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Big Bollocks & Rude Kids: The hilarious vulgarity of UK comic magazine Viz
07.25.2018
07:51 am
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David Bowie kicking back while having a laugh at UK comic Viz.
 
For nearly 40 years British comic Viz—sometimes referred to as Britain’s “funniest” magazine—has been putting out pages full of satire poking fun at various UK institutions and celebrities by a cast of offensive fictional characters. Illustrated ingrates such as Buster Gonad, Sid the Sexist, Terry Fuckwitt, Sweary Mary and the Rude Kid would all make regular appearances in the comic along with ridiculous profanity-laced dialog mixed with the region’s colorful slang. A few of the comic’s vulgar characters, like Sid the Sexist, The Fat Slags and Roger Mellie also made their way to television in the UK as adult-oriented cartoons. 

One of Viz’s calling cards was their craftsmanship of fake ads. Fictional (sadly) products for chastity pants for altar boys, and its companion product, “Father Begone,” a priest-repellant spray, delighted its readers. Viz was very much inspired by MAD Magazine and the images of legendary MAD illustrator and contributor, Sergio Aragonés. What made Viz stand apart from MAD was the belief you could never go low enough for a laugh. In fact, one could say Viz lowered the bar for low-brow humor lower than anyone else in the adult comic game. If you are fond of the word fuck and appreciate the art of toilet humor, then Viz is for you. If you still have any doubts regarding Viz’s wide appeal, David Bowie was apparently a big fan of the comic magazine.

If you’re already a fan of Viz, or a new one after reading this post, there are a few books which may interest you, such as Viz: Sid the Sexist—The Joy of Sexism, and one based on Viz’s Big Fat Slags. As I mentioned at the top of this post, the magazine is still publishing issues today, and back issues can also be obtained over at their official site, as well as other merchandise. I’ve posted images from Viz’s comics below—some are slightly NSFW.
 

A funny fake ad from UK magazine, Viz comics.
 

 

 
More Viz after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Cherrybomb
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07.25.2018
07:51 am
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‘Daisy drops a tab’ & other fantastically fake covers of classic UK children’s books
01.23.2018
09:09 am
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A fake Ladybird book cover. Too bad, as my dick-drawing skills could use some help.
 
While I’m fully aware that amusing fictional book covers have been a “thing” on the Internet for some time, for me they just never get old. Especially when it comes to the lengths book cover corruptors will go to for a laugh while abiding by the rule that nothing is off limits.

The doctored covers in question in this post were reimagined with the help of original covers and artwork from various Ladybird Books which have been in publication in the UK since 1914. The actual books, much like their fictional doppelgangers, cover an enormous range of topics, from the riveting pursuit of stamp collecting to adaptations of traditional fairy tales and nursery rhymes—all geared toward children. Between 1940 and 1980 Ladybird published 654 different titles, many which are firmly ingrained in the minds of kids who grew up in the UK reading them. In 2015, two accomplished comedy writers, Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris, teamed up with Ladybird to author a new series of books marketed to adults, Ladybirds for Grown-Ups. The series has been incredibly popular to say the least, and to date the top-three best-selling titles in the collection; How it Works: The Husband, How it Works: The Wife and The Ladybird Book of the Hangover have collectively sold over one million copies worldwide as well as being translated into a dozen languages.

I’ve posted a bunch of fake Ladybird book covers below—some that I honestly wish were real, as kids these days should know how to properly participate in a riot. A few are NSFW.
 

 

 

 

 

GO DAISY!
 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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01.23.2018
09:09 am
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Break out the acid! Trippy animal band from 70s kids’ show covers ‘The Sweet’
12.17.2015
03:16 pm
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Animal Kwackers and The Sweet
The Sweet and The Animal Kwackers
 
In addition to the acid, you might want to grab ahold of all of your stash before you watch this crazy, somewhat terrifying clip from a children’s television show broadcast on Yorkshire TV in the UK in the mid 70s called Animal Kwackers. The Animal Kwackers were a Banana Splits-esque animal rock band comprised of Rory (a Rastafarian-looking lion); Twang (a monkey); Bongo, (a dog); and Boots (a tiger).
 
Animal Kwackers!
The Animal Kwackers band in action!
 
“Block Buster!” (also known as “Blockbuster”) was The Sweet’s only UK number one hit and if the urban myth folklore about this particular episode of Animal Kwackers is correct, inside the slightly Sid and Marty Krofft-like costumes donned by the fictional four-piece pop band are rumored to be none other than the members of Slade havin’ a laugh.

The show only ran from 1975-1977 and every episode followed the same formula. Rory, Twang, Bongo and Boots get into a spaceship and make way for “Popland” where they get to help people solve problems as per their motto: “Animal Kwackers always like to help.” Awww.

Other notable songs the Kwackers performed during the show’s short stint are two hits from The Beatles, “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and “Yellow Submarine” both of which I’ve also posted below, as well as the shows glammy intro theme song. In 2012 a two-disc DVD set of all of the surviving episodes of Animal Kwackers was released and you can also get a nifty vinyl soundtrack of themes from show which also includes the Kwackers’ version of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “Yellow Submarine” but sadly, not “Block Buster.”
 

The Animal Kwackers do “Block Buster!”
 
More Animal Kwackers insanity after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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12.17.2015
03:16 pm
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More John Lydon on ‘Question TIme’, this time sticking it to the banks

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Marc has already posted some of this here on DM, but for those who would like to see more, here is the entire Question Time show featuring John Lydon (among others) which went out on BBC1 last Thursday.

We all gathered round the computer monitor to watch this broadcast last week, and I have to admit it felt like real event television. Having someone with the wit and stature (not to mention televisual infamy) of John Lydon sitting as part of a panel on a mainstream political show simply does not happen very often.

It was a mixed blessing. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the pro-drug decriminalisation discussion, which Marc linked to before, and I thought he could have handled that part better. I also found some of his showboating grating, but hey, the guy is a rock legend, so I guess a bit of attention grabbing narcissism is to be expected.

But where Lydon really shone was in the opening few minutes of the show, when the panel were asked about the current banking crisis, and how the UK government intends to investigate the LIBOR scandal. Perfectly cutting through the blame-throwing merry-go-round the politicians were spinning in an attempt to avoid giving any real answers, Lydon was loud and direct, and did what he does best - namely, a physical representation of righteous fury. Below is the entire episode, but the beginning of Question Time is worth watching just to see Lydon put Louise Mensch and her ilk firmly in their place, by reminding them that this is not some abstract argument or phiopsphical discussion. People’s lives and livelihoods are at stake:
 

 

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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07.10.2012
10:04 pm
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Wiley’s message to all the haters -  ‘Cheer Up, It’s Christmas’
12.24.2011
01:15 pm
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And if you really, really don’t like disco, then perhaps this is more up your street. It’s an unexpected Christmas cracker by the king of UK grime Wiley, taken from his forthcoming album Evolve Or Be Extinct (to be released on Big Dada Recordings on 19th January - pre-order available here.)

This track is hilarious, the beat’s great and the sentiment is universal - about a family trying to cheer up that one misery guts who would rather stay upstairs playing Xbox while everyone else is downstairs having a drink and a laugh. We’ve all been there I’m sure:

“Go on, have a dance with aunt Shirley/
A little wind-up an’ that/
No, you go have a dance with Shirley/
Leave me alone anyway!”

I only found this track about an hour ago, and I’ve already listened to it half a dozen times. In fact, I’m going to listen to it again, right now. And you should too, it’s a future Christmas classic:
 

 
 

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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12.24.2011
01:15 pm
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Nathaniel Tappley’s ‘Open Letter To David Cameron’s Parents’


 
Before anyone gets carried away getting all biblical on the asses of the UK looters, it’s best to remember that the people in positions of power have been getting away with much worse crimes for years now. This brilliant open letter to the parents of the UK’s Prime Minister by the writer Nathaniel Tappley makes that abundantly clear with facts, figures and more than a pinch of humor. And yes, before anyone mentions, he does know that Mr Cameron’s father died last year, his point being that he is reflecting assumptions about parenting that Cameron regularly makes.

“Are they really surprised that this country’s culture is swamped in greed, in the acquisition of material things, in a lust for consumer goods of the most base kind? Really?

...

Our politicians are for sale and they do not care who knows it.

Oh yes, and then there’s the expenses thing. Widescale abuse of the very systems they designed, almost all of them grasping what they could while they remained MPs, to build their nest egg for the future at the public’s expense. They even now whine on Twitter about having their expenses claims for getting back to Parliament while much of the country is on fire subject to any examination. True public servants.

The last few days have revealed some truths, and some heartening truths. The fact that the #riotcleanup crews had organised themselves before David Cameron even made time for a public statement is heartening. The fact that local communities came together to keep their neighbourhoods safe when the police failed is heartening. The fact that there were peace vigils being organised (even as the police tried to dissuade people) is heartening.

There is hope for this country. But we must stop looking upwards for it. The politicians are the ones leading the charge into the gutter.”

Read the whole letter here - it’s worth it.

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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08.10.2011
03:24 pm
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The voice of the unheard:  Manchester rioter interviewed (and now transcribed)
08.10.2011
11:27 am
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Manchester’s Market Street branch of American Apparel, yesterday.
 
The wave of rioting has spread further across the UK, and last night it arrived here in Manchester. This is footage from Sky News of an interview with one of the rioters/looters.
 

 
I have been asked to transcribe this as the interviewee’s accent is thick. Here it is. I have transcribed the interviewee verbatim, but have sumarised the interviewer’s questions (I am sure we can all understand him):

Why are you masked?

Because the police will get me on camera, and then they’ll nick [arrest] me 3 months down the line.

If you were law abiding -

I’m not law abiding, nah.

So why are you doing this?

To piss the police off, do you get me?

Why do you want to piss off the police?

You don’t know what the police are like bro… no, I can’t explain in words.

Please try to explain - are you doing this out of anger?

I’m out for money [not for anger] because the police nick you for stupid things mate, and now this is our payback because they can’t do nothing to us today. So it’s like freedom, like do whatever you want today.

What have you been doing?

I’ve been doing what I want. Getting pissed [drunk].

After the jump, footage of Miss Selfridge on Manchester’s main thoroughfare, Market Street, being set alight.

READ ON
Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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08.10.2011
11:27 am
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Heads Up Their Asses: ‘Human Centipede II’ banned in the UK


Picture from Needles and Sins.
 
Well, it feels like quite a while since we’ve had a genuine “ban this filth” furore kicked up over a horror film in the UK. Moral panic over celluloid work is something the British do very well - and not just the infamous Video (Nasties) Recording Act of 1984, but also the public and private reactions to films such as Reservoir Dogs, A Clockwork Orange, Child’s Play 3, The Exorcist, Visions of Ecstasy and more. Now there’s a new film to be added to that list, or if you will sown on to the end of the chain. The British Board of Film Classifications (the BBFC) has taken the decision to place an outright ban on director Tom Six’s soon-to-be-not-released Human Centipede II (Full Sequence).

According to the BBFC’s website, here are the reasons for the ban:

*Spoilers Alert!*

The principal focus of The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) is the sexual arousal of the central character at both the idea and the spectacle of the total degradation, humiliation, mutilation, torture, and murder of his naked victims. Examples of this include a scene early in the film in which he masturbates whilst he watches a DVD of the original Human Centipede film, with sandpaper wrapped around his penis, and a sequence later in the film in which he becomes aroused at the sight of the members of the ‘centipede’ being forced to defecate into one another’s mouths, culminating in sight of the man wrapping barbed wire around his penis and raping the woman at the rear of the ‘centipede’. There is little attempt to portray any of the victims in the film as anything other than objects to be brutalised, degraded and mutilated for the amusement and arousal of the central character, as well as for the pleasure of the audience. There is a strong focus throughout on the link between sexual arousal and sexual violence and a clear association between pain, perversity and sexual pleasure. It is the Board’s conclusion that the explicit presentation of the central character’s obsessive sexually violent fantasies is in breach of its Classification Guidelines and poses a real, as opposed to a fanciful, risk that harm is likely to be caused to potential viewers.

 

 
I saw Human Centipede (First Sequence) at the cinema, and enjoyed it a lot (it was in fact a first date, and we are still very much together). While I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was a classic, it was well made, delivered some good scares (mostly centred around the excellent, unhinged performance by Dieter Laser as herr doktor, above) and it wasn’t as gory as I was expecting. The horror did indeed come from the central idea, a rare feat in today’s saturated, torture-porn market. While last year’s A Serbian Film featured some very heavy sexual violence, and was heavily cut by the BBFC, it still played in cinemas and on DVD systems across the land. It seems that mere graphic sexual violence is not enough to get a film banned, it is indeed about the film maker’s intent. And herein lies the problem.

Personally I do not believe in the power of prohibition, and feel particularly irked by the thought that there are a group of people somewhere making decisions on what I can and cannot watch without knowing a single thing about me (and yet assuming the worst about my character). What is the point in this day and age when uncut versions of pretty much anything can be obtained at the click of a mouse? However, I also know how the horror industry works, and absolutely any whiff of scandal that can be created must be exploited for maximum exposure. Human Centipede II (Final Sequence) was shot in England, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that director Tom Six knew the BBFC guidelines and decided to deliberately flout them. The UK has a relatively small market but a powerful media presence, and let’s face it, the film will get a hell of a lot more column inches now than it would have otherwise. For a series of horror films based on a truly disturbing central idea, getting one banned is a masterstroke. Because no amount of onscreen depravity will ever match up to the dark fantasies we create in our heads when imaging how bad a banned film might be.

Writing this post (which I wouldn’t have done were it not for the ban) I decided to look up the trailer for HC2FS, and was rather dismayed at the result. It’s all going a bit Von Trier for my liking - that is when a director’s ego and persona becomes much larger, and more of a focal point, than the actual work they are creating and promoting. Thus bad film making can be excused through a cult of personality. And before any fan people jump on me for that statement, it’s acknowledged that Von Trier has used his own persona, and people’s perception of it, to break his films out of the Danish art market and on to the international stage. It’s not a crime per se, but it still pisses me off, especially if the directors are just not as interesting as they think they are, as is the case here. So, principle photography and at least the first edit of HS2:FS must be ready for the BBFC to pass a judgement, but when it comes to trailers all the public can we see is this rather self-indulgent and poorly executed “personality director” clip. Is this supposed to brew disturbing images in my mind and make me want to see the new film? Sorry Tom Six, but it doesn’t. It bores me and makes me want to see it less: 
 

 
Thanks to Keith Jukes for the headline!

 

Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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06.07.2011
10:01 am
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Charlie Brooker: How TV Ruined Your Life
01.26.2011
08:01 pm
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You gotta love Charlie Brooker. He’s on a one man mission to tear television apart from the inside. Nowhere is that more clear than in the title of his new show, the first episode of which looks at how and why fear dominates the airwaves. His new series How TV Ruined Your Life debuted on the BBC on Tuesday, and some helpful person has gone and uploaded it to YouTube, in two parts. If you live in the UK you can see the full show, unbroken, on the BBC iPlayer for the next week.

In an age where dwindling ratings are forcing channels and shows to become more extreme, we need voices like Brooker’s more than ever.  He seems like the only one left trying to fill a Chris Morris-shaped hole on mainstream UK TV (he and Morris worked together on 2005’s Nathan Barley series), speaking what seems a glaringly obvious truth to power. Most of the televisual references here are British, but it doesn’t really matter as it’s the same fundamental principles all over the globe. People are biologically trained to be alert to warnings, we find it hard to look away - fear sells, and Charlie helps us laugh at it.

On another level, this also gives non-British viewers a chance to see some of the terrible crap that has come out of the goggle box in the UK over the years. It’s not all as good as Fawlty Towers. .
 

 
Part Two of How TV Ruined Your Life after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Niall O'Conghaile
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01.26.2011
08:01 pm
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Documentary on DJ Derek, reggae’s oldest living selector

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The original DJ Derek, a badman
 
Thanks to the great Mixmaster Morris for the heads up on this. For many years, white DJs have played a key role in popularizing black music in the US and Britain. In the British reggae scene, alongside pioneers in the sound system game like Jah Shaka, Jah Observer, Channel One, and others, paler-skinned music fanatics like the legendary David Rodigan have been working respectfully to promote the music became a worldwide phenomenon.

Just before Rodigan, however, a guy called Derek Morris from out of Bristol started his 50-year love affair with American R&B and Jamaican music, becoming an obsessed record collector. Here’s video director Jamie Foord’s excellent short vid documentary of the extremely charming and gruff-voiced DJ Derek—still spinning reggae, chatting patois on the mic, and rolling around England on the bus.
 

DJ Derek pt. 1 from Grand Finale on Vimeo.

 
After the jump: part 2 of the DJ Derek story…
 

READ ON
Posted by Ron Nachmann
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08.28.2010
05:19 pm
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Fake Faces: The UK’s Leading Lookalike Agency
03.16.2010
01:38 am
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“David Brent” and “Gareth Keenan”
 
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“Eddie Murphy”
 
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“Pete Doherty”
 
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“Peaches Geldof”
 

In today’s business you want quick results and quick service so welcome to the new Fake Faces Ltd. website designed with speed and efficiency in mind. This website will instantly give you a quotation for your lookalike request, whether it is just for one celebrity lookalike or for multiple looka-alikes it is instantly available here at the click of your mouse. We have a copyrighted formula to calculate all your entered details which will give you an instant quotation that includes all expenses so you are just left with knowing exactly what the final price is. There are no hidden costs with Fake Faces Ltd.

Fake Faces
 
(via Graham Linehan)

Posted by Tara McGinley
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03.16.2010
01:38 am
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UK Police Implementing Spy Drones
01.24.2010
02:30 pm
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Oh for f’k’s sake… not content with covering the whole country with surveillance cameras, the UK police are now planning on implementing US-style spy drones to catch suspected pedophiles (read: everybody in the country) or something. Drones are planned to be implemented by 2012.

Police in the UK are planning to use unmanned spy drones, controversially deployed in Afghanistan, for the “routine” monitoring of antisocial motorists, protesters, agricultural thieves and fly-tippers, in a significant expansion of covert state surveillance.

The arms manufacturer BAE Systems, which produces a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for war zones, is adapting the military-style planes for a consortium of government agencies led by Kent police.

Documents from the South Coast Partnership, a Home Office-backed project in which Kent police and others are developing a national drone plan with BAE, have been obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act.

They reveal the partnership intends to begin using the drones in time for the 2012 Olympics. They also indicate that police claims that the technology will be used for maritime surveillance fall well short of their intended use ?

Posted by Jason Louv
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01.24.2010
02:30 pm
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British Parents Told to Get Kids Drunk at Home
10.12.2009
11:58 pm
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From one of the most notoriously alcoholic cultures on Earth comes this hilarious effort to curb binge drinking:

LONDON ?

Posted by Jason Louv
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10.12.2009
11:58 pm
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