BLATANT Lamarr-hosted attempt to ride the Comedy Is The New Rock’n’Roll bandwagon with the latest exciting standups captured in a rowdy pub setting, amongst them Eddie Izzard, Mark Thomas, Jo Brand and an audibly struggling Vicky Coren, who probably shouldn’t have been up that late on a school night.
Droogie
April 12, 2021 at 11:05 am
Mark Lamarr’s disappearance into obscurity is fascinating, though I never much cared for his comedy stylings. His own stand-up was nothing special, and his main talent seemed to be making members of boy bands look stupid on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. The last thing I saw him in was a recent documentary on Gail Porter and her battle with depression. They included a horrible clip of her as a guest on Buzzcocks, and Lamarr making her cry by telling her to either take her clothes off or leave. I don’t forsee a comeback happening any time soon.
Richardpd
April 12, 2021 at 12:08 pm
I remember Mark being a great foil to Reeves & Mortimer on the earlier series of Shooting Stars. He seemed to have a decent knowledge of music & had a few positions as a DJ over the years.
Maybe if Channel 4 wants to try having a late night alternative music show again he could be shortlisted to present it.
Mark Thomas is another for the “where are they now” list, I never really took to him, being a bit more abrasive than most 1990s stand ups.
It shows how many 1990s stars seemed to fade once the Millennium came to pass.
THX 1139
April 12, 2021 at 1:13 pm
Mark Thomas is still going strong, fighting the good fight, but like most comedians the pandemic has limited his exposure and he’s been forced to take his act online.
Donna McPhail is the real mystery character from that generation of comedians, everywhere mid-90s, now totally disappeared.
Droogie
April 12, 2021 at 12:40 pm
I get the feeling Lamarr might not have many sympathetic friends left in showbiz. There’s something of the sociopath about him. Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne said how he asked her out before a recording of Buzzcocks. She politely refused so he spent most of the show making snarky comments about her unsuccessful solo career. ( He also asked Gail Porter out to no avail before similarly attacking her on the show. ) Didn’t much care for him making the mighty Lemmy walk out of the show either. I must admit he did have good taste in music though.
THX 1139
April 12, 2021 at 1:06 pm
He left his popular Radio 2 show because he didn’t like the fact that Elton John had gifted the station a piano (really), and then slipped into obscurity before re-emerging in the news in Justin Lee Collins style for attacking and imprisoning his girlfriend. I note the charges were dropped, but he did seem to have a problem with young women – Emily Booth (another in the where are they now? file) said that when she made a cheapo film with him, he demanded she show him her breasts, and went off in a huff when she refused.
He does seem to be on Twitter, unless that’s an impostor? I used to like him on the Mark Radcliffe show late nights, the extracts from Little Richard’s autobiography were a particular highlight. But that was a long time ago.
THX 1139
April 12, 2021 at 1:17 pm
Oh – just looked up Emily Booth, she has a podcast and is still acting. Good to hear.
Droogie
April 12, 2021 at 2:09 pm
Ah – Emily Booth. Had a bit of a thing for her back in the early noughties when she used to present the gaming show Bits. Last time I saw her was last year was presenting on some Freeview channel that just shows cheap horror movies and she still looked great. I believe that movie you mention that she made with Lamarr was called Pervirella. I think the people behind it used to run a fab 60’s themed club called The Frat Shack in the 90’s.
Richardpd
April 12, 2021 at 10:38 pm
I guess in the age of Me Too, Mark Lamarr has blotted his copybook a few too many times by the sound of it to make much of a comeback.
According to the Wikipedia Donna McPhail writes for Lesbian magazine Diva.