Comic legend Arthur Smith has written a new book. 100 Things I Meant To Tell You is a "ragbag of escapades, a mosaic of anecdotage, a memoir in fragments, a parade of gags, speeches, poems, rants, obituaries eulogies and baffled recollections" from the original Grumpy Old Man and national treasure.
From reflections on his stage shows, near death experiences and wealth of travels to bugbear musings and snapshots of joy, Arthur Smith brings together a whole host of tales, tribulations and idle thoughts from his career as a comedian, compere, journalist and teacher, all told with his legendary dry humour and humility.
Imparting pieces of advice, life lessons and sharing observations from his disgruntled world view, readers can revel in collective grievances and mundane annoyances to find joy in the comedy of the ordinary and the everyday.
Covering a whole range of subjects from the tender and the serious to the light-hearted and mundane, chaotic and hilarious antics are juxtaposed with poignant autobiographical stories of his mother’s journey into dementia and his father’s experiences of the war.
Containing never heard before stories, the book is a rollercoaster journey which will make you wince, gasp and laugh in the space of a few pages. The perfect gift, 100 Things I Meant to Tell You is a cornucopia of delight for Arthur Smith fans everywhere.
Arthur Smith is a comedian and author probably best known for being a talking head on the popular BBC TV series Grumpy Old Men where his ability to side-step political correctness and tap into a rich vein of sardonic, eloquent and well-informed resentment was much admired. Arthur Smith is also a lynchpin of the Edinburgh Fringe, having performed there for 40 years with many of his plays transferring to the West End.
After studying Comparative Literature at the University of East Anglia run by acclaimed novelist Malcolm Bradbury, Arthur started his working life as a dustman, a singer in an obscure rock band and a foreign language English teacher. Eventually he became a professional entertainer and has since performed all over the world and written every form of comedy from stand-up one-liners to full-length plays and screenplays.
His play An Evening with Gary Lineker which ran in London for several years, was nominated for an Olivier Award and made into a television film starring Caroline Quentin and Paul Merton. Other shows he has since written and performed on the West End stage include the stage plays Live Bed Show and Sod as well as solo shows, Arthur Smith’s Hamlet and Dante’s Inferno. In 2016 he performed Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen in Edinburgh, London, Berlin and beyond. He created and wrote My Summer with Des a one-off TV drama, starring Rachel Weiss in 1998. Arthur appears regularly on BBC Radio 4 and presents The Comedy Club on Radio 4 Extra. His acclaimed autobiography My name is Daphne Fairfax (Penguin, 2009) was widely admired. Arthur lives in Balham with his partner Beth.
100 Things I Meant To Tell You is published on November 17. Pre-order here.
