Would The Streets be more interesting if Mike Skinner was actually from London and tried to sound like he was really from Birmingham?

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Rather than the other way round...

― Jim, Thursday, 27 May 2004 10:59 (twenty-two years ago)

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:02 (twenty-two years ago)

actually his family is from london, so i don't know why you assume that he's pretending. i can hear aspects of both london and birmingham accents in his voice.

― pete b. (pete b.), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:08 (twenty-two years ago)

also, sorry i forgot, LOL! etc

― pete b. (pete b.), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't bear to listen to him long enough to tell what his accent is!

― Willow, Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:12 (twenty-two years ago)

what's the point of this discussion?

― mohair (jon kapper), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Not sure I'd recognize Birmingham if I heard it. For the benefit of American ILXors, what might be an example of a tell-tale Brum-ism?

― briania (briania), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:15 (twenty-two years ago)

The point of this thread is to add another thread to the Streets thread mountain in the hope of eventually gaining a EC subsidy for its environmentally-non-destructive decommissioning.

― Tim (Tim), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Beeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggghhhhhmingum.

Foul accent, absolutely vile, with over-use of "Duck" and things. Sounds like scouse but without the phlegm.

― ___ (___), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:19 (twenty-two years ago)

birmingham accents:

Ozzy Osbourne
Frank Skinner
The cast of I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle

― jim, Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Over-use of "Duck" = Stoke On Trent

― jim, Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Ozzy's brum accent has all but gone, though some of the lazy pronunciation comes through quite often.

Frank Skinner has a very very mild brum accent - more outside stresses on certain words.

Noone really famous is a brummy, so its difficult to say. It is lazy - involves lots of dropped ending of words, porolongued vowels "eugh" and stuff, and just is the vocal equivalent of flushing an old fashioned, cistern above your head, toilets.

― ___ (___), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Over-use of "Duck" = Stoke On Trent

This is quite true, but runs through the whole region. As an aside, my cousin was born to a Stoke-on-trent mother, and has been brought up in Wolverhampton. I am looking to enter him into a "most detestable voice" contest.

― ___ (___), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:27 (twenty-two years ago)

The way Skinner says "couldn't withdraw any money" on the first track of Grand is TOTAL Brum.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I like the Birmingham accent. Ozzy's is still fairly noticeable I'd say. I used to love listening to Jim Baines talk.

― David (David), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Ozzy still sounds pretty Brummy to me. I had an interesting conversation with some Brummies about accents - the difference between Brummie and Black Country..... forgotten how to tell them apart tho!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:30 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't bear to listen to him long enough to tell what his accent is!
-- Willow (56...), May 27th, 2004.

Yes, but what does Giles think??

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Nick otm, 'It Was Supposed To Be So Easy' is full of the Brummie lilt albeit mercilessly bred with a twist of the Mockernees here and there, as you would expect

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:41 (twenty-two years ago)

The cast of I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle

this reminds me how much i lost my shit the other week thinking about Brummie Vampires 'oi wannow suuk yow blud' etc.

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Mike Skinner should appear with Meera Syal in a well-meaning sitcom about what it's like when an old racist somehow ends up dating an Indian woman with a crippled kid.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 27 May 2004 14:00 (twenty-two years ago)

I reckon he should play the slim Peter Kay in the "Peter Kay Story"

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 27 May 2004 14:23 (twenty-two years ago)

what makes you think Skinner should play an old racist Dom? or did you mean Frank Skinner? or did you mean Mike should play the Indian woman with a crippled kid? Or did you mean he should play the crippled kid? Or did you...

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 27 May 2004 14:50 (twenty-two years ago)

stevem- have you missed "Jasper Carrot likes Pakistanis", or whatever that dreadful sitcom is called?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 27 May 2004 14:56 (twenty-two years ago)

It is lazy - involves lots of dropped ending of words, prolonged vowels "eugh" and stuff

how exactly is vowel lengthening the result of laziness?

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Thursday, 27 May 2004 16:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Ah, the blank stupidity of southern bigots. A comedy basic. However, must avoid chippy class-accent-warfare.

On a separate note: Dadaismus, roughly speaking, although Black Country is almost indistinguishable from Brummie to the untrained ear, BC has more of a Stoke/Derbyshire/South Yorkshire inflection to it (despite the dividing line between the Black Country and Birmingham being a few hundred yards at some points). It's pretty clear if you hear the two accents alongside each other.

I once knew a woman who could tell which part of Manchester somebody came from by listening to their accent. It's a massive tragedy that the whole country's going to end up speaking like Eastenders.

― noodle vague (noodle vague), Thursday, 27 May 2004 23:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Jeff Lynne. He even does the horizontal-mouth-stretchy thing when he talks.

― Pack Yr Romantic Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Thursday, 27 May 2004 23:07 (twenty-two years ago)

aw f'god's sayk beurn it dow-un

― Fergal (Ferg), Thursday, 27 May 2004 23:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Black Country is like the accent people put on when they do a comedy 'Brummie accent'. Noddy Holder. Real Birmingham is softer.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 27 May 2004 23:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Birmingham accents seem very apt to mix with other ones, possibly because they're so widely reviled. Apparently I sound like I'm from Nottingham.

― Fergal (Ferg), Thursday, 27 May 2004 23:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I think you have all entirely missed the point of my question at the top of the page.

Never mind.

I am indeed impressed by the extensive knowledge of midland accents. Except for the condescending triple underscore person:

Sort it out, you cock.

― Jim, Thursday, 27 May 2004 23:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I guess people just didn't like the premise of your question (ie. that Mike Skinner is pretending to be from London)

― N. (nickdastoor), Friday, 28 May 2004 00:02 (twenty-two years ago)

"Not like the Streets, who talks like a Cockney,
Ain't you from Birmingham ya knob, ya get me?"

― Sasha (sgh), Friday, 28 May 2004 02:01 (twenty-two years ago)

wow, UK "cred"

― bnw (bnw), Friday, 28 May 2004 02:04 (twenty-two years ago)

I once knew a woman who could tell which part of Manchester somebody came from by listening to their accent. It's a massive tragedy that the whole country's going to end up speaking like Eastenders.

Except of course people from London, who are all going to end up like speaking like Ali G. In fact, I was having this conversation last week about how Cockney/London accents (vague, I know) are taking over all of Southern England but actually dying out in London.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 28 May 2004 08:30 (twenty-two years ago)

It's not a "cockney" accent, it's an Estuary accent with local Jamaican/Pakistani twang variants (depending on the racial break up of the area). Innit?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 28 May 2004 10:26 (twenty-two years ago)

I am indeed impressed by the extensive knowledge of midland accents. Except for the condescending triple underscore person:

Sort it out, you cock.

Why thanks. Can you change that to "the condescending triple underscore person who was brought up in Birmingham" please?

Self depreciation, oh powerful one. Get a grip.

― ___ (___), Friday, 28 May 2004 10:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I am proud that I didn't actually say "fuck you" rather than "get a grip" in that last post.

― ___ (___), Friday, 28 May 2004 10:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Though that has kinda blown that one now.

― ___ (___), Friday, 28 May 2004 10:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Hazel - I feel the "eugh" lengthening of vowels is lazy as it is the easiest letters for the voice to sit on without making an effort. Any expression of tiredness is typically the prolonging of a vocal tone, typically a vowel. Brummie does this a lot.

― ___ (___), Friday, 28 May 2004 10:36 (twenty-two years ago)

When people say they "hate" accents I just think that is someone with no music in their soul

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 28 May 2004 10:38 (twenty-two years ago)

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