#21

I have had two replies to this that I don’t understand at all

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#22

Alexander Armstrong narrates the animated CBeebies show Hey Duggee, which is genuinely brilliant, full of excellent music pastiches and easily the high watermark of modern tots’ TV.

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#23

I have a deep-seated loathing of Xander. He comes from such privilege – his passions include wine, cigars and foie gras – but his entitlement seems to matter less because, you know, he’s such a nice guy.

He’ll say, quite sincerely, that he thinks teachers and nurses should be paid more, while at the same time using his connections to hoover up as many voice-over and presenting jobs as possible. The amount of money he’ll earn from one of these will be trivial to him, but would be life-changing to aspiring voice-over artists.

It’s the same with him dabbling in music. Xander is a classically trained vocalist (but of course), yet he doesn’t need to make an album, he’s not overcome by some all-consuming artistic vision or passion, it’s just a fun side-project for him. A side-project that for most struggling musicians would be the absolute zenith of their careers.

Argh! Fucking Xander. I just think that he’s the perfect example of someone who thinks humility is saying or believing the right things, when actually it’s sometimes about the things you don’t do even though you could.

To make up for the ranty post, allow me to lighten the mood with some soulful crooning from the screwfix David Brent:

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#24

So you hate him for doing his job and then for doing something he enjoys?

#25

I just think he’s a smarmy self-satisfied toff bellend

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#26

Ha! Well, more accurately, I hate him for doing lots of jobs and taking the spotlight away from others.

I appreciate my post went a little overboard, but are you seriously defending celebrity musicians?!

For me there’s a direct comparison between Xander and, say, David Walliams as a celebrity author - they’re both using modest talent to take money and attention away from people who are much more talented and invested in their art, but who aren’t tv-famous.

#27

I get the point about the voiceovers but I’m not entirely sure that him making an album means someone else doesn’t get to make an album?

I quite like him on face value but I’m sure I’ve heard he’s a bit of a Tory which is disappointing (but maybe not surprising)

#28

He’s a Lib Dem/self-proclaimed centrist.

#29

Supporter of the Countryside Alliance too.

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#30

Oh yeah

Think this is what I was thinking of

#31

he’s also part of the Coren-Mitchell clan.

#32

Richard Osman is a weird one. used to really like him and he’s very quick witted so when he first started popping up panel shows and stuff it felt like a very natural progression, but now that he’s been so overexposed the charm has worn off. i remember listening to his episode of Off Menu and it felt like he was just trying too hard to be funny 100% of the time by being a bit of a dick.

at least he hasn’t made an album yet.

#33

Yeah, you’re right, he’s not stopping anyone else from making music. He’s just taking up space in the media and the public consciousness that could go to other musicians.

I’m sure if I met him he’d be lovely, and that’s what’s even more infuriating. It’s just the cultural uniformity that he represents, the idea that because you’re famous and good at one thing you can just enter another industry through a gilded side door, and everyone applauds you for it rather than being appalled by your gall.

#34

Whilst were on the BBC light entertainers making albums…

But at least he is a song and dance man.

#35

He signed that letter in support of JK Rowling as well along with Glinner etc. In the bin.

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#36

hmm i’m not sure really, you’re right that Walliams has sewn up the children’s book market by being a famous name (though loads of celebs have written children’s books so i presume he must have some degree of talent to have become more renowned for it that any of them, but still arguably taking up the space of professional writers who write children’s books for a living).

but i’m not sure an Alexander Armstrong album is necessarily replacing anything, they’re albums designed to shift a few units in Tesco with the Christmas shopping but i’m not convinced the people buying it would otherwise be buying an album of choral singing by someone else, same as how people buying Jason Manford’s album of showtunes probably weren’t in the market for an album of showtunes and only bought one as it was by him.

i guess it can be a bit annoying that someone who is famous for one thing can just rock up and say “hey i want to record an album! i want to write a book!” and will be just handed a deal and some cash regardless, but i find it hard to be annoyed at the existence of bland supermarket albums. and the lad can sing to be fair to him.

#37

Forgot how unbelievably Brent that Nick Knowles one was.

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