Andy Capp


Andy Capp is a British comic strip created by cartoonist Reg Smythe, seen in the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror newspapers since 5 August 1957. Originally a single-panel cartoon, it was later expanded to four panels.
The strip is syndicated internationally by Creators Syndicate. The character is also licensed as the mascot for a line of snack foods.
FB WorldofAndyCapp

Characters and story

  • Andy Capp
  • Florrie "Flo" Capp
  • Chalkie White
  • Ruby "Rube" White
  • Percy Ritson, the rent collector
  • Jackie the barman/owner of the Rose and Crown Pub;
  • The Vicar
  • Flo's Mum
  • Minor recurring characters include various constables, barmaids, barmen, referees, footballers, pub locals, door-to-door salesmen, debt collectors, job centre employees, dinner guests, neighborhood ladies who disparage Andy, old friends to whom Andy owes money, unseen friends like Nosher Thompson, and Guitar Bob who entertains at the pub to a disdaining small crowd.
Andy is a working-class figure who never actually works, living in Hartlepool, a harbour town in County Durham, in North East England. The title of the strip is a pun on the word "handicap"; and the surname Capp signifies how Andy's cap always covered his eyes along with, metaphorically, his vision in life. Handicap racing and handicapping, in sport and games, is part of betting, a favourite activity of Andy Capp.
Andy's hobbies and activities include pigeon racing, darts, snooker, playing football, occasional cricket and rugby, betting on horses, getting drunk in the local pub, ending up in the local jail, fishing, mooching money from everyone including Flo usually for beer or gambling, cadging for beer at the bar or running up a tab that goes unpaid, unsuccessfully flirting with barmaids, attempting to pick up bargirls, loafing and napping on the sofa, playing poker, and fighting with his long-suffering wife Florrie, as well as being served burnt food by her.
Andy's iconic checked flat cap is always pulled down over his eyes, even when he is napping or bathing. He is often unshaven, frequently intoxicated, lazy, freeloading, belligerent, and confrontational, but just as frequently lovable. Until the 1980s, he was often seen with a cigarette dangling from his lip. When Andy gave up smoking in 1983, some readers blamed political correctness. However, Fergus McKenna, head of syndication at Trinity Mirror which publishes the Daily Mirror, denied that the newspaper had put pressure on Smythe to change Andy's habits, saying: "The truth is that Reg himself gave up smoking and he said there was no way Andy was going to carry on enjoying cigarettes when Reg couldn't". Andy and Florrie now attend marriage counselling.
Andy and Florrie are always on the verge of poverty. Although Flo works regularly as a charwoman, Andy is unemployed and lacks motivation. Rent on their terraced house and its contents is constantly in arrears, and the rent collector, Percy Ritson, despairs of ever being paid. He, as well as several others, always nag Andy to get himself a job, which is usually met with him clobbering them. Twice Andy actually won a legal bet on racing horses at odds of 10 to 1; in one comic as usual Andy goes to the Pub to celebrate, only for Jackie the barman to present Andy with a boxful of unpaid IOUs; another time Andy went to celebrate his winnings until he was confronted with his bar tab and £90 total he owes two of his friends. Another Time Andy saw Dennis Donald go to the Rose and Crown Pub; Andy decides to go to the Pig and Whistle Pub because he cant stand listening to Donald talk of stamp collecting - in fact Donald has come into a big inheritance and decides to celebrate by buying everyone a round all evening. Once when Andy met a friend called Charlie going into a pub Andy tried to trick him into buying a free pint because he has a "raging thirst"; His friend gives Andy some bottled water Once when an ethnic Irish pub opened on St Patricks day and all drinks that day were free to ethnic Irishmen Andy introduces himself as Andy O'Capp and his friend as Chalkie O'Wite.
Percy is also always confronting Andy on the way he treats Flo. It's obvious Percy has a crush on Flo and believes he would treat her far better than Andy does. This has led the two men to fight.
Their furniture has been repossessed on several occasions. Somehow they always manage to retrieve it, and Andy is always able to afford beer and gambling money, usually by borrowing from Florrie.
Almost all the characters occasionally "break the fourth wall" by delivering asides directly to the reader, or even as a very terse 'thought bubble', usually referring to Andy's low character, but more regularly by a character simply cutting their eyes to the reader in the final panel whenever something is said or done by Andy that the character finds unbelievable. The 24 October 1972 strip revealed that Andy once worked as a sign painter, but had not worked at that trade for many years. Should anyone suggest he get a job, his response is often very terse and along the lines of 'Don't be so ridiculous!' and sometimes leads to fisticuffs.
He occasionally visits the Job Centre and is sometimes shown finding excuses why he cannot take a job that seems suitable for him, preferring instead to collect his "dole money".

Continuation

Reg Smythe died on 13 June 1998, but the original strip has continued. For some time, the writer and artist were uncredited, but in November 2004 the strip began to carry a credit for Roger Mahoney and Roger Kettle. Circa 2011, Kettle discontinued his work on the strip and was replaced by Lawrence Goldsmith and Sean Garnett, while Mahoney continued to draw. The appearance of the characters did not change perceptibly.
Towards the end of 2020, Mahoney's credit began to be left off strips with a subtle but noticeably different style in both lettering and art. This led to at least one industry source inferring that Mahoney, at 87 years of age, and after 65 years of cartooning, had retired. Mahoney died at 89, on 29 November 2022.
Strips into 2021 and beyond only show credits for writers Goldsmith and Garnett and continue the subtly different style.

Animated appearances

In May 2012, Andy Capp appeared as an animated series for the first time in promotional material for The Trinity Mirror-owned MirrorBingo.com website. The animation was created by Teesside-born Chris Hunneysett, who drew from his own background to place Andy Capp in Middlesbrough. Andy Capp had previously appeared in animated form in television adverts for the Post Office and Kit Kat.

Awards

Smythe received the National Cartoonists Society's Humor Comic Strip Award for the strip in 1974.
A statue of Andy Capp was erected in Hartlepool on 28 June 2007. It was sculpted by Jane Robbins.

Book collections and reprints

United Kingdom

  • The Andy Capp Book
  • Andy Capp Spring Tonic
  • Life with Andy Capp
  • The Andy Capp Spring Collection
  • The Best of Andy Capp
  • Laugh with Andy Capp
  • The World of Andy Capp
  • More Andy Capp
  • Andy Capp
  • Andy Capp Picks His Favourites
  • Happy Days with Andy Capp
  • Laugh at Life with Andy Capp
  • Andy Capp and Florrie
  • All the Best from Andy Capp
  • Andy Capp
  • The Cream of Andy Capp First hardcover collection
  • Andy Capp: His 21st Book
  • Andy Capp
  • Laugh Again with Andy Capp – 23 volumes
  • The World of Andy Capp – 16 volumes
  • The World of Andy Capp Titan
  • Andy Capp in Colour: After a Few Ravette
  • Andy Capp in Colour: Don’t Wait Up Ravette
  • Andy Capp in Colour: On Cue Ravette
  • Andy Capp in Colour: A Barrel of Laughs Ravette
  • Andy Capp Through the Ages: 1957–2000 Syndication International
  • The New Andy Capp Collection Number 1 David and Charles Books
  • The New Andy Capp Collection Number 2 David and Charles Books
  • Andy Capp at 50 David and Charles Books
  • Andy Capp Annual 2011 Titan

Australia

  • Andy Capp, Man of the Moment! Mirror Books
  • Down the Hatch, Andy Capp! Mirror Books
  • Who's Buying, Andy Capp? Mirror Books
  • You’re a Winner, Andy Capp! Mirror Books
  • Lots More Andy Capp Castle Books
  • Amazing Andy Capp Castle
  • Everlovin' Andy Capp Castle
  • This Is Your Life, Andy Capp! Castle
  • Leave 'Em Laughing, Andy Capp Castle
  • Flo & Andy at It Again Castle
  • You Little Beauty, Andy Capp Castle
  • The Incredible Andy Capp Castle
  • We Still Luv You, Andy Capp Castle
  • Howzat! Andy Capp Castle
  • Laugh at Life with Andy Capp Castle
  • Big Mouth Andy Capp Castle
  • Summer Fun with Andy Capp Castle
  • Amorous Andy Capp Castle
  • Good Sport Andy Capp Castle
  • Raging Andy Capp Castle
  • I Can’t Stand Andy Capp! Castle
  • It's a Hard Life, Andy Capp Castle
  • Romantic Andy Capp Horwitz Grahame Books
  • Strike Again, Andy Capp! HGB
  • The New Image Andy Capp HGB
  • Nobody's Perfect, Andy Capp HGB
  • Down Another, Andy Capp HGB
  • The Laid Back Andy Capp HGB
  • The Andy and Flo Show HGB
  • Educating Andy Capp HGB
  • The Liberated Andy Capp HGB
  • You’re Fine 'n Dandy, Andy Capp Budget Books
  • Sporting Life of Andy Capp Budget Books
  • Up the Pub with Andy Capp Budget Books
  • Andy Capp: After Hours Budget Books
  • Andy Capp: Home Sweet Home Budget Books
  • Andy Capp: A Look Inside Budget Books
  • Outrageous Andy Capp HGB
  • The Return of Andy Capp HGB
  • The Trivial Pursuit of Andy Capp HGB
  • Good Morning, Andy Capp HGB
  • Trouble in Paradise with Andy Capp HGB
  • On the Run with Andy Capp HGB
  • Taking It Easy with Andy Capp HGB
  • Late Again, Andy Capp HGB
  • Bounce Back with Andy Capp HGB
  • Help Yourself, Andy Capp HGB

Adaptations

Stage

In 1981, a stage musical based on the strip had a short run at London's Aldwych Theatre, with songs by Alan Price and Trevor Peacock, starring Tom Courtenay as Andy and Val McLane as Florrie. The stage show also produced an original West End cast recording, released on LP record by Key Records in 1982. The musical was reprised in 2016 at the Finborough Theatre in London, with Roger Alborough portraying Andy.

Television

An attempt to transfer Andy Capp to television in 1988 met with little success. The well-known British character actor James Bolam played Andy on ITV. The Thames Television series consisted of six episodes that were shown once and have never been repeated. The series was poorly received and attracted some criticism for the way it played up to supposed stereotypes of Northern working-class men. In 2012, the series was released on DVD in the UK, licensed by Fremantle Media Ltd to the Network Label.

Computer game

In 1987, a computer game based on Andy Capp, entitled Andy Capp: The Game, was released for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC in Europe and North America. Players had to borrow money in order to replenish Andy's alcohol supply while avoiding fights with his wife Flo and the police.

Snack food

In 1971, the American company Goodmark Foods licensed the character in the form of "Andy Capp's", a fried snack food made to resemble french fries.

Around the world

A Konkani language adaptation of the comic strip, known as Anton Chepekar used to feature in the Konkani daily Sunaparant.

Appearances in other media

Andy Capp appeared twice in Family Guy. In the first appearance, he and Peter are playing darts at a bar and, when an angry Flo appears, she and Andy have a comic-strip style fight, into which Quagmire is unwittingly drawn. The second appearance is when he performs a version of a pap smear, referred to as a "Capp" smear, on Lois. On both occasions, he speaks with a Cockney accent. French band Les Rita Mitsouko published a song about Andy Capp, "Andy", in 1986, referring in its lyrics to Andy Capp, with the singer Catherine Ringer expressing her wish to make love to him.

Related comics

When the children's comic Buster was launched in 1960, its masthead character was entitled "Buster: Son of Andy Capp". Buster wore a cloth cap similar to Andy's until 1992, but the connection was not recognised in the parent strip and had limited development in the children's comic. Buster often referred to his father, and Andy was seen in the comic attempting to find a gas leak in three frames of the 18 June 1960 strip. He was also shown in two drawn photographs in the 2 July 1960 issue, the first of which was displayed by Buster's mum with the pronouncement: "It's a photo of Buster taken with Andy! You can see he's got his dad's fine straight nose". Buster's mum was often referred to by name and was consistently drawn to resemble Andy's wife Flo. The connection with Andy Capp was soon dropped from the comic.