Joe Lycett’s United States of Birmingham review – what a brilliantly daft road trip, bab!

The comic’s love for his home town leads him on this charming and wacky odyssey to find ‘his people’ across the pond. Brummies of the world unite!Joe Lycett is on a mission to visit every one of the 17 Birminghams in the US and the one in Canada too. Why? Because he is a native of the UK’s own Birmingham, and he wants to see if there is any shared identifiable vibe and to foster a sense of togetherness among the scattered Brummies. Also, as he says, he has a pressing need to make a travelogue for Sky “and if anyone can do it, it’s Frank Sk– … it’s me”. There is also a Birmingham on the moon (a remnant of an impact crater – save your jokes, please, that’s Joe’s department) and one in Belgium. But “we don’t have a lunar budget and I’m not going to Belgium,” says Lycett, so off he sets round the US in a tour bus suitably decked out in Cat Deeley and Alison Hammond scatter cushions. They both hail from Birmingham in the UK. This is not difficult, people. Do try to keep up.Joe has a sheaf of “friendship agreements” for the Birmingham mayors to sign – including a promise to stand together in Nato’s stead should it fall – a pen once used by the Queen Mother with which to do so, a collection of commemorative plaques and some Birmingham-centred presents to give to the people he meets along the way. There is Cadbury’s chocolate, of course, originally manufactured by one of the Quaker families whose histories are centred round the city; Bird’s custard (“sugar and asbestos”) invented by Brummie chemist Alfred Bird in 1837; HP Sauce (born of Nottingham but made famous under the aegis of the Midland Vinegar Company); and some of the 723 novels by “the David Walliams of her day”, Dame Barbara Cartland, originally of Edgbaston. Not all of these facts are in the programme, by the way. Joe’s enthusiastic spirit and evident love for his home town inspired me to go digging. He has that effect on you. And indeed on his driver, the North Carolinian Randy who, once he has figured out what little there is to figure out – and, indeed, that there is that little to figure out – relaxes and gets into the swing of things and functions as the perfect foil for his passenger. Continue reading...

Comments

Culture

Glastonbury 2025 resale: When do tickets go on sale, do I need to register and other ways to get in

Comments

Similar News

Tendaberry review – dreamlike drama of a young woman alone in New York

‘Touching the soul is all that matters!’ The outrageous genius of Barrie Kosky and his Wagner phantasmagoria

This new story collection is marvelous — if a bit meandering

Book Review: ‘The Acid Queen,’ by Susannah Cahalan

Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman review – why you quit your job to make the world a better place

Enough Is Enuf by Gabe Henry review – the battle to reform English spelling

How to Fight Loneliness at the Park Theatre review: this assisted dying play is repetitive and reductive

Marvel’s Thunderbolts called ‘fantastic’ as critics praise ‘genuinely emotional story’

Wind, Tide & Oar review – a love letter to the good old fashioned art of sailing

‘Monks, politicians, drag queens – all life is here’: a trip to Japan’s Kyotographie festival

Musical brings cult classic Restless Natives to the stage

With ‘Floyd Collins,’ Jeremy Jordan Finds Another Challenge Onstage

Andor season two review – the excellent Star Wars for grownups is as thrilling as ever (and funnier too)

‘Filling in these gaps’: Paul McCartney’s recently rediscovered photographs

Book Review: ‘More Everything Forever,’ by Adam Becker

Poetry Review: Four New Books Lean Into Calm and Joy

Freddie Flintoff says ‘one good thing’ has come from life-changing car crash

Scots singer Amy MacDonald announces major tour including Glasgow Hydro date

TV tonight: John Simm stars in a hammy new thriller

Culture

Glastonbury 2025 resale: When do tickets go on sale, do I need to register and other ways to get in

Love on the Spectrum star hits out at RFK Jr’s ‘downright offensive’ autism claims

Sharon Osbourne calls for Kneecap to be kicked out of US after Coachella performance

Sebastian Stan says ‘narcissist’ Trump enjoyed one part of his controversial biopic about the president

5 tips and tricks for the Glastonbury 2025 resale

The ‘best TV series of 2025’ is finally streaming after 10-year journey

Full details of Freddie Flintoff’s injuries ahead of explosive tell-all documentary

Patsy Palmer’s Mickey Rourke response is a problem for Celebrity Big Brother

Sinners’ ‘horniest’ scenes are just as important as the most gory

Freddie Mercury’s sister ‘secretly spent £3m’ buying his possessions at auction

Andrew Garfield cries over discovery of relatives murdered in Holocaust

Carlos Santana forced to postpone show due to medical scare

Andor achieves impressive Rotten Tomatoes record for Star Wars franchise

Scots singer Amy MacDonald announces major tour including Glasgow Hydro date

Celebrity Big Brother surprisingly beaten to most complained about TV moment of 2025

Surprising Victoria Wood documentary that inspired beloved 00s song

Marvel’s Thunderbolts called ‘fantastic’ as critics praise ‘genuinely emotional story’

Celebrity Big Brother viewers left squirming as Patsy Palmer shuns Mickey Rourke question

17 writers who despised adaptations of their work: ‘If you like my stuff, don’t watch that movie’

From Tate McRae to Addison Rae: Why does Gen Z love nonchalant pop music?

The 17 most devastating character deaths in TV history, from The Sopranos to Downton Abbey

Alice Cooper says he thrives on proving people wrong: ‘I am defiant about this’

Kate Garraway skips Good Morning Britain as co-hosts ‘try to get hold of her’

Celebrity Big Brother’s Angellica Bell breaks down over Martin Lewis show ‘feud’

JK Rowling calls for PM to apologise after Supreme Court ruling on women

Jennifer Aniston reacts to blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in second season of The Last of Us

Angellica Bell tearfully addresses Martin Lewis feud after being ‘secretly sacked’ from money show

Celebrity Traitors full-line up ‘revealed’, including Stephen Fry, Charlotte Church and Ted Lasso star

Freddie Flintoff says ‘one good thing’ has come from life-changing car crash

Herald Diary: Now here's a police warning with a difference...

Alison Rowat: BBC Scotland closing River City is cultural vandalism

'High-five my waxwork', says Last of Us star

Musical brings cult classic Restless Natives to the stage

BBC building in 'lockdown' after protesters break in

The "priest of AI" & tech's pursuit of eternal life

There can only be one pope in the delightfully preposterous 'Conclave'

From Tate McRae to Addison Rae: Why does Gen Z love nonchalant pop music?

The Last of Us’ Abby voice actor says HBO was wise to change controversial death after backlash

Major Emily in Paris star explains decision to exit the show ahead of season 5

Carlos Santana rushed to hospital after backstage medical emergency cancels show

Country star Jelly Roll seeks pardon from criminal past

Conclave viewership soars after Pope’s death

Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz says he’s at ‘a new low’ in honest post

Mystery surrounding Brady Bunch plot line finally addressed decades after show stopped filming

Lorde’s surprise New York park appearance shut down by police before it even starts

Why Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson wasn’t at WrestleMania 41

‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’: An Origin Story for the Broadway Stage

Climate Activists Interrupt New York City Ballet Performance

RFK's plan to phase out synthetic food dyes could face industry pushback

Thunderbolts* director approached new Marvel film ‘A24 style’ after unexpected Kevin Feige request

Tennessee board recommends that governor pardon country star Jelly Roll

FDA to ban artificial food dyes by next year

Roy Thomas Baker, Who Helped Produce ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ Dies at 78

Pamela Anderson heading back to the stage for Tennessee Williams’ play Camino Real

The Vivienne kept ketamine addiction secret from family to ‘protect them’

Yiddish is making a comeback

Film co-produced by Eminem to open inaugural SXSW London Screen Festival

Horror fans bowled over by ‘fever dream’ cast for eagerly anticipated sequel film