I Think the Nurses are Stealing My Clothes: The Very Best of Linda Smith - Softcover

By Warren Lakin, Edited

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340938471 ISBN 13: 9780340938478

Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks, 2007

Synopsis

Linda Smith was the brilliant mainstay of Radio 4's The News Quiz, Just a Minute, and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue for many years. She was just establishing her career on TV through blistering performances on Have I Got News for You, QI and Room 101, when she died of ovarian cancer in 2006.

Linda was one of the few women to conquer the male dominated world of comedy and she had the wit and the charm to win over millions of male and female fans in equal measure. She had an eye for the absurdities of modern life and loved to prick the egos of the pompous and the vain. When she called David Blunkett 'Satan's bearded folk singer', it was a simple statement of fact. No wonder then Linda was voted the 'wittiest person alive' by Radio 4 listeners in 2002.

This collection of her material, from her early stand-up to her radio days, is a must-have for any comedy fan.

About this title

Review:

'This is a ravishing book and I urge you to read it ... the world is sadder and more tender for Smith's tragic loss, and reading I Think the Nurses are Stealing my Clothes will remind you why.' (Maureen Lipman, Guardian)

'Linda's mix of incredulity and spite, her brilliant manipulation of language and sheer warmth of personality, made her more loved - almost worshipped - than any entertainer in recent years ... A comic who had few equals in radio history, but no betters ...Buy this book: it will make you happy' (Word magazine)

'Linda Smith's everyday conversation contained more jokes than most comedy scripts and more social comment than most dramas.' (Independent)

'A plump anthology of deftly witty material ...It's very sad that the woman who defined the word "palisade" as "what the queen drinks" and who observed of John Prescott "I think language isn't his first language" is no longer with us' (Nick Curtis, Evening Standard)

'One of the best-loved and funniest voices on radio.' (EVENING STANDARD)

'The funniest woman I have ever known.' (SIMON HOGGART)

'A truly funny woman' (Daily Mail)

'The many tributes last week describing the late Linda Smith as one of the funniest women in Britain have got it wrong. Linda was simply one of the funniest people in Britain and her gifts were such that most of the time, listening to her thoughtful, provocative, casually brilliant one-liners, you forgot she was a woman. I mean that in the best way, the same way that when you read Margaret Atwood or Zadie Smith, you are not conscious of reading a 'lady novelist'.' (Stephanie Merritt, Observer)

'One of the country's finest stand-ups' (Evening Standard)

'One of the country's more precious natural resources ...Priceless' (David Graham, Manchester Evening News)

From the Publisher:

We're proud to be able to make these recordings public. Warren
Lakin and Ian Parsons have carefully compiled and restored Linda Smith's
personal recordings of her live performances going back to 1986, and Hattie
Hayridge (a friend of Linda's who also perfomed with her) kindly agreed to
introduce them. This CD is a bit of a labour of love, and a unique chance
to hear where her comedy came from and how it changed over the years. It's
also very funny.

If you're a fan of Linda's radio or TV appearances you might be surprised
when you hear this collection, particularly the early recordings. Many of
these were gritty, down-to-earth gigs in pubs and clubs, with rowdy
audiences and no small amount of swearing - and well worth hearing for
Linda's swift treatment of hecklers...

If you like comedy, it's as simple as this - you have to hear this, because
it's the definitive, hilarious legacy of one of Britain's best comedians.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0340938471
• ISBN 13: 9780340938478
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384