The 12th Man is the only Australian recording artist ever to have seven consecutive #1 albums, a milestone which has been recognised with numerous ARIA awards and nominations over the years, including his 1995 ARIA win for Highest Selling Album Of The Year. Where else but in Australasia, Birmingham has often asked, could a spoken-word, sports -taking comedy artist spend nearly three decades at the top of the charts, right alongside the Barneseys, Farnseys, Kylies, Oils, Madonnas, Chisels, U2s and other international music royalty?
The 12th Man’s much loved comedy masterpieces have mainly focused on cricketing and commentating legend Richie Benaud and his fellow Channel Nine cricket commentators, but his ‘Wired World of Sports’ albums also feature a menagerie of sports presenters and sportspeople from around the globe. Into their collective mouths, Birmingham has put words their mothers would probably have washed out with soap, as well as quips, comments, twists, stumbles, asides and observations that a commentator would never, ever dream of unleashing anywhere near a microphone. Such has the 12th Man cult become over the years that many of his most inspiring utterances have become part of the language. Kids hurl them across playgrounds, adults across workplaces and sporting fields. And so, for his many fans, old and new, here is the long awaited, much anticipated double album collection of some of his most memorable moments: Willy Nilly - The 12th Man’s Biggest Hits (Vol.1) From the legendary scenes featuring Bill and Tony going at each other in the commentary box, to the outrageous Player Comfort measuring device called the ‘scrotometer,’ to Big Merv’s Big Guts, to Johnny Tapp exploding, Bill Lawry’s nose surgery, Kerry Packer from heaven, in bed with the Benauds and so many more. And, of course, the scene where a player suffers a horrible injury after his team mate throws a high five ‘willy nilly’ and misses, and gets him straight in the eye. With The 12th Man having predicted the perils of throwing ‘willy nilly’ high fives way back in 1990, and, after seeing the identical scenario play out for real recently when Brad Haddin copped that eyeful from a team mate, Birmingham figured he just had to call the new album Willy Nilly - The 12th Man’s Biggest Hits and he has cheekily re-created the recent Haddin episode on the album’s front cover, injecting himself into the famous photo of course!! The album’s back cover also looks eerily similar to the picture of Richie’s recent prang in his beloved Sunbeam. Its over two hours of classic 12th Man silliness and chaos, in delicious, bite-size pieces and is the ideal Christmas gift for 12th Man fans and comedy fans everywhere. DISC 1 – Track listing 1. Classic Commentary Competition 2. England v India (1987- 88) 3. Chappelli’s Plays of the Month 4. Big Merv’s Big Guts 5. Rick Diznek 6. Pearce off Jack 7. Straight Down his Throat 8. Marvellous 1990 9. Tappy…..Boom! 10. Australia v Sri Lanka 1991 11. Richie’s Nightmare 12. Name Pronunciation Lessons 13. “Bear” at the Sports Desk 14. Boony’s Player Comfort 15. Protectorcam 16. England v Sri Lanka 1999 17. Corm Down Bull DISC 2 – Track listing 1. Commentary Box Hijack 2. SPATFA 3. Scrotometers 4. Crackcam Says……Gawn! 5. Bill’s Proboscotomy 6. Max and Rabs Auditions 7. Bill Lawry….Tributes 8. Tony’s Hair Hat 9. Reg Warren and Tommy Raudonikis 10. Tubby and Hansie 11. Henri Porte 12. Bill’s Nose Job 13. Bruce 2000 14. Boned By Phone 15. Kerry’s Heavenly Advice 16. Bill v Tony 2006 GetFrank is pleased to offer our viewers a chance to win a copy of Willy Nilly – The 12th Man's Biggest Hits (Vol 1). To enter simply comment below then head over to our Suave Forum to make a decent contribution to finalize your entry.
