The second series of the British Comedy Award-winning Al Murray’s Happy Hour is to be released on DVD this spring. All hail to the ale as the critically acclaimed series, packed with top notch celebrity chat, chart-topping music and the best in British bar banter, is made available by ITV DVD on 16th March 2009.
Serving up his trademark ‘interviews’, the nation’s favourite publican delivers unforgettable celebrity exclusives in this four disc box set, including: BARBARA WINDSOR reigniting her Carry On career with help from JAMES BLUNT and Jungle love-birds CERYS MATTHEWS and MARC BANNERMAN; RICHARD MADELEY and PHIL VICKERY dancing THE GUV’S idea of a British Haka; and Spice Girl MEL B pushed on all the hot subjects like, "Do you ever have any technical problems on stage, such as microphones switching on?".
All alongside classic moments like: PIERS MORGAN’s karaoke version of ‘My Way’; and THE GUV’s concern for RICKY HATTON’s health when he revealed that he went to a SPICE GIRLS concert after his Las Vegas fight,- “but you'd already risked serious brain damage once that night!”. Plus bonus features which include: an electrifying live music performance from The Greatest Band To Have Ever Walked The Earth, THE PUB LANDLORD’S beloved, QUEEN; exclusive unseen backstage footage; and a one-off interview with THE GUV and his crew.
THE PUB LANDLORD is currently performing up and down the country on a 53-date 170,000-ticket national tour Al Murray The Pub Landlord’s Beautiful British Tour - which includes two O2 Arena gigs and 12 new arena dates. In the last couple of years THE GUV has recorded three series of the British Comedy Award-winning Al Murray’s Happy Hour (ITV1); headlined Live at the Apollo (BBC ONE); hosted a second Audience With for ITV1; brought his unique Common-Sense-Reasoning to the literary world with the Richard and Judy Book Club-winning and The Sunday Times bestseller, The Pub Landlord’s Book of British Common Sense; and recorded his British Comedy Award-nominated live show …And Another Thing at the London Palladium for DVD (which sold over 200,000 copies). The entire Time Gentlemen Please collection will also be released on the same date by ITV DVD. In the meantime, AL MURRAY has written and recorded Al Murray’s Multiple Personality Disorder, a brand new character-led sketch series which is currently on ITV1 every Friday.
ends
“TV Joy: If Vernon Kay is worth £2million, then Al Murray should write his own cheques.”
Ally Ross, The Sun
“This refreshingly irreverent, laugh-aloud funny alternative to the standard chat show continues in fine form. Essential viewing.”
Nigel Andrew, ‘Weekend’ Daily Mail
“What a joy it is to have one of Britain’s cleverest comedians back on the television for a new series.”
Mike Bradley, ‘Television’ The Observer
Al Murray’s Happy Hour, Series 2 (cert 15, UK & Ireland), £24.99 RRP, Avalon Television 2008
Length: 539 mins (extras 53 mins). Release date: 16th March 2009
For further information, review DVDs, images or interview requests please contact: Jo Cross or Dan Lloyd at Avalon on 020 7598 7222 or joc@avalonuk.com / danl@avalonuk.com
WHAT THE PRESS SAID ABOUT
…SERIES 2 OF AL MURRAY’S HAPPY HOUR
"A thoroughly welcome return for Al Murray’s Pub Landlord. Expect the familiar devices; the non-listening interview technique (“Myeh. Myeh. Myeh.”), of an increasingly prestigious array of celebs prepared to abase themselves before the great man, the merciless interrogation of the “beautifully British named” victims in the front rows, the Queen cover versions and, of course, a relentless, ack-ack delivery of splendidly xenophobic home truths. Hail to the ale, indeed."
David Stubbs, ‘The Guide’ The Guardian
"Even if you automatically discount Channel 4’s The Friday Night Project (and well you might because, without wanting to sound too blunt, it’s rubbish) Friday night still has a remarkably crowded late night field. You could try another session of self aggrandisement and egomania on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, but we’d rather go with Al Murray’s offering. Why? It’s… (unlike some other millionaire purveyors of mirth) because he makes us laugh."
Ceri Thomas, London Lite
"TV Joy. The return of Al Murray’s Happy Hour. Where Al took gag of the week when he asked a Red Devil if he had a reserve pack of peanuts in the pub incase the first one didn’t open. Then achieved the impossible by drawing warmth, personality and wit from James Blunt. Al, you’re beautiful."
Ian Hyland, News of the World
"Al Murray, all the fun of Jonathan Ross for a fifth of the fee."
Garry Bushell, Daily Star Sunday
"Al Murray has honed his comedy as the bald, blazer-toting Pub Landlord into something that manages to be anarchic, blokeish, warm and spontaneous at the same time. His persona may be that of a sexist bigot, but Murray subtly diffuses potential nastiness with deft self-parody, and comes on like a cross between Alf Garnett and Graham Norton, with a generous dash of Peter Kay thrown in."
Paul Hoggart, ‘The Knowledge’ The Times
"Time to up your game, Jonathan, because this gag juggernaut starring The Pub Landlord was a triumph last year and watching him demolish his guests is a darn sight more entertaining than hearing them plugging their latest DVD or book….Outstandingly funny telly."
Toby Earle, TV Easy
"The silliest and most subversive chat show since The Mrs Merton Show."
Abi Grant, ‘Television & Radio’ The Daily Telegraph
"TV Gold: Genuis Al Murray asking the Red Devils sky-diving team: “Do you have a reserve bag of peanuts in case the first one doesn’t open?"
Ally Ross, The Sun
"Turn on: Al Murray’s Happy Hour (ITV1) - reaches the parts other interviewers cannot reach."
Jon Wise, The People
… AL MURRAY THE PUB LANDLORD’S BEAUTIFUL BRITISH TOUR
"Viewers of Al Murray's Happy Hour will already know that he can interact with a crowd the way a conductor leads a symphony orchestra. Except that the music's all in his head. And he's making it up as he goes along. The question now is whether he can banter with 20,000 punters at once. But if anyone can do it, Murray can."
Nicholas Barber, The Independent on Sunday
"The angrier Britain gets, the more we need Al Murray’s singularly irascible publican. Through the blustering ire of his red-faced alter-ego, railing against Europe, political correctness and other modern ills, Murray gives vent to a hundred and one thoughts that usually dare not make themselves heard, while also sending up that outrage something rotten. His latest tour culminates in a gig at the O2 Arena, and with the assured mainstream success of his ITV chat-show behind him, he’ll fill it, easily."
Dominic Cavendish, The Daily Telegraph
"If you’ve only seen Murray’s monstrous creation on television, you really should check him out live in full flow. The Landlord might be a bullet-headed bigot with a fondness for military history and a hatred of mainland Europe but he is strangely loveable as well as laughable."
Evening Standard
"The comedy event I’m most looking forward to this year is the Beautiful British Tour by Al Murray the Pub Landlord. “Doesn’t he just do the same thing every time?” a friend of mine quipped. Well, yeah, he takes a room by the scruff of its neck and shows it who’s boss. Both a satire of blinkered thinking and a sly celebration of the seductive power of certainty, Murray’s Little Englander is at his best working off a crowd. His chat show has taken him to some of Britain’s biggest barns. Can he keep the fizz in his act? I bet he can."
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
…AL MURRAY’S MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER
"When it works, which often it does, this is like Little Britain gone right. Al Murray, the persona behind the Pub Landlord, does more than well in the sketches he stars in: as usefully, he bounces back up the stage to allow some grand other comic actors - Simon Brodkin, Laura Solon - to take the limelight, which they do with fabulous style and relish...In the grand history of sketch shows Murray gets much more right than he does wrong i.e. you laugh more than you turn away bored…Comparisons can be odious but, trust me, this is much cleverer than Little Britain, if only because no one involved here seems to think it’s pant breakingly hilarious to pretend to be a thin old wifie throwing up every week and weeing herself in the supermarket ho ho. There still needs to be, surely will be, some tweaking and expunging - but it is, so far, a better way to spend a Friday night than we've seen for a long time."
Euan Ferguson, ‘Television’ The Observer
"Al Murray is so convincing as the Pub Landlord that, like Ricky Gervais, you start to worry where the actor ends and the role begins. That's why it's such a wonderful surprise to see him playing so many different characters in this new sketch show. One of the best is the gentleman safe breaker who, having been caught, talks his way out of arrest. Better still is the airline pilot who rambles on over the intercom about his sex-change operation. A couple of sketches are based on great ideas - one being the trailer of an ITV drama starring Ray Winstone as Ghandi. And for lovers of old fashioned vaudeville who earns for the days of Dick Emery, Murray plays a Nazi dressed in pink who can’t wait to get down to some serious interrogating."
David Chater, ‘Play’ The Times
"Expect to be repeating his new catchphrases and discussing his latest creations for hours afterwards."
‘Fabulous’ News of the World
"It would be a determined curmudgeon who failed to raise a smile at some of this. The writing is solid, generally rising above the temptation of lazing on catchphrases, and a couple of the characters may garner enduring affection, especially the somewhat over familiar rural father."
Andrew Mueller, ‘The Guide’ The Guardian
"Above average, with the best sketch a clever two-hander with Murray and Jenny Eclair as radio presenters."
John Dugdale, ‘Culture’ The Sunday Times
"After 15 years of touring the country as the majestically belligerent Pub Landlord, Al Murray serves up some new characters in this boisterous sketch show… there are some winning ideas such as the PC PCs, a group of police officers who divide their time between clambering up mountains of paperwork and being tweely polite to criminals. Look out as well for the atypically honest footballer."
Michael Deacon, ‘Television & Radio’ Daily Telegraph
"So closely has Al Murray become associated with his multi-award winning Pub Landlord character that there may be some viewers who imagine they're one and the same person. Fortunately this excellent new seven part series, for which Murray takes on a whole array of new guises, should soon clear up any confusion."
Mike Ward, ‘Saturday’ Daily Express
"Backed by a strong supporting cast - notably the up-and-coming Simon Brodkin - Murray scored more hits than misses with a range of populist characters... Some characters such as the yokel dad who just 'luuuurrrves sex' go straight for the catchphrase jugular, while others such as camp Nazi Horst Schwull and the PC PCs look to have more staying power."
Mark Wareham, ‘Live Night & Day’ Mail on Sunday
OTHER SHOW CREDITS
The series was produced by ROBYN O’BRIEN and directed by PETER ORTON. Executive Producers were RICHARD ALLEN-TURNER and JON THODAY.
AVALON TELEVISION
Avalon Television is one of the leading producers of award-winning comedy and light entertainment programmes in the UK. Founded in 1993, the independent production house supplies television programming to all the British terrestrial channels and the leading cable and satellite stations, in addition to content for radio broadcasters.
Recent television productions include: the double-BAFTA and British Comedy Award-winning Harry Hill’s TV Burp (ITV1); Al Murray’s Happy Hour (ITV1), the British Comedy Award winning peak-time entertainment show; three series of the Royal Television Society and Rose D’Or award-winning sitcom Not Going Out (BBC ONE); the acclaimed Touch Me I’m Karen Taylor (BBC THREE); the Rose d’Or award-winning Kombat Opera Presents (BBC TWO), a series of contemporary musical comedies from the creator of the multi-award-winning hit musical Jerry Springer - The Opera, with collaborators including STEWART LEE, DAVE GORMAN and TERRY JONES; a feature-length documentary, written by and starring DAVE GORMAN, entitled Unchained America (More 4); Laura, Ben and Him, a multi-character sketch show for ITV2 written by and starring hotly-tipped new writer performers LAURA SOLON, BEN WILLBOND and MAREK LARWOOD; You Can Choose Your Friends (ITV1) - a 90-minute comedy-drama starring the late ANTON RODGERS and JULIA McKENZIE; a prime-time reality format in the US called Wake Up Call (ABC Network); and The Greg Behrendt Show, a first-run syndication show in the USA produced by Avalon Television and Sony.
Avalon Television also produces radio, with recent projects including: series six of Out To Lunch (BBC Radio 2), a comedy show for Saturday afternoons hosted by RUSSELL KANE, featuring some of the finest up-and-coming comic talent currently working in the UK; a fifth series of DAVID BADDIEL’S acclaimed BBC Radio 4 comic-discussion show, Heresy; series three of Banter (BBC Radio 4), hosted by Sony Award-winning ANDREW COLLINS, a comedy panel show in which the guests including RICHARD HERRING and RUSSELL HOWARD are asked to hammer out Top Threes in categories covering anything from playwrights to Playstation; series two of Political Animal (BBC Radio 4), a socio-political satire show, hosted and linked by ANDY ZALTZMAN and The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (More 4) regular JOHN OLIVER; and the forthcoming BBC Radio 2 series written by and starring ANNA CRILLY and KATY WIX.
ITV DVD
ITV Global Entertainment Ltd is one of the World’s leading international TV distribution, home entertainment, publishing and consumer product businesses.
From the Americas to Europe, via Australasia, every hour of every day someone in the World is watching great and compelling television from ITV Global Entertainment, the partner of choice to over 3,000 leading broadcasters worldwide.
ITV Global Entertainment’s international home entertainment division and UK home entertainment label ITV DVD is led by Steve Gallant, Director, Home Entertainment & Digital. Featuring over 3,000 titles, ITV DVD represents one of the World’s most comprehensive television collections and owns the largest English language film catalogue in the world, featuring the Rank and ITC film collection.
