Les Barker - Poems, Parodies and Monologues

Poems, Parodies and Monologues

He has published 76 books to date and has released (either as a solo performer or with his band) 20 albums. His books typically feature a mixture of monologues and comic songs, with a few serious songs. The monologues tip the hat to Marriott Edgar, who wrote many of the monologues performed by Stanley Holloway. Like Edgar, Barker has created several recurring characters and themes, including Jason and the Arguments, Cosmo the Fairly Accurate Knife Thrower, Captain Indecisive, The Far off Land of Dyslexia and Spot of the Antarctic. All of these have become trademarks of Barker's work. Both his funny and more serious songs have become standards for other singers such as Waterson:Carthy and June Tabor.

He is also remarkable as being one of the few writers (alongside Stephen Sondheim, with his hilarious parody The Boy From..., co-authored with Mary Rogers) to get the Welsh place named Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantisiliogogogoch into a song successfully (it forms the main chorus of a song of the same name, and is sung four times). Les has now taken up residence in Wales and is fully proficient in that language, producing two books of poetry written in the Welsh tongue.

He has remained firmly rooted in the circuit of folk clubs and festivals where he has a devoted following. Many other folk-poets and comedy writers like Mike Harding, Jasper Carrott, Billy Connolly and Max Boyce have moved into a mass media market, but Les Barker remains one among a few remaining comedy acts that still continue to work the folk circuit. Bernard Wrigley and Keith Donnelly are other examples and Les has recently performed as part of a double act with the latter under the name "Idiot and Friend".