Fred Dagg

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Fred Dagg is a fictional New Zealand farmer who was created and played by the satirist and author John Clarke (1948-2017).

During the mid to late 1970s, Clarke often performed skits on New Zealand television that made fun of "Bloke" . “Bloke” is a term for the typical New Zealand guy who sees rugby as a kind of religion, never wears a pink shirt and can fix anything with “wire number 8”.

invention

Clarke grew up in the country and had the idea early on to imitate a typical New Zealand farmer. During his childhood he realized that jokes often had a lot to do with tonal expressions and that typical New Zealand jokes often had to do with rural things, e.g. B. Wellington boots or sheep . Clarke had developed the character further at university. In 1971 he was on stage for the first time and introduced his alter ego, Fred Dagg. In 1973 he started filming short skits. The first was about the tax return and ended with Dagg jumping through the window to escape the police.

Clarke also publishes tapes with Fred Dagg. His first songs - "Traditional Air" / "Unlabelled", and "We Don't Know How Lucky We Are" / "Larry Loves Barry" - made Fred Dagg well known in New Zealand. His album "Fred Dagg's Greatest Hits" (1975) was a success and became one of the most popular New Zealand albums. A later song, "Gumboots," which was adapted from Billy Connolly's song "If It Wasna For Your Wellies", was also successful, reaching number 6 on the New Zealand charts.

Fred Dagg lives in Taihape , a small, previously very isolated village on the North Island of New Zealand. He embodies the typical image of a New Zealand farmer who wears rubber boots and a finely ribbed strapless undershirt from day to day and who has many friends (or sons) who are called "Trev".

watch TV

Fred Dagg did not appear on New Zealand television until 1973 with a small series of 2 to 4 minute satirical skits during which Dagg discussed various current topics such as: B. New Zealand politics, culture and economy as well as nuclear power was interviewed (at the same time there was public outrage in New Zealand over the French nuclear test on Mururoa Atoll , which is near New Zealand).

There was an election in New Zealand in 1975, and Dagg took the opportunity to create a fictional party, The Dagg Party. He corrupted the motto of other parties “It's time for change” and made it “It's time for a beer”.

These first skits were performed for a television series and improvised on many current issues in New Zealand. Dagg's life on his farm was joked from an episode of the New Zealand farming series Country Calendar , which featured Dagg's six sons (all named Trev). At that time there was only one television channel in New Zealand, on which Country Calender was considered one of the most popular series.

Today Dagg's effects can still be felt in New Zealand. His antics and songs are still used to emphasize the " Kiwiana " (the "typical New Zealand"). In 2000 there was an advertisement for “Bugger” showing various “typical New Zealanders” who, like Dagg, all had an accident.

Tape recording

Fred Dagg's humor stems from his satirical portrayal of the "typical New Zealand guy". Dagg presents his views on everything from opera to solar energy with dullness, lack of words and a completely unmoved expression. His openness and honesty show his great ignorance and naivety of worldly affairs.

Dagg's use of "kiwi", the New Zealand colloquial language, plays the main role in his recordings. John Clarke characterizes his childhood humor as "jokes without actual jokes". This did not mean that there really weren't any jokes, but that the jokes depended on context, puns, sarcasm, and irony. The characteristics of his language are his monotony, his uncomplicated but also very quickly pronounced vocabulary and his ability to find effortless transitions between deepest insights and total nonsense.

In this way, in the sketch 'The Meaning of Life', as "Professor at the University of Taihapes", Dagg presented the main theories of existentialism in seven minutes and forty-five seconds during a radio interview. Fred Dagg's talent is also evident in his music. In New Zealand his song “We don't know how lucky we are” became a cult. In this song, in typically sober style, Dagg raves about why New Zealand is the best country in the world to live in. In two minutes he manages to cover everything from politics in Europe to the New Zealand government in the 1970s. This song is so popular in New Zealand that it is sometimes considered the 'real New Zealand national anthem'.

In 1979 Clarke moved to Australia , and so did Fred Dagg from New Zealand.

literature

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