Fred Spencer and the Great Work

 

 

 I never mentioned Hockney on here before yesterday, but I've mentioned Fred Spencer, with good reason. He used the internet as I feel it should be used, broadcasting hope, sharing his sadnesses, and living without embarassment. I'm glad he got back together with Sharon, as evinced in the video above, even if she's not interested in taking trips, and he definitely is. Of course he is. He's a pioneer. One of the first wave of YouTube celebrities.

  Long after the video that made them both famous, Fred kept proving content creation wasn't just a job for him, but a calling. For over a decade he used this new platform to make whatever he wanted, whether it was Music Videos...

 

 Satire...

 

 

 Or whatever this is...

 

 

 

 And the initial attraction of his output for me, obviously, was that so much of it was bafflingly bad. Or baffling and bad. Or bad and baffling and charming. And raw. Laziness was no impediment to his creativity, clearly. Fred would just throw the doors open and wait for poetry to happen – or to risk happening but then get derailed by him thinking about sex, then stopping thinking about sex but then thinking about volcanoes, as in the video below, which generates an emotion I have no name for.

 

 

 Once relegated to life aboard the mobile home "Starship Betty" however,  after his initial split from Sharon, he started to document a real life and, as I've written here before, I became genuinely engaged by and grateful for the candour of those unsponsored video diaires. I was sad to hear when things with Sheryl Ann hadn't worked out...

 

 

 And when I shared my condolences in the comments, Fred was generous enough to reply. Then, a decade later, once things seemed happily patched up with Sharon, my comment received a second reply...

 

 

 And that's how I learnt Fred Spencer had pasta way. 

 I couldn't find any confirmation of his death online, but that only made me realise how small a digital footprint he left outside of his own channel. 

 I've put off writing this for over a year – possibly because I've had, you know, as I'm sure a lot of us have, actual people I deeply love pass on in that year – but I knew I wanted some part of the internet to commemorate the passing of this particular Fred Spencer. And so here it is. He always kept things personal, and kind, and weird, and I hope his work stays up forever, because I honestly think it epitomises a kind of Internet before the fall, a pole star of the lived experience shared fearlessly, and a paradise we can return to whenever we like. In spite of all the algorithms trying to turn us into Hamlet, this invention is still ours, to do with whatever we like, for as long as we can pay attention to each other. Thank you. Where you've gone, I don't know, hope it's warm and sunny. Here's David Lynch.

 

"Perhaps she'll thaw"

 In a happier start to 2015, it looks like Fred Spencer - of fleeting Fred-and-Sharon fame - is out of the motor home.

 This is fantastic news. Although I'd tried to plug his work over Christmas, grateful for the laffs, I hadn't actually kept up with his "My Strange Life" updates over the holidays – Fred Needs a Shower Day 161, say, or A Sad Start to Christmas Day 162 – because he'd always kept so happy and I wasn't sure I wanted to see that end. But New Years Resolutions Day 163 (from which these images are taken) has clearly seen a turnaround in Fred's fortunes...

 With typical gallantry, all he'll tell us about Sheryl Anne Wilson – seen on Day 163 proudly relaying details of the various self-improving courses offered by the Penticton Community Centre, and hammering frozen vegetables – is that she's "a good friend, who took me in during a cold winter". But I notice he's now put her name on the opening credits. And he's made it spin.

 Sheryl Anne makes an earlier appearance in the video below, and while, ostensibly, the star of Day 159 is meant to be Betty (whose anecdote about angora I'm not sure I really get) I suspect it's really Sheryl Ann's presence that's responsible for restoring the giddy life to Fred's work (and those familiar with the work of his sadly estranged wife Sharon will also have to admit that Sheryl Anne seems a lot happier in front of the camera too).

 Whatever happens, I wish them both as much happiness as they would wish for themselves. To quote Fred's clearly improvised closing number:

"Where'm I going? I don't know.

Hope it's warm and sunny.

Hope there's lots of money

And

Lots of friends.

Rains all night.

Suns all day (?)

Everybody likes to play.

Hope I have lots of friends.

Lots of girls.

Lots of boys.

Hope I have lots of money.

Hope I have...

Nice and sunny.

Sitting on a beach somewhere

Within my hand up there (?)

And a little bit of noise

Just to make

Things happy.

Good music every day.

Good things to eat, to play.

Hope it's always sunny.

Except

It can rain at night.

It's going to be funny.

Hope I have a great time."

  So say we all, Fred. Happy New Year, and thank you.

How I Plug

Well, "Exciting Space Adventures" are all well and good, but what have you been up to?

    What do you mean? Who are you?

You did another series of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme, didn't you?

    Oh! Yes! Yeah, but I assumed anyone who read this blog would already know about –

 

Can that still be heard?

    Yes. Absolutely. It's up on, erm – Oh, some episodes have gone now – But there's still some left on iplayer. Yeah, it's great. So good. Listening back, I feel I could have maybe toned it down for some of the sketches, but –

 

You're not happy with your work on it?

    No no no! It's – Not at all. It was really – Oh, and the Quasimodo sketch is up now on something called Radio 4 in Four.

 

The Jake Yapp thing!

    Oh. No.

 

Have you heard the Jake Yapp thing?

 

    Yes. 

 

It's great.

    Uh-huh.   

Nice picture.

     Oh yes! We got pictures done by Steve Ullathorne.

 

What was that like?

 

    What? Um... Yeah. It was really fun. I think the original shot of John drawing a beard on his own reflection is maybe more original, and better suited for press, but it –

 

You'd rather not appear in the publicity?

    No! No, it's great! A huge compliment. And if you buy the CD you can see some of our feet. I just –

 

You didn't post a link to the CD.

    Oh. Sorry.

 

HOW much?!

 

    I mean, it's probably cheaper on amazon, but I didn't want to –

 

And I presume it's also available in the BBC shop.

    Apparently not... But yeah, no, I was so lucky. Nice to feel part of a gang.

 

And you did another shunt show?

 

    What? Oh...

 

Is that right?

 

    Sort of. Ow.

 

 

The Boy Who Climbed Out Of His Face – The Build by Floro Azqueta

 

Okay. You've written a lot about shunt on this blog. Want to talk about it?

    Um. Wouldn't you rather hear another Exciting Space Adventure?

 

Do you not want to talk about theatre any more?

    No! No no! Actually there's a few interesting things from the rehearsal I'd like to put up. And I did Ring. Again. And I've done – Er, actually I've done a couple of shows, as a part of the London Horror festival. Just one-offs.

 

Where can we see them?

    Um. They're – They've – They happened. Back in October. Yeah! But no, I had great fun doing –

 

Okay. Where can we see you next?

    What? Oh! I'm in a panto. Well, it's more of a musical. A company called the Mighty Fin do one nearly every year or so, and Susannah Pearse writes the songs, and John Finnemore's in it as well, which is actually how we met, and it will be brilliant. Yes. You can get tickets... Oh wait, you can't. It's sold out.

 

Okay.

    But there's 17 tickets still available for the dress rehearsal.

 

Should I bother to ask what it's called?

    I mean... It's in the link. I just thought –

 

Okay. Well, thanks very much –

    Oh! AND, I've popped my panel show cherry! Yes, I was invited to take part in the excellent transatlantic comedy podcast "International Waters". It went online on Monday, and you can hear me laughing my "dad laugh" on it, and plugging stuff even more poorly than I've just done here. Thank you, and MERRYCHRISTMAS!

 

 Fredandsharonsmovies.com  are still open for business, don't forget.