Les Dawson's Secret Notebooks: Amazon.co.uk: Les Dawson, Tracy Dawson: Books

Product Description

'The wife gave me breakfast in bed this morning...it flew off the plate when she threw it. I didn't mind - there's something vaguely sensuous about a poached egg on quilt. I know why she was angry...I'd spilt cocoa all down her nightdress. Serves me right for wearing it.' The voice of the great Les Dawson, it has to be. Dawson, the comedian's comedian, is a man with a massive following in his lifetime and now a real cult hero. Who can forget the out-of tune piano playing, the mother-in-law jokes, the fast-fire gags and routines that shot from his mouth with apparent ease? Here now, selected and introduced by his widow Tracy, is a treasure-trove of unseen and unpublished Les Dawson material, culled from his notebooks and diaries. Clearly, for Les it was never easy or effortless, and just how hard he worked on, and honed, his material is clear from the boxes of hand-written gags and routines he left behind, each page funnier and more outrageous than the next. Heading after heading, is followed by pages of one-liners: I wouldn't Say she was a Fast Eater But...I wouldn't Say he was Mean, But...I Wouldn't Say She Was Thin But...And there are the Blankety Blank routines ('Some quiz shows come, some quiz shows go. ..this one is still waiting for a lift.') as well as the inventive letters, the radio and television routines, the silly drawings and crazy, off-the-wall stories. On top of all this, there are Les' often poignant diaries, from the early days when he was a Hoover salesman, struggling to make it on stage...and on. This is a rich and fabulous feast indeed, and one that will be devoured by Les Dawson's countless fans. It features never-before-published gags, routines, sketches and scripts. It has to be the funniest book of the year. It is a sure-fire Christmas bestseller.

About the Author

Born in Collyhurst, Manchester in 1934, Les Dawson was one of Britain's finest and best-loved comedians. He toured the clubs and pubs for many years, before he was 'discovered' on Hughie Green's TV show, Opportunity Knocks in 1967, becoming a household name. Les was also a prolific writer with thirteen books to his credit. He married Tracy in 1989, and their daughter Charlotte was born three years later. Les died suddenly of a heart attack at their home in Lytham St Annes in 1993.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

This has to be THE humour book of the year! 29 Nov 2007

By M. Cumming

Format:Hardcover

This book is a real treasure trove, containing priceless material from the great comic's secret archives. There are absolutely hilarious one-liners, monologues, surrealist letters, scripts and pictures. It has real laugh aloud material showing Dawson's comic genius.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

A Comedian who loved words and knew how to use them. 22 Mar 2009

By anonymous

I heard that Les once wanted to be a poet, but was too embarrassed, having literary ambition coming from a working class background, to parade his poetry...

If this is true, it is in many ways, unfortunate, as his love of words and phrases is so evident, I'm sure he would have been a wonderful poet, but if he had been a poet, maybe we'd never have heard the out of tune piano...

This book demonstrates that Poetry's loss was comedies gain... Les worked at his act and these notebooks show how much... His one-liners and monologues show a wonderful diction and a glorious sense of the absurd...

His world-weary persona is so well known that you can't help hearing Les's voice as you read these words...

Ben Elton would love to have a vocabulary as broad and as wonderful as this, and he would also wish to be half as funny as this as well...

Les you are missed, but books like these always ensure that you can be experienced over again...

secret note book 28 Feb 2009

By Mr. J. Moran

Format:Paperback

This book is a treasure trove for any Les Dawson fan. You can hear Les's voice in your mind as you read the gags.There are copies of his notes as he worked on a new routine mistakes and all!Mother in law gags Abound. I have been banned from reading this book in bed as my laughing keeps my wife awake. Buy it and enjoy and thank you to Les's wife for compiling these memories of one of the best comedians there was.