Be Excellent To Each Other

I was thinking the other day about people cut down in their prime, people like Buddy Holly, Marc Bolan, Kurt Cobain, Bill Hicks and so on. Some people say it's such a shame they went, imagine what they could have done if they hadn't died. Others, meanwhile, say that the only reason they are legends is because they died young and didn't have time to get crap, or sell out or whatever.

I was thinking about this for a while, and I came to the conclusion that people who think like that must then assume that no one (or at least not very many people) has ever had a consistently good extended career.

Bollocks, I say to that. There must be people in the entertainment industry who did not sell out, who did not become crap after some arbitrary point.

Can anyone think of any? Any Entertainment industry (from sports, to music, comedy, acting, directing, presenting etc)

Malc

Cliff Richard's been going for a long time.

Whigfield.

Spike Milligan. Who's now dead, of course.

Arnold?

Seriously though, you might have to look at the Blues or Country music worlds to find a very long term non-sellout.

Siouxsie.

Stewart Lee and Richard Herring have stuck to their 'Bill Hicks' ethos. Never done adverts and voice overs. Never sold out. Also massively less successful - but I love them for it.

The irony is that in their original TMWRNJ Bill Hicks rant they particularly exclude hard up creative types, which they clearly are. But I'm massively impressed they've stuck to their guns.

Their current stand up is brilliant too, so if anything they've got better.

Thats about it really...

Herring often advertises Magners cider on the Collings and Herrin podcast, but it's very, very funny (and obviously ironic).

And Cress.

Malc

Michael Caine, clearly.

Not directly, they make jokes about getting sponsered but getting sent some Diet Cider after slagging it off and then continuing to saying it was shit for an hour doesn't really count as selling out.

He's basically repeating the sketch he did on Fist of Fun on the radio, where he kept ringing up Cadburys and the like and asking for free stuff because he's on the radio.

Not that he shouldn't get ads for the podcast...

The podcast (and Herrins's blog) are excellent at the moment. I think he was genuinely offered an Oatibix voiceover too.

The got the podcast up to #6 in the iTunes chart last week too. Quite funny. Loads of people no doubt subscribed to it when it appeared in the top 10 not suspecting they'd get an earful of bumming related humour

On a previous iteration of my blog, I used to maintain the Artistic Roll-Call Blacklist of people who'd sold out for the advertising dollar. Now that was a faintly depressing enterprise.

Stevie Fry? And, oddly, Kevin Spacey.

Spacey's doing the American Airlines ad isn't he?

He's also currently the artistic director at the Old Vic, so *shrugs*

If we're talking about advertising, then neither count (Fry does the Direct Line stuff).
But Spacey lives to run the Old Vic Theatre at the moment. And because he doesn't want to do tourist musicals, he loses a fortune on every play he runs. So he does a Hollywood film, earns his £x million, and funds his theatre for a little longer.
For some reason, I really respect him for that.

He's a pretty great actor, too.

I like the idea of 'Fred Claus' directly funding theatre. It tickles me.

Twinings, anyone?

Also, does doing the Audio Harry Potters count?

Again, I didn't realise "making adverts" meant "selling out".

I didn't know that. - that gets him a big bag of respect. Very awesome.

Not that I give a damn about the Old Vic myself but still.

Fry though does adverts for twinings tea. Despite being all over TV, film, voice overs and so on. Which means he clearly* doesn't need the money. BAD FRY!

* could have run up big debts I suppose..

EDIT: BEAT BEAT BEAT

What on earth else would it mean?

Plus, he's constantly whoring himself out to everything ever, even just to comment on anything that has the remotest thing to do with Twitter, iPhones or bending over.

Bloody imdb.com still throwing up full page ads. Grrrr....

It doesn't does it? It's only selling out if you had previously set yourself up in opposition to something you then turn around and cash in on. Kevin Spacey and Stephen Fry are both just actors, taking acting jobs is hardly selling out.

Nor I, and I'd rather wipe with sandpaper than go and see the sorts of plays it has. But good on him, I say.

The Beastie Boys

Mark E Smith

Dimrill

Someone like Carol Vorderman getting people to take out loans they don't need is probably selling out though...

Malc

The Internet's famous Richard Gaywood. I jest!

Fry's done a million ads and voiceovers. Twinnings recently for instance.

Edit : Wow, that thread moved quick.

This could be a record. What are we on so far, four?

[edit]Well, if you only type just over one word per minute...

Twinings.

Actually, I perhaps wrong about Fry, as he doesn't appear to have enjoyed QI for the last few series.

I just checked their website to see who was on, and lo and behold I see a caption at the bottom of the page that says 'American Airlines - partnering the Old Vic'.

Why, were they being mean about Twinings?

Only fags drink it.

Oh, well played.

Nice phone Myp

More soda for your wine, dear?

My phone isn't a Mac. Not technically, anyway.

Didn't Fry do an advert for tea?

To me, If you do a commercial it basically states that your opinion can be bought and so you can't be trusted. So It doesn't really matter if Adam & Joe do voice overs because 1) they must be pretty skint and 2) They've never done anything or where they try to convince you of things.

But comedians and musicians and so on who talk about trying to make the world better, or it's problems, become comprimised if they do adverts. And then they've sold out to me.

I'm with Hicks on this.



So he did that repugnant ad for AA to get the old vic money? I don't class that as selling out.

Fry doing Twinings ads so he can own 6 iphones? That is selling out.

I'm not sure I agree. Fry's not exactly Billy Bragg, is he?

No, he's more of a Willy Brag.

Fry positions himself (& is positioned) as an intellectual.

But yet he will sell his opinions in exchange for cash.

It's not a massive crime or anything. And I still like him. But it just makes me think a little less of him. Just makes you realise that he isn't that bothered about making the world a better place.

Not that he has to be, but you get my point.

Please and ice if you've got it with one of those little umbrellas too.

He's always come across as quite dim, though.