The Comic Strip Presents: More Bad News: Bristol Slapstick Festival 2023, St Georges, Bristol, 2023
Comic Strip Stories: 40 Years of The Comic Strip: Bristol Slapstick Festival 2023, St Georges, Bristol, 2023
Nigel Planer is a British actor, writer and musician. Forever remembered playing the wonderful role of Neil in the classic BBC TV comedy The Young Ones, Planer is also a member of The Comic Strip team where he has featured in many film parodies that have been broadcast on Channel 4 television since 1982.
Arguably The Comic Strip’s finest hour was the creation of Bad News – a fictious heavy rock band written by Ade Edmondson and featuring Peter Richardson as drummer Spider ‘Eight Legs’ Webb, Edmondson as vocalist and lead guitarist Vim Fuego (also known as Alan Metcalfe), Planer as rhythm guitarist Den Dennis, and Rik Mayall as Bass player Colin Grigson. The two Comic Strip films were Bad News Tour in 1983 when the band were started out, and More Bad News in 1988 which followed the band’s appearance at The Monsters of Rock festival in Castle Donnington. Both films were hysterically funny and inspired satirical parodies.
It was wonderful to watch a screening of More Bad News at the Bristol Slapstick Festival in February 2023 followed by an interview hosted by Robin Ince with Planer and Richardson explaining how the films were made. I met Planer and after this, I went to a further event celebrating 40 brilliant years of The Comic Strip with Planer and Richardson being interviewed again by Ince.