
Archive-name: tv/british-comedy/Ben-Elton
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Version: 1.47
Last updated: 12 October 1996
URL: http://pobox.com/~brit-com/Comedy/Elton.html

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                 BEN ELTON Frequently Asked Questions (v1.47)
                 ============================================

        Created and updated by Andrew Wong (brit-com@pobox.com)

Contents
--------
1. Who on earth is Ben Elton?
2. What about some biographical information?
3. So what's he been in?
	3a. Tours (*new info*)
	3b. Films
	3c. Videos
	3d. Television
	3e. Records/Tapes/CDs
	3f. Books (*new info*)
	3g. Books on audio tape (*updated*)
	3h. Plays (*new info*)
4. Miscellaneous information
5. Things said in interviews
6. Quotes from his act
7. Addresses
8. Contributions and thanks

                      1. Who on earth is Ben Elton ?

From the facing page of his novel THIS OTHER EDEN....

	"Ben Elton is one of Britain's best known stand-up comedians. He writes
his own material and is also a successful television writer whose
credits include THE YOUNG ONES and BLACKADDER. He has also written two
successful West End plays, GASPING and SILLY COW. He hosted the TV
series SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and is the author of two novels, STARK and
GRIDLOCK, both best-sellers. When not touring, Ben Elton lives in London."

                2. What about some biographical information ?

He was born Benjie Ehrenberg on 3 May 1959, in Catford, south London. The
youngest of four, he went to 'posh old' Godalming Grammar school, wrote his
first play at 15, joined amateur dramatic societies and was inspired by Noel
Coward. He wanted to be a stagehand at the local theatre, but instead did
A-Level Theatre Studies and was sent to Manchester University (50 miles east of
Liverpool) in 1977 to study for a degree in drama. Rik Mayall and Adrian
Edmondson were in their final year of the Drama degree when Ben Elton arrived.

Upon graduation in 1980, he started on his career as a stand-up comedian, and
by early 1981 had joined Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson at the Comedy Store in
Leicester Square, London. He was paid 15 every time he performed his comedy
routine, and soon became one of the regular comperes.

After spending a considerable amount of time in Cottesloe, a cool beach-side
suburb of Perth, Western Australia, he now appears to reside somewhere in
Notting Hill, west London with his wife Sophie.

(from _The Times_ 5 June 1990:)
	"... Elton comes from a distinguished academic family: his father,
Lewis Elton, is a physicist and was a professor at the University of
Surrey, and his uncle, Sir Geoffrey Elton, is a professor at Cambridge.

	His family came to England as refugees in 1938.  His grandfather, Dr
Victor Ehrenberg, was a renowned classical historian who lost his
professorship at Prague when Hitler invaded. His sons were advised to
change their German-Jewish name on joining the British army. ... His
main extravagances are his frequent flights to Australia to be with his
girlfriend, Sophie, who plays the saxophone in an all-girl group. (the
Boom Babies)"

He is now married to Sophie Gare, whom he met while writing STARK. She is now
his support act on his Australian tour. He still lives in London, though
apparently now spends more and more time in Australia.

He's a strong supporter of the Labour Party (centre-left UK political party),
and accompanied Glenys Kinnock for a while during the 1993 UK General Election
campaign, where he visited a farm in South Wales.

                         3. So what's he done?

3a. Tours
=========
In 1987 Rik Mayall and Ben Elton performed a series of stand-up shows in Perth,
Western Australia.  According to Des Shaw, Managing Director of Triple M (a
local FM radio station) the shows were at what used to be called Club 242 at
the Leederville Hotel in West Perth. During this period, Rik & Ben also did a
one-off evening radio slot at 96FM, during which they played Living Doll, and
did some "larking around" live in the studio. He also met Sophie there, who was
then a member of the support band The Jam Tarts.

Between March and June 1993, he toured the UK with a new act, covering 40
dates. These invariably sold out, so he carried on between October and December
1993. He toured a total of 112 dates, with an audience of around 200,000,
following which he took the tour round Australia and New Zealand.

Ben Elton has recently announced plans for a new tour between November and
December 1996 in the United Kingdom. A list of tour dates are contained within
the British Comedy Library, at
http://pobox.com/~brit-com/Comedy/Elton-tour.html

3b. Films
=========

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1993)
-----------------------------
He features in Kenneth Branagh's film version of the Shakespeare play as Verges
(I think), Michael Keaton's sidekick, the silly policeman who barely says
anything. The film also stars Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel
Washington, Keanu Reeves and Richard Briers. The film is available at your
local video rental store, and as a boxed set special edition.

3c. Video tapes available
=========================

THE VERY BEST OF BEN ELTON LIVE VOLUME ONE
------------------------------------------
A tape of his act, recorded live at the London Astoria 10 years after starting
up as a stand-up comedian. It includes the routines on YAPPY THE DOG, NOBS ON
THE BEACH, TITS, TAMPONS, A LOAD OF BOLLARDS...

It says on the video sleeve: "Immortalised on video for the first AND only
time, this is Ben Elton at his raucous best."

Most of it had been previously transmitted on the now-defunct British Satellite
Broadcasting network. It lasts 90 minutes, and is rated 18. The director was
Juliet May, the producer was Paul Jackson and the executive producer was Phil
McIntyre. The tape was released by Virgin Video (catalogue number VVD 776).

A FARTIES GUIDE TO THE MAN FROM AUNTIE
--------------------------------------
This is a compilation of the best parts from the first series to THE MAN FROM
AUNTIE, and includes the sketches on finding friendly terms for the female
front bottom, capped for England, Reality Gap, Setting Up Home and others...

It's on BBC Video (catalogue no. BBCV 4677), and presumably available from
BBC Enterprises (tel. +44 (0) 81 743 5588), priced 10.99

BEN ELTON VERY LIVE 1993:TOUR DE FORCE
--------------------------------------
This is a recording of a concert from his latest tour, filmed at the Leeds
Grand Theatre in May 1993. You can *JUST* spot me somewhere in the audience,
bottom left from the stage <;-)

Running for around 100 minutes, the tape is distributed by Polygram Record
Operations or Vision Video Ltd, and the video no. is 0882043. Prices go up from
10 (US $15), and is also available as an audio tape.

STARK
-----
This is a TV film/mini-series adaptation of his novel STARK, which he
also adapted, and stars as CD. Jacqueline McKenzie (from Romper Stomper) is
Rachel, and Nadia Tass directed the co-production between the
BBC and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In the UK, the tape is on BBC Video, catalogue number 5122, and was priced at
12.99. The Australian release was on ABC Video, no.05751 for Aus$30. It's
rated 15+ for "adult themes and drug use".

3d. TELEVISION (all dates are UK, unless otherwise stated)
==============

ALFRESCO (10:30pm Sunday, 1982 / 83)
------------------------------------
An LWT variety-show one-off featuring the talents of Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie,
Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane and Ben Elton. He has said that he'd be
embarassed if it was repeated, since it was such a long time ago...

THE YOUNG ONES (1984)
---------------------
The first UK "alternative comedy" sitcom, set around a group of students.
Co-written with Rik Mayall & Lise Meyer, Ben also popped up in 2 of the twelve
episodes. See the FAQ for more information.

SOUTH OF WATFORD (1984/85)
--------------------------
Co-wrote and presented (with Martyn Harris) a thirty-part documentary series on
London arts and entertainment.

HAPPY FAMILIES (1985)
---------------------
Writer. Starred Jennifer Saunders and Adrian Edmondson

FILTHY, RICH AND CATFLAP (1986)
-------------------------------
Writer, starring Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson and Nigel Planer. Ben wrote this
six-part serial, touted as the 'sequel' to The Young Ones, but didn't succeed.

BLACKADDER II (1987)
--------------------
Co-writer with Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Mr. Bean), starring
Rowan Atkinson as Edmund Blackadder, loyal subject and servant to Queen
Elizabeth (Miranda Richardson, also in The Crying Game). Highly recommended!

FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE (1987) / SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (1988)
-----------------------------------------------------
Host of a weekly comedy/variety show for "young people". Unsuccessfully revived
in 1996 with Lee Hurst as the host.

BLACKADDER III (1988)
---------------------
Again co-written with Richard Curtis with Rowan Atkinson as Edmund Blackadder,
the servant to ultra-thickie Prince Regent (Hugh Laurie) Ben also had a cameo
role as an anarchist trying to kill the Prince in one episode...

"Live from London" HBO Comedy Special (1988/89)
-----------------------------------------------
Host of a special comedy broadcast in the United States only.

SOUTH BANK SHOW (5 March 1989)
------------------------------
An ITV arts documentary series which turned its' spotlight onto Ben Elton for
one edition, coinciding with the release of his first book Stark.

WOGAN (1989)
------------
Stood in for Terry Wogan as chat show host for a fortnight.

BLACKADDER GOES FORTH (1990)
----------------------------
Again co-written with Richard Curtis, with Rowan Atkinson as Lieutenant
Blackadder trying to avoid going over the top and into the trenches - a bit
difficult during World War One.

THE MAN FROM AUNTIE (1990)
--------------------------
Six-part stand-up comedy series, with the odd sketch, mostly based on his live
performances.

TONIGHT LIVE (1993)
-------------------
An Australian chat-show, where Ben covered for the main host Steven
Vizard for a week.

STARK (December 1993)
---------------------
TV film based on his novel. Ben wrote the screenplay, and starred as CD.

THE MAN FROM AUNTIE (January 1994)
---------------------------------
A second series of his stand-up comedy and sketches, material mostly taken from
his Very Live tour. It gained 7 million viewers.

MORECAMBE AND WISE TRIBUTE SHOW (?), May 1994
---------------------------------------------
This is mentioned in the superlative Eric Morecambe: Behind The Sunshine
biography. If anyone has a copy of this, *please* let me know!

HARRY ENFIELD AND FRIENDS, November 1994
----------------------------------------
Guest-starred in a sketch as Benny Elton, taking the piss out of his 'socialist
right-on' image, chasing page 3 models to chastise them.

THE THIN BLUE LINE (November 1995)
----------------------------------
Wrote and produced this 7-part comedy series, set in a police station.
Often regarded as Elton's attempt at 'traditional' comedy, a la Dads' Army and
its' ilk, but updated for the 1990s. The press release is contained
within the British Comedy Library at
http://pobox.com/~brit-com/Comedy/ThinBlue-PR.html.

A second series is expected to follow, to be aired in November 1996.

THE NOSE AT TEN: THE BEST OF COMIC RELIEF (March 1996)
------------------------------------------------------
Presented some episodes of highlights from Comic Relief, and made
frequent references to his short/lack of hair.

He has also been a contributing writer for various comedy shows, including the
Lenny Henry show

3e. RECORD / TAPE / CD
======================

Ben Elton - Motormouth / Motorvation : The Best of Ben Elton Live
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This is a double cassette pack containing the original albums Motormouth and
Motorvation, which were released seperately in 1987 and 1988. They're
priced at 7.99, and marketed and distributed by PolyGram Record
Operations Ltd. The book shop distribution is by Bookpoint ( +44 235 835 001)

BEN ELTON LIVE 1989
-------------------
Another tape of his act, recorded in 1989 at London's Hammersmith
Odeon, and incorporating parts of The Man From Auntie, and his two albums
Motormouth and Motorvation. Priced at UKP 7.99, the ISBN number is 1 89
7774 117. It's also available from Laughing Stock Productions, quoting
catalogue number LAFFC 17.

BEN ELTON - THE MAN FROM AUNTIE
-------------------------------
This is a compilation of parts from the first seris of THE MAN FROM AUNTIE.
It's available on cassette (catalogue no. ZBBC 1638) priced 7.99 from BBC
Enterprises, or on CD (catalogue no. ZBBC 1638 CD) priced 11.99

BEN ELTON - VERY LIVE 1993
--------------------------
This is a tape of his act from his recent tour and The Man From Auntie 2. It's
on the Funny Business range from Spoken Word cassettes, the same people
responsible for the Motormouth/Motorvation double pack. Priced at 7.99

3f. BOOKS
=========

[ Sponsored in part by the BookPages Web site - if you're looking
  for any British book in print, they can get it for you! Take a
  look at http://www.bookpages.co.uk/ ]

BATCHELOR BOYS - THE YOUNG ONES BOOK
------------------------------------
This is obviously a book version of the infamous TV serial. For more
information please refer to the Young Ones FAQ - available at
http://pobox.com/~brit-com/Comedy/YoungOne.html or from me.

STARK (1989)
-----
From the backnote of the book....

	"Stark has more money than God and the social conscience of a dog on a
	croquet lawn. What's more, they know the Earth is dying.

	Deep in Western Australia, where the Aboriginals used to milk the trees,
a
    planet-sized plot takes shape. Some green freaks pick up the scent. A
    Pommie poseur, a brain-fried Vietnam Vet, Aboriginals who lost their land
    ... not much against a conspiracy that controls society. But EcoAction
    isn't in society; it just lives in the same place, along with the
    cockroaches.

	If you're facing the richest and most disgusting conspiracy in history,
	you have to do more than stick up two fingers and say 'peace'."

This was Ben Elton's first novel, and sold massively in Britain and
Australia. It was reprinted 23 times in its' first year of publication, and
sold over a million worldwide.

Priced at 4.99, the ISBN number is 0 7515 0700 8 and is now
printed by Warner Books.

GRIDLOCK (1991)
--------
From the sleeve notes...

	"Gridlock is when a city dies.

	Killed in the name of freedom. Killed in the name of oil and steel.
	Choked on carbon monoxide and strangled with a pair of fluffy dice.

	How did it come to this ? How did the ultimate freedom machine end up
	paralysing us all ? How did we end up driving to our own funeral, in
	somebody else's gravy train ?

	Deborah and Geoffrey know, but they have transport problems of their
own,
	and anyway, whoever it was that murdered the city can just as easily
murder
	them."

Reviews of GRIDLOCK
-------------------
	"Brilliant ... the comedy sometimes achieves Tom Sharpe levels of
outrage
	and the thrills sometimes match Alfred Hitchcock for malign invention
...
	somewhere under the stage suit there may be a Booker candidate."

- Richard Heller, Mail On Sunday

	"He combines passionate espousal of a cause with the machine-gun
narration
	of a stand-up comic, peppered with good jokes and with the energetically
	managed, funny and violent action of a manic strip cartoon."

- Ned Sherrin, Evening Standard

	"Perfect fodder for the politically-correct holidaymaker" :Time Out

	"Leaves you wondering why our more up-market novelists can never be
	bothered to write about something as obviously important, topical and
	politically resonant as the nightmarish growth of the motor industry."

- The Guardian

	"Hugely enjoyable...very funny, frequently perceptive and often
	thought-provoking." - Yorkshire Evening Post

The ISBN number is 0 7474 0568 9, and is priced at 4.99, Aus $11.95, and Can
$6.99. It was published by Sphere Books, and is dedicated to "Sophie".

GASPING (1990)
--------------
	"Lockheart Industries are making *senior* money. If God wanted to buy
into
	their stock, he'd have to think twice and talk to his people. They have
a
	profit curve wound so far round the room it looks like a Blue Peter
	Christmas Appeal.

	But they're bored, they want more. New ideas, new products. That's when
	someone discovers Suck and Blow...

	The marketing phenomenon of the decade has arrived! Designer air!
Perrier
	for the nostrils!

	But when the world starts gasping, only the biggest suckers survive..."

Reviews of GASPING
------------------
	"A poisonously funny morality play...a remarkable debut" - Sunday Times

	"A sharp-witted satire on the heartlessness of market forces...
extremely
	funny... never, unlike the world's population, runs out of puff" - The
	Independent

	"A brilliantly funny piece of stage magic." - Today

	"As barbed as, and much funnier than Serious Money, the sharpest
futuristic
	comedy since Henceforward, and the best Green comedy since The Good Life
	was young." - Financial Times

	"Sheer Jacques Tati'esque... a traditional morality play... one Ben
Johnson
	would have recognised" - International Herald Tribune

The ISBN number is 0 7474 0889 0, and priced at 4.99. It's published by Sphere
Books Ltd.

SILLY COW (1993)
---------
From the sleeve notes :

	"Doris Wallis, queen of the tabloid press, is, in her own words, 'a
nasty
	cow who slaughters sacred cows'. Bitchy, brassy, and bolshie, she writes
a
	venomous TV column that specializes in slagging off celebrities. She's
so
	poisionous that - as she tells her mousey secretary Peggy - 'Bogeyman
get
	scared imagining me under their beds'.

	Her bitchiness is her career - and her career is on the up. On the verge
of
	a glorious venture into TV, she's not going to let anything get in her
way
	- not even the 'silly fat talentless old cow' who is currently suing her
	for libel. And any skeletons she may have in her cupboard are (like her
	bondage gear) firmly locked up. Or so she thinks....."

Reviews of Silly Cow
--------------------
	"I laughed my head off" - City Limits

	"Crude, clever and killingly funny" - Daily Mirror

	"A cracker of a play" - The Stage and Television Today

	"A perfect occasion for Ben Elton satire on the modern world. Like his
	first West End play GASPING, it's fast and slick. And what's clever
about
	that is that fastness and slickness are what it satirises. It also has
an
	ingenious plot ..."

The ISBN number is 0 7515 0190 5, and is priced at 5.99 and Can$ 5.99.

THIS OTHER EDEN (1993)
---------------
	"Small, well appointed future. Semi detached.

	If the end of the world is nigh, then surely it's only sensible to make
	alternative arrangements. Certainly the Earth has its points, but what
most
	people need is something smaller and more manageable. Of course there
are
	those who say that's planetary treason, but who cares what the weirdos
and
	terrorists think? Not Nathan. All he cares is that his movie gets made
and
	that there's somebody left to see it.

	In marketing terms the end of the world will be very big. Anyone trying
to
	save it should remember that."

The ISBN number is 0 6718 5180 2, is priced at 5.99, Aus $14.95 and NZ$19.95,
and is published by Simon and Schuster Ltd. The copyright is retained by Stand
Up Limited 1993. It's also dedicated to "Sophie".

POPCORN (1996 - new)
--------------------

Ben Elton's latest book deals with media violence and its' effects on the
audience.

Bruce Delamitri, a Hollywood director (a cross between Quentin Tarantino and
Oliver Stone) is collecting an Oscar for Ordinary Americans, a wittily laidback
splatter movie that closely resembles Natural Born Killers. Two serial killers,
whose crimes are allegedly modelled on Delamitri's films, take the director,
his ex-wife, his girlfriend and teenage daughter hostage.

The main killer Wayne argues before a nationwide TV news audience that he and
his girlfriend accomplice Scout are victims of Delamitri's movies, corrupted by
their cool portrayals of motiveless murder, and therefore deserve judicial
mercy. If the viewers at home believe responsibility lies with the murderers or
the director, Wayne offers them a stark choice. Turn off the TV sets, and Wayne
will spare Delamitri's ex-wife. Stay watching, and he will shoot her...

The book has won praise from the likes of Mary Whitehouse for his attack on sex
and violence in the movies. Ben Elton has said "I don't think balanced people
can be driven to be any different from what they are ... The suggestion is that
those who are open to anti-social behaviour may be seduced into believing it is
the norm ... I feel slightly exposed here because I am putting a point I don't
entirely believe." (The Daily Telegraph, July 29th 1996)

The book is available now, on hardback for 12.99 (though various deals are
available) published by Simon and Schuster. The ISBN number is 0-684-81612-1,
and is also available as a "book on tape". It will also be performed as a stage
play.

You can *win* one of 5 autographed copies of the new book, courtesy of the Pure
Fiction Web site at http://www.purefiction.com. Just tell them that the British
Comedy Library sent you here!

3g. BOOKS ON AUDIO TAPE
=======================

GRIDLOCK
--------
Read by Adrian Edmondson, it was released by HarperCollins Audio Books. The
ISBN code is 0 00 104 6888, catalogue no. HCA 141, and is priced at 7.99.

STARK
-----
Again read by Adrian Edmondson. It's also from HarperCollins Audio Books, the
ISBN no. is 00 01 04690X and priced at 7.99

THIS OTHER EDEN
---------------
Read by Ben Elton himself, this version is available through Simon and Schuster
audio, and priced at 7.99. The ISBN no. is 0 671 69 7633

POPCORN
-------
This version is read by John Sessions, and should be available from your local
good bookstore in the United Kingdom!

3h. PLAYS
=========
Permission to perform these plays should be sought from McIntyre Management.

GASPING
-------

This was first performed at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London on 1st July
1990. It starred Hugh Laurie as Philip, and Bernard Hill as Sir Chiffley
Lockheart, with the voice of Stephen Fry. Directed by Bob Spiers, it was
designed by Terry Parsons and produced by Philip McIntyre. The play has since
been to Northampton in the United Kingdom, Cologne in Germany and Sydney in
Australia.

An eyewitness at the premiere says she saw Rik Mayall, Stephen Fry, Lenny
Henry, and Dawn French there, and also a leather-jacketed Ben Elton chewing on
his fingernails...

SILLY COW
---------
This was first performed at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London on 20 February
1991, and starred Dawn French as Doris.

POPCORN
-------
Based on his new novel, Popcorn, it is being performed at two theatres (neither
of them are in London - hurrah!). The dates are:
- Nottingham Playhouse, 12 September to 12 October
  (Box office 0115 941 9419)
- West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, 15 October to 9 November
  (Box office 0113 244 2111)

It is being co-produced by the two theatres, and contains warnings of strong
language, and images of sex and violence. Wahey! :-)

                       4. Miscellaneous information

* On the South Bank Show, he said he didn't envisage seeing STARK as a
  television show. He also once said on Going Live that he hoped to see his
  novels published in recycled paper for environmental reasons.

  STARK the TV-film has been released on video, and of the five books I have
  read, none of them were on recycled paper :-)

* It took him 10 weeks to write STARK the book, 10 months to write STARK the
  script, and two years to get TV producers interested in the whole idea...

* On Australian radio, he said he would like to do a film version of GRIDLOCK,
  but the producers would have to find a good spastic actor to play Geoffrey.

* In November 1991, Ben Elton's mother asked the High Court to jail a woman
  fan "besotted" with her son. Susan Fenell, then aged 28, a secretary, had
  pestered Kathleen Elton with phone calls to her home.

 		           5. Things said in interviews

WORK
----
"Most of my work isn't directly autobiographical. It tends to be an amalgam of
things I've seen and heard and thought and conversations I've had."
                                          X-Press - an Australian newspaper

"Most of my stand-up comedy is about being a small, scared, neurotic individual
among the billions of other small, scared, neurotic individuals that make up
the mass which is us. I always think the first target of a stand-up comic
should be themselves - we all share our weaknesses and it's fun to use them as
a source of comedy." (Australian Sunday Times, Jul 31 1994)

"Prevarication is the absolute essence of any endeavour, but it's not just
writing novels, it could be the situation of paying a gas bill. People will
basically do anything to avoid doing the thing that they're supposed to be
doing..." (X-Press)

"I'm less nervous now than I used to be (about stand-up). It's still quite
tense, you have to approach it with quite an amount of intellectual commitment
because you've got two hours of material to get across and that's a long
argument to be having one-sidedly." (X-Press)

"You can't discuss what 'they' (the critics) call you... It's hurtful, but
it's all part of the game, innit?" - Radio Times

"... even if it sounds pretentious, which it isn't - I've found it artistically
challenging to produce a monologue that is filled with laughter and ideas. It's
a tough thing to pull off, but satire is better if it has conviction behind
it." - Radio Times, December 1993

"I try hard not to preach, but I get carried away, which is a mistake, but it's
a risk worth running. When the act works, it's not remotely `preachy'." - Radio
Times, December 1993

"Yes, OK, farty is a silly word. I wish I'd never used it. I'm 34. Perhaps it
was a word for my 20s." - Radio Times, December 1993

"I don't know about the super-highways - it's a load of techno-wank,
frankly..." (X-Press)

POLITICS
--------
"We've all got to look at ourselves, start with yourself, that's all you can
do. I believe that we can act responsibly as a group, it's just that there are
vested interests telling us not to bother." (X-Press)

MARRIAGE
--------
"She has very kindly done me the happiness of saying she will marry me... I owe
my future married happiness to trade union legislation. In 1986, when Rik
Mayall and I toured Australia, we had to have a support act of two Aussies for
every one Brit, so they booked an all-girl band called The Jam Tarts, which she
was in." - Radio Times, December 1993

STARK
-----
"So Ocker and Sly (from STARK) are not Bond and Packer or anything like that.
They are ... not them just as I'm not CD, everything is a kind of fiction
developed out of the things around me." (X-Press)

"I'm not writing the novels to be a preacher, but I obviously feel, as
everybody does strongly about environmental issues. But I'm not a zealot. I
don't think we should all have to wear hessian underwear and knit our
yoghurt."
(X-Press)

"My advice to anyone adapting a novel, is that once they've read it, and
learnt to understand it, then they must throw it away and never look at it
again!" (from the TV Times)

"At first, I tried to adapt it in a slavish way, but then realised I had to
discard it, to kill the thing I love. I'm easy to work with, not a pushover,
but I respond to criticism and find it inspiring. In fact, the mini-series has
a better ending than the book." - Radio Times, Dec 1993

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
----------------------
"It's no secret that I wasn't first choice for the part, but I was just
happy to be asked..." (Australian Sunday Times, 31 July 1994)

ACTING
------
"Working with Kenneth (Branagh) was good for my acting, as was working with
Nadia Tass on STARK, but they both had one directing tip for me. They both
told me to stop trying to act as I do tend to mug." - Australian Sunday Times

                     6. Quotes from Ben Elton's act...

* "Double seat, double seat, gotta get a double seat....."

* "We have to stand on top of the fridge .. and jump on the b**tard!!"
    - The Man From Auntie

* "Hey, look, it was only a sausage..."

* "Hey guys, let's cut all the crap and get a communal sausage."

* "Lovely plastic shiny seats, shaped like ski slopes ... Burp once,
   whallop! You're under the table..." - Motormouth

* 'It depends on what you're offering, Gloria' ... Yes, Tom, bit of a
  rape innuendo but who cares, it's only British comedy innit eh?" -
  Motormouth

* "I was just strolling out of the pavillions to bat, when would
   you believe it, my period starts."

* "Oh no, it's gone floppy!" - The Man From Auntie

* "Ben, Get some bog paper, get lots." - The Man From Auntie

* "Who invented those bits of magnetic plastic fruit? What a bastard hey."
   - The Man From Auntie

* "Bring the teapot, I've gotta buff this muff!" - The Man From Auntie

* "Her sheets must have been so soggy, Mrs Thatcher could have privatised
   them." - The Man From Auntie

* "These napkins have the absorbent qualities of an Armoured car." - The Man
  From Auntie

* "They can get a bomb through a window in baghdad, you're not telling me
   they can't get the tea from the teapot into the mug." - The Man From Auntie

* "You're thinking, There was never that much in the pot." - The Man From
   Auntie

* "I'd like a pot of tea please, and some Savlon, and a Bandaid." - The Man
   From Auntie

* "...No, you have to get your own Rectinol." - The Man From Auntie

* "As night follows day, if you drink lager... you will end up on
   Kentucky Fried Chicken." - Very Live

* "Ben Elton says 'They park a Ford Cortina up your fanny !'" - Very Live

* "Sometimes, I don't wonder if we (British) actually prefer things
   a bit crap...." - Very Live

* "Get some napkins ... get lots..." - Very Live

Any other ideas?

                  7. Addresses of companies, agents etc.

His agent : Jane McIntyre
            McIntyre Management
            15 Riversway
            Navigation Way
            PRESTON PR2 2YP
            United Kingdom

Sphere Books Ltd.
A Division of MacDonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.
Orbit House
1 New Fetter Lane
LONDON EC4A 1AR
United Kingdom

Warner Books
A Division of Little, Brown & Company (UK)Ltd.
165 Great Dovor Street
LONDON SE1 4YA
United Kingdom

Simon and Schuster
West Garden Place
Kendal Street
LONDON W2 2AQ
United Kingdom

Tapes of his act : Laughing Stock Promotions Ltd.
                   PO Box 408
                   Battersea
                   LONDON SW11 6JJ
                   United Kingdom

Harper Collins Audio Books
77 - 85 Fulham Palace Road
LONDON W6 8JB
United Kingdom

                        8. Contributions and thanks

Thanks also go to Staci, Greg O'Beirne, Roderick Bergbie, Dave Chapman, Pete
Illingworth, Robin Kenny, James Lynn, Alexander Lum, Alan Pipes, Annie Sattler,
Jake Selwood, Andrew Skudder, David Smith, Lee Whiteside, Garry Wilson and
Penelope Wythes for contributing to this FAQ.

If you want the Young Ones FAQ, Adrian Edmondson FAQ or Rik Mayall FAQ, or
would like to read a press release on Ben Elton distributed during his Very
Live tour, these files can be found via:

FTP - src.doc.ic.ac.uk/public/media/tv/collections/tardis/
WWW - http://pobox.com/~brit-com/Comedy/index.html
      http://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/public/media/tv/collections/tardis/

Adam Eccles has carefully transcribed some of Ben's best comedic moments, and
it is available via the Web at http://www.aeccles.demon.co.uk/

If you get this via alt.fan.ben-elton, please post something onto it. The group
seems remarkably empty! :-)

If you want any British items, I can get them for you and you can send me an
American check if it makes life easier. Please contact me.

Comments, brickbats, offers of friendship amd bribes gratefully accepted :)
E-mail me at : achwong@pobox.com.
      WWW via: http://pobox.com/~brit-com/index.html

Finally, this FAQ is postcard-ware i.e. if you really liked it then I
would appreciate a postcard from you! The address is:
				10 Gerllan
				Tywyn
				Gwynedd
				LL36 9DE
				UNITED KINGDOM

My name is Andrew Wong, thank you and goodnight...

Andrew Wong		     WWW: http://pobox.com/~brit-com/Comedy/index.html
-----x-----		Internet: brit-com@pobox.com
"I don't know about the super-highways     Take a look at the British Comedy
- it's a load of techno-wank, frankly..."  Library for FAQs, biogs, sounds,
     Ben Elton, X-Press Newspaper          images, and interviews.
