On Monday, full of the joys of a lie-in and a ‘sofa day’ in front of the iPlayer, I bounded into my friend’s rehearsal studio in Brixton, only to be met with a sullen faced buddy who, before he even said hello, incredulously uttered “Rik Mayall’s died”.
Silence.
At the time when The Young Ones was aired on BBC Two, I was a tad too young to grasp the subversive, anarchic humour of the ground breaking sitcom. However, the school playground proved the perfect stage for impressions of Rick, Vyvyan and Neil (and sometimes Mike, but to be honest, he always proved a little harder for children to mimic). My classmates and I didn’t tire of imitating the grubby students for a good number of years.
Rik Mayall with fellow 'Young Ones' Ade Edmondson, Christopher Ryan and Nigel Planer.
Rik Mayall had a talent for making what should be loathsome, unlikeable characters somehow spellbindingly charming. From Rick in The Young Ones to Richard “Richie” Richard in Bottom, the brief appearances as the arrogant Lord Flashheart in Blackadder to the despicable politician Alan B’Stard in The New Statesman, on screen he was captivating, and as an ‘off road’ clip from Bottom Live reveals, onstage he could also steal a scene, even if it looked like it had already been stolen.
For a swathe of Jackanory viewers in the mid '80s, myself included, Mayall would prove to be a most memorable narrator, with his energetic rendition of Roald Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine. Worth rushing home from school for. And at 26 years old, both in and out of character on Wogan, we see a man who understands the importance of making an impact.
As a youngster I remember winding my parents up with endless plays of my copy of The Young Ones version of Living Doll, a ‘duet’ with Cliff Richard that spent 4 weeks at No.1 in 1986, raising money for Comic Relief. Mayall could in fact be heading for to the top of the charts again after a social media campaign by fans of the comedian to get his 2010 World Cup anthem ‘Noble England’ to No.1 gained momentum this week (for those of you who are unaware the 2014 World Cup kicked off on Thursday). The UK No.1 will be announced on The Official Chart Show with Jameela Jamil on Radio 1 on Sunday.
Rik Mayall as Squadron Commander the Lord Flashheart in Blackadder Goes Forth
As the news spread of his untimely death, tributes from celebrities and public alike were paid to Mayall, from the unofficial blue plaque in Hammersmith, to Dawn French speaking on BBC Breakfast about Rik’s call for equal pay on The Comic Strip Presents, to Catlain Moran saying ‘poo’ not once, but three times, on Newsnight. I think Mr Mayall would be proud and touched by just how loved and admired he was.
Woof.
Jen Macro is Digital Content Producer for the About the BBC website and blog.
