Peter Kay

Peter Kay ranks among the foremost British comedians of his era and also spearheaded several of the noughties’ highest-charting singles. Born in Bolton in 1973, he earned a media performance diploma at Salford University and began delivering stand-up material on nearby stages. A Perrier Award nomination at the Edinburgh Festival led to the mockumentary series That Peter Kay Thing and the well-received live release Live at the Top of the Tower. His self-written sitcom Phoenix Nights, centered on a working men’s club, brought mainstream success, and the 2003 tour that followed ranks among the most attended comedy outings in British history. Although he contributed no vocals to the recording, Tony Christie’s 2005 revival of the 1971 single “Is This the Way to Amarillo” carried Kay’s name in the credits; his participation in the Comic Relief video nevertheless drove sales beyond one million copies and anchored the track at number one for seven straight weeks. He returned to the summit two years later by supplying vocals for a duet with Little Britain’s Matt Lucas on a cover of the Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).” Appearing as Geraldine, a character from his X Factor satire Britain’s Got the Pop Factor, he placed two further singles in the Top Five during 2008—“The Winner’s Song,” penned by Gary Barlow, and “Once Upon a Christmas.” In 2009 he claimed his third number-one position with “The Official BBC Children in Need Medley,” issued under the name Peter Kay’s Animated All Star Band. Kay has also published two autobiographies, taken parts in Doctor Who, Coronation Street, and 24 Hour Party People, and assembled the sketch anthology The Best of Peter Kay.