Alanatomy: The Inside Story

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Alan Carr gets married to long-term boyfriend in LA". BBC News. 20 January 2018 . Retrieved 20 January 2018. Michael McIntyre's The Wheel, Series 1, Christmas Special". bbc.co.uk . Retrieved 19 December 2020.

Corbin, Tianna (10 July 2020). "What Alan Carr has had to say about life in Northampton". northantslive . Retrieved 2 May 2022. I read this book because somebody that I know recommended it to me last year. I’ve just managed to get round to reading it, and overall I would say that it has left a mixed impression behind. He was academically bright, loved reading (although he likes to play this down, saying on Desert Island Discs that his book of choice would be the Argos catalogue). He went from school to drama and theatre studies at Middlesex University. From there, he floated through a series of temporary jobs – the factories, Tesco, the call centre – that furnished him with rich material for his standup. Which, incidentally, is a distinctly unglamorous profession when you’re starting out. It’s scrabbling around the country’s darkest corners being jeered at and humiliated. In those days, he might be paid no more than a tenner for a routine. It barely covered accommodation or the train home. When accepting his award for Best Entertainment Personality at the British Comedy Awards in December 2008, Carr dedicated it to Karen Matthews, who had earlier that month been found guilty of kidnapping Shannon Matthews, her own daughter. Carr was quoted by BBC News as stating: "I should dedicate this award to her [Karen]. She would be my dream guest. I think she's a gay icon. People like a bit of rough, don't they?" [31] The British Comedy Awards - The British Comedy Awards - Winners 2007". www.britishcomedyawards.com . Retrieved 4 May 2022.His weirdest guest was probably John Cleese, whom he’d been excited to meet, but who spent the interview either pouring drinks over Carr’s head or throwing nuts at him. Exasperated, Carr finally retaliated, pouring his own drink over Cleese. To the viewer, it felt like revenge on the bullies. “Obnoxious,” Carr mutters at mention of his name. Nonetheless, he feels bad about what happened. Why? “Because he’s a comedy legend. But he’s an odd man.”

The most heartfelt and raw parts of this autobiography were the reflections on Alan's childhood - as much as this autobiography was written and narrated with his cheeky tone - and growing up in the shadow of his football manager father. With his father so known, there were always expectations about what his son *should* be, expectations which Alan never fit and was inadvertently punished for. Trying to come to terms with this burden and recognising that his sexuality was not "just a phase", Alan gave a real sense of the imposter syndrome that he experienced in his adolescence and how he gradually moved through that with the freedom of university and travel (via some particularly mundane jobs, who knew that Alan Carr has witnessed so many historically-significant Tesco moment?!?). That said, there’s one particular skit that haunts him: his 2008 impersonation of Amy Winehouse at Amnesty’s Secret Policeman’s Ball. He repeats for me now that impression of her squawky north London accent: “‘Aw’ight, Blake!’ I’d be tottering around with my beehive. Now I go, oh my God: in the public eye with addiction. I feel like such an arsehole. Because that poor woman. But we were just dressing up – ” he repeats – “‘Aw’ight’. And now I’ve lived with someone with addiction and seen how out of control it is and the emotional turmoil. I was completely naive. Twenty-four years old thinking, ‘Isn’t it funny – look at her, staggering around with her pumps.’” He shudders: “Oh, Alan, you bloody idiot.” Problem is, he says: “In your 20s you think you’ve got all the answers. You get to 40 and realise you’ve got no answers at all. You are just stumbling through life, messing up and apologising.” Noah, Sherna (6 March 2012). "Alan Carr gives up radio show to reclaim his weekends". Independent.ie . Retrieved 17 April 2022.Since his big break, Alan has spent the last two decades entertaining his legion of fans with sell out comedy tours, best-selling autobiographies, celebrity chat shows and radio performances.

He takes us on his lifes journey, from being a kid, growing up, problems with his appearance, figuring out who he was. His father is big in football and many people expected a young Alan would follow in his footsteps. He goes through his time growing up, education onto his career and how he got into comedy. I was really surprised to find I really enjoyed this book. He's become a bit of a camp icon, but doesn't bang on about being gay in this book, in fact reading about his own revealation that he was gay was very touching and amusing. Unlike most Comedians, it wasn't a 'woe is me', 'tears of a clown' type biography. He's very upbeat about everything, even the most bazaar situations have resulted in fabulous material. He charts his 'rise' in the world of comedy with hilarious anecdotes about his private life and career that make no attempt to hide his anxiety and fear and have you appreciating how cut throat it is to succeed as a comic. He works hard, faces rejection and takes financial gambles. Alan Carr is such a natural story teller, he comes across as a genuinely nice guy and you're soon cheering him on to succeed, even though you already know what happens at the end.Just now, he continues, he was in a bookshop and when the assistant handed him the book he’d bought [The Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson], he noticed the man had painted nails. “And I did not clutch me pearls. I thought, ‘Oooh.’ I mean, I wasn’t vomiting, I was thinking, ‘Wow.’ For me, that’s people being comfortable with their sexuality.” He lifts his eyebrows. “Maybe he doesn’t even identify as gay, what do I know? My friend’s kid had blue nail varnish. I said, is he, you know? And they said, ‘No, he just wants blue nail varnish.’ So, we’re all learning. Every day is a school day.” Alan Graham Carr was born in Northampton as the oldest son of Christine and Graham Carr, and spent the majority of his youth there. His father is a former Northampton Town manager and Newcastle United head scout from the North East of England. Gary is Carr’s younger brother. He attended Northampton’s Weston Favell Upper School before graduating from Middlesex University with a 2:1 BA (Hons) degree in Drama and Theatre Studies. Carr arrived to Manchester in his early twenties after finishing his degree and aspired to be a comedian. Alan Carr Partner Sex he can take or leave, he says. What he is looking for is “probably companionship, which makes me sound so old. I mean, I spend my whole time either alone on stage, or alone sitting on a seat interviewing people one-on-one. So it’s just nice to share, because I have the most amazing experiences.” He doesn’t want to date someone known – “I need somebody who’s like celebrity adjacent, who knows the business and understands the long hours and that I might be away.” There have been many series set in an 80s childhood, and as I am the same age as Alan Carr I do enjoy this sort of thing. But this is funnier than Young Sheldon, perhaps less poignant but not without such moments.