William Melvin "Bill" Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic,
satiristSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, and
musicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
ian. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy. In both his stand-up performances and during interviews, he often criticized
consumerismConsumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
,
superficiality'The principle of superficiality versus depth' has pervaded Western culture since at least the time of Plato: 'the dialectic of truth and appearance,' as the surface image of the latter 'competes with what Plato designates for us beyond appearance as being the Idea'.21stC urban parlance speaks of...
, mediocrity, and banality within the media and
popular culturePopular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, describing them as oppressive tools of the ruling class, meant to "keep people stupid and apathetic."
Hicks was 16 years old when he started performing stand-up comedy at the Comedy Workshop in Houston,
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, in 1978. During the 1980s he toured America extensively and performed a number of high profile television appearances. It was in the UK, however, where Hicks first amassed a significant fan base, packing large venues with his 1991 tour. Hicks died of
pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
in 1994 at the age of 32. In the years after his death, his work and legacy achieved acclaim in creative circles. In 2007 he was voted the sixth-greatest stand-up comic on the UK's Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and appeared again in the updated 2010 list as the fourth-greatest comic.
Early life
Born in
Valdosta, GeorgiaValdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 54,518. The Valdosta metropolitan area, according to the 2010 estimate, has a population of 139,588...
, Bill Hicks was the son of Jim and Mary (Reese) Hicks and had two elder siblings: sister Lynn and brother Steve. The family lived in
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
,
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, and
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, before settling in Houston, Texas when Hicks was seven. He was raised in the
Southern BaptistThe Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
faith, where he first began performing as a comedian for other children at
Sunday SchoolSunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
.
Hicks was drawn to comedy at an early age, emulating
Woody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
and
Richard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
, and writing routines with his friend Dwight Slade. Worried about his behavior, his parents took him to a psychoanalyst at age 17 but, according to Hicks, after one session the psychoanalyst informed him that "...it's them, not you."
His mother described Hicks's early interest in comedy on
The Late Show with David Letterman on January 30, 2009:
Beginnings
Hicks graduated from
Stratford High SchoolStratford High School may refer to:*Stratford High School in Stratford, Connecticut*Stratford High School in Houston, Texas*Stratford High School in Stratford, Texas...
in Houston and began touring in the early 1980s. After a few years of performing the same material, he felt that his act wasn't progressing. He wanted to push the boundaries of creativity as his idols
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and
Richard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
had done. At 21 years old, Hicks had never consumed alcohol, smoked cigarettes, or tried drugs. He began to experiment to see if intoxication was indeed the key to crossing the line.
Once Hicks gained some underground success in night clubs and universities, he quit drinking, realizing that it wasn't alcohol that made a great comic, but his ability to express a truth, even if it was an unpopular one. However, Hicks continued to smoke cigarettes. His nicotine addiction, love of smoking, and occasional attempts to quit became a recurring theme in his act throughout his later years.
California and New York
In January 1986, Hicks found himself broke, having spent all his money on a variety of substances. His career soon received another upturn, though, as he appeared on
Rodney DangerfieldRodney Dangerfield , was an American comedian, and actor, known for the catchphrases "I don't get no respect!," "No respect, no respect at all... that's the story of my life" or "I get no respect, I tell ya" and his monologues on that theme...
's
Young Comedians Special, in 1987. The same year, he moved to New York City, and, for the next 5 years, performed about 300 times a year. On the album
Relentless, he jokes that he quit using drugs because "once you've been taken aboard a UFO, it's kind of hard to top that", although in his performances, he continued to extol the virtues of LSD,
marijuanaCannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, and
psychedelic mushroomsPsilocybin mushrooms are fungi that contain the psychoactive compounds psilocybin and psilocin. There are multiple colloquial terms for psilocybin mushrooms, the most common being shrooms or magic mushrooms....
. He fell back to
chain-smokingChain smoking is the practice of lighting a new cigarette for personal consumption immediately after one that is finished, sometimes using the finished cigarette to light the next one. It is a common form of addiction.-Causes:...
, a theme that would figure heavily in his performances from then on.
In 1988, Hicks signed on with his first professional business manager, Jack Mondrus. Throughout 1989, Mondrus worked to convince many clubs to book Hicks, promising that the wild drug- and alcohol-induced behavior was behind him. Among the club managers hiring the newly sober Hicks was Colleen McGarr, who would become his girlfriend and fiancée in later years.
Hicks quit drinking in 1988, as stated in his 1990 album
DangerousDangerous is the first live CD album released by stand-up comedian and satirist Bill Hicks in 1990, on New York based Invasion Records. The album was recorded over two nights at Caroline's in New York City....
on the first track, entitled "Modern Bummer".
In 1989 he released his first video,
Sane Man. It was reissued in 2006.
Early fame
In 1990, Hicks released his first album,
Dangerous, performed on the HBO special
One Night Stand, and performed at
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's
Just for LaughsJust for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
festival. He was also part of a group of American stand-up comedians performing in London's
West EndWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
in November. Hicks was a huge hit in the UK and Ireland and continued touring there throughout 1991. That year, he returned to
Just for Laughs and filmed his second video,
Relentless.
Hicks made a brief detour into musical recording with the
Marble Head Johnson album in 1992. During the same year he toured the UK, where he recorded the
Revelations video. for
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
He closed the show with his soon-to become-famous philosophy regarding life, "It's Just a Ride". Also in that tour he recorded the stand-up performance released in its entirety on a double CD titled
Salvation. Hicks was voted "Hot Standup Comic" by
Rolling Stone magazineRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. He moved to Los Angeles in 1992.
Hicks and Tool
The
progressive metalProgressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band
ToolTool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
invited Hicks to open a number of concerts in its 1992
LollapaloozaLollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
appearances, where Hicks once famously asked the audience to look for a
contact lensA contact lens, or simply contact, is a lens placed on the eye. They are considered medical devices and can be worn to correct vision, for cosmetic or therapeutic reasons. In 2004, it was estimated that 125 million people use contact lenses worldwide, including 28 to 38 million in the United...
he had lost. Thousands of people complied.
Tool dedicated their triple-platinum album
ÆnimaÆnima is the second studio album by American rock band Tool. The album was released on September 17, 1996 in vinyl format and on October 1, 1996 in Compact Disc format. The album was recorded and cut at Ocean Way, Hollywood, California and The Hook, North Hollywood, California from 1995 to 1996...
(1996) to Hicks. The band intended to raise awareness about Hicks's material and ideas, because they felt that Tool and Hicks "were resonating similar concepts". In particular,
Ænimas final track, "Third Eye", is preceded by a clip of Hicks' performances, and both the lenticular casing of the Ænima album packaging as well as the chorus of the title track "Ænema" make reference to a sketch from Hicks'
Arizona BayArizona Bay is an album by comedian Bill Hicks, posthumously released in 1997. It was released alongside Rant in E-Minor, marking three years since his death. The album's title refers to the hope that Los Angeles will one day fall into the ocean due to a major earthquake...
philosophy, in which he contemplates the idea of Los Angeles falling into the Pacific Ocean. The closing track "Third Eye" contains samples from Hicks'
Dangerous and
Relentless. An alternate version of the
Ænima artwork shows a painting of Bill Hicks, calling him "Another Dead Hero," and mentions of Hicks are found both in the
liner notesLiner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
and on the record.
Censorship and aftermath
Hicks constantly faced problems with
censorshipthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. In 1984, Hicks was invited to appear on
Late Night with David LettermanLate Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
for the first time. He had a joke that he used frequently in comedy clubs about how he caused a serious accident that left a classmate using a wheelchair.
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
had a policy that no handicapped jokes could be aired on the show, making his stand-up routine difficult to perform without mentioning words such as "wheelchair".
On October 1, 1993, Hicks was scheduled to appear on
Late Show with David LettermanLate Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
, his 12th appearance on a Letterman late-night show, but his entire performance was removed from the broadcast—then the only occasion where a comedian's entire routine was cut after taping. Hicks' stand-up routine was removed from the show allegedly because Letterman and his producer were nervous about a religious joke ("if Jesus came back he might not want to see so many crosses"). Hicks said he believed it was due to a pro-life commercial aired during a commercial break. Both the show's producers and
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
denied responsibility. Hicks expressed his feelings of betrayal in a letter to
John LahrJohn Lahr is an American theater critic, and the son of actor Bert Lahr. Since 1992, he has been the senior drama critic at The New Yorker magazine.-Biography:...
of
The New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. Although Letterman later expressed regret at the way Hicks had been handled, Hicks did not appear on the show again.
Hicks' mother, Mary, appeared on the January 30, 2009 episode of
Late Show. Letterman played the routine in its entirety. Letterman took full responsibility for the original censorship and apologized to Mrs. Hicks. Letterman also declared he did not know what he was thinking when he pulled the routine from the original show in 1993, saying, "It says more about me as a guy than it says about Bill because there was absolutely nothing wrong with that."
Denis Leary
For many years, Hicks was friends with fellow comedian
Denis LearyDenis Colin Leary is an Irish-American actor, comedian, writer and director. Leary is known for his biting, fast paced comedic style and chain smoking...
. But in 1993 Hicks was angered by Leary's album
No Cure for CancerNo Cure for Cancer is one of Denis Leary's standup routines from the early 1990s. It was made into a television special, a book, and a compact disc, all with the same title...
. Upon hearing the album, "Bill was furious. All these years, aside from the occasional jibe, he had pretty much shrugged off Leary's lifting. Comedians borrowed, stole stuff, and even bought bits from one another.
Milton BerleMilton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
and
Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
were famous for it. This was different. Leary had practically line for line taken huge chunks of Bill's act and
recorded it."
The friendship ended abruptly as a result.
At least three stand-up comedians have gone on the record stating they believe Leary stole Hicks's material as well as his persona and attitude. In an interview, when Hicks was asked why he had quit smoking, he answered, "I just wanted to see if Denis would, too."
In another interview, Hicks said, "I have a scoop for you. I stole his [Leary's] act. I camouflaged it with punchlines, and, to really throw people off, I did it before he did."
The controversy surrounding plagiarism is also mentioned in
American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story, by Cynthia True:
During a 2003
Comedy Central roastThe Comedy Central Roasts are a series of celebrity roast specials which air on the Comedy Central cable network.-History:Between 1998 and 2001, Comedy Central produced and televised the annual roasts of the New York Friars' Club. After the original five-year agreement expired, the network began...
of Denis Leary, comedian
Lenny ClarkeLenny Clarke is an American comedian and actor, famous for his thick Boston accent and role as Uncle Teddy on the series Rescue Me. During the 1970s, as related in the Comedy Central roast of Clarke's friend Denis Leary, Clarke ran for mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts. When asked by Leary what...
, a friend of Leary's, said there was a carton of cigarettes backstage from Bill Hicks with the message, "Wish I had gotten these to you sooner." This joke was cut from the final broadcast.
In a 2008 interview, Leary said, "It wouldn't have been an issue, I think, if Bill had lived. It's just that people look at a tragedy and they look at that circumstance and they go, oh, this must be how we can explain this."
Comic style
Hicks's style was a play on his audience's emotions. He expressed anger, disgust, and apathy while addressing the audience in a casual and personal manner, which he likened to merely conversing with his friends. His material was less focused on the everyday banalities of life and placed greater emphasis on philosophical themes of existence. He would invite his audiences to challenge authority and the existential nature of "accepted truth." One such message, which he often used in his shows, was delivered in the style of a news report (in order to draw attention to the negative slant news organizations give to any story about drugs):
Another of Hicks's most famous quotes was delivered during a gig in Chicago in 1989 (later released as the bootleg
I'm Sorry, Folks). After a
hecklerA heckler is a person who harass and try to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes.Hecklers are often known to shout disparaging comments at a performance or event, or interrupts set-piece speeches, for example at a political meeting, with intent to disturb its performers or...
repeatedly shouted "Free Bird", Hicks screamed that "
HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
had the right idea, he was just an underachiever!" Hicks followed this remark with a misanthropic tirade calling for unbiased
genocideGenocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
against the whole of humanity.
Much of Hicks's routine involved direct attacks on mainstream society, religion, politics, and consumerism. Asked in a
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
interview why he cannot do a routine that appeals "to everyone", he said that such an act was impossible. He responded by repeating a comment an audience member once made to him, "We don't come to comedy to think!", to which he replied, "Gee! Where do you go to think? I'll meet you there!" In the same interview, he also said: "My way is half-way between: this is a night-club, and these are adults."
Hicks often discussed conspiracy theories in his performances, most notably the
assassinationJohn Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
of President
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. He mocked the Warren Report and the official version of
Lee Harvey OswaldLee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
as a "lone nut assassin." He also questioned the guilt of
David KoreshDavid Koresh , born Vernon Wayne Howell, was the leader of a Branch Davidian religious sect, believing himself to be its final prophet. Howell legally changed his name to David Koresh on May 15, 1990. A 1993 raid by the U.S...
and the
Branch DavidianThe Branch Davidians are a Protestant sect that originated in 1955 from a schism in the Davidian Seventh Day Adventists , a reform movement that began within the Seventh-day Adventist Church around 1930...
compound during the
Waco SiegeThe Waco siege began on February 28, 1993, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel, a property located east-northeast of Waco,...
. Hicks would end some of his shows, especially those being recorded in front of larger audiences as albums, with a mock "assassination" of himself on stage, making gunshot sound effects into the microphone while falling to the ground.
Cancer diagnosis and death
Hicks wrote, "On June 16, 1993 I was diagnosed with having '
liver cancerLiver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
that had spread from the
pancreasThe pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as a digestive organ, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that assist...
.'"
He started receiving weekly
chemotherapyChemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
, while still touring and also recording his album,
Arizona Bay, with Kevin Booth. He was also working with comedian Fallon Woodland on a
pilotA "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
episode of a new talk show, titled
Counts of the Netherworld for Channel 4 at the time of his death. The budget and concept had been approved, and a pilot was filmed. The
Counts of the Netherworld pilot was shown at the various Tenth Anniversary Tribute Night events around the world on February 26, 2004.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Hicks would often joke that any given performance would be his last. The public, however, was unaware of Hicks's condition. Only a few close friends and family members knew of his disease. Hicks performed the final show of his career at
Caroline'sCarolines on Broadway is a venue for stand-up comedy located in Times Square in New York City on Broadway between 49th and 50th Street. It is one of the most established, famous, and recognized stand-up comedy clubs in the United States. Its marketing slogan is "America's Premiere Comedy...
in New York on January 6, 1994. He moved back to his parents' house in Little Rock, Arkansas, shortly thereafter. He called his friends to say goodbye, before he stopped speaking on February 14, and re-read J.R.R. Tolkien’s
The Fellowship of the RingThe Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place in the fictional universe Middle-earth. It was originally published on July 29, 1954 in the United Kingdom...
.
He spent time with his parents, playing them the music he loved and showing them documentaries about his interests. He died of side effects of his cancer treatment in the presence of his parents at 11:20pm on February 26, 1994. He was 32 years old.
Hicks was buried in the family plot in
Leakesville, MississippiLeakesville is a town located along the Chickasawhay River in Greene County, Mississippi, United States located around the junction of route 57 and route 63. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,026...
.
On February 7, 1994, Hicks authored a verse on his perspective, wishes, and thanks of his life, to be released after his death as his "last word", ending with the words: "I left in love, in laughter, and in truth and wherever truth, love and laughter abide, I am there in spirit."
Legacy
Arizona Bay and
Rant in E-MinorRant in E-Minor is an album by comedian Bill Hicks, posthumously released in 1997 through Rykodisc. It was released alongside the sister album Arizona Bay on February 25, 1997, marking three years since his death....
were released posthumously in 1997 on the Voices imprint of the
RykodiscRykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
label.
DangerousDangerous is the first live CD album released by stand-up comedian and satirist Bill Hicks in 1990, on New York based Invasion Records. The album was recorded over two nights at Caroline's in New York City....
and
Relentless were also re-released by Rykodisc on the same date.
In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, fellow comedians and comedy insiders voted Hicks #13 on their list of "The Top 20 Greatest Comedy Acts Ever". Likewise, in "
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time" (2004), Hicks was ranked at #19. In March 2007, Channel 4 ran a poll, "The Top 100 Stand-Up Comedians of All Time", in which Hicks was voted #6. Channel 4 renewed this list in April 2010, which saw Hicks move up 2 places to #4.
Devotees of Hicks have incorporated his words, image, and attitude into their own creations. By means of
audio samplingIn music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, fragments of Hicks' rants, diatribes, social criticisms, and philosophies have found their way into many musical works, such as the live version of
Super Furry AnimalsSuper Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
' "Man Don't Give A Fuck". His influence on Tool is well-documented, he "appears" on the
Fila BrazilliaFila Brazillia was an electronica collaboration from Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire in North-East England. Formed in 1990 by Steve Cobby and David McSherry...
album
Maim That TuneMaim That Tune is an album released by the British group Fila Brazillia on Pork Recordings in 1995.This album was dedicated to the deceased stand-up comedian, satirist and social critic Bill Hicks....
(1996) and on
SPA'sSPA are a British band comprising Simon Toulson-Clarke, Phill Brown and Alastair Gavin. Toulson-Clarke and Gavin had previously worked together on the Red Box album Motive.SPA was an acronym of the names of its members - Simon, Phill and Alastair....
self titled album
SPASPA is the debut album from SPA and was released in 1997. The album was recorded over a three year period and is dedicated to the memory of American comedian Bill Hicks.-CD: NSKY CD004:# "Made in Heaven" – 6:58# "It Looks Like Rain" – 2:22...
(1997), which are both dedicated to Hicks; the British band
RadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
's second album
The BendsThe Bends is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 13 March 1995 by Parlophone. The Bends was produced by John Leckie at EMI's studios in London, and engineered by Nigel Godrich, who would go on to produce all future albums by the band...
(1995) is also dedicated to his memory. Singer/songwriter
Tom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
listed
Rant in E-Minor as one of his 20 most cherished albums of all time.
Contemporary comedians
David CrossDavid Cross is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr...
and
Russell BrandRussell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
have stated that they were inspired by Hicks.
The
BritishThe British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
actor
Chas EarlyChas Early is a British actor and playwright. He has appeared on TV shows such as Casualty and EastEnders, Skins and Mayo .In 2009/2010 he was a contestant on the BBC TV show Mastermind.-Works:...
portrayed Hicks in the one-man stage show
Bill Hicks: Slight Return, which premiered in 2004. The show was co-written by
Chas EarlyChas Early is a British actor and playwright. He has appeared on TV shows such as Casualty and EastEnders, Skins and Mayo .In 2009/2010 he was a contestant on the BBC TV show Mastermind.-Works:...
and
Richard HurstRichard Hurst is a British writer and director of comedy, theatre and television.Born in Surrey, he attended Boston Grammar School and Oakham School before studying at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and training as a director at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Royal National Theatre...
, and imagined Hicks' view of the world 10 years after his death.
On February 25, 2004, British
MPA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Stephen Pound tabled an
early day motionAn Early Day Motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . Controversial EDMs are not signed by Government Ministers, PPS or the Speaker of the House of Commons and very few are debated on the floor...
titled "Anniversary of the Death of Bill Hicks" (EDM 678 of the 2003-04 session), the text of which reads:
Film and documentary
A documentary entitled
American: The Bill Hicks StoryAmerican: The Bill Hicks Story is a biographical documentary film on the life of comedian Bill Hicks. The film was produced by Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas, and features archival footage and interviews with family and friends, including Kevin Booth....
, based on interviews with his family and friends, premiered on March 12, 2010, at the
South by SouthwestSouth by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
External links