100 Things I Meant to Tell You by Arthur Smith

Summary:

Arthur Smith’s first book for many years, 100 Things I Meant to Tell You brings together 100 stories, poems and articles gathered over a colourful lifetime making a living on the
comedy circuit.

In 2005 Arthur turned down a Perrier Award for Lifetime Achievement, saying “They wanted to tell me I was old and cool; well, I know that already.” Currently the popular host of BBC Radio 4 Extra’s Comedy Club, he has travelled all over the British Isles and the rest of the world perform-ing and reporting on a range of subjects as diverse as Flotsam and Jetsom in Holland (in a series for BBC 1’s The One Show) and more recently, goat yoga in Ipswich, but never before has he corralled all these wonderful stories into book form.

Some humorous, some anecdotal, some nostalgic and some extremely poignant, the stories include the time Arthur was arrested for ‘breach of the peace and possession of a megaphone’, the time he hitched a lift from a nun and heard his own voice (imitating Leonard Cohen) playing on her car radio, the fight he had with Billy Connolly, his flight in a Tiger Moth, and – in verse – his hatred of Teletubbies.

Covering a huge range of subjects and emotions, tales of hilarious, chaotic antics are juxtaposed with gentle, bittersweet stories about love affairs that ended badly and his mother’s journey into dementia, making this a cornucopia of delight for Arthur Smith fans everywhere.

My Review:

What can I say about Arthur Smith? He is one of my favourite comedians. Anyone who has seen and loved the BBC series Grumpy Old Men will know just how funny Arthur Smith really is. Now just released is 100 Things I Meant to Tell you. (AA Publishing).

After studying at the University of East Anglia Arthur became a dustman and even starred in a rock band before eventually becoming a full-time entertainer and one of our best loved ones at that. Arthur Smith is a regular at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival now for over 40 years. Not to mention that he has travelled the world performing he comedy act as well as performing in plays.

In 100 Things I Meant to Tell You the legend that is Arthur Smith brings us his own unique great humour and there are here many things that you will have never previously known of before that even I at times gasped at while reading. This can only be described as a rip-roaring memoir. But really I think it is more than just a memoir. A lesson in life perhaps from one of the great grumpy old men. His humour is my humour just plain dry.

This is Arthur’s life through his very own eyes. It is gags galore but there are also moments when he tells his story with great humility as he talks about his near death experiences.

With Christmas coming up it is just the perfect gift for anyone who is a fan of the great man and entertainer Arthur Smith.

288 Pages.

 Thank you Vanessa Oboagye (Midas PR) for the review copy of 100 Things I Meant to Tell You by Arthur Smith.

100 Things I Meant to Tell You by Arthur Smith was published by AA Publishing on 31^st October 2019 and is available to pre-order through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop.