Alexei Sayle

Sayle is Jewish.{{cite web |title=British Jews are 'full of fear, like I've never seen before' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67266475 |website=BBC |access-date=22 February 2025 |date=31 October 2023}} He was born and brought up in the Anfield suburb of Liverpool, the son of Molly (Malka) Sayle (née Mendelson), a pools clerk, and Joseph Henry Sayle, a railway guard,{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/476813/ |title=Sayle, Alexei (1952–) Biography |publisher=screenonline |access-date=12 April 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110525044523/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/476813/| archive-date= 25 May 2011 | url-status= live}} both of whom were members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Sayle's mother was of Lithuanian Jewish descent,{{Cite news|last=Neilan|first=Catherine|title='Ullo Alexei! Gotta new memoir?|publisher=theBookseller.com|date=22 July 2010|url=http://www.thebookseller.com/profile/ullo-alexei-gotta-new-memoir|access-date=17 September 2010}} and some members of his family were devout Jews.{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=Tina |title=Alexei Sayle: My family values |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/28/alexei-sayle-family-values |access-date=21 October 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=27 August 2010 |language=en}} Sayle was named after Maxim Gorky, whose real name was Alexei Maximovich Peshkov.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/16/stalin-ate-homework-alexei-sayle-review|title=Stalin Ate My Homework by Alexei Sayle - review|first=Ian|last=Sansom|date=15 October 2010|newspaper=The Guardian}}

From 1964 to 1969, he attended Alsop High School in Walton, and he was expelled halfway through sixth form.{{cite book|last=Wilmut|first=Roger|title=Didn't You Kill My Mother In Law?- the story of alternative comedy in Britain from the Comedy Store to Saturday Night Live|year=1989|publisher=Methuen|location=UK|isbn=0-413-17390-9|pages=22–24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrQqAAAAMAAJ}} After that, Sayle took a foundation course in art at Southport before attending Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. He attended Garnett College in Roehampton, a training college for teachers in further education.

When The Comedy Store opened in London in 1979, Sayle responded to an advert in Private Eye for would-be comedians{{cite web|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2014/02/19/19635/how_the_bland_and_the_posh_failed_alternative_comedy |title=How the bland and the posh failed alternative comedy : News 2014 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide |publisher=Chortle |date=19 February 2014 |access-date=6 September 2015}} and became its first master of ceremonies. In 1980, comedy producer Martin Lewis saw Sayle perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and became his manager.

Sayle became the leading performer at The Comic Strip.{{cite web | first=David | last=Johnson | title= Something Funny is Happening in Stripland | url= https://shapersofthe80s.com/seismic-shifts/1980-a-new-decade-demands-new-comedy/ |work=Over21, page 36, republished at Shapersofthe80s | location=London | access-date=7 April 2018 |date=1 January 1981}} He appeared on The Comic Strip Album (1981) and recorded Cak! (1982). He also appeared in the stage show, film and comedy album of The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1981–1982). An example of Sayle's humour was his attack on American phrases: "If you travel to the States ... they have a lot of different words than like what we use. For instance: they say 'elevator', we say 'lift'; they say 'drapes', we say 'curtains'; they say 'president', we say 'seriously deranged git!'"{{cite web|url=http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/git.html |title=Git Quotes |publisher=BrainyQuote |access-date=21 July 2012}}

In 1988 Sayle played the role of Trinculo the King's jester in Shakespeare's The Tempest, directed by Jonathan Miller at the Old Vic theatre in London.

Sixteen years on from his last stand-up comedy tour, Sayle returned in 2011 as an MC, compering the middle section of At Last! The 1981 Show, produced by Stewart Lee at the Royal Festival Hall. Although this was mainly a nostalgia night with comedians such as Nigel Planer and Norman Lovett revisiting their material from the 1980s, Sayle premiered some new material that was more anecdotal than his previous work. Sayle says of his old style, "What I was doing, which I hadn't realised, was a comic persona. The guy in the tight suit was actually a creation. I thought it was me in a sense but it wasn't".{{cite web|last=Davis |first=Laura |url=http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-culture/liverpool-arts/2013/04/11/interview-alexei-sayle-on-thatcher-his-film-and-stand-up-careers-and-appearing-at-clapperboard-presents-at-fact-99623-33144934/ |title=INTERVIEW: Alexei Sayle on Thatcher, his film and stand-up careers and appearing at Clapperboard Presents at FACT – Liverpool Arts – Culture |work=Liverpool Daily Post |date=11 April 2013 |access-date=24 June 2013}}

With artists such as Isy Suttie and Jim Bob, Sayle appeared at the fourth "Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People" event at the Bloomsbury Theatre in December 2011.{{cite web|title=Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People|url=http://www.thebloomsbury.com/event/run/1604|work=Bloomsbury Theatre|publisher=The Bloomsbury Theatre|access-date=10 June 2013|date=December 2011}} In January and February 2012, he compered four nights of stand-up comedy at the Soho Theatre.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/comedy/9039434/Alexei-Sayle-Presents-Soho-Theatre-review.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127190741/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/comedy/9039434/Alexei-Sayle-Presents-Soho-Theatre-review.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 January 2012 |title=Alexei Sayle Presents, Soho Theatre, review |newspaper=Telegraph |date= 26 January 2012|access-date=21 July 2012 |location=London |first=Dominic |last=Cavendish}} He completed a full UK stand-up tour in October and November 2012 and a sixteen-night residency at the Soho Theatre in January and February 2013, where he performed new material. He played a further ten nights at the Soho Theatre in April 2013. He also performed at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.{{cite web|title=Alexei Sayle|url=https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/alexei-sayle|work=Edinburgh Fringe Festival|publisher=EFFS Registered Charity SC|access-date=18 September 2013|date=25 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026112637/https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/alexei-sayle|archive-date=26 October 2013|url-status=dead}}

Sayle's early work included several performances for Capital London. In 1981, he wrote and performed the radio series, Alexei Sayle and the Fish People, for which he won a Pye Radio Award (later known as the Sony Radio Awards).{{cn|date=April 2025}} An album based on the show, The Fish People Tapes, again featuring Sayle, was released in 1984. This was followed by Alexei Sayle and the Dutch Lieutenant's Trousers, the name being a reference to John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman. He also starred in two series of Lenin of the Rovers, a 1988 comedy about Britain's first communist football team. He has since contributed to many other radio shows, including writing the five-part sitcom series, Sorry About Last Night (1999), in which he also played the leading role. On 3 November 2006 he presented Chopwell Soviet, a 30-minute programme on BBC Radio 4 that reviewed the Chopwell miners 80 years after the village of Chopwell became known as Little Moscow.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/pip/48cfy |title=Radio 4 – History – Chopwell Soviet |publisher=BBC |date=3 November 2006 |access-date=12 April 2011}} Sayle returned to Radio 4 in 2016 with Alexei Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar, which has run for five critically acclaimed series so far. In 2019, he narrated the dramatisation of four of his short stories in the series Alexei Sayle's The Absence of Normal, again on Radio 4. A second series was broadcast in 2021.

Since February 2022 Sayle has presented BBC Radio 4's Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train. {{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m0013zmp | title=BBC Sounds - Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train - Available Episodes }}{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0013zmp | title=BBC Radio 4 - Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train }}

Sayle's first high-profile television appearances were on Central Independent Television's late-night alternative cabaret show O.T.T. (1982). He left nine weeks into the show's run to tour Australia with the Comic Strip. He played various roles in the situation comedy The Young Ones (1982–1984), along with Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer and Christopher Ryan. In the programme Sayle portrayed several members of an Eastern European family; the Balowskis. In 1985, he appeared in the Doctor Who serial Revelation of the Daleks. In a column for a British tabloid newspaper around the same time, he indicated that he wanted to become the "first Socialist Doctor."{{cite web|url=http://www.lep.co.uk/entertainmentav/39Old-geezer39-Alexei-wants-to.4657149.jp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302042249/http://www.lep.co.uk/entertainmentav/39Old-geezer39-Alexei-wants-to.4657149.jp |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 March 2009 |title='Old geezer' Alexei wants to be the next Doctor Who – News |publisher=lep.co.uk |date= 4 November 2008|access-date=12 April 2011}} He also appeared in several episodes of The Comic Strip Presents... between 1985 and 1993, playing the two leading roles in Didn't You Kill My Brother? which he co-wrote with David Stafford and Pauline Melville. Sayle has co-written and starred in many other programmes, including three series of Alexei Sayle's Stuff (1988–1991), two series of The All New Alexei Sayle Show (1994–1995) and one series of Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round (1998).

In 1989, Sayle was awarded an International Emmy for Stuff. In conversation with Mark Thomas on BBC Radio 4's informal chat-show Chain Reaction, Sayle revealed that the first he knew of the award was when he watched Channel 4 News and saw, to his amazement, Benny Hill collecting the award on his behalf. In 1990, Sayle had a fatwa proclaimed against him by a Muslim cleric from Syria after a joke on his BBC comedy show Stuff, which has never been withdrawn.{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/FATWA+ON+ALEXEI%3B+Comic+facing+death+threat.-a061269670 |title=FATWA ON ALEXEI; Comic facing death threat. |publisher=Free Online Library |access-date=12 April 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.websters-dictionary-online.net/definitions/Alexei+Sayle?cx=partner-pub-0939450753529744%3Av0qd01-tdlq&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=Alexei+Sayle&sa=Search#874 |title=Dictionary – Definition of Alexei Sayle |publisher=Websters-dictionary-online.net |date=7 August 1952 |access-date=24 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320150556/http://www.websters-dictionary-online.net/definitions/Alexei+Sayle?cx=partner-pub-0939450753529744:v0qd01-tdlq&cof=FORID:9&ie=UTF-8&q=Alexei+Sayle&sa=Search#874 |archive-date=20 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}

Sayle was signed in 1992 to a seven-year contract to play an Eastern European chef as a regular character on the American sitcom The Golden Palace, the sequel to The Golden Girls, but was fired and replaced by Cheech Marin before the pilot was filmed. The series was cancelled after one season.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/07/25/3-golden-girls-moving-from-their-house-on-nbc-to-cbs-palace/|title=3 Golden Girls Moving From Their House On Nbc To Cbs' 'Palace'|website=Articles.chicagotribune.com|date=25 July 1992 |access-date=30 October 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.alexeisayle.me/home/2013/7/29/blog-74.html|title=Alexei Sayle – Home – Blog 74|website=Alexeisayle.me|access-date=30 October 2017}}

In 1994, he presented the miniseries Drive, which gave advice for safe driving through Sayle's signature form of humour interspersed with serious pieces. In 2008, he wrote and presented Alexei Sayle's Liverpool, a three-part television series in which he reconnected with his home town. He stated in the programmes that on first hearing that Liverpool was to be awarded the European Capital of Culture, he received much criticism for describing the city as "philistine". He now feels that he does not know whether or not his original statement was true but as a result of making the series he does now consider Liverpool to be his home, and he has vowed to go back there more often in the future.{{cite web |url=http://www.liverpool.com/capital-of-culture/alexi-sayle-s-liverpool.html |title=| What's Hot | Capital Of Culture | ALEXEI SAYLE'S LIVERPOOL |publisher=Liverpool.com |access-date=12 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104135851/http://www.liverpool.com/capital-of-culture/alexi-sayle-s-liverpool.html |archive-date=4 January 2011 |url-status=dead }}

Sayle also narrated the Public information film (PIF) Moon Lighters about two moon creatures, Biblock and Hoblock and the dangers of lighters. Sayle replaced Rolf Harris as the narrator for the Nick Jr. and Milkshake! series Olive The Ostrich. Episodes featuring Sayle's narration commenced broadcasting on 22 July 2013.{{cite web|title=Blog 73|url=http://www.alexeisayle.me/home/2013/6/13/blog-73.html|work=Alexei Sayle dot ME|publisher=Alexei Sayle|access-date=13 June 2013|author=Alexei Sayle|date=13 June 2013}}

Sayle alternates his comedy work with performances as a character actor ranging from serious (Gorky Park, 1983) to humorous (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 1989). He appeared in the 1992 Carry On film, Carry On Columbus along with other modern comedians, including Comic Strip founder Peter Richardson, as well as surviving members of the original Carry On team. He narrated the 2023 political documentary film Oh, Jeremy Corbyn: The Big Lie and the 2024 sequel, The Big Lie II: Starmer and the Genocide.{{cite news|title=Glastonbury to screen pro-Corbyn film that blames communal groups for his downfall|url=https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/glastonbury-to-screen-pro-corbyn-film-that-blames-communal-groups-for-his-downfall/|first=Lee|last=Harpin|date=19 June 2023|newspaper=Jewish News}}{{cite web|website=Weekly Worker|title=Neither money nor personality: Carla Roberts reviews Alexei Sayle (narrator), Chris Reeves (director), Norman Thomas (writer) The big lie II - Starmer and the genocide Platform Films, 2024|url=https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1496/neither-money-nor-personality/|date=20 June 2024}}

Sayle has released five comedy singles with full musical backing, and one live recording from the Comedy Store in London 1981. This was "Dedication", released as a double A side with Alex Arundel, the London-based Scottish songwriter and founding member of Alternative Cabaret, with the song "When The Gold Runs Dry" being the other A side. Sayle's most successful single was "'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?", which achieved Top 20 chart success in the UK upon re-release in 1984. Produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (who also produced for Madness and Elvis Costello), the record (in its 12-inch version) achieved notoriety owing to its extensive use of profane language. The two follow-up singles, "Didn't You Kill My Brother?", and "Meanwhile", were taken from the album Panic, the cover of which parodies the cover of the Michael Jackson album Off the Wall.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-fish-people-tapes-mw0000839084 |title=The Fish People Tapes - Alexei Sayle | Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=AllMusic |date=1969-12-31 |access-date=2022-04-05}}

Sayle has written two short story collections, five novels, including a graphic novel and a radio series spin-off book, as well as columns for various publications. His book Great Bus Journeys of the World, co-written with David Stafford, is mostly a collection of his columns for Time Out and the Sunday Mirror.{{cite web |url=http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/alexei-sayle/alexei-sayles-great-bus-journeys-of-world.htm |title=Alexei Sayle's Great Bus Journeys of the World by Alexei Sayle |publisher=Fantasticfiction.co.uk |access-date=24 June 2013}} He was one of eight contributory authors to the BBC Three competition End of Story, in which members of the public completed the second half of stories written by established authors.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/endofstory/authors/authors.shtml?sayle |title=End of Story – Authors – Alexei Sayle |publisher=BBC |access-date=21 July 2012}} The winning entry to Sayle's story, Imitating Katherine Walker, was written by freelance writer Arthur Allan. Sayle's autobiography, Stalin Ate My Homework, which deals with his early life, and which he describes as a 'satirical memoir', was published in 2010.{{cite news|author=Ian Sansom |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/16/stalin-ate-homework-alexei-sayle-review |title=Stalin Ate My Homework by Alexei Sayle – review | Books |newspaper=The Guardian |date= 16 October 2010|access-date=21 July 2012 |location=London}} In 2012 he joined The Daily Telegraph as a motoring columnist.{{cite news|author=Columnists |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/9115986/Alexei-Sayle-understanding-the-Austin-Montego.html |title=Alexei Sayle: understanding the Austin Montego |newspaper=Telegraph |date= 3 March 2012|access-date=21 July 2012 |location=London}} In early 2015 he toured giving readings from the second volume of his autobiography Thatcher Stole My Trousers, published in 2016.{{cite news |author= |title=Comedian Alexei Sayle brings tour to Exeter Phoenix tonight |url=http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Comedian-Alexei-Sayle-brings-tour-Exeter-Phoenix/story-26140752-detail/story.html |newspaper=Exeter Express and Echo |location=Exeter |date=9 March 2015 |access-date=4 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924004851/http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Comedian-Alexei-Sayle-brings-tour-Exeter-Phoenix/story-26140752-detail/story.html |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.alexeisayle.me/home/2014/11/26/blog-83.html |title=Blog 83 |last1=Sayle |first1=Alexei |date=26 November 2014 |website=Alexeisayle.me |publisher=Alexei Sayle |access-date=4 August 2015 |quote=I've also booked a small book reading tour for next year... I'll mostly be reading from the new memoir "Thatcher Stole My Trousers". I've moved publishers from Sceptre to Bloomsbury and they want to publish that in March 2016.}}

In November 2020, Sayle began hosting a monthly podcast, The Alexei Sayle Podcast. Produced/co-hosted by Talal Karkouti; guests have included Josie Long, Stewart Lee, Omid Djalili, Lise Mayer, Diane Morgan and Jeremy Corbyn.

He also launched a YouTube channel, showcasing videos of various bike rides.{{cite web|url=http://www.alexeisayle.me/home/2020/11/30/blog-113.html|title=Blog 113|date=30 November 2020|website=Alexei Sayle dot ME}}

In 1974, Sayle married Linda Rawsthorn. He lives in Bloomsbury{{cite news|title=Alexei Sayle: Bloomsbury by bike – video|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/video/2013/oct/08/alexei-sayle-bloomsbury-festival-london-bike-video?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2&et_cid=51918&et_rid=7107573&Linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.theguardian.com%2ftravel%2fvideo%2f2013%2foct%2f08%2falexei-sayle-bloomsbury-festival-london-bike-video|access-date=8 October 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|date=8 October 2013|author=Alexei Sayle|format=Video upload}} in central London and is a keen cyclist.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/watch-it-mate-alexei-sayle-looks-back-on-his-30-years-of-twowheeling-around-london-2008642.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629162226/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/watch-it-mate-alexei-sayle-looks-back-on-his-30-years-of-twowheeling-around-london-2008642.html |archive-date=2010-06-29 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Watch it, mate!: Alexei Sayle looks back on his 30 years of two-wheeling around London|first=Alexei|last=Sayle|work=The Independent|date=27 June 2010|access-date=8 October 2013}} He also owns a house near Granada, in southern Spain.{{cite web|url=http://www.thecnj.com/review/2008/111308/books111308_02.html |title=Review Books: Mister Roberts by Alexei Sayle is published by Sceptre on November 13,£12.99 |publisher=Thecnj.com |date=13 November 2008 |access-date=6 September 2015}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/alexei-sayle-how-do-you-rebel-against-communist-parents-go-even-further-to-the-left-1790055.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816235259/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/alexei-sayle-how-do-you-rebel-against-communist-parents-go-even-further-to-the-left-1790055.html |archive-date=2019-08-16 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Alexei Sayle: How do you rebel against communist parents? Go even|date=19 September 2009|newspaper=The Independent}} He was diagnosed with sarcoidosis in 1990. A recurrence of this condition in 2015 led to him being rushed to hospital and then transferred to a neurological unit for a week.Sarcoidosis UK Interview with Alexei Sayle https://www.sarcoidosisuk.org/interview-with-alexei-sayle/

Around the age of 15, Sayle decided to join the Young Communist League, but only went to a few meetings. In 1968, he joined a Maoist organisation, the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist).Sayle, Alexei Stalin Ate My Homework, Hachette UK, 2010, {{ISBN|1848945000}} In 2009, he said that, while no longer active in left politics, "I still would adhere to those philosophical and economic ideas of Marxism that I got when I was sixteen. ... it's seemed to me as true now as it did then".{{cite web|title=Alexei Sayle, Personal Reminiscence|publisher=Imperial War Museum|year=2009|url=http://whatliesbeneath.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.24262|access-date=29 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104051644/http://whatliesbeneath.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.24262|archive-date=4 January 2014|url-status=dead}}

Sayle is a critic of fox hunting and was among more than 20 high-profile people who signed a letter to Members of Parliament in 2015 to oppose Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron's plan to amend the Hunting Act 2004.{{cite news|url=http://news.stv.tv/scotland-decides/news/1324609-snp-to-vote-against-tories-on-fox-hunting-ban-in-england-and-wales/ |title=SNP to vote against Tories on fox hunting ban in England and Wales |work=STV |date=13 July 2015 |access-date=17 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715203740/http://news.stv.tv/scotland-decides/news/1324609-snp-to-vote-against-tories-on-fox-hunting-ban-in-england-and-wales/ |archive-date=15 July 2015 }}

In February 2016, Sayle said of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn: "He's ascetic and morally incorruptible. The propaganda that's thrown against him is disgraceful. Until he appeared, you had to vote for one kind of Oxbridge twat or another, people who all go to the same dinner parties, people like the Ed Ballses and George Osbornes. Jeremy has shown that, within a democratic tradition, other things are possible."{{cite news |last=Walsh|first=John|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/features/alexei-sayle-interview-the-80s-stand-up-legend-on-drugs-communist-dentists-and-the-comedy-revolution-a6894686.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302121355/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/features/alexei-sayle-interview-the-80s-stand-up-legend-on-drugs-communist-dentists-and-the-comedy-revolution-a6894686.html |archive-date=2016-03-02 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title= Why I've decided to join the Labour party then immediately resign |newspaper=The Independent|date=27 February 2016|access-date=1 June 2018}} In 2016, he wrote a comment piece for The Guardian saying that he was happy to mock New Labour in his act, but now that Corbyn was about to "reform the party in his own image – ascetic, socialist, kindly and ethical", he would stop making jokes about Labour.{{cite news |last=Sayle|first=Alexei|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/mar/12/alexei-sayle-why-i-have-decided-join-labour-party-then-immediately-resign|title= Why I've decided to join the Labour party then immediately resign |newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 March 2016|access-date=1 June 2018}}

In May 2018, regarding the expulsion of Marc Wadsworth from the Labour Party, Sayle commented: "The Party should walk over broken glass to beg people of Marc's calibre to work with them – they are very few and Marc is one of the best. There is a battle going on to destroy and reverse the unexpected and amazing gains the left has made in the last three years. Marc is a casualty in that battle and I am joining the fight to see him re-instated to the front line."{{cite news |url=http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/labour-party-chiefs-spark-backlash-over-wadsworth-expulsion|title=Labour Party chiefs spark backlash over Wadsworth expulsion|publisher=The Voice|date=15 May 2018|access-date=1 June 2018}}

In November 2019, along with other public figures, Sayle signed a letter supporting Corbyn, describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world" and endorsed him in the 2019 UK general election.{{cite news |last=Neale|first=Matthew|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/new-letter-supporting-jeremy-corbyn-2568734|title=Exclusive: New letter supporting Jeremy Corbyn signed by Roger Waters, Robert Del Naja and more |work=NME|date=16 November 2019|access-date=27 November 2019}} In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, he signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/03/vote-for-hope-and-a-decent-future|title= Vote for hope and a decent future |newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 December 2019|access-date=4 December 2019}}{{cite news |last=Proctor|first=Kate|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/03/coogan-klein-lead-cultural-figures-backing-corbyn-labour|title=Coogan and Klein lead cultural figures backing Corbyn and Labour|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 December 2019|access-date=4 December 2019}}

In January 2020, he was condemned by some Jewish groups after being one of thousands to sign an open letter criticising Rebecca Long-Bailey and other Labour leadership candidates for saying they would sign a 10-point pledge by the Board of Deputies of British Jews intended to combat anti-semitism, should they be elected. The letter was organised by Momentum activist Jackie Walker and former Labour MP Chris Williamson.{{cite news|title=Hardliners attack Rebecca Long Bailey for signing antisemitism pledge |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/hardliners-attack-rebecca-long-bailey-for-signing-antisemitism-pledge-c2jllfd38 |newspaper=The Times |access-date=21 January 2020 |language=en |date=21 January 2020}}

In May 2021, Conservative MP Matthew Offord wrote to the BBC's Director-General urging, unsuccessfully, that the planned broadcast of Desert Island Discs featuring Sayle, on 23 May, be halted on the basis that every broadcaster "should be wary of giving a platform to anyone who is seen to be 'excusing' antisemitism". There was an outcry on social media in response, rejecting the claim that Sayle was doing this, with support for Sayle (whose mother came from an orthodox Jewish background) from across the board, and the resulting hashtag #IStandWithAlexeiSayle trending on UK Twitter.{{cite web |last=Bennett |first=Steve |title=BBC 'should ban Alexei Sayle' |url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2021/05/20/48473/bbc_should_ban_alexei_sayle |access-date=14 July 2021|website=www.chortle.co.uk |quote=Sayle's mother came from an orthodox Jewish background but he was bought up in a secular household}}

• 1983 The Alexei Sayle Pirate Video (Springtime)
• 1995 Alexei Sayle's Stuff (Paradox)

• 2005 Alexei Sayle's Stuff Series One (BBC)
• 2006 Alexei Sayle's Stuff Series Two (BBC)
• 2006 Alexei Sayle's Stuff Series Three (BBC)

• 1980: Live at The Comic Strip - compiled from mixture of variable quality bootleg private recordings by fans only available as a Tape Cassette (comedy club){{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
• 1982: Cak! - LP/Tape (Springtime/Island)
• 1984: The Fish People Tapes - LP/Tape (Island) (#62 UK, 11 March 1984) {{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/19840311/7502/|title=Official Albums Chart on 11/3/1984|website=Official Charts}}
• 1985: Panic - LP/Tape (CBS) (#95 Canada, 1 March 1986) {{Cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.0639.pdf|title=RPM 100 Albums - 1 March 1986}}

• 1981: "Pop-Up Toasters" (as Alexei's Midnight Runners) (Springtime/Island)
• 1982: "Albania! Albania! (Albanixey! Albanixey!)" (as The Albanian World Cup Squad) (Albaniox)
• 1982: "'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?" (Springtime/Island) (#15 UK, 18 March 1984) {{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19840318/7501/|title=Official Singles Chart on 18/3/1984|website=Official Charts}}
• 1985: "Didn't You Kill My Brother?" (CBS) (#93 Canada, 18 January 1986) {{Cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.0622.pdf|title=RPM 100 Singles Chart - 18 January 1986}}
• 1986: "Meanwhile" (CBS)

• Train To Hell (Methuen, 9 February 1984; hardcover {{ISBN|0-413-52460-4}}, paperback {{ISBN|0-413-52470-1}}) – novel co-written by David Stafford
• Geoffrey The Tube Train And The Fat Comedian (Methuen, 1987; paperback) – graphic novel, illustrated by Oscar Zárate
• Alexei Sayle's Great Bus Journeys Of The World (Methuen, October 1989; paperback {{ISBN|0-413-62670-9}}) – collected columns from Time Out and the Sunday Mirror
• Barcelona Plates (Sceptre, 17 February 2000; hardcover {{ISBN|0-340-76752-9}}, paperback {{ISBN|0-340-76753-7}}) – short story collection
• The Dog Catcher (Sceptre, 19 July 2001; hardcover {{ISBN|0-340-81868-9}}, paperback {{ISBN|0-340-81944-8}}) – short story collection
• Overtaken (Sceptre, 1 September 2003; hardcover {{ISBN|0-340-76768-5}}) – despite Train To Hell, this was publicised as being Sayle's first novel
• The Weeping Women Hotel (Sceptre, 27 February 2006; hardcover {{ISBN|0-340-83121-9}}) – novel
• Mister Roberts (Sceptre, 16 October 2008; hardcover {{ISBN|978-0-340-96155-1}}, paperback {{ISBN|0-340-96156-2}}) – Sayle's most recent novel
• Stalin Ate My Homework (Sceptre, 2 September 2010; hardcover {{ISBN|978-0-340-91957-6}}, paperback {{ISBN|978-0-340-91958-3}}) – autobiography
• Thatcher Stole My Trousers (Bloomsbury, 10 March 2016; hardcover {{ISBN|978-1-4088-6453-1}}) – autobiography (second volume)
• Alexei Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar (Bloomsbury, 19 October 2017; hardcover {{ISBN|978-1-4088-9582-5}}) – radio series spin-off

• Night Voice (1990)
• 'Itch (1990)
• Sorry About Last Night (1995)
• Two Minutes (1996)
• Lose Weight... Ask Me How (2001)

The University of Kent holds material by Sayle as part of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-06 |title=Alexei Sayle Collection |url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/library-it/special-collections/british-stand-up-comedy-archive/alexei-sayle-collection |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Special Collections and Archives - University of Kent |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=University of Kent Special Collections & Archives |title=Alexei Sayle Collection |url=https://archive.kent.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BSUCA/SAYLE |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=University of Kent Special Collections & Archives Catalogue}} The collection includes television scripts from The Young Ones and Doctor Who, radio scripts and material relating to his own shows.

{{reflist}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [https://audioboom.com/channels/5038428 Alexei Sayle] – podcast
• {{Discogs artist}}
• {{IMDb name|768488|Alexei Sayle}}
• [https://archive.kent.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=BSUCA%2fSAYLE Alexei Sayle Collection] at University of Kent
• {{Screenonline name|476813}}
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_week/4880008.stm Alexei Sayle] on [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_week/default.stm This Week], BBC One
• [http://www.spikemagazine.com/0806-alexei-sayle-weeping-women-hotel.php Alexei Sayle] review of The Weeping Women Hotel by Spike Magazine
• [http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/title/alexei-sayle-interview/id/2426 Alexei Sayle] interview with Aly Stoneman, LeftLion Magazine
• [https://www.45cat.com/artist/alexei-sayle Alexei Sayle] at 45cat.com
• {{British Comedy Guide|people|alexei_sayle}}
• [https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp63436/alexei-david-sayle Alexei Sayle] at the National Portrait Gallery, London

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayle, Alexei}}

Category:1952 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century English comedians

Category:20th-century English male actors

Category:21st-century English comedians

Category:21st-century English male actors

Category:Alumni of Chelsea College of Arts

Category:English surrealist artists

Category:British surrealist writers

Category:Cycling advocates

Category:Comedians from Liverpool

Category:Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist) members

Category:English communists

Category:English male comedians

Category:English male film actors

Category:English male radio actors

Category:English male television actors

Category:English male voice actors

Category:English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent

Category:English podcasters

Category:English satirists

Category:British political artists

Category:Island Records artists

Category:Jewish English comedians

Category:Jewish English male actors

Category:Jewish surrealist writers

Category:Jewish socialists

Category:Jewish British anti-Zionists

Category:British anti-Zionists

Category:Labour Party (UK) people

Category:Male actors from Liverpool

Category:English stand-up comedians

Category:English sketch comedians

Category:Jewish male comedians

Category:English comedy musicians