Rapping with the King of Bling
In the Oxford Union Debating Chamber. Some stuff’s been discussed here!
I had a bit of an outer-body experience this week.
In the Oxford Union. Surrounded by undergraduates rapping along - at the top of their lungs - with Mathew Baynton (otherwise known as: Charles II, Dick Turpin, Thomas Thorne) to the Horrible Histories “King of Bling”.
Something I will never forget.
I’ll set the scene.
We LOVE the BBC’s series “Ghosts” in our house. When I say LOVE, I mean we are seriously obsessed. Quoting Thomas Thorne “Answer the question, damn your eyes” and Pat Butcher “avert your eyes kids, you don’t want to see this in your dreams” across the Spag Bol, watching episode after episode, laughing every time like it’s the first!
So, when our eldest mentioned that Mathew Baynton (Thomas) was speaking in the Oxford Union, I didn’t wait to be invited.
“I’m coming” I announced as I headed for the car!
We weren’t sure how popular he would be. Would we get in?
The queue stretched across the courtyard and down the street!
Mathew (we’re on first name terms!) was obviously big in the Horrible Histories episodes; remember “Ma name is, ma name is, ma name is Charles II” and the story of Dick Turpin “I became a highwayman … nothing dandy about me…” but nothing prepared me for the impact he (and his co-hort of writers) have had on our kid’s generation (Generation Z).
And he couldn’t believe it either. As the jam-packed debating chamber spilling over with students, crammed in on the benches shoulder to shoulder and standing around the gallery cheered, clapped and stamped their feet as “the dreamboat” (my daughter explained and surrounding students agreed) entered.
“I’m not a celebrity, I hardly ever get recognised out and about, I can’t quite believe the welcome” he said, slightly staggered.
The interviewer and he chatted; how he started out in Clown School, comedy the lexicon (love that!) of his early family years, his audition for Horrible Histories, the years that have followed; acting, writing, singing, prancing about, Ghosts, collaborating, more acting, writing!
Then it was Q&A from the floor and the hands shot up.
Oxford Union
Undergraduates waiting with ‘Bayn-ted” breath!
One undergraduate said “how does it feel knowing you’ve inspired our generation, many of us are here studying History, Humanities, Politics, because we grew up loving Horrible Histories.”
What a legacy.
To inspire a generation of kids into learning about what’s really gone before. In a fun, accessible, memorable, visual way.
So much so, they choose to study it at Oxford. 10 years on.
It struck me that the sheer brilliance is the way in which the Horrible Histories team communicated it. It would never have had the same impact if it had been delivered in a dry, text-book, conventional way.
Using clear language, making it fun, dressing up, writing raps, singing songs, setting the scene, designing trenches, uncovering the real horrors of life “back in the day”, telling the truth!
In a creative way.
That’s the magic.
I have to admit I didn’t pay a lot of attention to what the kids were watching on TV when they were little.
They were quiet, we had parental controls on, I could catch up.
I was oblivious to the fact they were glued to Horrible Histories learning about “Cut-throat Celts” and WWI wee-wee (they used urine to cool down machine guns and soften their boots in the trenches).
As the rap wrapped up, the interviewer asked the “dreamboat”, what words of advice would you give our students.
“Be Kind” he answered.
Simple. Effective. Impactful. Good.
Bravo Mathew Baynton. You have a new fan.