The Wee Man (comedian)

Neil Bratchpiece,[1] (born 24 October 1983) better known by his pseudonym as The Wee Man, is a Scottish YouTube personality, comedian, actor and writer based in Glasgow. He rose to prominence in 2007 when he appeared in the YouTube video "Here You (That'll Be Right)" by NEDS Kru which became a viral success. Throughout the years, Bratchpiece has appeared in character in several popular YouTube videos.

Bratchpiece in character as "The Wee Man"

Biography

Early life

Bratchpiece was born in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, U.K., on 24 October 1983, into a family of Jewish descent[2] and attended Dalziel High School. His father Mark, and brother David were both stand-up comedians. Bratchpiece started his involvement in comedy whilst at school, and again at the University of Glasgow.[3]

YouTube videos

The Wee Man character first rose to prominence in 2007 when he appeared in the viral YouTube video "Here You (That'll Be Right)" by NEDS Kru.[4] The video garnered over 3.5 million views[5] and featured the character fulfilling the role of a stereotypical Scottish "ned", drinking Buckfast Tonic Wine.

Since then, he has released other videos, including "Manky Xmas", "Da Fleeto", "Parliamo Glasgow", "Banter" and rap battle sketches featuring Scottish rappers.[6] Cameos in subsequent videos have included Robert Florence, Tom Urie, Colin McCredie, Des McLean, Raymond Mearns, Gavin Mitchell, Janey Godley, Mark Dallas, Drew Galloway and the wrestlers Grado and Rhino.

Bratchpiece continues to tour as a stand-up, having done at least one show every year for the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, including starting 'Comedian Rap Battles', which gained praise at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[7] He has performed support slots for Jackass star Steve-O and English comedian Lee Nelson. He most recently took inspiration from Nelson's own act by stage invading his 2015 Fringe show.[8]

Insane Championship Wrestling

Since 2010, The Wee Man character has appeared as a manager, occasional commentator and occasional wrestler for Insane Championship Wrestling, a Scottish-based professional wrestling promotion.[9] In ICW, he managed a tag team called 'The Bucky Boys', consisting of Davey Boy and Stevie Boy, using a boisterous ned gimmick for the stable. The team were featured prominently in a documentary produced by Vice (magazine) called 'The British Wrestler'.[10] The company has since risen to prominence through the BBC Scotland documentary Insane Fight Club. The Wee Man has developed a successful reputation as a manager and labels himself as "the best manager in British wrestling" and "Manager of Champions".

Other work

Bratchpiece has made several television appearances, including BBC Scotland sitcom Scot Squad, Episode 1.5 in 2014), and Channel 4 show Scotland in a Day. He has also performed on radio, most notably as part of sketch group Endemic on BBC Radio 4 show Sketchorama.

References
  1. Donaldson, Brian (29 November 2007). "Profile - The Wee Man". The List. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  2. "Chortle - Wee Man".
  3. "Meet The Wee Man | DamoWords Blog". blog.damowords.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-09-11
  4. Scottish comedian The Wee Man - a.k.a. Neil Bratchpiece - set for Ayrshire headline show Daily Record Retrieved 2019-11-22
  5. "Video" on YouTube, retrieved 2015-09-11
  6. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaEpoW0fzUkcgguGgpkJhzQ
  7. "Rap Battles @ Bannermans | Comedy Review | The Skinny". The Skinny (magazine) Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  8. "Comedian Hilariously Gives Lee Nelson A Taste Of His Own Medicine". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  9. https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-lives-neil-gorbals-insane-15485139
  10. "The British Wrestler | VICE | United Kingdom", Vice (magazine) Retrieved 2015-09-11.
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