Elvis McGonagall
Stand-up poet, comedian and broadcaster, armchair revolutionary and walking shortbread tin, Elvis McGonagall resides at The Graceland Caravan Park somewhere in the back of beyond where he scribbles satirical verse whilst drinking malt whisky and listening to Johnny Cash.
Two series of his sitcom “Elvis McGonagall Takes A Look On The Bright Side” have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 where he appears regularly, most recently on “Radio 4’s “Loose Ends” and on “Stand-Up Specials: Full Tartan Jacket” which was the featured Radio 4 “Comedy of the Week” podcast as well as the documentary “My Name Is Elvis” which featured on Radio 4’s “Pick of the Week”.
Elvis also pops up occasionally on the telly. Elvis is the 2006 World Slam Champion, the compere of the Blue Suede Sporran Club and performs at comedy, literary and music festivals, arts centres, cabaret clubs, pubs and dodgy dives up and down the country and abroad.
He also gigs with his band The Resurrectors “an unholy marriage of whisky-soaked, radical stand-up poetry and Caledonian punkabilly rock ‘n roll”. The band’s debut album “Gie It Laldy!” and their new EP “Burstin’ Oot in Fairy Lights” were both released on Bar-Ox Records, in 2018 and 2021 respectively.
A live recording of his show “One Man And His Doggerel” is available on Laughing Stock Records and two collections of his poems have been publishedby Burning Eye Books – “Viva Loch Lomond!” (poems from 2003 to 2017) and “Complete and Utter Cult!” (poems from 2017 to 2020).
In 2015 Elvis made the “Hot 100” – The List magazine’s annual run-down of Scotland’s “hottest cultural contributors” – thanks to a combination of dazzling Weltschmerz, anarchic wit and his tailor, Mr Poon Kee of Hong Kong, who does a fine line in tartan dinner jackets.
A deftly witty wordsmith, sharp and subversive but not afraid to be plain daft, Elvis has been spitting his scurrilous diatribes against the powers that be since 2003. And look at the state of the world now. So that’s twenty one years of futile ranting.
Elvis McGonagall’s meteoric rise to glittering showbiz obscurity continues apace – destined perhaps to remain a complete and utter cult but huge in North Korea.
Dates & Tickets
| Date | Time | Ticket |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 14 March, 2025 | 7:30pm | Buy Tickets |
Reviews
“Righteous ire, directed at very deserving targets….McGonagall’s verses are shot through with a moral umbrage and rhetorical power”
“Funny, angry and tightly written….McGonagall combines anger, polish and carefully crafted verse in a way which recalls John Cooper Clarke….If the word ‘poetry’ is putting you off, get over it”
“Where Manchester has John Cooper Clarke, Dundee has Elvis McGonagall. Wonderful writing, tack-sharp humour and uncompromising politics. Hilarious”
“A sharp and savvy political commentator who pulls no punches with searing wit, astute observation and a thrilling gift for hyperbole. A deceptively intelligent commentary on modern life that is inclusive, accessible and utterly hilarious”
“Elvis McGonagall is one of my favourite poets. His poems have wit, intelligence and imagination. He performs with honesty and integrity and makes me laugh, think and feel. After, but not until, you've bought all my books I thoroughly recommend his”