Merchant Navy
Royston Vasey in the
Mr Hall, Mr Cock and Mr Brown!
When he was eight years old, his mother left home, leaving a note to say she'd had enough, and his parents divorced a year later.
He performs dressed up in a highly-coloured patchwork jacket & trousers, wire glasses and hat & goggles, "When I put these on, my whole persona changes, I feel I can get away with anything," he says.
Roy 'Chubby' Brown's popularity has not been via TV as his material is far too risque for that, but by word of mouth, and audio & DVD
He soon realised that he could get laughs, and went solo, but with only limited success initially, as a stand-up comedian. His manager suggested that he should develop the very rude, 'blue' side of his act, and this has been his trademark ever since. He had difficulty with the swearing at first, but now this vulgarity is his trade-mark. "I decided to go right over the top and be the rudest man in the country and I haven't looked back."
By the time he was nineteen, Royston Vasey had married, divorced, fathered two children, spent two years in Britain's toughest Borstal, served three prison stretches, and was even stabbed during his time in the merchant navy!!
He left home when he was fourteen and lived rough for a while, taking on a variety of different jobs - as a cook, a waiter, a van driver, a hod carrier, a scaffolder and a steelworker. He also joined the merchant navy for a while.
such a rare thing that it even made the local Evening Gazette! Royston turned into a wild youth, stealing at every opportunity. He spent six weeks at a Detention Centre for throwing bricks and fighting, he stole lead from a church roof and even took the local police sergeant'
His father was a steelworker and his mother 'a typical housewife who washed, cleaned and went to bingo'.
Roy 'Chubby' Brown is the stage name for Royston Vasey who was born in the steelmaking town of Grangetown, Middlesbrough, in 1944.
Although he swears as part of his act stage, he believes there is a time and a place for bad language. "I hate swearing in front of women and kids off the stage, I don't think there's any need for it."
He signed a photograph for me and also my copy of his autobiography.
Royston Vasey
I met Roy 'Chubby' Brown after his show at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham, in November 2007. There was a very boisterous crowd outside the stage door afterwards, and he had his 'bouncers' there to control things! I'm glad I didn't go the following night though, as his audience almost wrecked the performance!!
Royston in Backpool with his father
His live shows are rarely advertised as word of his live performances quickly spreads. Potential audiences are warned 'If easily offended, stay away'! He is a workaholic and only takes three weeks off a year. He always does a summer season in Blackpool and spends the rest of the year touring the whole country. He
Six months after their wedding, Roy 'Chubby' Brown was diagnosed with throat cancer but after treatment for a year, he was given the all clear to resume his career.
In 1999, Roy was very flattered to find that some BBC film makers wanted to use his name for a village in a new comedy series that they were making. The show was to be called The League of Gentlemen and centred around a village that they wanted to call Royston Vasey "as we're all big Chubby fans." He even had a small role in two episodes in Series 2, as the local mayor who constantly reassures everyone that the nosebleeds that are affecting the village are nothing to worry about - until he falls over dead with one himself!
It was
s bike, and buried it in the gar-
den when he found out the sergeant was coming looking for it!
Roy has two sons, Richard and Robert, by his first marriage, but neither followed in his footsteps, one is a roofer, the other owns an ice-cream van!
He started to play drums and piano in the late fifties and joined a band to play in the working men's clubs, at a time when such clubs were commonplace in most northern towns. This gradually evolved into a musical comedy act with groups called 'Alcock and Brown',
'Pipeline' and 'The Nuts'.
ever. It is no surprise to learn that one of his main influences was Bernard Manning, another northern comedian with a reputation for 'foul-mouthed' humour.
Roy 'Chubby' Brown doesn't play the clubs any more, now working mainly in theatres, but he still draws on his northern working class roots, and his act is still as 'rude' as
works hard to keep his act topical and spends hours poring through the papers every day, as well as keeping up with television.
Roy 'Chubby' Brown on stage
sales. His act is invariably
controversial and can provoke violent reactions from his audience. He is a master of the instant, witty response, but there are times when the audience gets the better of him. No wonder he has an army of bouncers around him for his performances. He has been threatened, had beer poured over him, had alsation dogs set on him, and has even been arrested by the police when he pushed a man off the stage.
In 2006, Roy 'Chubby' Brown's autobiography called Common As Muck was published. It is very easy to read, very funny and exceptionally rude! His tough upbringing is recalled in a very honest way - how he was brought up, the estate he lived on, and how this affected the way he has lived his life.
Common As Muck - Amazon customer reviews
The group Alcock and Brown
Royston Vasey
Royston Vasey as a young
stand-up comedian
Burlington Bertie from Bow
Roy 'Chubby' Brown on stage
Roy 'Chubby' Brown signed this photo for me when I saw him
after his performance at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall
Roy 'Chubby' Brown autographed my
copy of his book
Roy 'Chubby' Brown as the mayor in
The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen
'Royston Vasey' is the village in
Roy with his sons Robert and Richard
Roy with his wife, Helen
Roy and Helen with their children Reece & Amy
Royston Vasey on stage as 'Mr Brown'
- part of the Alcock and Brown act
Advertising cartoon for Roy 'Chubby' Brown's
appearances in Blackpool
'Chubby' off-stage
VIDEOS
Some people will find these videos highly offensive!!
In 1997, Roy 'Chubby' Brown, with two divorces behind him, met his third wife, Helen, when she asked to have her photo taken with him after one of his performances in Skegness. Their friendship grew and a four years later they were married in Las Vegas. They now have two children, Reece and Amy, and live in Lincolnshire.
Roy 'Chubby' Brown
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