loud all the time. Brilliant!
June 2, 2024
Listened to the book through audible- interesting story of his early life with the usual funny stories. Loved the fact he went off script during the narrative which made the book better to listen too
December 11, 2020
Absolutely funny book but I expected nothing less from Peter Kay 😁
February 6, 2025
Preferred his newer book but still a northern king <3
February 28, 2024
Originally written in 2006 the audiobook version (which is the format I used) was finally released in 2021 – a mere 15 years later. The stories contained within are of Peter’s childhood and adolescence, meaning before he made it big. The book finishes right when he gets a break into comedy. While I enjoyed it there is something about the audiobook you will either love or hate. The “cover” for this says “with bonus content”. “I wonder what that will be?” I thought to myself. It usually means there is an interview at the end. Not this time. The bonus content is provided by Peter not being able to read his only bloody book out without stopping every now and then to tell another story slightly linked to what he just read, comment about how things have changed since the book came out, laugh about how he forget what he had written – or in one or two cases he just takes a breather to talk about something else. This would be OK but there were a few times here where he literally puts the book down to tell another story, and then it ends up being IN THE BOOK a few pages later. Some people would argue it makes the audiobook better, I think some of it could have been trimmed out.
Anyway, this is obviously an issue that you will either love or hate – it quite annoyed me in case you can’t tell. Otherwise it’s a worthwhile listen. His delivery obviously adds to the stories in ways only Peter Kay can.
Anyway, this is obviously an issue that you will either love or hate – it quite annoyed me in case you can’t tell. Otherwise it’s a worthwhile listen. His delivery obviously adds to the stories in ways only Peter Kay can.
September 22, 2024
Good book, listened to on audible with some added commentary from Peter Kay, which was an added bonus!
March 26, 2020
And laugh you do ! Fab read x
June 26, 2014
The rating of this book is reflective of the story rather than the writing skill. There are no errors or structural problems and it is easy to read and vaguely interesting.
I was thoroughly disappointed, however, with the plot. As a memoir the plot suffers from being a report of the truth which in the case of Mr Kay seems to be surprisingly dull.
I read a lot of memoirs of comedians, Russel Brand, Jack Dee, Rob Brydon, Michael McIntyre and Stephen Fry to name a few. All of their memoirs showed a frank, warts and all glimpse into their lives and were a lot more humorous as a result as well. With The sound of laughter, I felt I could have written it myself with enough research and feel I know Peter Kay less than I did from my preconceptions before reading it.
All the 'funny anecdotes' were things I had seen dozens of times before. He even described how he does a wedding sketch where he's a kid at a wedding sliding on his knees. Who hasn't seen that? He describes much of the things we have all seen before and made me feel I was now more than familiar with his entire repertoire. This isn't entirely Peter's fault. It is just that he seems to have been extremely lucky in his road to success and we are all aware of all of it. There isn't really a back story.
I have found that, as a result of reading this book, my enjoyment in watching Peter Kay's comedy has suffered. All in all, I wish that I had never read it.
I was thoroughly disappointed, however, with the plot. As a memoir the plot suffers from being a report of the truth which in the case of Mr Kay seems to be surprisingly dull.
I read a lot of memoirs of comedians, Russel Brand, Jack Dee, Rob Brydon, Michael McIntyre and Stephen Fry to name a few. All of their memoirs showed a frank, warts and all glimpse into their lives and were a lot more humorous as a result as well. With The sound of laughter, I felt I could have written it myself with enough research and feel I know Peter Kay less than I did from my preconceptions before reading it.
All the 'funny anecdotes' were things I had seen dozens of times before. He even described how he does a wedding sketch where he's a kid at a wedding sliding on his knees. Who hasn't seen that? He describes much of the things we have all seen before and made me feel I was now more than familiar with his entire repertoire. This isn't entirely Peter's fault. It is just that he seems to have been extremely lucky in his road to success and we are all aware of all of it. There isn't really a back story.
I have found that, as a result of reading this book, my enjoyment in watching Peter Kay's comedy has suffered. All in all, I wish that I had never read it.
March 30, 2022
Thoroughly enjoyed this. I'm getting more and more into autobiographies as time goes on, and it's reassuring to know that a lot of famous people were precisely nowhere when all of a sudden, things started happening for them. A booster dose of hope at the end of the year! Maybe one day people will be giving my own autobiography two stars and wondering 'why the hell he felt the need to tell us this crap, who is he anyway?' A boy can dream. Needless to say, Peter did a much better job than I would.
August 7, 2021
A very funny read but in this case it is no substitute for the live performances of Peter Kay. An entertaining quick read.
Another one of those books that's ideal to dip in and out of when you want cheering up. A very light read that is not great but there are plenty of laughs to make it well worth reading. Pretty much what you expect with Peter Kay.
Another one of those books that's ideal to dip in and out of when you want cheering up. A very light read that is not great but there are plenty of laughs to make it well worth reading. Pretty much what you expect with Peter Kay.
April 9, 2019
I am not a huge fan of autobiographies but this is the only book my husband has ever mentioned to me (that may be because it is the only one he has ever read) so I was guilted into reading it. However, it is hysterically funny and wildly relatable, Peter Kay is the everyman. It was also by chance that I read it before sitting my driving test... so maybe it is a sign.
August 24, 2018
He’s just funny xx
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