Alexei Sayle outside the house where he used to live on Valley Road(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

Alexei Sayle returns to childhood home in Anfield as he says 'I feel very shook up by this'

by · Liverpool Echo

The legendary comedian was overcome with emotion in his chat with the ECHO as we retraced his roots from Valley Road

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Alexei Sayle was overcome with emotion as he returned to his childhood home in Anfield as part of his exclusive interview with the ECHO. The legendary comedian returned to his home neighbourhood for a wide-ranging chat ahead of the release of his new book, How I've Tried To Change The World By Walking Down the Middle of the Street Shouting.

Alexei's remarkable rise to become a pre-eminent voice in alternative comedy started from humble beginnings at 5 Valley Road. Ahead of our chat in the ECHO's Pub Corner at the nearby Flat Iron, we took a walk down the road where he grew up. Alexei pointed towards his old Anfield Primary School and joked: "That's where I honed my organisational skills leading a walkout over the war in Korea."

His secondary education took him to Walton as he attended Alsop, but he insisted the Wikipedia entry he was expelled in Sixth Form was a tad sensationalist. The 74-year-old said: "Are you expelled if they just tell you to not come back? I was half way through Sixth Form and they said don't bother coming back."

After being dismissed from his Sixth Form, Alexei moved to London for art school and became a key part in the developing alternative scene. He was the first stand up to perform at the Comedy Store and his role in The Young Ones has ensured he is forever etched into UK pop culture.

It's not too bad for a lad kicked out of Alsop High and Alexei was emotional to retrace his roots in our chat. He said: "Maybe because I'm older and I'm closer to death, but it feels melancholy [to be back here]. It feels kind of sad and I can't really say why. Thomas Wolfe said, 'You can never go home again.' You can never truly revisit the past. It's a recollection of a life. It's very emotional.

"I feel emotional and very shook up by this. I feel really moved somehow and I can't completely articulate it. You think of that child who was here, his hopes and his dreams and it's sad. It's just been such a long time."

Here's the full selection of images from our exclusive sit down interview

  1. 60 years on

    Alexei was 14 when he first had a pint in the Flat Iron as he laughed: "I hope the statute of limitations has run out on that crime. Maybe 14 and a half. I was a very precocious kid. I already had a beard at 14."
    1 of 8(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

  2. All change in Anfield

    Alexei was taken aback to find his home neighbourhood was unrecognisable from his youth. He added: "I've obviously been back to Liverpool a lot. But coming back to this neighbourhood today, I feel like I was kidnapped, driven in a car for four hours with a bag on my head and then they kicked me out."
    2 of 8(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

  3. Number 5 Valley Road

    The humble terrace house was where Alexei grew up with his staunchly Communist parents. It was here where he developed the authentic voice that enabled him to change comedy. He said: "There was a lot that was wrong with their communism but the thing they hammered into me was to not sell out. Staying true to your beliefs was something I really absorbed from them. I'd have been a lot richer if I hadn't absorbed that lesson."
    3 of 8(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

  4. A pint in the Pub Corner

    Alexei met with the ECHO's Ryan Paton for our Pub Corner series. Unlike his 14 year old self, he opted for a lime soda on this occasion.
    4 of 8(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

  1. Retracing his roots

    Alexei pioneered ranting to a camera and we walked down the road where he grew up. Alexei said he happened upon the routine organically while filming 1982 show, Comic's Roots.
    5 of 8

  2. A lifetime fighting for change

    Alexei pioneered ranting to a camera and we walked down the road where he grew up. Alexei said he happened upon the routine organically while filming 1982 show, Comic's.
    6 of 8(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

  3. Staying true to Liverpool roots

    Alexei has starred in Hollywood films and changed comedy, but he is most proud of the way he stayed true to his L4 roots. He said: "In an age when most people and things are inauthentic, one of the things people can see about me is that I am authentic. At least in the sense that I've just stuck with being left wing."
    He added: "It's a weird career. I don't know if you'll ever get an entertainer like me again who went a long way up the showbusiness ladder. I was on shows with Cilla Black while remaining a Marxist."
    7 of 8(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

  4. Full interview in today's ECHO

    The full interview is online and in today's ECHO. How I've Tried To Change The World By Walking Down the Middle of the Street Shouting is out now
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