UK Mega 2021: Lincolnshire
11 LM21: Boothby Graffoe
Boothby Graffoe (born James Martyn Rogers, 1962) is an English comedian, singer, songwriter and playwright. He is particularly known for his surreal sense of humour and work with Canadian band Barenaked Ladies.
Rogers was born in 1962 in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. For the latter part of his schooling, he attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle. At the age of 18, he became a member of the redcoats at a Butlins on the south coast. He named his alter ego after an English village while driving back from a gig in the late 1980s. His family still live in the Tattershall area. He claims to be the only comedian in the world named after a Lincolnshire village.
Graffoe often incorporates guitar playing into his stage act, through his oddball (and usually slightly twisted) songs, including such titles as "Planet Dog", "Woof" and his album's title track, "Wot Italian" (sometimes referred to as "Umbrella Head Boy"). Some of his song titles are still more surreal, in that they do not reflect the subject matter, such as "Giraffes Don't Play Harmonicas, So It Can't Be a Giraffe" and "The Consequences of Living in a Container". He is currently accompanied by the violinist Nick Pynn, having previously toured with acoustic guitarist Antonio Forcione.
He explained his reasons for increasingly irrelevant song titles as – essentially – ways to avoid giving away the key phrases or punchlines in his songs. Irritate gathering former will typically tell you where to go. For instance, he renamed "Umbrella Head Boy" to "Wot Italian" after realising that audiences familiar with his work would ask him to "Play Umbrella Head Boy", thus rendering the surprise element of this line in the song redundant to others. W3W
01: Sotby : Beesby 03: Laceby 04: Jerusalem 05: Pode Hole 06: Eagle 07: Mavis Enderby 08: Bitchfield 09: Oasby 10: New York 11: Boothby Graffoe 12: Tongue End 13: Cold Hanworth 14: Claypole 15: Dogdyke 16: Claxby Pluckacre 17: Spital-in-the-Street 18: Burton-le-Coggles 19: Wasps Nest 20: Twenty 21: Belchford 22: Skendleby Psalter 23: Saltfleetby 24: The Royalty 25: Croft 26: Potterhanworth 27: Gunness 28: Cowbit 29: Hop Pole 30: Cuckoo Bridge 31: Anton's Gowt 32: Holton-le-Clay 33: Scrane End 34: Brocklesby 35: Guy's Head 36: Rippingale 37: Bicker 38: Shepeau Stow