Billy Brit

Last updated
The Billy Brit character, as depicted in the video entitled "Heroes". Billybritstill.jpg
The Billy Brit character, as depicted in the video entitled "Heroes".

Billy Brit is a puppet character who has been used in YouTube videos by the youth wing of the British National Party. [1]

In one of the videos, titled "Heroes", the character recites a poem extolling a series of British figures: Boudicca, Edward I, William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Captain Scott, Enoch Powell and Nick Griffin. Every verse except for the one on Griffin ends with a statement that the individual was white.

The "Heroes" video was criticised by Hari Kunzru of The Guardian . [2] An episode of Have I Got News for You played a clip containing the Boudicca verse, prompting Stuart Maconie to jokingly comment "Pixar have gone really downhill, haven't they?". [3]

The puppet itself was not commissioned by the BNP but was, in fact, a standard puppet bought off-the-shelf. [4]

Related Research Articles

The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK government. Founded in 1982, the party reached its greatest level of success in the 2000s, when it had over fifty seats in local government, one seat on the London Assembly, and two Members of the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Bragg</span> English singer-songwriter and political activist (born 1957)

Stephen William Bragg, known as Billy Bragg, is an English musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is heavily centred on bringing about change and involving the younger generation in activist causes.

<i>Spitting Image</i> Satirical television puppet show

Spitting Image is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television over 18 series which aired on the ITV network. The series was nominated and won numerous awards, including ten BAFTA Television Awards, and two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category. The series features puppet caricatures of contemporary celebrities and public figures, including British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major and the British royal family. The series was the first to caricature Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

Louise Gold is an English puppeteer, actress and singer whose career has spanned more than four decades. She is best known for her work as a puppeteer on television and for roles in musical theatre in the West End.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hari Kunzru</span> British novelist and journalist

Hari Mohan Nath Kunzru is a British novelist and journalist. He is the author of the novels The Impressionist, Transmission, My Revolutions, Gods Without Men, White Tears and Red Pill. His work has been translated into twenty languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parklife (song)</span> 1994 single by Blur

"Parklife" is the title track from English rock band Blur's third studio album, Parklife (1994). When released as the album's third single in August 1994, it reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 30 in Ireland. The song contains elements of spoken word in the verses, narrated by actor Phil Daniels, who also appears in the song's music video. The choruses are sung by lead singer Damon Albarn.

Mark Adrian Collett is a British neo-Nazi, anti-semitic conspiracy theorist and political activist. He was formerly chairman of the Young BNP, the youth division of the British National Party (BNP), and was director of publicity for the party.

"I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" is a novelty song composed in 1944 by Fred Heatherton, a songwriting pseudonym for a collaboration of English songwriters Harold Elton Box (1903–1981) and Desmond Cox (1903–1966), with Lewis Ilda. The song was published by Box and Cox Publications (ASCAP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Ayoade</span> English actor and comedian (born 1977)

Richard Ellef Ayoade is a British actor, comedian, broadcaster and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd (2006–2013), for which he won the 2014 BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Darby</span>

Simon Darby is a British politician and former Deputy Chairman of the British National Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Griffin</span> British politician and white nationalist

Nicholas John Griffin is a British politician and white supremacist who represented North West England as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 to 2014. He served as chairman and then president of the far-right British National Party (BNP) from 1999 to 2014, when he was expelled from the party.

<i>Question Time</i> British National Party controversy Controversy

The Question Time British National Party controversy occurred in September and October 2009, due to an invitation by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to Nick Griffin, leader of the far-right British National Party (BNP), to be a panelist on Question Time, one of its flagship television programmes on current affairs.

The Cinematic Symphony is a musical ensemble based in Austin, Texas. The group is composed of volunteers and is dedicated to preserving and performing the music of film and television.

<i>Transmission</i> (novel)

Transmission is a novel written by British-Indian author Hari Kunzru and published in 2004. It primarily follows the narrative of a naïve Indian programmer, Arjun Mehta, who emigrates to the United States in hopes of making his fortune. When he is laid off by his virus-testing company, he sends out e-mails containing a malignant computer virus in a bid to keep his job, unintentionally causing global havoc. Parallel to Arjun's story is that of Guy Swift, the seemingly well-to-do English CEO of an advertising company, and his struggle to keep his business going as the virus spreads.

This article primarily discusses screen and audio works of fiction based on Thunderbirds, a British Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. It also covers imitations and references in other media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unite Against Fascism</span> British anti-fascist group

Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is a British anti-fascist group.

<i>Dont Hug Me Im Scared</i> British web and television series

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared is a British surreal horror comedy series created by Becky Sloan, Joe Pelling, and Baker Terry. The original web series consists of six episodes, released from 29 July 2011 to 19 June 2016 on YouTube; the television series premiered on 23 September 2022 on All 4 with simulcast on Channel 4 the next week. The series combines segments in live action, puppetry, traditional animation, flash animation, clay animation, and computer animation.

Adam Walker is the chairman of the British National Party. He was elected in a leadership election on 27 July 2015, having previously been appointed acting chairman by the National Executive when the then-leader, Nick Griffin, resigned.

<i>Spitting Image</i> (2020 TV series) 2020 Satirical television puppet show

Spitting Image is a British satirical television puppet show, based on the 1984 series of the same name created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. Similar to the original, the series features puppet caricatures of contemporary celebrities, such as Adele, James Corden, and Kanye West, as well as public figures, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, several Conservative cabinet members such as Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Priti Patel, and former US President Donald Trump.

<i>Invincible</i> (comics) Comic book series

Invincible is an American comic book series written by Robert Kirkman, illustrated by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, and published by Image Comics. Set in the Image Universe, Invincible follows the coming of age of superhero Mark Grayson / Invincible, a Viltrumite and first-born son of Omni-Man, the most powerful person on the planet. The series began publication on January 22, 2003, concluding on February 14, 2018 with 144 issues. A television series adaptation began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on March 25, 2021 to critical acclaim.

References

  1. Milmo, Cahal; Rawlinson, Kevin (2009-10-22). "10 things you should know about the BNP when you watch Question Time tonight - The Independent". London. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  2. Kunzru, Hari (2009-05-30). "BNP puppets are not the real threat - The Guardian". London. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
  3. "Episode 5, series 37". Have I Got News for You. 22 May 2009. BBC One.
  4. "Meet the new Billy Brit". 2009-05-27. Retrieved 2011-05-27.