GLC: The Carnage Continues...
Encyclopedia
"GLC: The Carnage Continues" is an episode of the British
television
comedy
series The Comic Strip Presents...
broadcast on BBC Two
in 1990. It parodied a Hollywood telling of the 1980s takeover of the Greater London Council
by Ken Livingstone
and the subsequent disbanding of that body by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
, re-imagining the story as a Charles Bronson
/ Sylvester Stallone
-style action movie. It is a thematic sequel to The Strike
, which involved the creation of a Hollywood version of the 1984 miners' strike (and actually features a joke about making a film on the GLC as a sequel to Strike - "Don't tell me, you're going to get Charles Bronson to play Ken Livingstone").
French, Saunders, Richardson and Edmondson also make cameo appearances as themselves.
movie GLC: The Carnage Continues, in which Bronson (played by Coltrane) discusses his new movie, in which he plays Ken Livingstone. From there, the movie itself begins.
wrote and performed the instrumental score and theme song to the episode. The lyrics include the line "Who's the man we all need? Ken
! Who's a funky sex machine? Ken!" (compare the lyrics to the theme from Shaft
: "who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks? Shaft!")
The song appeared as an extra track on her 1990 single "Love and Anger
" along with "The Confrontation" and "One Last Look Around the House before We Go...", short extracts from Bush's instrumental score to the episode. The soundtrack also features Bush's 1985 hit single "Running Up that Hill (A Deal with God)
", and extract from "Waking the Witch" taken from the 1985 Hounds of Love
album.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
series The Comic Strip Presents...
The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents.... The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and...
broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in 1990. It parodied a Hollywood telling of the 1980s takeover of the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
by Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
and the subsequent disbanding of that body by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, re-imagining the story as a Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
/ Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
-style action movie. It is a thematic sequel to The Strike
The Strike
The Strike is one of the short comedy films – written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, and directed by Richardson – which made up the long-running Channel 4 television series The Comic Strip Presents......
, which involved the creation of a Hollywood version of the 1984 miners' strike (and actually features a joke about making a film on the GLC as a sequel to Strike - "Don't tell me, you're going to get Charles Bronson to play Ken Livingstone").
Cast
- Robbie ColtraneRobbie ColtraneRobbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
- Charles BronsonCharles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
as Ken LivingstoneKen LivingstoneKenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
. - Dawn French - CherCherCher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
as Joan RuddockJoan RuddockJoan Mary Ruddock is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Lewisham Deptford since 1987. She is a feminist and is the wife of Frank Doran, the Labour MP for Aberdeen North...
. - Jennifer SaundersJennifer SaundersJennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
- Brigitte NielsenBrigitte NielsenBrigitte Nielsen is a Danish model, actress, musician and reality television personality who began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton and several years later made appearances in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV and is also known for her marriage to Sylvester Stallone...
as the Ice Maiden (a parody of Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
). - Rik MayallRik MayallRichard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
- The deposed Lord Mayor of the City of London. - Adrian EdmondsonAdrian EdmondsonAdrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
- Charles, Prince of WalesCharles, Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
. - Peter Richardson - Lee Van CleefLee Van CleefLee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
as Tony BennTony BennAnthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
. - Leslie PhillipsLeslie PhillipsLeslie Samuel Phillips, CBE is an English actor with a highly recognisable upper class accent. Originally known for his work as a comedy actor, Phillips subsequently made the transition to character roles.-Early life:...
- Sir Horace CutlerHorace CutlerSir Horace Walter Cutler OBE was a British politician and Leader of the Greater London Council from 1977 to 1981. He was noted for his showmanship and flair for publicity, although sceptical of the merits of the authority he was in charge of.-Origin:Cutler was born in Stoke Newington, London into...
.
French, Saunders, Richardson and Edmondson also make cameo appearances as themselves.
Plot
The story opens as a mock report from the opening of the new Charles BronsonCharles Bronson
Charles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
movie GLC: The Carnage Continues, in which Bronson (played by Coltrane) discusses his new movie, in which he plays Ken Livingstone. From there, the movie itself begins.
Music
Kate BushKate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
wrote and performed the instrumental score and theme song to the episode. The lyrics include the line "Who's the man we all need? Ken
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
! Who's a funky sex machine? Ken!" (compare the lyrics to the theme from Shaft
Theme from Shaft
"Theme from Shaft", written and recorded by Isaac Hayes in 1971, is the soul and funk-styled theme song to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, Shaft...
: "who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks? Shaft!")
The song appeared as an extra track on her 1990 single "Love and Anger
Love and Anger
"Love and Anger" is a song written and performed by the British singer Kate Bush. It was the third and final single to be released from her album The Sensual World in 1990, and peaked at no.38 on UK Singles Chart. The song also reached no.1 on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, Bush's...
" along with "The Confrontation" and "One Last Look Around the House before We Go...", short extracts from Bush's instrumental score to the episode. The soundtrack also features Bush's 1985 hit single "Running Up that Hill (A Deal with God)
Running Up That Hill
12" Maxi single -Charts:-Placebo version:Alternative rock band Placebo covered "Running Up that Hill", releasing it originally on the bonus disc of their 2003 album Sleeping with Ghosts, then featuring it on Covers and the US version of Meds in 2007. Placebo's take on the song is more downbeat than...
", and extract from "Waking the Witch" taken from the 1985 Hounds of Love
Hounds of Love
Hounds of Love is a 1985 album by the British singer Kate Bush. It was Bush's fifth studio album, and her second no. 1. It has since been certified Double Platinum in the UK...
album.