Joe Lycett has revealed he spent four years undercover organising a Birmingham Pride event in a bid to raise the price of his house – a story his fans have been in stitches over.
Lycett’s latest stand-up show More, More, More! How Do You Lycett? How Do You Lycett? aired on Channel 4 last night, promising ‘more jokes, comedy anecdotes and inappropriate and disturbing paintings’.
Of course, the comedian is known for his high profile stunts – from rebranding himself as Hugo Boss to defend a small shop from legal action against the fashion giant of the same name, through to pretending to shred a Banksy worth £10,000 in protest of David Beckham’s Qatar World Cup ties.
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In one of his recent moves, Lycett, 35, secretly organised a Pride event in Birmingham, which had initially been set up in jest.
He explained in his stand-up show he started Queens Heath Pride as a joke, having found out that an area being seen as LGBTQ+ friendly tended to increase house prices.
Lycett spent four years arranging the gathering, taking on a fake identity as he set up the ‘Gayborhood Foundation’, using a burner phone to further conceal his identity.
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At one point, he says he even received concerns from police as they began to worry about the size of the unauthorised event.
However, things eventually went ahead, with free live music, giveaways and a surprise appearance from none other than the famous organiser.
"I'm not going to say much because I don't want to make it all about me, even though this day is really all about me,” he told the crowd.
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"Thank you so much for coming to this brazen attempt to further gentrify the area, the first Queens Heath Pride was three years ago and started as a laugh, a silly experiment mainly because I thought it would be funny.
"I had no idea how important it would become and how beautiful it would be, Pride is more important than ever, there are those who feel there are too many letters in LGBTQ+, that it's overcomplicated and hard to keep up with but I think that's just a simple lack of curiosity in life's diversity.
"There are so many ways to be, millions of species of animals and plants, thousands of cultures, ways of living and places to call home. And we call here Kings Heath, Queens Heath our home!"
Lycett admitted he’d been dropping hints about his involvement for months, having made sly mentions to the event on The One Show, Strictly Come Dancing and even on his own programme.
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Many viewers watching him recall what happened on the Channel 4 coverage were in tears over the story, with one writing: “That was absolutely brilliant. Definitely one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.”
Someone else said: “Hilarious Joe Lycett show on CH4 now.”
A third wrote: “Joe Lycett is absolutely hilarious.”
Topics: Celebrity, Joe Lycett
Jess Hardiman