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Tough Crowd

How I Made and Lost a Career in Comedy

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Tough Crowd

By: Graham Linehan
Narrated by: Graham Linehan
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Summary

Having cut his teeth in music journalism, Graham Linehan became the finest sitcom writer of his generation. He captured the comedy zeitgeist not just as the co-creator of Father Ted but also with The IT Crowd and Black Books, winning five BAFTAs and a lifetime achievement award.

Then his life took an unexpected turn. When he championed an unfashionable cause, TV commissioners no longer returned his emails, showbiz pals lost his number, and his marriage collapsed.

In an emotionally charged memoir that is by turns hilarious and harrowing, he lets us into the secrets of the writing room and colorfully describes the high-octane atmosphere of a sitcom set. But he also berates an industry where there was no one to stand by his side when he needed help.

Bruised but not beaten, he explains why he chose the hill of women and girls' rights to die on—and why, despite the hardship of cancellation, he's not coming down from it any time soon.

©2023 Graham Linehan (P)2023 Graham Linehan Activists Politics & Activism Funny Comedy Witty Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

"A must-read. Funny and utterly compelling." (Jonathan Ross)
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Dreadful what happened to Linehan by a deranged cult and spineless friends. A cowardice so revolting. History WILL vindicate him. It already has.

Absolutely superb.

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I loved every minute of it. Having grown up in Dublin around the same time and having similar interests, there was a definite nostalgia for the comic and record shops mentioned in the early chapters. The recounting of his early days as a comedy writer is dramatic, exciting and educational, and the whole thing is told with such clarity and humour that you could never doubt his intentions.

Highly engaging and entertaining

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I never normally read showbiz / entertainment industry type biographies/autobiographies, and I'd never before even seen Father Ted, but I purchased this audible book as a gesture of support and respect for the authors brave stand against the trans madness, a stand which has come at a particularly high personal cost to both himself and his family.

it is a very engagingly written and passionate account, which articulates brilliantly the evils of this offshoot of the woke mind virus that is destroying our society. The narration by the author is excellent. Thoroughly recommended. I'm now seeing what I've been missing all these years with all his various sitcoms. 3 episodes into Father Ted and it's hilarious!

excellent account of a very brave and gifted man

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A brilliant listen, with lots of details about the creation of some of my favourite shows.

It's a cautionary tale into how cults work, and how our society has been taken over by the mad fad of the fanatical transgender cult.

I transitioned in 2005 and have been horrified to see what the trans rights movement has become.

Graham, if I ever met you in real life I'd give you a big hug and buy you a drink. Keep fighting, the majority of trans folk are perfectly decent but there are some very bad apples out there and you are standing up to their nonsense.

Fantastic book

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A really good listen and a must for anyone interested in writing. I’ve come away with a huge amount of respect for Graham & his stubborn streak. He’s spot on surely people will stop posturing & say it like it is, biology is real & im glad I grew up when belonging to a tribe meant enduring great and sometimes dodgy music instead of belonging to a tribe where I can choose between a number of body modifications & still be what I was born but with a lesser life span and horrible side effects. The misery & confusion caused mainly by this new Men’s rights movement and their sway over such a captured audience is breathtaking in its audacity. It’s funny how all these elderly men refer to themselves as girls never woman but girls, their fetish on full view. This is a very good account of a modern witch trial & I hope it’s author knows that for every eejit actively destroying his career their are just as many cheering him on, shame on HatTrick & it’s censoring of Father Ted the Musical Your a righteous man Graham keep going Looking forward to your next book already Go on Go on

Funny & Though Provoking or as Father jack wouls say “Feck”

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