He was surprisingly down to earth, and very funny” – still sometimes quoted by mainstream media as genuine tributes. Although the title is just nicking his own sarcastic line, its very fitting for the first half of the book before he gets into the darker areas. Essentially Limmy’s a compulsive wind-up merchant and he freely admits that he’ll say or do something awful just to cause a stir if he’s bored. Originally intended to be a web series before being picked up by the BBC, the show is produced, performed, directed, filmed, and edited by Limmy alone, and takes place in or around his home. It’s a mantra which has come to shape his decade-long career producing some of television’s most irreverent and obscure comedy.

If I can think of something funny in there, that’s a good start – I’ll stick with it and see what happens. It's about being strange in a normal, subclinical* way: intrusive thoughts, groundless anxiety, reduced affect display, auditory hallucination, mild paranoia, misanthropy, hysteroid dysphoria. Clearly funny and displaying intelligence (of "some kind") Limmy also comes across here as a sensitive and thoughtful man.The condition isn’t helped because the default stance required to survive in our culture is to pretend to know what you’re doing, so we all end up suffering an illusory effect: everyone else seems to have it figured out, but because we know our own minds, we know we don’t. Seller has stated it will dispatch the item within 1 working day upon receipt of cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab .

That feeling of disconnection may have shaped his unique, slightly disturbing brand of comedy, but it’s also brought struggles with depression and alcoholism. Because, as well as being a compelling first-person account of living with mental health issues, Surprisingly Down to Earth is, as the title promises, very funny. I really didn't know what to expect, this book was recommended to me by a friend who turned out not to have read it himself, but turns out this is one of the strongest biographies I've read. Auto theft, fanny fright, incompetent but dogged self-harm, raving and tripping as self-medication, dole stupor, bail skipping, the death drive, pretend machismo, pretend homosexuality, alcoholism, Flash animation, BBC showrunner. What was clear was that he's a lovely, compassionate man, and while I can't know how the past few years have planned out for him, I hope he's found some peace with himself, and with the family he so clearly loves.By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file.

If you have all this nonsense in your head when you’re in a job somewhere, I would have people shaking their heads at me. I’d done Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe, and the odd wee thing on the BBC iPlayer and Sky On Demand, but the TV stuff wasn’t looking too good. The result is somehow both inane and profound all at once; a repeated treatise on a kitchen game that involvs throwing a tea bag into a cup, Limond imagining his first day at an office job, a walk through an underpass, all of it underscored with pathos and absurd hilarity. We might not be living through a golden age for TV sketch shows just now, but Limmy’s Show was a brilliant one.I don’t think I ever read/listened to an autobiography like this one, and the honest nature of the writing makes it so worth the time, whether you know his work or not, this gets to the deep inner workings of a person. Now Brian Limond is set to follow his sketch show and collections of short stories by telling a tale even darker than those he’s created for his characters. A lot of us go through life eminently unsure of what we’re doing; we feel lost and lonely in our lostness.