He comes up with a half-decent joke but deliberately tells it in a way that won't get laughs, then makes you laugh at something totally inappropriate and blames you for the routine failing to go well. His manipulation of the audience is masterful!

@oliverbrain4790

2 жыл бұрын

I love the break to conversation in comedy vehicle when Armando explains that he operates all the levers that could make someone laugh EXCEPT for actually saying something funny. So spot on.

@Rachel-tr8mg

Жыл бұрын

The Hitchcock of stand up. Only ever let's you go where he wants you to then slams you in the face with so much force. Nobody does it like this.

@MrAdey72

8 ай бұрын

Thanks for the explanation 😂

“I walk on to the stage…through a forest of ghosts”. Something about that line is just so perfect, so self-pitying, just enough to keep it going. Beautiful.

@chadderton

Жыл бұрын

They whisper to me...

@hawk2million

Жыл бұрын

It's the accusatory "I look through them..... and I see you." bit that gets me.

@Tormented22

4 ай бұрын

That was a beautiful line but I laugh more at the part later on where he cries out, "This is being filmed!" 😂

@turbomunch

Ай бұрын

I remember my first beer.

@eyebrowman1

Ай бұрын

Just 'forest of ghosts ' is lovely.

"You as good as murdered Robin Williams." OMFG. Stewart Lee never disappoints.

@0The_Farlander0

4 жыл бұрын

That part fucking killed me.

@dontpanic1812

3 жыл бұрын

@@neilpattison130 I'm still partial to Jimmy Carr's joke about mosquitoes and AIDS in Africa, but yes, this specific line would likely have Robin Williams himself laughing at its powerful rawness and subversiveness. Glorious.

@martinmarriott1819

3 жыл бұрын

Great stuff. And, really, if the 'you' he says is society itself, ie all of us, then he is telling his truth. Because it is always society which kills the clown.

@LuDux

3 жыл бұрын

@@martinmarriott1819 A clown is terrible thing to waste

@hpebackwards

2 жыл бұрын

It's a permissible joke because you know Robin would be in tears if he could hear it. He knows that and he knows we know that. Well played.

Saw him do this routine in Liverpool. He is so convincing. When you're right there in the room you almost start to believe it. Brilliant.

@georgejohnsmith

7 жыл бұрын

Is it from a live show? I thought it was from the Comedy Vehicle series (S4E6). Which kind of hurt my sense of causality because that episode aired in 2009, while Robin Williams died in 2014.

@georgejohnsmith

7 жыл бұрын

Oh, sorry for bothering you, I googled it again, turns out it was last year. :-)

@mattford1593

7 жыл бұрын

georgejohnsmith Yeah, I guess this was during the recordings for the last Comedy Vehicle series. I saw him doing this in 2015 and he was basically road testing the material for the series.

@georgejohnsmith

7 жыл бұрын

He is getting better every year. Not only the content but his acting as well.

@durrutti

7 жыл бұрын

georgejohnsmith Nah, he is not a good actor. But its funny anyway. ;)

He just gave it to them straight; like a pear cider, that's made from 100% pears.

@dragonpunch9459

5 жыл бұрын

😂

@szndm

5 жыл бұрын

Now I want 100% pear cider.

@tjpj1919

5 жыл бұрын

Pear

@bensmith9253

4 жыл бұрын

Yes! If you get this you're a true fan.

@pov_music

4 жыл бұрын

THAT IS STOLEN FROM A DEAD MAN'S HEART

It's a shame Morrissey has been reduced to this, he was a great artist. And he's really let himself go

@Jojo-uc9or

3 жыл бұрын

These days if you say you're Morrissey you'll be put in jail.

@ashermiller10

3 жыл бұрын

@@Jojo-uc9or good

@andysmith8890

2 жыл бұрын

@@Jojo-uc9or what, actually put in jail??

@GreatGreenGaming

2 жыл бұрын

@@andysmith8890 yeah, these days if you say you’re morrissey you’ll be arrested and thrown in jail

@japhy4966

2 жыл бұрын

@@GreatGreenGaming When did this come in?

I love that stewart can craft a joke so precisely that he can actually manipulate the number of people in the audience who will laugh at it in order to set up an entire routine.

@haruyasumi616

Жыл бұрын

if it didn't get so poetic and complex later, you'd never believe it was deliberate.

@fang_xianfu

6 ай бұрын

He does also just lie about the reaction sometimes. You can't really tell how many people are laughing when you're in the audience but you can see on video. Sometimes he'll just act like a joke got a bad reaction even though most people laughed, or act like the whole room laughed when it was a minority. Not saying he's not immensely skilled but it's all part of the routine :)

This is fucking art. So much control, so much understanding of the crowd. Surreal

I don't think I've ever referred to a stand up routine as a masterpiece or beautiful, but this is genuinely both of those things.

@samcad-ho3ze

6 жыл бұрын

irfan. Plus his delivery...it’s fucking perfection.

@jameskenyon5429

5 жыл бұрын

That's because you are a pig and you are trying to understand humans.

@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549

5 жыл бұрын

piggypigpig I’m glad you didn’t like it, Stewart lee isn’t for you. His whole act is there to remind the liberal elite how much better we are than everyone one else.

@Brownie-ms6sv

3 жыл бұрын

@@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549, excellent reply, I think even Stu himself would like your comment.

@-The-Darkside

8 ай бұрын

Clearly never saw Carlin

The ambition of writing this, knowing that has ten straight minutes of rambling about suicide, and he has to work the audience up to being in on the joke, and keeping them there. For ten goddamn minutes with gutpunches instead of punchlines.

@baguasrr

5 жыл бұрын

And the stumbling microphone stand dance. His trust in our sense of fun

@guiseppeperceval4930

4 жыл бұрын

That's not what I took from it. I'm glad that "we" killed those comedians for that bit. It was hilarious.

@3212010

4 жыл бұрын

“I can write jokes... but I choose not to”

@pamdemonia

4 жыл бұрын

@Random Scottish Bloke exactly

@darylcatpiss

4 жыл бұрын

I love the fact that most of his shows now are him berating his audiences

How he manages to not laugh during some of those quiet bits I'll never know. Genius!

@ichabaudcraine2923

7 жыл бұрын

I know right! He must be a legend at delaying orgasm.

@zaitesushion

7 жыл бұрын

as if I needed another reason to want to shag Stewart Lee

@samcad-ho3ze

6 жыл бұрын

zaitesushion same

@ulalaFrugilega

5 жыл бұрын

@King Brilliant that's what I thought. For, at some moments, you think he's surely acting, but what if he isn't? What if he is truly just acting out. I was wondering why the ppl where laughing, but it did seem to placate him somewhat ;O)

@turtleneckless

4 жыл бұрын

The micros are still there but yh i agree

"they're just in the clothes that they wore when I knew them" - He absolutely nailed the entire room to the floor with that line, and then let them back up with "Join us!" Tremendous.

@tadghgibson4523

3 жыл бұрын

Pull me apart like soft bread

@wardygrub

3 жыл бұрын

@@tadghgibson4523 punch me in the ........... tits.

@gnomeflight

2 жыл бұрын

@@wardygrub bludgeon my face in

@Billbobr

2 жыл бұрын

@@tadghgibson4523 put me to sleep with your kind boots mr fancy man

@newyoupersonaldevelopment3497

Жыл бұрын

The coroner said ‘any sane audience should have seen he was obviously going to go postal at any time … and got out before it was too late’

I am a grief counselor and that shit was therapy.

Stewart lee is a master at deconstructing his routine. It's pure brilliance

Just after halfway through this when he's talking about ghosts and you see him crack a slight smile but keep it together, I love seeing people enjoying their own work.

I saw him do this n Edinburgh 2yrs ago, it was something special to experience in person. Fukn genius Stewart.

@24magiccarrot

4 жыл бұрын

Was this before or after he'd let himself go?

He so perfectly embodies the spirit of the depressed English teacher who explodes in impotent rage when trying to be funny and the class doesn’t laugh. The elf defeat, frustration and despair then channelled into the faces of bewildered 14 year olds too young to understand the burden of a pile of murdered dreams carried into middle aged meaninglessness. Who knew Misplaced rage could be so tragic and so hilarious at the same time? So human. This is pure art.

@RICHARDGRANNON

3 жыл бұрын

*self defeat , the Elves remain an undefeated ancient and binding force for peace.

@KnjazNazrath

3 жыл бұрын

​@@RICHARDGRANNON Peace through superior goblin slaying. The undertones are allegedly overtones. Personally, I like two-tone, but I'm not not sure what the correct term for that musical style is now and I can't mention "Ghost Town" on a video like this. Too many asides and implications. I should leave before people think I'm impersonating a spriggan.

@FightingTorque411

2 жыл бұрын

@@IncredibleGoliath From OP's misspelling of "self" in his first comment, which he then jokes about himself.

@SpookyLuvCookie

2 жыл бұрын

quite

@deanwright7611

2 жыл бұрын

I was a teacher once and I can confirm I often wished I was dead. On occasion I even said that. The kids said they wished I was dead too. Quite cathartic really :). Happy days.

A magnificent Rockstar of comedy. Dragging the joke around the room and shaking it in peoples faces.

Of all the bits I've seen Stewart Lee do live, this is the one that made the biggest impression. So good.

@DistrictWitch

2 жыл бұрын

carpet remnant world is the ultimate imo

I’ve watched Stewart Lee since his Fist of Fun days. He has matured into one of the best comics around today. Intelligent, thought provoking but utterly hilarious. Him, Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci.

@Eatcrow

2 ай бұрын

Is his wokeness part of the comedy routine? Sometimes it’s so absurd I wonder ?..

His control and pacing and patience is unreal.

@24magiccarrot

4 жыл бұрын

I thought his control, pacing and patience had let itself go.

Stewart Lee is the only comedian that makes ask myself why am I even laughing.

@JoeCorneli

4 жыл бұрын

Funny innit

@zibberebbiz

4 жыл бұрын

Lol yeah I'm like hahaha Robin Williams's suicide lmao

"i'll just finish this bit..." *smacks lips, stares into the void for thirty good seconds* the maltese flyers...

@Benzyl

4 жыл бұрын

The Malteasers?

No idea how Stu manages to keep a straight face during these bits.

Seen him live at The Brewhouse Taunton and he got angry and dropped the mike. It was so realistic, I believed it. He's an amazing actor as well as innovative comedian. He has the audience ranging from hysteria to stunned silence. He is unafraid of saying things over and over again, as part of the routine. He went crazy about a Nero's Loyalty card and it was hysterical.

@flamingspinach

10 ай бұрын

That bit about the Nero's loyalty card is filmed on his DVD "If You Prefer a Milder Comedian Please Ask For One", btw.

Dam, he's actually an amazing actor!

Omg shout out to Mitch Hedberg. A genius so tragically lost on the cusp of a huge career.

@SomeBF

2 жыл бұрын

I used to miss Mitch Hedberg..I still do but I used to too!

@JoelJoel321

2 жыл бұрын

@@SomeBF Brilliant 👏

@kevinm2832

2 жыл бұрын

@@SomeBF perfect. ❤️

Breaks all the rules and delivers a unique routine. Mesmerising to watch

Heaven knows he's let himself go now

@tmurphy07

3 жыл бұрын

excellent

@Jearbearjenkins

3 жыл бұрын

@@tmurphy07 so this is where you get all of your autistic rants from? Watching british comedians. Must be hard being that gay

@andrewtregoning

3 жыл бұрын

@@Jearbearjenkins haha wtf?

@CraigKeidel

3 жыл бұрын

Hey isn't this that guy from the B-52s?

@CraigKeidel

3 жыл бұрын

Ah shit it's UB40, oops

I have never heard any standup from this guy but his ability to remain stonefaced and evoke tenative uneasiness in a crowd is something I've only ever seen in videos of Andy Kaufman. So fuckin good

@craiglittle1437

2 жыл бұрын

He's been outstanding for 25 years now. Are you a fan 2 yrs on?

@jontallon73

Жыл бұрын

Funny I was thinking Kaufman all through this :-) btw he's leaving it a bloody long time to come back

@ackerjawaka4742

Жыл бұрын

Watch 41st best comedian ever, pure class

Stewart Lee, Mitch Hedberg, Doug Stanhope, Richard Jeni. That's a fucking good line up.

@joebrokenstrang7537

7 жыл бұрын

BobCat Your name is bobcat, so we can exhume the two of 'em.

@andym28

6 жыл бұрын

Great taste

Think this might be the most masterful piece of stand-up I've ever seen. Genuinely beautiful stuff in a weird perverse kind of way

@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549

5 жыл бұрын

The audience had let themselves go

@timothydraper6626

3 жыл бұрын

It's 'jazz comedy', comedy deconstructed and skewed, and still comedy.

@DistrictWitch

2 жыл бұрын

@@timothydraper6626 yeah it's annoying that most write it off, not understanding his 'on stage persona' is all about acting like a dick in various inventive ways - people often believe the persona, which is funny

I never really knew Stewart Lee and had no opinion until this series. Probably the best English standup, so clever, brave, innovative and laugh out loud funny. The way he leads his audience around a topic is masterful.

This is beyond comedy - it's art.

This is comedy genius at its finest, one of my favourite routines of his.

There’s something almost Basil Fawlty when he shouts “You should’ve been concentrating like that from the moment you walked in!”

He's not a comedian - he doesn't tell any jokes. Not like on Top Gear

@An_Arbitrary_Miscellany

4 жыл бұрын

He's not even a real hamster.

@kidcharlemagne3044

4 жыл бұрын

As a huge Top Gear fan, his Top Gear bit is genuinely hilarious.

@planetyes

3 жыл бұрын

Quite the compliment.

@joankelly3690

3 жыл бұрын

The Top Gear couch has let itself go.

@vivavaldez87

3 жыл бұрын

I like it when he does a broad one liner like Jimmy Carr might do, then follows it up with the real punchline - looking down the camera and saying "see, I CAN do jokes, I just choose not to".

I love the idea that he wrote two entire routines based off the audience reaction to one joke.

So many layers of comedy.... one massive pear....!!!

@LuDux

4 жыл бұрын

one massive onion

Thanks KZread recommendations for reminding me that Stewart Lee exists

Unbelievably good. A unique talent. Well, he was until he let himself go.

@mitchell7842

3 жыл бұрын

I don’t understand why I like this bloke for the life of me ? But this genius ffs

Along with Doug Stanhope, Stewart has the best delivery in comedy.

@kildogery

2 жыл бұрын

I'm lucky to have seen them both live. For sure the best in the biz right now. Only one who comes close is Bill Burr. Everyone else is a disappointment.

@DistrictWitch

2 жыл бұрын

@@kildogery bill burr doesn't come close to Lee imo - he just does good yet standard observational stuff that sometimes leans into mild misogyny/racism etc etc at his worst.

@drew1564

21 сағат бұрын

Stanhope doesn't hold a candle to Stewart Lee

This man is a genius. So good at portraying the emotions he wants incredibly sincerely! He does this by actually remembering true events from his life that provoked such emotions, so that they've an element of truth to them. Very clever.

@Theinsidetrader

2 жыл бұрын

Great observation.

@thephoenixsystem6765

2 жыл бұрын

Have you seen... TV? 😅

@garwoc216

Жыл бұрын

Events of his life, for example?

George Carling and Stewart Lee, two comedians i turn to for genuine intellectual entertainment. Two masters of the craft!

@sirfeckalot

4 жыл бұрын

I think Carlin once described himself as a writer first and a comedian second and I imagine Stewart would feel similarly in terms of how they approach writing stand up

@guitardweep13

4 жыл бұрын

I prefer Mitch Carlsberg.

Beautiful combination of pathos and truth... with fun. The alchemical mixture.

Saw him in '93. It was excrutiating, he was dealing with a heckler, we simply weren't ready for him, a room full of 18 year olds, I was just too young. Now I understand.

@danfm200

28 күн бұрын

And you were one of them, basking in the group think and so, so proud of yourselves. But now you're older and wiser and can look on and laugh knowingly. You are un-ironically one of those Lee refers to as applauding themselves and others in the audience, look at you all, never at any moment stopping thinking about yourself and how the jokes can refer to you in some way. "Me". Here we all are. Amazing.

@danrkelly

25 күн бұрын

@@danfm200 You're easily a clever as the man himself.

This is brilliant. Such an amazing self examination of the nature of comedy, and hilarious.

I love that Lee baits his audiences. It's gladatorial.

First and foremost Lee is a fantastic actor.

This some good meta, meta comedy.

@epictetus9221

7 жыл бұрын

Exactly

Moses has let my people go.

@Torahboy1

3 жыл бұрын

lozinja Don’t tell us Tell-oh Phara-oh

@ophiolatreia93

3 жыл бұрын

😂😂

This, and Frank Skinner’s jealousy rant, are the “best of the best” of comedy routines. Simply outstanding, surgical awkwardness, aimed at the ‘’still-laughing” audience and at the absurd nature of the comedian’s lot in a post modern society where entertainment takes the place of responsibility within the essential dialectic of human life: to be or not to be, a graphical question forever pencilled in my leaden mind. If that is the question, then Lee has found a path to draw out the fundamental narrative contained within the double Helix of life, lines that can never be erased, ghosts that can never be rubbed out twice.

Stewart Lee is actually looking quite good

@tiarnan76

5 жыл бұрын

Its not Stewart Lee - its KD Lang, and shes let herself go to be quite honest

@mynewcolour

4 жыл бұрын

Your standards have let themselves go.

@wj2429

4 жыл бұрын

Stewart Lee letting himself go has let itself go.

This is next-level performative craft. Andy Kaufman would have LOVED this if he'd been around to see it.

I've never seen a comedian who convinced me they hated me before. And yet, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience

He's actually an amazing actor. Wow, what a powerful routine.

@nathan87

Жыл бұрын

I mean he only has one character lol

"Join us, join us, join us ....." Lol moment!!

He gets better and better as the years go by.

@joshuataylor3550

2 жыл бұрын

Like a fine pear cider made from 100% pears

Proper genius this guy, one of my favourites.

Love him. Met him twice. Wasnt dissapointed, he cracked me up. Unique comedian if ever there was one.

I think Stu will appreciate the horrific 20 second advert for bet fred that appeared for me 5 mins in, dont let em get you down

Such a weird UB40 gig

I wish ghosts would whisper "join us" in the ears of people that comment "... has let himself go"

@freddiegilbey9150

4 жыл бұрын

The secular humanist has really let himself go

@stevegoodson9022

2 жыл бұрын

The stewart lee comments section has really let itself go - it's all references and catchphrases, may as well be watching the fast show.

The man is a comedy genius!!!

Saw Stewart lee once. He said I lacked even the most rudimentary of home brewing facilities

@RobRidleyLive

4 жыл бұрын

That line was originally from Michael Redmond

@jw0017

4 жыл бұрын

Rob one of my writers brought it to me

The incomparable Stewart Lee. League of his own. A counterpoint to those hamstrung comedians whose slogan is ‘Offense doesn’t matter’. Stewart Lee is riveting in his own right as he lays bare the anatomy of comedy.

The notion of letting yourself go has let itself go

Watching this, I wanna enter the stage and give him a hug.

Masterful. "There's a price to your indifference!" shouted to a television audience and the cold dead eye of the cameras where the cynically numb are judging and preparing their two cents is so charged with meaning that it goes way beyond sarcasm. I truly miss his shows.

Watching as he goes full John Cleese at the end is absolutely spectacular! Genius at work.

What a fantastic routine, I actually felt ashamed to laugh out loud......but I still laughed! Brilliant as usual!

Quite possibly the best standup ever recorded.

Absolutely gobsmacked. Wish I'd been there...

This is so great and impressive and timeless and next level before there was a next level.

this is THEE video that got me into stewart lee, changed my whole approach to crowd control and approach to ideas in my songwriting and stage banter when i'm playing shows.

People seem to believe that the concept of letting ones self go has stood up well to the test of time. But it hasn't.

@RobRidleyLive

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, that concept really did let itself go.

The master. Read his book, the life and deaths of a stand-up comedian. It's incredible.

He'd make a great actor...........

the best comedian working in the UK today, no question

I love this guys catch phrase “Stop me, oh-oho, stop me, Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before 🤣”

@hairywelder5188

8 ай бұрын

Underrated comment 😂

Pliny has let himself crow.

@andrewcarson5850

7 жыл бұрын

Great eggs-ample, eggs.

@Dinckelburg

7 жыл бұрын

slow clap

@andrewcarson5850

7 жыл бұрын

Clap like flap like how birds fly.

@lozinja

6 жыл бұрын

Ha ha! (like a kookaburra the bird's laugh) Well done mate(like a bird mates)

@kevfrombutterley

4 жыл бұрын

Joe Pasquale will struggle to steal this one🖒

elvis has risen from the dead and let himself go

@JoeWright30

7 жыл бұрын

supergangsterish1 Morrissey has fallen into a car compactor and become a stand up comedian

@mrchoochoohead9033

7 жыл бұрын

KD Lang's bloating body was found in the river after 18 days

@ahmedetemadi3434

7 жыл бұрын

he already had let himself go

@grahamdonaldson9069

6 жыл бұрын

Orion has risen.

This is just brilliant. Haven't heard of this guy before. But he's amazing. A total original.

@elena16350

4 жыл бұрын

The Yank , watch more of this series,it’s well worth it. Stuart is just brilliant.

@Steaminlidz

4 жыл бұрын

I do envy you being able to go and find a wealth of other Stewart Lee material. He’s a treasure.

He knows how to play an audience like a concert pianist

@robinsonner5461

2 жыл бұрын

concert pianist thats let himself go.

@deanwright7611

2 жыл бұрын

Yea, like Les Dawson. But Les could actually play the piano.

@-xirx-

Жыл бұрын

Funny, I thought they played pianos?

Our Glorious Leader has let himself go!

@dronespace

5 жыл бұрын

Embittered Drunk is your avatar Joe from sunset beach?

@B34STIFIED

4 жыл бұрын

dronespace the wizard from taxi driver

Stewart will always be one of my favourites. That had so many levels, it was brilliant. I just feel sad that every time I introduce him to one of my friends they never get it

@nick260682

7 жыл бұрын

Are you American, out of interest?

@suzesiviter6083

5 жыл бұрын

Not on your own, they are used to being spoon fed Michael Mcuintyres warm dialarhoea.

@mistervelux

4 жыл бұрын

Change your friends!!

@suzesiviter6083

3 жыл бұрын

@Robert Taylor They are called Typo's sweetie, still you should be thankful for giving you a false sense of superiority pointing that out.

@555pontifex

3 жыл бұрын

Face it, Stewart Lee is now so 'meta' that he can only be appreciated by the fans he has groomed over two decades.

...the part where he says ' you're clapping yourselves' ...genius! 🤣🤣🤣

‘Audiences like you as good as murdered Robin Williams’ 😂

The fact that he did gigs in the 90s with Hedberg and Stanhope makes me respect this guy 1000 times more

He reminds me of Basil Fawlty yelling at his hotel guests about how hard it is to run a hotel.

A comedy masterclass. What a genius.

41st best standup comedian my foot!

@thomasyates3078

Ай бұрын

You can't take 41st best away from him, so I wouldn't even try.

absolutely fantastic, so deep, so meta , so quick headed ... dear god i hope he doesn`t read this he`ll be unbearable

Genius! Master of comedy.

He's running babushka dolls of narratives. He is the most meta comic ever.

Shed a tear for Mitch Hedberg, whilst pissing myself laughing, which is somehow the perfect salute to him

@thewizardssleeve119

4 жыл бұрын

A far superior comedian than Lee, Mitch Hedberg was simply funny, without all the wanky meta and "layers".

This has taken years of honing his craft to get to this genius . Is there another comedian in the world ,that has developed a character to this depth . Stewart Lee the comedian showing utter contempt for the audience's intelligence. But the real Stewart Lee showing real confidence in the intelligence of the audience to understand the concept. The more awkward the joke ,the more he can play with the audience for laughing at him . Really clever stuff.

@imnothere220

2 жыл бұрын

You're so clever to spell it all out for us.

I would love to see him play a serious dramatic role. I bet, like Robin Williams, that he would be even better at drama than he is at comedy.

@martinmaguire-music6692

3 жыл бұрын

It'd be hard to take him seriously in a drama though, given how deadpan his humour is. Maybe he could still pull it off though, who knows?

@comedyfish

3 жыл бұрын

@Wid Eye Robin Williams was a trained actor BEFORE being a comedian. He got into one of the most prestigious acting schools in the world before even trying stand up

Diogenes of standup

This is brilliant! At one point he goes Basil Faulty Towers on the crowd. So funny!