The Comedy Vault – Al Murray Live.

Time to look back at another live DVD. Al Murray is a comedian who has been on the stand-up circuit for about three decades now. Along with collaborating with Harry Hill, he is best known for his “The Pub Landlord” character, the patriotic publican, and he has definitely got the most out of this. He has performed on several successful stage tours.

But beyond that, this character has also appeared in a chat show format (Al Murray’s Happy Hour), a sitcom format (Time Gentlemen Please), and even a game show format (Compete For The Meat). And he had also featured in a book, and even run for parliament. And he has become popular enough for his show to play at The O2 Arena in London in front of a big crowd.

His “Beautiful British Tour” is the only DVD of his that I have in my collection. Well there’s no doubt that he likes to interact with his audience, they better beware, because he doesn’t take lip from anybody. When he gets started, there’s no stopping him. He gave the fat blokes in the front row some bags of crisps to keep them going, because he could rant for England.

This shows ran for almost two hours, and he barely stops for a single breath. He really is opinionated about everything, telling us all about his views on the Olympics, religion, the economy, and everything else inbetween. He really will leave you in doubt he thinks he knows everything, and aims to solve all of the world’s troubles over a pint. I’m not confused!

He definitely got the audience going, and he thought that they were such a great bunch of people that he might hesitate before throwing them out of his pub. He remembered to get the catchphrases in too, yes, a glass of white wine for the lady, that’s the system, hooray, he said it! Everyone was so pleased that they all had a big singalong and dance at the end.

This all seemed to go down rather well with critics, saying that this was him at his best. The DVD extras include a look behind the scenes, a commentary, and you can even download “The Broken Britain Boogie Remix” (it’s a long story). I imagine that he will be eager to go on tour again soon and do his thing, just as long as no Australians turn up though.