Bernard Manning R.I.P
Love him or hate him, Bernard Manning the great British Comedian is no longer with us. Whether the World will be a better place now is a matter of opinion. So many do gooders around these days, telling what to eat, what to drive, what to say, well Bernard would of just told the lot of them to ‘Get Fucked.’
Manning was one of Britain’s wealthiest comics and, many believed, among the most offensive. His seemingly blatant racism and controversial language remained the subject of some debate until the end. All the people of Pakistani, Indian or African origin, Jews, the Irish, they were all fair game to him. It was a matter of opinion whether or not it was comedy or blatant racism, I like to think about him as a rude, vulgar man from Manchester, but boy oh boy, did he make us laugh? ![]()
Man says to his wife: ‘Pack your bags, I’ve won the Lottery.’
She says: ‘What should I pack? Something light, something warm? Where are we going?’
He says: ‘We’re going nowhere. Just pack your bags and fuck off.’
What’s the difference between an Iraqi woman and a pilchard? One’s ugly, greasy, with bulging eyes. The other’s a fish.
A black bloke walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder.
‘Where’d you get that then?’ said the barman’
‘Oh, you can find them all over the jungle’ said the parrot.
What’s the difference between a dead rat in the road and a dead paki in the road?
There’s swerve marks by the rat.
Quasimodo was running down the street chased by a group of kids. He said, ‘For the last
time, I haven’t got your fucking football.’
I went to Liverpool the other day, a local lad said, ‘Can I watch your car for you mister?’
I said, ‘No! And for your information, there’s a Rottweiler in the back.’
The lad said: ‘Put out fires, can he?’
Although the fat twat was born in Manchester,he will always remain a legend in the humour industry of the North of England. He was born in 1930 in one of Manchester’s poorest areas, Ancoats, and throughout his life never liked being far away from the city. He left school at 14 and worked briefly in his father’s greengrocer’s shop before becoming a big-band singer and eventually taking over the Embassy Club in Manchester, where he was the chief performer for 40 years, generating most of his multi-million pound fortune.
Bernard Manning became a household name in the 1970s through Granada TV’s The Comedians. But with the dawn of political correctness, his stand-up routine was considered to be no longer fit for the television schedules. On the northern club circuit, though, he continued to play to packed houses, which, as he claimed, often included people from the ethnic minorities.
Bernard Manning did not endear himself to most people. Journalists, male or female, would be obliged to interview him at his home as the 21-stone comedian sat in his vest and Y-fronts. They would also have to endure a stream of boasts about his Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, appearing with Dean Martin in Las Vegas and his Royal Command performance and meeting the Queen.
He also espoused simple values, with family relationships their core. “I dragged myself up by my bootlaces. I don’t drink or smoke, I don’t take drugs. I have never been a womaniser. I was brought up right with good parents and I have never been in trouble or harmed no-one. And I love my family.”
His usual foul language and racist reputation made him a high risk for television. His detractors were convinced he was a bigot, while his family and friends insisted it was all an act to pull in the punters, that Manning was one of the kindest, most charitable, most loving men you could meet.
And while Manning’s routine made little attempt to be topical, he could occasionally hint at subversion.
As when, soon after the Falklands war, he told his audience that two soldiers from the conflict were present.
As the jingoistic cheers and ovations rang out, Manning embarrassed the audience by adding: “They’re Argentinians.”
R.I.P. Bernard, you certainly made me laugh.
