Biography
The 12th Man served as the stage name for Billy Birmingham, an Australian humorist who occasionally worked as a sports journalist and entered the world in 1953. Widespread notice first reached him in 1983 when he supplied the material for Austen Tayshus’ comedy recording Australiana. At roughly the same moment he began shaping the 12th Man idea, drawing on his exceptional talent for vocal impressions to skewer the exaggerated style of professional sportscasting, with cricket as the primary target. The moniker itself alludes to the extra player held in reserve on any given cricket roster. Birmingham’s recurring subjects included the prominent Australian commentators Richie Benaud, Bill Lawry, and Tony Greig. Issued on a succession of LPs that opened with 1984’s It’s Not Just Cricket, the 12th Man recordings consist of lengthy comic set pieces that claim to reveal what happens off-camera during Nine Network telecasts. Birmingham voices nearly every part himself, enlisting various actresses only for the occasional female role. A commercial breakthrough arrived in 1992 when the 12th Man released the single “Marvelous,” supported by backing vocals from Jimmy Barnes and John Farnham; that track was also cut again the same year for the chart-topping album Still the 12th Man. After six straight number-one releases, Birmingham floated the possibility of ending the project following the two-disc set The Final Dig? in 2001. He nevertheless revived the character in late 2006 with Boned!, which entered the Australian charts at number one on the strength of the updated single “Marvelous 2006.”
Albums
