John Dowie

John Dowie

Date of birth: 30-11-1949

John Dowie – an influential but largely forgotten name in stand-up – began performing comedy on the folk circuit in 1969, bit it was punk that was his making.

He mixed poetry and stand-up with tracks performed either solo or with his rock band, Big Girls’ Blouse, and even landed a deal with Manchester’s influential Factory Records, where he produced the 1977 novelty track British Tourist, subtitled I Hate The Dutch, among others.

Factory also released a VHS video entitled simply Dowie, a recording of a live performance at the 1983 Edinburgh Fringe. In 1988 he published a book based on his stand-up called Hard To Swallow, illustrated by Hunt Emerson.

His last solo show at Edinburgh was in 1991, and called Why I Stopped Being A Stand-up Comedian, and he stayed true to his word.

Dowie went on to write a West End hit with the play Jesus My Boy – a great vehicle for Tom Conti – and inn 2005 collaborated with Phill Jupitus and Neil Innes on a musical comedy CD for children called Dogman.

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© Steve Ullathorne

Ego Warriors: Neil Innes and John Dowie

Note: This review is from 2012

Review by Steve Bennett

This show is a mixture of music and poetry, alternating between Innes providing the former and Dowie the latter. And on the odd instant when they do work together, their patter is a trifle forced, even though it's obvious they respect one another's talents.

Innes's melodies are likeable and his passion for music evident. He is, of course, an excellent musician and an eminent song-writing technician, with a laconic style and a warmth that the audience appreciates.

Dowie also has an evident love for words and their possibilities. However, he appears to think the audience does not measure up to his expectations, making his delivery a touch patronising and overbearing. His disappointment that his chosen art form is undervalued is a little too evident.

The two combine to good effect on a delightful jazz/poetry number, and suggests they might have benefited from working together more closely.

Innes's songs cover the perils of television, the dehumanisation that the internet entails, the hard selling of New Ageism and the sadness associated with losing friends as one gets older, topics that many of the mature audience might relate to.

On the other hand a medley of Rutles songs, however jauntily performed, can hardly be classed as new material.

Dowie's Chameleon Suit and Larks and Owls were entertaining enough, but he cannot always verbally convey the emotion or meanings of his poems. The very personal Our House did not achieve the reaction he might have imagined for this very reason. Stock phrases such as 'cat on the mat' litter his work and I can only hypothesize that these are motifs, as he is obviously not a lazy writer.

Both performers are keen to entertain, and while they manage this very well, the comedy is really quite minimal, meaning this is a show that is likely to provoke more thought than laughter.

The Ego Warriors need to defeat a few more monsters from the id before taking their desired place among the enlightened.

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Published: 1 Jan 2012

Past Shows

Agent

We do not currently hold contact details for John Dowie's agent. If you are a comic or agent wanting your details to appear here, for a one-off fee of £59, email steve@chortle.co.uk.

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