There were bigger things to come for Dave Allen when, in 1961, he toured the UK and France with a then unknown band called “The Beatles”. There were bigger things to come for “The Beatles” as well, but that’s another story.
David Tynan O’Mahoney, or Dave Allen as he renamed himself after he arrived in London at the age of nineteen, first found television prominence in Australia. Originally following his father’s footsteps into journalism, he left his birthplace of Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland to find work on Fleet Street, turning to performing once there. Although finding some work in the UK, it wasn’t until Dave, on tour in Australia, landed a gig hosting Tonight with Dave Allen in 1963 for Channel 9 that he found real popularity.
Finding a variety of television opportunities once back in Britain, it was his comedy/sketch program for the BBC, Dave Allen at Large that won him real support in the UK. This was followed by The Dave Allen Show and finally Dave Allen in 1993.
In 1990 Dave’s use of “the f word” on television became a subject of discussion in The House of Commons. The offending joke, a reflection on the enslavement of the working class to the rigors of time ran: “we clock on and clock off, and take prearranged lunch-hours and holiday breaks and when we leave what do they give us? A fucking watch!”
Cigarette in one hand and glass of whisky in the other, Dave Allen’s trademark style was relaxed, as he sat atop a high stool and delivered anecdotes and jokes directly to camera. Together with sex, one of his favourite targets was religion, with his own, Catholicism, taking the lion’s share of his barbs.
In a tribute after Dave’s death, fellow Irish comedian Dylan Moran neatly summed up Dave Allen’s distinctive demeanor: “He could dismiss several schools of philosophy by shifting slightly in his chair or toting his whisky glass. When he adjusted his waistcoat or shot his cuffs, dragons of unreason gasped and died at his feet. Who was funnier, or more loveable? He was the uncle to end all uncles, childlike yet oracular and possessed of a ravenous appetite for human folly.”
Famously Dave Allen was missing the top half of his left index finger. The cause of this was never quite clear, with the explanation often being the subject of Dave’s notorious storytelling skills, with many versions told over the course of his life.
Born in 1936, Dave gave up heavy smoking and drinking habits in the later part of his life. Dave Allen died peacefully in his sleep on the 10th March, 2005.
Famous as he was for criticising religion it was the hypocrisy of institutions rather than genuine worship that raised his ire, with his trade mark sign off being “Good night, good luck and may your god go with you”.
Now, as for “The Beatles”...
.h4 Unsubstantiated Squirrel Fact #0013 by L. Farquar
“Beetle Squirrels” are so named due to their distinctive physical characteristics such as beady eyes and shiny black coats. They are also known for having an extraordinary ability to pen seminal popular rock songs.