Freddie Starr

[Colr]

Gone.

I always thought he was a complete bell-end, a view that has been reinforced through reading the obits.

Seems to have been made that way to some extent by having a complete **** of a father.

Bet Ringo was embarrassed to have him as a relative!

[Peevemor]

I thought he was hilarious when I was a kid, but in my mid-late teens I went right off him.

70s showbiz culture seems to have been pretty iffy.

[Moulin Yarns]

He walked round the corner and asked a guy who was cleaning his car for a push, when the guy went round he found Freddie sitting on a swing.

[stoneyburn hibs]

He was good at what he done back in the day.
RIP

People are quick to judge because it's 2019, and feel like they should.

[Hibrandenburg]

I can remember watching him on T.V. and crying with laughter, what I can't remember is what he actually did or said to make me laugh. At the height of his success he lived in a world that didn't fully understand what racism or sexist behaviour was. I won't judge him on today's values. RIP Freddy and thanks for the laughs.

[Andy Bee]

I can remember watching him on T.V. and crying with laughter, what I can't remember is what he actually did or said to make me laugh. At the height of his success he lived in a world that didn't fully understand what racism or sexist behaviour was. I won't judge him on today's values. RIP Freddy and thanks for the laughs.


Well said although I bet hamsters around the world are breathing a sigh of relief right now, RIP Freddie.

[Colr]

I thought he was hilarious when I was a kid, but in my mid-late teens I went right off him.

70s showbiz culture seems to have been pretty iffy.

The 70s generally was pretty iffy. Its the era when the gammon’s were made after all.

[Moulin Yarns]

Great wee story featuring Joe Harper


https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48231314

[Mibbes Aye]

This “I won’t judge him because values were different then” schtick doesn’t stand up for me.

If you take something like racism, it was more overt in the 60s and 70s, far more so. I don’t think it stopped Martin Luther King and those who followed in his footsteps calling it out.

In the UK we legislated against racism and sexism in the 1970s, those laws are still on the statute books. People recognised it was wrong then, it just took a bit longer for those people to become a majority.

[Scouse Hibee]

This “I won’t judge him because values were different then” schtick doesn’t stand up for me.

If you take something like racism, it was more overt in the 60s and 70s, far more so. I don’t think it stopped Martin Luther King and those who followed in his footsteps calling it out.

In the UK we legislated against racism and sexism in the 1970s, those laws are still on the statute books. People recognised it was wrong then, it just took a bit longer for those people to become a majority.

Surely your last sentence explains why folk didn’t judge him!

[heretoday]

I remember him dressed as a nazi and strutting about on stage to peals of laughter from a seventies audience. I suppose many of them had gone through the war so that amused them. Other comics did that too, of course - Dick Emery, Spike Miligan come to mind.

That wouldn't do nowadays unless you were making a deep ironic and political point which I don't think Freddie Starr was doing. Times have changed.

[Mibbes Aye]

I remember him dressed as a nazi and strutting about on stage to peals of laughter from a seventies audience. I suppose many of them had gone through the war so that amused them. Other comics did that too, of course - Dick Emery, Spike Miligan come to mind.

That wouldn't do nowadays unless you were making a deep ironic and political point which I don't think Freddie Starr was doing. Times have changed.

I think for people in their twenties or thirties it is nigh impossible to recognise the impact of the war. For a couple of generations it was as existential a threat as there had been. For those who are older, there is the residual memory of grandparents or parents who served and fought, and how that influenced and informed their views.

It is good that it is fading, my children wouldn’t jump to the war as their first association with Germany. What is curious is that the humour in the seventies and eighties comedies was very much based on classic stereotypes - Teutonic efficiency and so on. Massive elephant in the room being the Holocaust though I get that isn’t great material for a sitcom.

[Colr]

This “I won’t judge him because values were different then” schtick doesn’t stand up for me.

If you take something like racism, it was more overt in the 60s and 70s, far more so. I don’t think it stopped Martin Luther King and those who followed in his footsteps calling it out.

In the UK we legislated against racism and sexism in the 1970s, those laws are still on the statute books. People recognised it was wrong then, it just took a bit longer for those people to become a majority.

Yup

[Colr]

I think for people in their twenties or thirties it is nigh impossible to recognise the impact of the war. For a couple of generations it was as existential a threat as there had been. For those who are older, there is the residual memory of grandparents or parents who served and fought, and how that influenced and informed their views.

It is good that it is fading, my children wouldn’t jump to the war as their first association with Germany. What is curious is that the humour in the seventies and eighties comedies was very much based on classic stereotypes - Teutonic efficiency and so on. Massive elephant in the room being the Holocaust though I get that isn’t great material for a sitcom.

Its also worth remembering that the generation who in their 20s and 30s laughed at racism are now the vanguard of the right wing populism we are experiencing now.

Problem is there is a lot of them due to the baby boom in

[heretoday]

I think for people in their twenties or thirties it is nigh impossible to recognise the impact of the war. For a couple of generations it was as existential a threat as there had been. For those who are older, there is the residual memory of grandparents or parents who served and fought, and how that influenced and informed their views.

It is good that it is fading, my children wouldn’t jump to the war as their first association with Germany. What is curious is that the humour in the seventies and eighties comedies was very much based on classic stereotypes - Teutonic efficiency and so on. Massive elephant in the room being the Holocaust though I get that isn’t great material for a sitcom.

It's amazing the final series of 'Allo 'Allo was made in as late as 1992 (I checked) and of course still gets laughs today. Stereotypes are alive and kicking.

[Mibbes Aye]

Its also worth remembering that the generation who in their 20s and 30s laughed at racism are now the vanguard of the right wing populism we are experiencing now.

Problem is there is a lot of them due to the baby boom in

You are right and nothing changes. Regardless of generation there will always be a route to tap into resentment and find something, someone, somewhere to pin it on.

We seem to be in an age where it is easy to propagate myths and slanders.

It is incumbent on those who recognise the falsehood to call it out every time it rears its head.

[Mibbes Aye]

It's amazing the final series of 'Allo 'Allo was made in as late as 1992 (I checked) and of course still gets laughs today. Stereotypes are alive and kicking.

That show was an entire catalogue of stereotypes, some maybe ironic but nevertheless it was populist.

And you are right, stereotypes never go out of fashion.

[Mibbes Aye]

Surely your last sentence explains why folk didn’t judge him!

Time they caught up? They’ve had thirty to forty years to think about it. There wasn’t a shortage of people who knew what was wrong then, it was simply that those who had power didn’t want to recognise what was wrong.

[lapsedhibee]

Time they caught up? They’ve had thirty to forty years to think about it. There wasn’t a shortage of people who knew what was wrong then, it was simply that those who had power didn’t want to recognise what was wrong.

The way politics is going at the moment, think there's as much chance of laws being repealed so that racism, sexism etc are ok again as there is that the hard core who never caught up will catch up.

[Colr]

It's amazing the final series of 'Allo 'Allo was made in as late as 1992 (I checked) and of course still gets laughs today. Stereotypes are alive and kicking.

Black and White Minstrel show was still being shown in 1978. It was still runnignlive in London in 1988!!

You can still buy a golly wog in Fortnam and Mason!!

[Colr]

That show was an entire catalogue of stereotypes, some maybe ironic but nevertheless it was populist.

And you are right, stereotypes never go out of fashion.

Not to mention It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum

[Pretty Boy]

I always find a great irony in the 'older' generation lambasting youngsters for looking up to or idolising influencers and reality TV stars.

They were quite happy to lap up populist stereotypes, racism and misogyny. That's before we mention turning a blind eye to child abuse, sexual assault and rape. The worst part is they are still happy to turn a blind eye now, there are more than a few stars from the 60s and 70s still touring who were quite open about their relationships with young girls.

On balance I think I prefer the shallow, fame hungry Instagram stars to the racist nonces.

[Hiber-nation]

I always find a great irony in the 'older' generation lambasting youngsters for looking up to or idolising influencers and reality TV stars.

They were quite happy to lap up populist stereotypes, racism and misogyny. That's before we mention turning a blind eye to child abuse, sexual assault and rape. The worst part is they are still happy to turn a blind eye now, there are more than a few stars from the 60s and 70s still touring who were quite open about their relationships with young girls.

On balance I think I prefer the shallow, fame hungry Instagram stars to the racist nonces.

Me and my mates hated the likes of Starr and Manning. Although not sure if I am classed as one of the "older" generation 😀

[Smartie]

One of the stereotypes that is acceptable in this day and age is the generalisation that everyone of a certain age is some sort of a racist.

Many of them have lived through some interesting experiences and been the driving force behind the positive changes that we've seen. For all the folk that loved all sorts of dodgy stuff in the 70s, there were many, many more who saw to it that it became unacceptable into the 1980 and beyond.

If we truly want folk to stop using lazy generalisations, we could probably start by doing it ourselves.

There are many people of that age group who find Nigel Farage repulsive, are delighted to see the back of racist television programmes and are deeply concerned about the signs that it is re-emerging.

[overdrive]

I always find a great irony in the 'older' generation lambasting youngsters for looking up to or idolising influencers and reality TV stars.

They were quite happy to lap up populist stereotypes, racism and misogyny. That's before we mention turning a blind eye to child abuse, sexual assault and rape. The worst part is they are still happy to turn a blind eye now, there are more than a few stars from the 60s and 70s still touring who were quite open about their relationships with young girls.

On balance I think I prefer the shallow, fame hungry Instagram stars to the racist nonces.

A woman at work who is in her 60s thinks it is “disgusting” when the police investigate cases of historic sexual offences.

[marinello59]

A woman at work who is in her 60s thinks it is “disgusting” when the police investigate cases of historic sexual offences.

Your point is? I know a twenty year old racist. And a 30 year old homophobe. Sums up their generation?

[Pretty Boy]

One of the stereotypes that is acceptable in this day and age is the generalisation that everyone of a certain age is some sort of a racist.

Many of them have lived through some interesting experiences and been the driving force behind the positive changes that we've seen. For all the folk that loved all sorts of dodgy stuff in the 70s, there were many, many more who saw to it that it became unacceptable into the 1980 and beyond.

If we truly want folk to stop using lazy generalisations, we could probably start by doing it ourselves.

There are many people of that age group who find Nigel Farage repulsive, are delighted to see the back of racist television programmes and are deeply concerned about the signs that it is re-emerging.

I think that goes without saying.

My post was aimed at the 'back in our day' and 'of course we had real role model' types.

There's ****s in every generation.

[overdrive]

Your point is? I know a twenty year old racist. And a 30 year old homophobe. Sums up their generation?

It was backing up PB’s point of some of the older generation not only turning a blind eye to sexual abuse in the past but continuing to do so now.

[marinello59]

It was backing up PB’s point of some of the older generation not only turning a blind eye to sexual abuse in the past but continuing to do so now.

The key word being some.

[Pete]

I think that’s nearly everyone I liked on TV as a youngster either dead, a paedo, a racist or a combination of any of them.

[Scouse Hibee]

I never liked Freddie Starr at all, I did used to love a laugh at racism though.

[Radium]

Does the time capsule scene from a recent Scot Squad sum up the ‘70s? (Episode from the end of April and can’t find a video to link).

Re FS, my memory of him is as an impressionist, particularly Elvis. Clearly I was too busy watching the six million dollar man to pick up the socially relevant material


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[Hibrandenburg]

When you grew up in post imperial Britain at a time where casual racism was the norm and not only the government but also the school system was if not actively racist then at least neutral towards racism, then there's a reasonably high chance that you'll either be racist without actually knowing there's such a thing as racism or you're not confronted with it at all.

I grew up in a village where the only black faces you'd see were on old photos from the mines. Freddy Star, Bernard Manning and other comic dinosaurs were all that was on offer on T.V. and the last influx of immigrants we'd seen were Poles who'd left to fight the Germans and Germans who'd stayed on after being held POW during the war. The first comedians to break through onto our screens that had any PC material were guys like Ben Elton and the Not the Nine O'clock News team early to mid 80's.

Education is the key, but when the environment you grew up in is racially sterile then it's difficult to grasp a problem that doesn't touch your life or even exist in the world you live in. I must have been about 12 before I even seen a person of different race and remember feeling uneasy about how they drew unflattering attention from the local population and couldn't understand why that was. I'd never even heard the word racist never mind understood what it meant.

It annoys me when people today get on their high horse and damn a whole generation based on what we understand today. In today's world there is no excuse for racism and most of my generation haven't just learned that racism is odious and destructive, but also helped pave the way for our understanding of it today. Not everyone born in the 60's are frothing Gammons.

[Peevemor]

When you grew up in post imperial Britain at a time where casual racism was the norm and not only the government but also the school system was if not actively racist then at least neutral towards racism, then there's a reasonably high chance that you'll either be racist without actually knowing there's such a thing as racism or you're not confronted with it at all.

I grew up in a village where the only black faces you'd see were on old photos from the mines. Freddy Star, Bernard Manning and other comic dinosaurs were all that was on offer on T.V. and the last influx of immigrants we'd seen were Poles who'd left to fight the Germans and Germans who'd stayed on after being held POW during the war. The first comedians to break through onto our screens that had any PC material were guys like Ben Elton and the Not the Nine O'clock News team early to mid 80's.

Education is the key, but when the environment you grew up in is racially sterile then it's difficult to grasp a problem that doesn't touch your life or even exist in the world you live in. I must have been about 12 before I even seen a person of different race and remember feeling uneasy about how they drew unflattering attention from the local population and couldn't understand why that was. I'd never even heard the word racist never mind understood what it meant.

It annoys me when people today get on their high horse and damn a whole generation based on what we understand today. In today's world there is no excuse for racism and most of my generation haven't just learned that racism is odious and destructive, but also helped pave the way for our understanding of it today. Not everyone born in the 60's are frothing Gammons.

It's also important to remember the effect that WW2 and it's aftermath had on the national psyche and culture.

I remember the 70s. In 1975, 44 years ago, I was 7-8 years old.

In 1975 the war had ended only 30 years before, therefore somebody of my age now would have been 21 in 1945. I'm pretty sure that had my formative years been spent during a period of world war, with maybe a bit of "action" chucked in, I would have a different outlook from the one I have (and probably not for the better).

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

Imagine trying to pitch The Benny Hill show now.

[Kato]

I always find a great irony in the 'older' generation lambasting youngsters for looking up to or idolising influencers and reality TV stars.

They were quite happy to lap up populist stereotypes, racism and misogyny. That's before we mention turning a blind eye to child abuse, sexual assault and rape. The worst part is they are still happy to turn a blind eye now, there are more than a few stars from the 60s and 70s still touring who were quite open about their relationships with young girls.

On balance I think I prefer the shallow, fame hungry Instagram stars to the racist nonces.

It's possible to have issues with both groups.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

He will still get more bookings than Graeme Shinnie.