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Comedy is no laughing matter far too often these days, bewails Joe Cushnan, who salutes his own heroes of humour
FUNNY GUYS: Billy Simpson, Rowel Friers, Fred Gamble and Frank Carson
an appetite for clever humour. Perhaps, in their genius, they are responsible for my impatience with much of todays average to dire comedy output. They set the standard and they set it high. Rowel Friers, in a class by himself as a brilliant cartoonist, illustrated two of the books on my desk as I write this John Peppers Catch Yerself On! (1980) and The Best of Billy Simpson (1979). He had a wonderful knack for capturing facial expressions and body language, drawing both beautifully. Even without captions, his drawings are hilarious. His work featured widely across the media. He was a gifted man, not only a cartoonist but also a painter and lithographer. He was well-respected in Ulsters arts and drama circles, but especially revered for his wit and enjoyed by people regardless of
affiliation and background. Gerry Fitt and Ian Paisley attended his funeral in 1998, an illustration of his artistic reputation to not only draw funny things but also to draw enemies together. He relished making fun of political and sectarian madness, preferring a gentle rather than a cruel approach to satire. John Pepper, pseudonym of Freddie Gamble, a former deputy editor of the Belfast Telegraph, became Ulsters dialect chronicler in a series of columns and books. He showed us how we really spoke. A browse through the chapters of Catch Yerself On gives a flavour: A fringe snookers ye for wearin a hat; Just folly the telegraft poles; Ar grocer hasnt an ounce; I just stayed in bed till I got up; These oul boots are on their last legs; the opposite of sober is full.
Gerry Fitt and Ian Paisley attended Rowel Frierss funeral in 1998, an illustration of his artistic reputation to not only draw funny things but also to draw enemies together
Pepper offered glossaries of words and phrases spelled out exactly how they fell out of Ulster mouths: anorn (the same again); jinnomabror (do you know my brother?); mushere lukin? (how much do you want?); parritch (porridge); shizzent (she is not); weeshire (Its only raining a little). Pepper wrote: If I leave myself open to the charge that I am only going over well-tilled ground, my answer is that it is fruitful ground. In Ulster, it is not what you say but how you say it. I would add that its not only how you say it but also how you write it down. John Pepper carved a niche showing how Northern Irish people can be funny intentionally and unintentionally. If you can find his Norn Iron Haunbook, get your ribs ready for a good tickle. Billy Simpson was a more straightforward but nonetheless exceptional writer. His column appeared on Mondays
in the Belfast Telegraph and it was impossible not to crack a smile as he developed a story, launched a flight of fancy, stretched an observation and did what he was hired to do be funny, and funny was guaranteed. You never knew what to expect. On one occasion he retold Custers last stand (The Scalps My Father Wore) with an Irish influence in the shape of Native Americans talking in Oirish accents and passing round the war shillelagh. In The Barley That Shook The Wind he described the Poteen Taster of the Year contest; The French Concoction had this introduction: There are several things in life that a man should approach with caution. Matrimony. Unattended parcels. And home-made liquor. Classic humour that hit the spot back in the 1970s and, after a reread, just as funny today. I am not churlish enough to damn all modern comedians and writers. Thank God we still have some class and skill around. Far too few are good, most are average and too many are rubbish. Comedy, comedy, wherefore art though comedy? In the newspaper archives and books featuring Pepper, Simpson and Friers, and others of their ilk. Comedians and writers, use the material as a masterclass. General readers, prepare to be entertained. Either way, get ready for laughs. I Joe Cushnan blogs at Dropped The Moon http://droppedthemoon.blogspot.co.uk/