When I was a child, the alternative comedians of the
eighties taught me how to hate Margaret Thatcher. She was everywhere, this
pointy-faced, vile witch of a pantomime villain, and as a young kid sucking on alternative comedy like a bag of
glue, it was my responsibility to boo her on sight. Did I understand the politics?
No, not really. It wasn’t until later that I discovered the wide and varied shades
of shit that she rained down on Britain from her indiscriminately spraying arsehole. So, learning to hate her in advance was quite lucky for an
under-ten like me.
For the rest of the country, the wave of alternative comedy
that hit Britain in the 1980s gave voice to the very real frustration that this
woman’s reign invoked. Whether it was Ben Elton or Alexei Sayle ranting into
the mic, Rik in The Young Ones
blaming her for his own shortfalls or the grotesque rubber rendering of Her
Ironness in Spitting Image, she was
everywhere and it could be argued that rebelling against her resulted in some
of the most sublime, energetic and important comedy ever performed in this
country. Comedically, this launched the careers of a generation of talent that
still endures. Politically, this was a way of reducing Thatcher’s perceived power
and potentially rallying opposition.
Of course, this is not the first time that comedy has been
used as a weapon; Google ‘Hitler cartoons’ and you will see how ridiculing the
führer was an invaluable tool in WWII (No, I am not comparing Thatcher to
Hitler!). However, it does seem to me that the eighties brought satire into the
mainstream because Margaret Thatcher provoked such a strong reaction in the
comedic thinkers of the day. These were the alternative comedians; they were
moving away from the mother-in-law jokes of the working-man’s set and the
absurdity of the Oxbridge contingency. They were young, pumped and wanted to
stamp their size-9 Dr Martins down on what they saw going on around them. They
had microphones and it would have been irresponsible not to use them to fight
back. You could argue that Margaret Thatcher was just gravy and these
revolutionaries would have steered British comedy in a new direction anyway,
but I find this hard to believe. She was the catalyst to revolution in the
comedy world.
People are now talking about Margaret Thatcher’s legacy. I’m
a working-class lefty, so my view is fairly predictable, especially as the
Tories are now in power again and David Cameron seems to be only a dress and a
pair of high heels away from literally following in her footsteps. Others will
claim that she’s the best thing since nostril-hair clippers and the country
would be drowned in custard (or something equally implausible) if she hadn’t
made it to number ten. With all this talk of her political legacy, it seems
trivial to bring this back to comedy, but British comedy (and music for that
matter) has never had a muse quite like her, and for someone who is really
struggling to find something to praise a dead woman for, this is all I can come
up with.
Her comedic legacy is that satire is now a mainstream
feature of our lives, whether on stage, TV or radio. We expect our leaders to
be pulled up and made accountable by our comedians; we laugh at it, but we also
know that something important is happening underneath. Many a truth is told in
jest, and for a large section of society who would not consider themselves politically-minded,
comedy is an accessible route to information and awareness. Some comedians are
still just in it for the laughs and this is great, but many are devoted to
giving voice to political injustice and social frustration, and as long as this continues to happen
there will always be the possibility of change.
Thank you, Mrs Thatcher (sort of)
Diazepam for Sale, the debut novel by Hayley Sherman is now available on Amazon
Time travel as a cure for depression, the Mods and Rockers on the West Pier, a vengeful Sat Nav lady, a seagull-stalked Frank Sinatra and Diazepam for sale...
A fairytale for a prozac nation...
Fiction for a world that doesn't behave the way it should....
www.hayley-sherman.co.uk
ENJOYED THE BLOG?
Tell your friends by clicking one of the sharey icons below.
Enjoyed the blog enough to get some sheep action going?
