Bernard Manning RIP
- Thread starter Young And Alive
- Start date
Jukebox Jury
Retired
The highly controversial Mancunian comedian Bernard Manning died this afternoon.
Can anyone post up his version of a couple of Smiths songs he did on TV?
Jukebox Jury
Can anyone post up his version of a couple of Smiths songs he did on TV?
Jukebox Jury
down_in_albion
Clandestine global evil
What a shame....
Jukebox Jury
Retired
Re: Bernard Manning Dead
I just left a message on Off Topic saying he had died and asked if anyone had the link to this!
I suppose it could be taken as 'on topic', I'm sure Kewpie will get the rule book out and decide
Jukebox Jury
EDIT - BY THE TIME I HAD POSTED THIS IT WAS 'REMOVED' INTO OFF TOPIC!!
I just left a message on Off Topic saying he had died and asked if anyone had the link to this!
I suppose it could be taken as 'on topic', I'm sure Kewpie will get the rule book out and decide
Jukebox Jury
EDIT - BY THE TIME I HAD POSTED THIS IT WAS 'REMOVED' INTO OFF TOPIC!!
Young And Alive
Senior Member
In my original post I posted the YouTube link to His "Smiths Are Dead" 'tribute', if that's the one you mean...?
Young And Alive
Senior Member
Re: Bernard Manning Dead
That's why I posted the link, to see if I could sneak it into the main forum!
I just left a message on Off Topic saying he had died and asked if anyone had the link to this!
I suppose it could be taken as 'on topic', I'm sure Kewpie will get the rule book out and decide
Jukebox Jury
That's why I posted the link, to see if I could sneak it into the main forum!
Jukebox Jury
Retired
Thanks Sphinx (and apologies to Kewpie - she was beaten to it today
)I saw Bernard Manning twice in the mid 80's, both at Man City supporters events.
Was he racist? Not for me to say, I do know his off stage life was completely different from on stage, whether that makes any difference is open to debate. He took the piss out of everyone and anyone. you daren't get up and go to the loo half way through his act, he would rip into you.
He did let himself down on the Mrs Merton show, but again, was that Bernard simply courting controversy?
He also appeared on the opening night of The Hacienda!
Thousands of £££s he raised weekly for charities up and down the country. Love him or curse him, Manchester or indeed the country will not see his like again. I live near to The World Famous Embassy Club on Rochdale Road - never been in - but sure there will be tears in there tonight.
I wonder what Morrissey will think on hearing this?
Jukebox Jury
Last edited:
vicarinatutugal
can't reMember
Re: Bernard Manning Dead
cheeky! its an OT and you know it...
I just left a message on Off Topic saying he had died and asked if anyone had the link to this!
I suppose it could be taken as 'on topic', I'm sure Kewpie will get the rule book out and decide
Jukebox Jury
EDIT - BY THE TIME I HAD POSTED THIS IT WAS 'REMOVED' INTO OFF TOPIC!!
cheeky! its an OT and you know it...
Ben Chill
New Member
I have spent my life arguing against racism and other isms.
As a younger man growing up in Wythenshawe I often found myself in heated debates in the pub or at work, telling anyone who would listen how comedy was always used as a weapon to belittle and undermine races in order to exploit them.
I saw Bernard Manning as an ignorant man who simply didn't understand that he was continuing an evil tradition that had the blood of millions of people on its hands.
History proves that if you can show your enemy to be less than human, to be foolish, uneducated, simple, stupid, unclean, backward or money-grabbing then treating them badly will be excused by 'your own people' who are always desperate for a reason to feel superior or better about themselves.
No matter how much unemployment, bad housing, poverty and sickness prevailed amongst, in my case, the white English working class, they could always comfort themselves with the thought that at least they weren't a 'stupid thick Paddy' or a 'smelly Paki' or a 'tight-fisted Jew' etc.
And comedians like Bernard made this kind of twisted thinking acceptable.
How often were we told that 'it's only a joke' or 'it's not meant in a bad way'?
That's fine so long as it's not your child that's being spat at in school (this continues as I found out recently), or your father that's refused a job or your mother or sister that is abused in the street or in a shop.
As true as all this is I have to admit that I think Bernard Manning was a comedic genius. I worked at Manchester Airport in the very early eighties and would often get free admission to The Golden Garter nightclub after doing a late shift at the airport.
Anybody that knows about this club will tell you about the top class cabaret entertainment that appeared there.
One night the turn was Bernard Manning.
It was my intention to keep a straight face during his performance and keep mental notes of specific racist remarks he would make in order to confront my pals with it the following day.
But after a couple of minutes I was nearly rolling on the floor with laughter.
All the racism and cruel attacks on people were hilarious. In fact part of the fun was knowing how wrong it was.
So, for me Bernard was a real problem. I know about the power of racist humour and how it was/is used for evil.
I can argue all night long about the part racist humour played in the conflict between Ireland and England, Germany and the Jews, Africa and Europe, etc., etc.
But I also have to agree that Bernard Manning was probably the funniest man I have ever seen.
It's just a shame that he chose the wrong subject matter.
A flawed genius?
I know a few of them.
As a younger man growing up in Wythenshawe I often found myself in heated debates in the pub or at work, telling anyone who would listen how comedy was always used as a weapon to belittle and undermine races in order to exploit them.
I saw Bernard Manning as an ignorant man who simply didn't understand that he was continuing an evil tradition that had the blood of millions of people on its hands.
History proves that if you can show your enemy to be less than human, to be foolish, uneducated, simple, stupid, unclean, backward or money-grabbing then treating them badly will be excused by 'your own people' who are always desperate for a reason to feel superior or better about themselves.
No matter how much unemployment, bad housing, poverty and sickness prevailed amongst, in my case, the white English working class, they could always comfort themselves with the thought that at least they weren't a 'stupid thick Paddy' or a 'smelly Paki' or a 'tight-fisted Jew' etc.
And comedians like Bernard made this kind of twisted thinking acceptable.
How often were we told that 'it's only a joke' or 'it's not meant in a bad way'?
That's fine so long as it's not your child that's being spat at in school (this continues as I found out recently), or your father that's refused a job or your mother or sister that is abused in the street or in a shop.
As true as all this is I have to admit that I think Bernard Manning was a comedic genius. I worked at Manchester Airport in the very early eighties and would often get free admission to The Golden Garter nightclub after doing a late shift at the airport.
Anybody that knows about this club will tell you about the top class cabaret entertainment that appeared there.
One night the turn was Bernard Manning.
It was my intention to keep a straight face during his performance and keep mental notes of specific racist remarks he would make in order to confront my pals with it the following day.
But after a couple of minutes I was nearly rolling on the floor with laughter.
All the racism and cruel attacks on people were hilarious. In fact part of the fun was knowing how wrong it was.
So, for me Bernard was a real problem. I know about the power of racist humour and how it was/is used for evil.
I can argue all night long about the part racist humour played in the conflict between Ireland and England, Germany and the Jews, Africa and Europe, etc., etc.
But I also have to agree that Bernard Manning was probably the funniest man I have ever seen.
It's just a shame that he chose the wrong subject matter.
A flawed genius?
I know a few of them.
Last edited:
CharethCutestory
Active Member
The thing is, regardless of who it was he was taking the piss out of, he just wasn't funny. Neither is Chubby Brown, neither is Jim Davidson.
I firmly believe that the only way to go with comedy is to have a go at EVERYBODY. If you have no sacred cows then there is nobody being singled out (see South Park), but Benard Manning seemed to think that he could be considered amazing just by using the word f*** a lot. Now I'm not saying swearing isn't funny, it's just that the way he did it was just to subsititute every other word with f***, not really the actiuons of a genius in my book, but hey ho, I suppose that it's inevitable that everybody will start saying how great someone is after they have died. It would be interesting to see how many people thought he was a "comedy genius" last week.
I firmly believe that the only way to go with comedy is to have a go at EVERYBODY. If you have no sacred cows then there is nobody being singled out (see South Park), but Benard Manning seemed to think that he could be considered amazing just by using the word f*** a lot. Now I'm not saying swearing isn't funny, it's just that the way he did it was just to subsititute every other word with f***, not really the actiuons of a genius in my book, but hey ho, I suppose that it's inevitable that everybody will start saying how great someone is after they have died. It would be interesting to see how many people thought he was a "comedy genius" last week.
CharethCutestory
Active Member
Now that on the other hand, was f***ing gold.
CharethCutestory
Active Member
the more you explore me!
retired :)
Jukebox Jury
Retired
Neither is Chubby Brown, neither is Jim Davidson.
Dont even attempt to compare Bernard with Jim 'I'm emigrating if Labour get in' Davidson.
Ben Chill - very very good comment, sums up my feelings own really. The two City events I saw him at was part of a great annual event, so when I found out Bernard was there it was a case of 'oh oh'.
But within 5 seconds I'm in the palm of his hand. Especially when he was telling Ron Atkinson gags!
Of course it is very easy to like him if you are a white, male, straight and able bodied individual. What it would be like to be non of that list and watching him would be different I imagine.
I watched the various clips on Granada TV news tonight and was in stitches when they put up a load of clips of the first line of his gags. Went like this:
Two black guys on a bus (cut)
two lesbians walking down the road (cut)
two Jews in a restaurant (cut)
two white men on a train
I just couldnt stop laughing. Finally, they interviewed a friend and he said on Saturday he was in hospital with Bernard and an Asian doctor came up to him. Bernard looked at him and asked
'Doctor, if I convert to being a Muslim, will I live longer'?
Funny right to the end.
Jukebox Jury
