Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is a British comedian and writer. He is probably most famous for his part in the double-act, Lee and Herring. He is described by the British Theatre Guide as "one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy". GQ said, he "will be remembered as the best comic of his generation mastering every comedic art form."
He has written and performed in a body of live one-man comedy shows including the acclaimed Talking Cock and the resulting book of the same name. He has also enjoyed recent collaboration with Andrew Collins, initially on the radio comedy series Banter, on Collins' BBC 6 Music show and the well received Collings and Herrin Podcast.
During the 2000s, Herring has toured with a new stand-up show almost every year. His 2009 show Hitler Moustache, was the subject of much controversy, but also received universal critical approval and sold out for the entire Edinburgh Festival . Stewart Lee said of the piece, "I think the 20 minute bit about why racists are less racist than you is an all time great slice of stand-up that stands comparison with the best bits of the best comedians ever. The rest of the show is rubbish though, obviously."His 2010 show Christ on a Bike: The Second Coming received several 4 and 5 star reviews and will be taken on a 90+ date tour of the UK in the Spring of 2011.
Herring was born in Pocklington, East Riding of Yorkshire, but grew up in Cheddar, Somerset. He was educated at St Catherine's College, Oxford, where he wrote and performed for a comedy troupe known as the Seven Raymonds as well as the Fringe favourites the Oxford Revue. Herring also attended the Cultural Unite National Trust summer school while at Oxford. He attained a 1 in History, but having never picked up his degree, he is one of the country's best known graduands.
With Stewart Lee, Herring wrote material for Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci's On the Hour (1991). It was during this time that the duo contributed to the creation of the character Alan Partridge. In 1992 and 1993, they wrote and performed Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World for BBC Radio 4. For Radio 1, they wrote and performed one series of Fist of Fun (1993), which was later remade for television. They also hosted a series on Radio 1 in 1994 and 1995, simply called Lee and Herring. A final television partnership with Lee, This Morning With Richard Not Judy, was a victim of BBC management reshuffles.
In 2002 Herring played the role of Renchard in the Doctor Who webcast Real Time, together with Stewart Lee as Carey and Colin Baker as the Doctor.
Since cordially ending his informal partnership with Stewart Lee, Herring has written and performed one-man shows to critical acclaim. Most noteworthy of these shows were Talking Cock – released as a book in 2003 – which The Guardian described as "man's answer to The Vagina Monologues. " Like Patrick Marber (a long-standing rival who was described as "curmudgeonly" or "a Cornish curmudgeon" in Fist of Fun), he has also written and produced several plays.
Herring co-wrote and presented the history based sketch show That Was Then, This Is Now (or TWTTIN), a six-part series produced for Radio 2. A second series was commissioned and aired in September and October 2006. On the broadcast of 2 September, he urged listeners to edit Wikipedia's Mother Teresa entry to suggest that she grew up with the middle name "Gonk". It took a whole 3 months before someone carried out his plan, although his own page had been edited in the same manner within days of the broadcast. A third series of the show began broadcast on 29 November 2007.
He has also written for television, most notably penning a large portion of Al Murray's sitcom vehicle Time Gentlemen Please, on which Stewart Lee worked as script editor. Herring has also contributed to the third series of Matt Lucas and David Walliams' popular TV sketch show Little Britain, as script editor. He has also worked for Russell Howard.
On 25 November 2002 Herring started his blog Warming Up as a way to overcome writer's block. He has written an entry for every single day since then, well over 2500 consecutive entries. It is estimated that he has a regular readership of over 3,000. Some of the ideas from Warming Up were used in his 2005 Edinburgh show Someone Likes Yoghurt, his 2006 Edinburgh show Ménage à Un and his 2007 Edinburgh show Oh Fuck, I'm 40!. In December 2008 the first six months of his blog were published in a book called Bye Bye Balham. The blog also proved a useful source for his 2010 book "How Not To Grow Up".
In 2005, he presented a chat show called Heads Up with Richard Herring on the Pokerzone channel, in which he interviewed professional poker players and celebrities about their careers and their love of the game. There were ten episodes in total.
Herring also made weekly appearances on Andrew Collins' BBC 6 Music radio show on Saturday afternoons, where the two would discuss the weeks papers. Occasionally he hosted the show in Collins's absence and joined him for the whole of his final show on 31 March 2007. Herring is also a panellist on BBC Radio 4 gameshow Banter, which is presented by Collins.
In January 2007, Herring's live stand-up show Someone Likes Yoghurt was filmed in Cardiff and released on DVD on 16 May by the independent distributor Go Faster Stripe. A recording of an earlier show, The 12 Tasks of Hercules Terrace, was released on 5 March 2007. Herring returned to Cardiff in June 2007 to film his third DVD, ménage à un. This DVD was released on 19 December 2007. He recorded Oh Fuck, I'm 40 on 21 March 2008. This DVD was released by Go Faster Stripe on 9 December 2008. He recorded "The Headmaster's Son" on 2 June 2009 at the Bristol Tobacco Factory. This was released by Go Faster Stripe on 11 February 2010. The DVD of "Hitler Moustache" was recorded on 2 April at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff and will be released through PIAS/Go Faster Stripe in October 2010.
In February 2007, filming began on Herring's new comedy drama You Can Choose Your Friends. As well as writing the script, Herring also played one of the characters alongside Gordon Kennedy, Claire Skinner, Rebecca Front, Sarah-Jane Potts, Robert Daws, Anton Rodgers and Julia McKenzie. The show was broadcast on ITV1 on 7 June 2007.
In January 2008 he began producing the Collings and Herrin (sic) podcast with Andrew Collins. They celebrated their two year anniversary with a live "100th" podcast (it was actually about the 105th one they had done) at the Leicester Square Theatre. On 30 January 2010 the pair started sitting in for Adam and Joe on BBC 6 Music on Saturdays mornings.
His 2008 stand-up set The Headmaster's Son earned critical respect with four 5 star reviews and several 4 star reviews. The set covers his experience growing up in The Kings of Wessex School in Somerset where his father worked as headmaster and how this may have encouraged him to make puerile jokes. The show was seen by critics as a thoughtful look at his upbringing, and his relationship with his father, to whom the show is dedicated.
The original idea behind his 2009 show, Hitler Moustache, was to see if he "could reclaim the toothbrush moustache for comedy — it was Chaplin's first, then Hitler ruined it." The show discusses broader issues, such as fascism and the British National Party. Herring and some of his contemporaries, including Dave Gorman, were angered when comments he makes in his show were grossly misrepresented in an opinion column written by critic Brian Logan in The Guardian. In his piece about offensiveness in comedy, Logan failed to communicate that Herring's line "that racists have a point" is accompanied by a critical commentary of democracy.
Amateur video of a stand-up routine interrupted by a heckler was mounted on YouTube and has been viewed by more than 1,250,000 people. In Warming Up, Herring noted ruefully that this was more than had ever seen him perform his prepared material.
On 12 October 2009 he recorded the first episode of As It Occurs To Me, a weekly stand-up and sketch show made especially for internet download, which entered the iTunes chart at number 2. It also features Emma Kennedy, Dan Tetsell and Christian Reilly and has an initial run of 10 episodes. The show made a modest profit and a second series of eight episodes ran from May 17 to July 5, 2010. It was nominated for best internet show at the 2010 Sony Awards, though failed to place. An Edinburgh special took place during the Fringe on 17 August and there will be three more shows in the autumn of 2010.
On 8 April 2010 Richard made his first appearance on the BBC's Have I Got News For You.
Herring was formerly in a relationship with the actress Julia Sawalha, according to The Daily Telegraph:
So taken was he that the Oxford-educated stand-up comedian even set up a shrine to her on Fist of Fun, the television programme he wrote and acted in with Stewart Lee. "My ideal woman has the head of Julia Sawalha and the body of Julia Sawalha," went the running gag.
When Stewart Lee pointed out that it would be easier just to say that his ideal woman was Julia Sawalha, Richard added: "No, Stew, you're not listening. I said the head of Julia Sawalha and the body of Julia Sawalha. I said nothing about them being attached."
Richard is a supporter of York City Football Club and in April 2010 agreed to perform a one-off fund-raising gig in aid of the club's cash-strapped youth fund.
In 2010 he was made a Distinguished Supporter of The British Humanist Association
Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World Radio 4/ Radio 1 (1992)
Fist of Fun Radio 1 (1993)
Lee and Herring Radio 1 (1994)
That Was Then, This Is Now Radio 2 (2004-8)
Banter Radio 4 (2005—2008)
Collings and Herrin (2008—present) (Podcast)
As It Occurs To Me (2009—present) (Podcast)
Collins and Herring 6Music (2010)
Richard Herring's Objective Radio 4 (2010)
Television
Fist of Fun BBC 2 (1995-6)
This Morning With Richard Not Judy BBC 2 (1998-9)
Time Gentlemen Please Sky 1 (2000-2)
Heads Up with Richard Herring Pokerzone (2005)
You Can Choose Your Friends ITV 1 (2007)
DVD, Video and CD
Lee and Herring Live BBC Video (1996)
Time Gentlemen Please (episodes 1-6) (2006)
The 12 Tasks of Hercules Terrace (2007)
Someone Likes Yoghurt (2007)
ménage à un (2007)
Oh Fuck, I'm 40! (2008)
Time Gentlemen Please (both series box set) (2008)
The Headmaster's Son (2010)
Collings and Herrin" The Best of Earth Wind and Fire * *(and water) (2010)
As It Occurs To Me: Secret Stand Up (2010)
Hitler Moustache (2010)
Stand up
Richard Herring is Fat (1994)
Richard Herring is All Man (1995)
Christ on a Bike (2001)
Talking Cock (2002)
The 12 Tasks of Hercules Terrace (2004)
Someone Likes Yoghurt (2005)
ménage à un (2006)
Oh Fuck, I'm 40! (2007)
The Headmaster's Son (2008)
Hitler Moustache (2009)
Christ on a Bike The Second Coming (2010)
Plays
Ra Ra Rasputin (1993)
Punk's Not Dead (1996)
Excavating Rita (1997)
Playing Hide and Seek With Jesus (1998)
It's Not The End of the World (1999)
Edinburgh shows
Old King Cole (1987) by Ken Campbell, played Faz. Oxford Theatre Group. Abbey Laird Theatre
The Seven Raymonds KMnO4 (1987) OTG. St Mary's Hall
The Oxford Revue - Waving at the Pigeons (1988) OTG St Mary's Hall
the dum show (1992) with Stewart Lee, Steve Coogan, Patrick Marber and Simon Munnery. Pleasance 2
Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World Live (1993) with Stewart Lee, Ronnie Ancona and Alistair Macgowan. Tom Baker on video. Pleasance 2
Ra Ra Rasputin (1993) with Ben Moor, Sally Phillips, Andrew Mackay and Claire De Vries. Pleasance Upstairs.
This Morning With Richard Not Judy (1994) with Stewart Lee and Sally Phillips. Pleasance Attic.
Richard Herring is Fat (1994) with Kevin Eldon and Sally Phillips. Pleasance Upstairs.
Richard Herring is All Man (1995) with Sally Phillips and Tom Binns. Pleasance Upstairs
Lee and Herring Live off of TV's Fist of Fun (1995) with Peter Bayhnham. Pleasance One?
Lee and Herring Live (1996) Pleasance One?
Punk's Not Dead (1996) with Paul Putner, Ewan Bailey, Jason Freeman and Paul Reynolds. Dir Jeremy Herrin. Pleasance Upstairs.
This Morning With Richard Not Judy II (1997) with Stewart Lee, Richard Thomas, Trevor Lock and Natalie Brandon. Pleasance Cabaret Bar
Excavating Rita (1997) with Paul Putner, Catherine Hood, Jason Freeman, Trevor Lock and Natalie Brandon. Pleasance Above.
Playing Hide and Seek With Jesus (1998) with Paul Putner, Emma Kennedy, Selina Boyack, Matthew Pidgeon, Amelia Curtis and Matt Wilkinson. Dir. Jeremy Herrin. Pleasance Above.
Lee and Herring (1998) George Square Theatre.
It's Not The End of the World (1999) with Paul Bown, Rebecca Lacey and Ruth Grey. Dir Jeremy Herrin. Pleasance One.
Christ on a Bike (2001) Dir Jeremy Herrin. Pleasance Dome
Talking Cock (2002) Dir Jeremy Herrin. Pleasance Above
The 12 Tasks of Hercules Terrace (2004) Dir Jeremy Herrin. Pod Deco
Someone Likes Yoghurt (2005) Pleasance Above
Ménage à un (2006) White Belly, Underbelly
Oh Fuck, I'm 40! (2007) White Belly, Underbelly
The Headmaster's Son (2008) White Belly, Underbelly
Collings and Herrin Podcast Live(2008) White Belly, Underbelly
Hitler Moustache (2009) White Belly, Underbelly
Collings and Herrin Podcast Live (2009) Belly Laugh, Underbelly
Christ on a Bike: The Second Coming (2010) The Ball Room Assembly Rooms
Collings and Herrin Podcast Live (2010) GRV Five Pound Fringe
As It Occurs To Me Live (2010) Ball Room Assembly Rooms
Writing
Fist of Fun with Stewart Lee BBC Books, 1995. ISBN 0563371854; ISBN 978-0563371854
Warming Up blog (2002—present)
Talking Cock Ebury Press ISBN 978-1560256083 (2003)
Warming Up Volume I: Bye Bye Balham Go Faster Stripe ISBN 978-0-9560901-0-2 (2008)
Guardian How To Write (contributor) edited by Philip Oltermann The Guardian ISBN 0852651384 ISBN 978-0852651384 (2009)
The Atheist Guide to Christmas Contributor (Editor Ariane Sherine) The Friday Project ISBN 978-0007322619 (2009)
Shouting At The Telly Contributor (Editor John Grindrod) Faber and Faber ISBN 0571248020 ISBN 978-0571248025 (2009)
How Not To Grow Up Ebury Press ISBN 0091932084 ISBN 978-0091932084 (2010)
Roger's Profanisaurus - Das Krapital Introduction Dennis Publishing ISBN 978-1907232909 (2010)
