I was born too late to appreciate punk. (I was 8 during the summer of 1977) I was born too early be at the centre of Britpop. ( I was 27 in 1995 and working as a secondary school teacher getting my cultural education from my Year 10 English class not the other way round).

I was born at just the right time for Adam and The Ants and the Human League. Nothing wrong with that, but you know what I mean…

On the other hand – being 13 in 1982 meant I was absolutely spot-on for the greatest moment in UK TV history. The Young Ones.

If I ever bemoan the fact that when I was a kid, even Gary Numan scared the shit out of me, or I needed convincing by my pupils that The Prodigy were amazing – what I can always console myself with is this….

I was blessed to have my world-view shaped by alternative comedy.

On June 9 2014, the world lost one of its truly greats in the tragic demise of Rik Mayall.

To mark the anniversary of his passing, the original intention here was to provide a ‘best moments’ list – but it’s just too difficult – there’s too many shows to choose from – too many stolen scenes – too many instant catch-phrases.

So – for Rik Mayall day 2021 – let’s look closely at Rik’s ‘Bottom’.

With 3 series running from 1991 to 1995, (and at the time of writing streaming on Netflix) ‘Bottom’ is arguably Rik’s most enduring creation and perfectly showcased the partnership with Ade Edmondson. The squalid, violent life of Eddie Hitler and Richard Richard allowed both performers to indulge in creating great two-handed scripts that were reminiscent of some of the great classics of UK comedy – but a career forged in outrageous slapstick and stage-fighting allowed them to regularly, and convincingly, beat the living daylights out of each other.

So where is the comedy classic DNA? ‘Bottom’ borrows heavily from the tradition of pathos and misery lived in a life of unfulfilled dreams and ambitions. Richie’s character owes a great deal to both Tony Hancock’s eponymous persona in ‘Hancock’ s Half-Hour and Harry H Corbett in ‘Steptoe and Son’. Both characters with dreams of betterment – both held-back as much by themselves as their situation and relationships.

As with both of these creations, the magic is created by the interaction with the partner; notably Sid James and, of course, Wilfed Brambell. With Eddie, the comic foil is the cleverer of the two, the more inventive, more popular and socially successful. However, while he may have some advantages, he is still dependant on Richie for a place to live and thus the grim symbiosis continues.

Many episodes feature Eddie and Richie with very little, if any interactions with others and this alone is testament to the ability of the partnership to create a script that can hold an audience, often in a single set, no mean feat.

While ‘Bottom’ has regulars to support in the shape of Spudgun and Dave Hedgehog and some fine guest appearances throughout it is when Eddie and Richy are alone that the true genius of the script and the chemistry between the duo shines through.

The series truly demonstrates what is meant by a ‘supporting cast’. Christopher Ryan’s inclusion as Hedgehog is a nice continuum from ‘The Young Ones’ but his own pairing with Steven O’Donnel’s Spudgun creates another comic pairing in itself with Ryan, particularly given some of the best ‘non Richie/Eddie’ lines.

However – there are no ‘Guest Stars’ in Bottom. Everyone who is neither Eddie or Richie is literally there to make the two of them funnier. As Lord Flasheart, Mayall famously stole two episodes of ‘Blackadder’ – and even though the screen time in either case was relatively limited, they are the defining parts of each show. Supporting roles were just not big enough for him. Looking through his CV, one can not fail to be impressed by the volume – but also by the stars of the projects that he joined in the supporting cast. These people would have known they were working with an exceptional talent – but surely with a constant thought that a major upstaging incident was virtually inevitable.

Bottom is a grotesque version of Tom and Jerry in human form. The antipathy between Richie and Eddie is equally balanced with the reality that they have no chance of a life on their own. The violence is cartoon-like in its cruelty high comedic in its execution.

Such attempts at comment and / or analysis of a text like Bottom are always prone to accusations of pretentiousness – and suggestions that such an exercise is absolutely unnecessary.

I would disagree.

Rik Mayall (and Bottom) were part of a movement that defined my life and made me the person I am.

I count myself lucky to have had childhood heroes that taught me that humour was not universal. That what people like me found funny was a total mystery to the older generation – and that was one thing that made it so…..great.

I count myself lucky to have people in the media that I looked up to that taught without preaching (well, maybe a little, Ben Elton) that humanity needed to take notice of difference and celebrate it – that we really can be in it together, if we want it to be that way.

Alternative comedy was my age Punk as well as my Python moment.

Rik Mayall, Alexei Sayle, The Comic Strip – just three names in a roll call of role models who made it clear that sexism was next to racism in unacceptability, that homophobia wasn’t on – that laughing at someone’s skin colour, accent, culture, sexual orientation was the mark of an absolute w*nker.

And for that, I thank you all.

Rik Mayall – There’s millions of people like me that can’t quite believe you’re dead – which makes you one of the immortals.

Rik Mayall – RIP –