Kevin Bloody Wilson
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| Kevin Bloody Wilson | |
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 Kevin Bloody Wilson signing an autograph after a performance on the 2005 Dilligaf Tour
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Denis Bryant |
| Also known as | Kevin Bloody Wilson |
| Born | 13 February 1947 Sydney, New South Wales |
| Genre(s) | Rock Music |
| Occupation(s) | comedian, singer/songwriter, |
| Years active | 1970s - present |
| Associated acts | Bryan Dennis and the Country Club |
| Website | http://www.kevinbloodywilson.com/ |
Kevin Bloody Wilson (born Dennis Bryant on 13 February 1947 in Sydney, Australia) is a short, bearded comedy singer/songwriter who uses a heavy Australian accent/style with great success. Without the aid of radio or TV coverage (due to the explicit crude sexual nature of his songs and general humour), he has built up a loyal following all over the world, from Australia to the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
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[edit] Early Career
Although he identifies himself with Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, where he was an electrician in the gold mines, he was born in Sydney, New South Wales.
His real name is Dennis Bryant and in the 1970s he fronted his own band called Bryan Dennis and the Country Club. He also used the name Bryan Dennis when he hosted a country music show on 6KG in Kalgoorlie from 1973 - 1980 before he was thrown off air from playing the parody song, "I'm Heaving On A Jet Plane".
He moved to Perth and began playing bawdy songs as a hobby, singing at pubs and football clubs. In 1984 he put together a cassette of his songs called Your Average Australian Yobbo, which he sold at gigs and by mail order. He managed to sell 22,000 copies of the cassette before it was eventually transferred to LP, where it went on to sell many thousands more.
He is notable as Perth's most famous/infamous comedian.[1][2] His humour is regarded as politically incorrect.
... KBW’s humour must be viewed in the context of contemporary academic and political discussion around issues such as PC, ‘culture wars’, multiculturalism and the construction of Australian national identity. KBW fails to recognise the position of privilege that he, as a white, Anglo-Celtic male, maintains in Australian society; rather he claims ‘victim’ status that is associated with the politics of the New Right. In doing so KBW justifies the use of tendentious jokes at the expense of previously marginalised groups that are now reconstructed as powerful organisations and groups. Moreover, through the construction of the politics of identity and the denial of the legitimacy of difference, KBW’s ‘subversive’ humour ends up reasserting a traditional Anglo-Celtic form of Australian identity at the expense of others.[3]
Wilson is married, and his wife Betty comes on tour with him.[4] She can normally be seen selling merchandise - and has even appeared on guest vocals in a few of his songs, including "Dick'taphone".
Wilson's career was boosted in 2000 with new manager Mike Ardon, who took the business and Wilson's touring schedule to new heights.
[edit] Discography
- Your Average Australian Yobbo (1984)
- Kev's Back (The Return of the Yobbo) (1985),
- Born Again Piss Tank (1987),
- My Australian Roots (1989),
- The Loveable Larrikin (best-of) (1990),
- The Far-Canal Album (best-of) (1990),
- Let's Call Him ... Kev! (1991),
- The Worst of Kevin Bloody Wilson (best-of) (1992),
- Nashville Trash (1993),
- Backout From the Outback (best-of) (1994),
- Let Loose Live in London (1993),
- Kev's Kristmas (1996),
- Kalgoorlie Love Songs (1998),
- The Second Kummin' of Kev (2001),
- Let Loose Live in the Outback (2002),
- 20 Years of Kev (best-of) (2004) and
- DILLIGAF (2006).
His songs generally consist of irreverent humour and plenty of swearing with eclectic musical backing.
He has been nominated four times for Best Comedy release for the Australian ARIA Music Awards[5]:
- 1987 for Kev's Back (won)
- 1992 for Let's Call Him Kev
- 1995 for Let Loose Live In London
- 2002 for The Second Kumin' Of Kev[1]
Wilson's recordings are mainly sold through his website, and he has licensed them to mail order companies in different countries to provide easier distribution. In 2003 he placed a free mp3 on his website called The Shane Warne Song, a song about the extracurricular exploits of the controversial Australian cricketer.
In 2007, Agence France-Presse note that Wilson's Christmas songs were popular downloads on YouTube.[6]
[edit] Touring
He regularly tours, spending about 6 months each year overseas.[4] His tours include visiting less populous venues such as small towns in New Zealand where he has a large following. The majority of his fans are male and drawn from a wide age range - from 14 to 90. A favourite pastime of his (he almost always meets his fans afterwards) is autographing bare female breasts.[4] When dedicating an autograph, it is not unusual for him to put "To _____, get fucked! Kev!". During several tours, Kevin has been joined by his daughter Jenny Talia.
While visiting Canada on a world tour, Kevin alleges that he was told that due to the high level of taboo surrounding the word, he was not allowed to say "cunt" in Canada. It is unknown whether this was an order or a suggestion. Whatever the case, Kevin made a note of this and walked onto the stage in Montreal and the first song he sang was his now somewhat infamous You Can't Say Cunt In Canada.
[edit] Website
Wilson was the first Australian performing artist to have a website which a friend set up for him in 1993, which has since been a major source of album and product sales. He also runs an internet radio station kevfm.com. which was the first 24-hour adult comedy radio station.[4]
[edit] Recording and production studios
In 2006, Kev expanded his business interests by purchasing the recording and production studios that he recorded his first 2 albums at some 20 years earlier. PARAMOUNT MEDIA is a state of the art studio in Wanneroo in Western Australia that diversifies Wilson's media empire to create documentaries and pilots for TV shows.
[edit] List of some of the more well-known songs
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[edit] Daughter
Jenny Talia (real name Tammy-Jo, who has performed as TJ Dennis and met with success in the country genre with TJ Dennis & The Wham Bam Thank You Band - www.tjdennis.com) who has followed in her father's footsteps singing similarly bawdy songs, some of them being reworded Kev songs, but done from a female perspective.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Morgan, Amanda. "Special Ks", Sydney Morning Herald, October 4 2002. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ Zuel, Bernard. "'I just gave myself a name'", Sydney Morning Herald, 24 June 2006. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ Rainbird, Mark (2004). Humour, Multiculturalism and ‘Political Correctness’ (Refereed paper presented to the Australasian Political Studies Association Conference University of Adelaide 29 September – 1 October 2004). Adelaide University. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ a b c d McLean, Sandra. "Bloody outrageous", The Brisbane Courier Mail, April 14 2006. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ Artist: Kevin 'Bloody' Wilson. History by Artist. Aria Awards. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ AFP. "Christmas jingles mean money", Sydney Morning Herald, December 24 2007. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
[edit] External links
[edit] Further reading
- Britton, David (1985) Perth comic warned on language. The West Australian, November 1, 1985, p.14.
- Nicholson, Brendan (1986) It’s no joke for Kevin. Daily News, January 4, 1986, p.4.
- Cornish, Patrick (1996) The Kalgoorlie kid comes home. West Australian, October 12, 1996, p. 4,(West Magazine).
- Chris Thomas(1996) Kevin's bloody well back home. Sunday Times, October 13, 1996, (Rock On).
- (1997) Wilson curse threat case. The West Australian, February 20, 1997, p.40.
- Jansen, Ara (2004) Kevin Bloody Wilson Esquire West Australian, April 10, 2004, p. 10-13, (West Magazine).
