'The World's Funniest Australian' Kevin "Bloody" Wilson pulls no punches in knocking out political correctness
Australia is famous for a ton of things — from world-famous actors like 'Wolverine' Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman to some of the world's most dangerous animals. But that's not what this article is about — on the funny side of life in the Land Down Under is Kevin "Bloody" Wilson.
Known internationally as "The World's Funniest Australian" and raved about by Elton John, Paul Hogan, and Billy Connolly, the comedian from the Great Outback has a very unique way of making people laugh — he combines comedy with music.
Having performed to a sold-out show at the US in Los Angeles' iconic El Ray Theatre on Tuesday, as part of his F.U.P.C. tour, the artiste brings the best of his classic Australian comedic wit and banter, while covering some of today's most intense subjects, including controversial topics like Donald Trump and 'The Wall', offering his one-of-a-kind hilarious take on the world with no punches pulled.
First called 'The World's Funniest Australian' by Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, Wilson tells MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) that he is "pretty proud of that title." He further credits the title to "constant touring, both overseas and in Australia, a repertoire of 20 albums, a biography, a board game and over five million unit sales globally."
I’ll be on @reddit tomorrow and you can ask me anything 😝🖕 pic.twitter.com/9QKI6MaH2l
— Kevin Bloody Wilson (@KevinBloody) March 13, 2019
While the online presence and his variety of albums have earned him a growing fanbase, what Wilson loves to do the most is perform live.
"When people listen to me and watch me perform, I'd love for them to take away aching jaws and ribs and incontinence from laughing so hard!"
Kevin started his career writing and recording songs on a homemade cassette tape about his experiences living in the Outback and working as a part-time musician and electrician in the gold mines in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Sales of this initial cassette took off to tens of thousands before it was transferred to vinyl, repeating more of the same numbers.
Fast forward a few decades and Kevin now sits on 20 albums of self-penned "Bawdy Ballads" that quickly garnered gold-status globally, and others like "Kev's Back" have reached quadruple platinum. Kevin has come a long way from the days his comical and blunt take on the world would get him arrested, to now becoming Australia's go-to social commentator.
Looking back, Wilson recalls how his journey into music began. "As a young musician, I became the frontman for a top 20 cover band in the outback Australian town of Kalgoorlie. My specialty was to decompose (parody) the songs of the time to the point where we were getting more requests for the decomposed songs than the original. It became obvious at that point that comedy was a career path worth looking at."
The journey since then, he says, has been "Bloody awesome! I get to travel the world with my best friend in the world, my wife Betty. My daughter, Jenny Talia from Australia, is my support act, so touring for us is family time." He adds about the family traveling together, "Ask any entertainer, touring doesn't get better than that."
While a lot of his work is heavily political in nature, Wilson points out that his "barstool philosophy" draws from daily experiences. He explains: "Politics is sometimes mentioned in my show, however, it’s not the main thrust. I tend to write songs about my mates and things that go on around me. For instance, I have just written and have been performing a song called 'DIY ME TOO'."
To where he sees his music and act taking him in the future, Wilson responds with a football analogy. "I've been passed the ball, so let's see how far I can run with it."
What most fans love about his performance is that Wilson pulls no punches even with the most intense of topics. How does he deal with the backlash? Wilson replies: "I have a tattoo on my wrist of the acronym 'DILLIGAF' (DO I LOOK LIKE I GIVE A F**K). This acronym was brought back from the Second World War by American and Australian troops. My tattoo reminds me daily that most things aren't worth worrying about. Basically, if people are offended by my songs, I don't give a f**k."
Another acronym 'FUPC' he uses to describe his shows, he says, "doesn't need explaining" quipping about his take on political correctness. One of the stories doing the rounds is that Wilson was once arrested for his comedy. To that, he replies in the affirmative and says he was arrested not once, but five times! "In the early days, I was arrested five times for offensive language in a public place. More recently I was nominated as 'Australian Of The Year' for doing exactly the same thing! Apparently, these days what I do is considered art!"
To those who'd dare to give him a listen for the first time, Wilson suggests they should check him out on YouTube. He adds a disclaimer: "PC snowflakes and social warriors are bound to be highly offended by my songs and concert content…to them I'll just say… DILLIGAF!"
Check Wilson out on his official site, on Facebook and Twitter.