"This house will become a shrine, and punks and skins and rastas will all gather round and hold their hands in sorrow for their fallen leader. And all the grown-ups will say, "But why are the kids crying?" And the kids will say, "Haven’t you heard? Rick is dead! The People’s Poet is dead!"

R.I.P. Rik Mayall - 

March 7th 1958 - June 9th 2014

 Very sad day to find another hero passed away and our thoughts are with his family as we have lost one of the funniest men of his generation. My son, Matthew, and I were lucky enough to get to see the 'Bottom' tour here in Oxford's New Theatre thanks to the stage manager, a dear old friend John Underwood, who had shown me round the stage and the set (including the shitting seagull! which was John's responsibility) earlier in the day and after a few drinks at lunch time, we wandered around to their hotel suite in the local snooty hotel at John's bequest and as I ws suited and booted and had a posh raincoat draped acorss my shoulders, John had me inspect the rooms they had been given, only for him to have me say they weren't good enough, and to have them upgraded to entire suits of rooms! Absolute hoot! Happy days indeed
The performance was BRILLIANT! of course, with Ade and Rik slipping off script and ad hoc interjections all over the place as was their wont. John having made sure we had amongst the best seats in the house it has stayed in both our minds as one of funniest and silliest evenings in our memories. Happy days! Hilarious stuff! We loved it . . . . . .

I had adored Rik immediately, right from the Dangerous Brothers and Kevin Turvey through The Young Ones, Alan B'Stard and Blackadder's Flashheart of course. "Woof!"

We will miss him and comedy is bereft as we are all the poorer for his untimely passing

His tweet!
Rik Mayall @rikmayall

"Opening my very own Twitter to stop another bastard from doing it. 
So fuck off & don't expect to hear from me any time soon. Love Rik x"
6:25 PM - 9 Jun 2014

Ade Edmondson said yesterday
"There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing.
"They were some of the most carefree stupid days I ever had, and I feel privileged to have shared them with him.
"And now he's died for real. Without me. Selfish bastard."