Abandoman
Abigoliah Schamaun
Adam Bloom
Adam Buss
Adam Buxton
Adam Crow
Adam Hills
Adam Riches
Adam Staunton
Adam Tempest
Addy Van Der Borgh
Adnan Ahmed
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Poynton
Agraman
Aidan Bishop
Al Murray
Al Pitcher
Al Stick
Alan Anderson
Alan Bennett
Alan Carr
Alan Davies
Alan Francis
Alan Hudson
Alan Seaman
Alan Sharp
Albion Gray
Alex Boardman
Alex Clissold-Jones
Alex Horne
Alex Lasarev
Alex Love
Alex Lowe
Alex Maple
Alex Zane
Alexander Armstrong
Alexis Dubus
Alfie Brown
Alfie Joey
Alfie Moore
Ali Cook
Alison Thea-Skot
Alistair Barrie
Alistair McGowan
Alun Cochrane
Alyssa Kyria
Amadeus Martin
Amateur Transplants
An Audience With Peter
Ancient Annie
Andi Osho
Andre Vincent
Andrea Hubert
Andrew Bird
Andrew Crawford
Andrew Doyle
Andrew Lawrence
Andrew Maxwell
Andrew Murrell
Andrew O'Neill
Andrew Ryan
Andrew Stanley
Andrew Watts
Andy Askins
Andy Bone
Andy Brough
Andy Kind
Andy Learmonth
Andy Linden
Andy Parsons
Andy Robinson
Andy Sir
Andy Smart
Andy Vaughan
Andy Watson
Andy White
Andy Zaltzman
Angelo Tsarouchas
Angelos Epithemiou
Angie McEvoy
Anil Desai
Anna Crilly
Anna Freyberg
Anna Keirle
Anne Gildea
Anne Wilks
Annette Fagon
Anthony J Brown
Anthony Jeselnik
Anthony King
Anvil Springstien
Archie Kelly
Ardal O'Hanlon
Arj Barker
Armando Iannucci
Arnab Chanda
Arnold Bolt
Arnold Brown
Arthur Smith
Ava Vidal
Ayesha Hazarika
Al Murray
Fat BlokesFrom his Barrel of Fun DVD |
More Al Murray videos |
Fat Blokes |
It Was Our Idea |
The Romans |
On Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow - BBC One |
You need an upgrade |
The P.C. PC's on drugs |
An intruder! with John Barrowman |
The greatest music in the world |
The Guv on Jobs |
Murray's grandfather Sir Ralph Murray was a diplomat, working at the Political Al was a boarder at Bedford School and went on to read modern history at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he started performing comedy. His break came in 1994, when he was invited compere in Harry Hill's Edinburgh show Pub Internationale, and created the pub landlord character. Nominated for the Perrier more often than anyone else, Murray was ruled out the running in 1999 for being 'too popular', until organisers relented. Murray was also nominated for best theatre tour in the 2008 Chortle awards. |
CV |
Radio: 1993-1997: Appeared in four seasons of Harry Hill's Fruit Corner on Radio 4. Buy CD (NB Special order) Buy CD |
TV: 2005: Host of late-night ITV1 pub quiz Facthunt |
TV: 2005: Contestant in Celebrity Fame Academy. |
TV: 2004: Hell's Kitchen. Contestant on celebrity reality show with chef Gordon Ramsay |
TV: 2000-2002: Time Gentlemen Please, Two long series of the £3million Sky One sitcom based around Murray's character. |
TV: 1997-2000: Played brother Al in the Harry Hill show on Channel 4 |
Stand Up: 2005: Tour: ... And Another Thing. Review Review |
Stand Up: 2003: Tour: Giving It Both Barrels. Review Review |
Stand Up: 2002: First national tour Who Dares Wines. Review. Transfer to West End. Review. Review |
Stand Up: 2002: First national tour Who Dares Wines. Review. Transfer to West End. Review. Review. |
Stand Up: 2001: Appears at the Royal Variety Performance. |
Stand Up: 2001: One-man show My Gaff, My Rules. Review. Nominated for an Olivier Award and Chortle award for best touring or theatre comic. Buy on VHS or DVD Review |
Stand Up: 2001: One-man show My Gaff, My Rules. Review. Nominated for an Olivier Award and Chortle award for best touring or theatre comic. Buy on VHS or DVD VHS |
Stand Up: 2001: One-man show My Gaff, My Rules. Review. Nominated for an Olivier Award and Chortle award for best touring or theatre comic. Buy on VHS or DVD DVD |
Stand Up: 1999: Perrier award winner Perrier award |
Stand Up: 1998: Perrier award nominee Perrier award |
Stand Up: 1997: Perrier award nominee Perrier award |
Stand Up: 1996: Perrier award nominee Perrier award |
Stand Up: 1994: Created the Pub Landlord character for Harry Hill's Pub Internationale Edinburgh show. Harry Hill |
Al Murray: Barrel Of Fun |
|
When Al Murray first donned his burgundy blazer in 1994, he could have had no idea that the Pub Landlord character would be going strong 16 years later, with half a dozen DVDs, three series of an ITV chat show and 37 sitcom episodes among the career highlights. But it probably gets no easier. How to keep the caricature fresh for those who have watched his progress, without affecting the elements made him such a success? And how to maintain a sense of occasion for each new batch of tour dates. In this Barrel Of Fun show, which was being recorded in London for DVD, Murray’s tinkered a little with the winning formula – but still couldn’t reach the highs of the pig-headed Guv at his intoxicating best. Compared to his unsubtle gig at the O2 Arena last year, he toned down the rabble-rousing for the more intimate confines of the Hammersmith Apollo, though still persuaded the audience to join in gleefully with a few new choice phrases, like an overbearing playgroup leader. And though there were a few obligatory jibes at the French and the Germans, his biggest bugbear this year is the far-from-contentious squirrel. Hell, Murray even stood up for one much-ridiculed minority – the gingers, turning the old gags on their copper heads. It’s political correctness gone mad, I tell you… This arose in the first chunk of the show, which comprises his superbly sharp banter with the audience, with their ‘beautiful British names’. This often involves portraying them as lazy and feckless workers, merely massaging the uniquely self-deprecating element of the national psyche, while youngsters are teased about their inability to get served at the bar. As for the bulk of his set, he typically doles out his misguided opinions, constructing elaborate arguments to make his warped case. It means the pace can be slow… taking a good ten minutes of emphatic bluster, constant repetition and forceful audience interaction to construct his perfect chat-up line. It’s all done in a spirit of fun, but when the result is something of a damp squib, it seems a palaver to get there. It’s similar with his rant about the ex-Nazi Pope, which is pretty standard comedy fare, however much we play along with his ‘bonkers mental’ catchphrase. Talking of standard fare, he also tackles the oldest one in the book: the difference between men and women – though he absolutely nails it with his hilarious description of the genders’ differing emotional landscapes. And you can sense the release when he encourages the men in the room to voice a complaint they’ll all have had about their partners, but daren’t ever have said aloud. ‘This is edgy stuff,’ Murray teases… and it kind of is. Although the show is built around big set pieces, the convoluted arguments don’t work so well for Murray as the briefer, knowing asides. He may spend ages berating the squirrels, using a sporting audience patsy to make his silly point, but the comedy is sharper when he dismisses cows with one apparently throwaway line. The Pub Landlord is a beautiful British institution. But like so many beautiful British institutions, he perhaps isn’t quite what he once was; even though he quite clearly has his moments, and a lightning-fast mind with the audience badinage. |
|
Date of live review: Monday 11th Oct, '10 | |
Review by Steve Bennett |
|
Sunday 22nd Aug, '10- | |
Al Murray: The Pub Landlord - Fringe 2009
Saturday 29th Aug, '09- | |
Show - Tour - | |
Show - Misc live shows - | |
Show - Misc live shows - | |
Show - Misc live shows - | |
Show - Tour - | |
Show - Tour - | |
Show - Misc live shows - |
I went to see Al in Edinburgh for the 1st time and it was fantastic. I loved how he involves the audience and encourages them to take part in his act. Two hours of non stop comedy... brilliant. Can't wait till he comes back to Scotland. Lynne, January 2011 |
Murray is a one-trick pony. His one idea has become a millstone around his neck but he seems content to plough the same, dull furrow. There is a hazy, ill-defined line between irony and the real thing. Most of the time it's hard to tell. As with Alf Garnett, he was saying things that people were already thinking. Riera, March 2010 |
When is Al Murray going to open for Jim Davidson, or Roy 'Chubby' Brown? You can call 'The Pub Landlord' an ironic character all you want, but at the end of the day there is nothing between these comedians, they're all lazy bigots playing up prejudice. Andrew, January 2010 |
Hmm, methinks John (posting here in April 2008) is being ironic and pretending not to realise that Al Murray's Pub Landlord character is, er, a character. You might just as well "hate" actors for the soap opera characters they portray. That said, I've heard that some do sometimes receive abuse from nitwits who cannot separate fantasy from reality. Sigh. Ben, August 2008 |
Al Murray is a fat English lout, a thug and he isn't funny, at all. John, April 2008 |
Al Murray is rubbish. Sophie Walker, April 2007 |
I have seen Al live six times now and each time he was fantastic. He is a comic genius and the best comedian in modern times. He is not racist he is funny. The whole point of his character is that he is completely out of touch with reality! We've all met someone like him at the pub and disagree with all the rubbish that they spout! That is what the pub landlord is all about. We are not supposed to agree with him, we're supposed to laugh at him. It's called comedy! Dave Terry, September 2006 |
What can you say? Al Murray - finger on the pulse of the nation. Urban poet. A veritable font of modern wisdom. True genius. The best thing since sliced bread - another great British invention, I might hasten to add. Laahrvely! Karim, July 2006 |
Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15
Skip to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15
Where can I see Al Murray next?
19:30 - Sunday 17th Apr, '11 | |
Venue: | Norwich Theatre Royal |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: |
20:00 - Monday 18th Apr, '11 | |
Venue: | Dartford Orchard Theatre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: |
19:30 - Wednesday 20th Apr, '11 | |
Venue: | Bedford Corn Exchange |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Thursday 21st Apr, '11 | |
Venue: | Dorking Halls |
Prices: | £25 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Wednesday 27th Apr, '11 | |
Venue: | Torquay Princess Theatre |
Prices: | £26.50 |
Show: |
20:00 - Thursday 28th Apr, '11 | |
Venue: | Taunton Brewhouse Theatre |
Prices: | £25.20 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
19:30 - Tuesday 3rd May, '11 | |
Venue: | Buxton Opera House |
Prices: | £26 |
Show: |
20:00 - Wednesday 4th May, '11 | |
Venue: | Leeds Carriageworks |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Thursday 5th May, '11 | |
Venue: | Durham Gala Theatre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Thursday 12th May, '11 | |
Venue: | New Wimbledon Theatre |
Prices: | £29 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Friday 13th May, '11 | |
Venue: | Aylesbury Waterside Theatre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Saturday 14th May, '11 | |
Venue: | Margate Winter Gardens |
Prices: | £26.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Thursday 19th May, '11 | |
Venue: | Leicester De Montfort Hall |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Friday 20th May, '11 | |
Venue: | Oxford New Theatre |
Prices: | £26.50 |
Show: |
20:00 - Saturday 21st May, '11 | |
Venue: | Milton Keynes Theatre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Sunday 22nd May, '11 | |
Venue: | Hereford Courtyard Theatre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
19:30 - Monday 23rd May, '11 | |
Venue: | Leamington Spa Royal Spa Centre |
Prices: | £26 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Friday 27th May, '11 | |
Venue: | Portsmouth Guildhall |
Prices: | £5 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
Saturday 28th May, '11 | |
Venue: | Newbury Corn Exchange |
Prices: | Call for prices |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Monday 30th May, '11 | |
Venue: | Brighton Theatre Royal |
Prices: | £29.25 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
Saturday 4th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Winchester Theatre Royal |
Prices: | Call for prices |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
19:00 - Monday 6th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Stirling Albert Halls |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: |
19:00 - Tuesday 7th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Stornoway An Lanntair Arts Centre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: |
19:00 - Wednesday 8th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Orkney Pickaquoy Centre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: |
19:00 - Thursday 9th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Lerwick Clickimin Leisure Centre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: |
20:00 - Friday 10th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Aberdeen Music Hall |
Prices: | £26.50 |
Show: |
19:00 - Saturday 11th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Inverness Ironworks |
Prices: | £26.20 |
Show: |
19:00 - Sunday 12th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Inverness Ironworks |
Prices: | £26.20 |
Show: |
20:00 - Thursday 16th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | York Grand Opera House |
Prices: | £26.50 |
Show: |
20:00 - Friday 17th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Kendal Brewery Arts Centre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Saturday 18th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Barnsley The Civic |
Prices: | £22.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Sunday 19th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Stafford Gatehouse Theatre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: |
20:00 - Thursday 23rd Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Peterborough The Cresset |
Prices: | £22.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Friday 24th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Ipswich Regent |
Prices: | £22.50 |
Show: |
20:00 - Saturday 25th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Skegness Embassy |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Thursday 30th Jun, '11 | |
Venue: | Beck Theatre |
Prices: | £26.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
19:45 - Friday 1st Jul, '11 | |
Venue: | Hull Truck Theatre |
Prices: | £25.50 |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
20:00 - Wednesday 6th Jul, '11 | |
Venue: | Swindon Wyvern Theatre |
Prices: | £26.50 |
Show: |
Saturday 30th Jul, '11 | |
Venue: | Truro Hall For Cornwall |
Prices: | Call for prices |
Show: | Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun |
Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun Live in London
Book (2010):
The Pub Landlord’s Great British Pub Quiz Book
DVD (2009):
Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Beautiful British Tour Live at the 02
Book (2009):
Al Murray The Pub Landlord Says Think Yourself British
DVD (2009):
Time Gentlemen Please: Series 1
DVD (2009):
Al Murray's Happy Hour Series 2
DVD (2008):
Al Murray’s Happy Hour
DVD (2007):
Al Murray: The Pub Landlord Live At The Palladium
CD (2007):
Best Of Just For Laughs: 25th Anniversary Edition
Compilation CD from the Montreal comedy festival
Book (2007):
The Pub Landlord's Book of British Common Sense
by Al Murray. Hardback
DVD (2006):
The Secret Policeman's Ball
2006 live show
DVD (2006):
Al Murray: Giving It Both Barrels
Live
DVD (2006):
Time Gentlemen Please
First six episodes of series 1
CD (2005):
Al Murray: My Gaff, My Rules
Live CD
DVD (2004):
Al Murray: Glass Of White Wine For The Lady
Live
DVD (2003):
Al Murray: My Gaff, My Rules
Live
Al Murray The Pub Landlord
Edinburgh Fringe 2010
Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Compete For The Meat
Misc live shows
BBC London Children in Need benefit
Comedy HayDay
Ha Ha Hammersmith II
Secret Policeman's Ball 2006
Tour
Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Barrel Of Fun
Al Murray: Giving It Both Barrels
Al Murray: The Pub Landlord’s Beautiful British Tour
Al Murray: Who Dares Wines