Rodney Rude
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| Rodney Rude | |
|---|---|
| File:Rodney Rude.gif Rodney Rude's cartoon likeness | |
| Birth name | Rodney Keft |
| Born | Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia |
| Medium | Stand-up, music |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Years active | 1969 - 2006 |
| Genres | Observational comedy, Blue comedy, Insult comedy. |
| Subject(s) | Australian culture, current events, pop culture. |
Rodney Rude (born Rodney Keft in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian 'blue' stand-up comedian, poet and writer. He is infamous for his bawdy humour. He has released 12 albums and 4 videos throughout his long career, all of which are distributed by EMI Music Australia. To date, Rodney has sold well in excess of 2 million CDs videos and DVDs. Rodney has also been nominated for an ARIA award for Best comedy Album for almost every album he has released. Rodney has been awarded two Mo Awards, the latest in 2007 for his 'Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Comedy Industry'.
Early career
He began his career in a band, singing and playing guitar. His habit of altering the lyrics of songs to amuse himself and his audience prompted him to become a comedian. In 1969, he left Australia to tour the United States and Canada. Based in Ontario, he enjoyed a thriving career, touring throughout Canada and the USA. He returned to Australia in 1981 after being asked by his friend Barry Wain to founded the Sydney Comedy Store. He was its first compere, he hired and mentored many young comedians who later became established performers in clubs and on TV.
Arrests in Queensland and Western Australia
He was arrested by Queensland police in the mid-1980s after offending officers during a show. He fought several long and expensive court cases defending his right to perform his show to adult audiences. His legal battle continued after police brought further obsenity charges in Western Australia where the case finally went to the full bench of the supreme court. Rodney won his court cases and all charges were quashed. After the Fitzgerald Inquiry against corruption (1987-89), set up to investigate police corruption in the state of Queensland, the police officer leading the case of obsenity against Rodney was jailed for corruption in an unrelated matter. Since that time Rodney performed without incidence in all states of Australia. The album Not Guilty was a result of this incident.
According to his website, rude.com.au, his absence from the comedy circuit in 2004 was due to his recovery from a motorcycle accident on his property, which required him to undergo a knee reconstruction.
Rude toured Australia for the last time in 2006. A CD & DVD accompanied the tour, the CD "Frog Sack" was released on November 11 2006 and the DVD which was to released at the end of 2007 has been delayed and will be released in 2008.
Comedic style
Rodney Rude's comedy is sexual, insulting and explicit. As a result, despite some early television appearances his act is restricted to live performances. He did appear in a number of advertising campaigns includingBig Ben meat pies during the 1980s.
Staples of any given show include:
- His trademark laugh.
- Mildly racist humour - in the age of political correctness, Rodney Rude has been forced to tone down some aspects of his comedy, however he still enjoys being racist.
- Heckling by members of the audience. Rude is known for his fiery responses to interjections from the audience. Common replies include "Ah shaddup mate, I fucked your (insert family member e.g. sister/uncle) last night", or "Funny mate, reaaaal funny. not as funny as your sister looks like with nothing on ya dumb fuck!". Many members of audiences consider it an honour to be personally insulted by Rodney.
- The use of various gags, props and wigs, all of which are tossed backwards over the stage curtain by Rodney.
- Dirty limericks, occasionally presented as rap songs, and with occasional audience participation segments.
- Original songs, accompanied by his guitar, include.
- I Hate Cats
- I May Not Be A Wog (But I Look Like One) (a video clip for this song was made for one of his videos)
- Rubber Vagina
- Well-hung Plough Boy (parody of Glen Campbell's Rhinestone Cowboy)
Well-known gags/props: Rude has developed/constructed a number of objects intended for use in conjunction with his act. They include:
- 'Bob Marley's roach clip' - a giant pair of tweezers, offered to male patrons suspected of leaving to visit the toilet, along with the question: "Going for a piss mate? Got your tweezers? Here, borrow mine!"
- A moving, wooden effigy of Rude having sex with Pauline Hanson. The dummy moves in such a fashion that as a lever is slid, Rude's (unnaturally large) 'penis' slides in and out from between Pauline's rear end.
- A moving, wooden effigy of Rude with John Hopoate. The dummy moves in such a fashion that as a lever is slid, John Hopoate's index finger being poked up Rude's rear end. (A spoof of the John Hopoahte finger poking incident).
- "Half-Rude" suit - Rodney has constructed a suit that gives him the appearance of being 4' tall. He walks on his knees, using specially constructed prosthetic shortened legs. Using an enormous padded derriere he waggles and bounces back and forward for emphasis of a joke and for comedic effect.
In recent album releases, he has included personal answering machine messages (some of which are now on his website), which are free for personal use. These are in the same vein as his shows.
Influences mentioned during his show include grandfather Rude and Nudge.
Quotes from his shows
- "You know What I hate."
- "Last time I was here, I was raped. Two big fat lesos got me down and flogged me with a hunk of bong hose. That's why I came back."
- "Now listen trendsetters..."
- "I fuckin' know you!"
- "Nits. He had fucking nits."
- "My mates nicknamed me Tiger Woods because I've been going the growl on their mums."
Personal life
Rodney's first marriage was to a Canadian woman, his son from that marriage continues to live in Canada. He is married to wife Pat, has children, and lives on a property in the Illawarra region. He is a member of ARIA, through his company, Kemalda Entertainment.
Discography
Albums
- Rodney Rude Live (1984)
- I Got More (1985)
- Rude Rides Again (1986)
- Not Guilty (1988)
- A Legend (1991)
- Rat's Arse (1993)
- More Grunt (1998)
- Ya Mum's Bum (2000)
- Rude Bastard (2002)
- Twice as Rude (2004)
- Frog Sack (2006)
Compilations
- Classic Rude (1992)
Single
- I Hate That (censored version) (1984)
Filmography
- Rude Rude Rodney Rude On Video (later released as "Rodney Rude Live") (1984)
- Rude Rides Again (1986)
- I Don't Give a Rat's Arse (1996)
- Get Rude On Live on Stage (2002)