Some very strange things happen on Twitter. Right now, the biggest trending topic on Twitter is Keith Chegwin. Keith is an active Twitter user; he's made it his policy not to use Twitter to endlessly promote books, tours, concerts etc. as many celebrities do; instead he uses Twitter to tell jokes. Sometimes they are jokes he's made up, sometimes they're jokes he remembers from some time ago and chooses to repeat. Either way, it's just a bit of harmless fun and raises a laugh. Or at least, a bit of a chuckle. Ok then, a grin. Occasionally.
Back to the point. He's trending today because Simon Evans, who is apparently a comedian himself, remembered that one of the jokes that Cheggers tweeted was actually one told by the brilliant Milton Jones a telly some time ago. Evans took issue with the fact that Cheggers didn't credit Jones with the joke, and launched a campaign to that effect. Evans' take is that it takes time and effort to write jokes, comedians earn their living by doing this, and by repeating their material Cheggers is effectively stealing. Perhaps Evans thinks Cheggers should pay a royalty.
Technically, there's something in Evans' argument. But it is a technicality, no more. It's quite well known for example that the song "Happy Birthday to you" is still under copyright and therefore any profitable performance of it should result in royalties being paid to Warner Music Group, who own the copyright. Equally, you might be right to insist that every time you have a tune in your head that you've heard on the radio recently, you resit singing, whistling or humming it until you know whose it is so that you can credit them - but that's a ludicrous idea. Equally silly would be to stop children in the playground repeating catchphrases from sketch shows like Little Britain a few years ago.
Comedy is an art form, and art is not primarily about the artist. If someone admires a piece of art, they admire it for what it is, not for who created it - and most artists would be pleased and proud that people like their work. So Cheggars repeating Milton Jones' joke is a complement to Jones, and something to be proud of - even if Cheggers didn't remember where the joke came from at the time. By repeating the joke Cheggers is showing respect; Evans' assertion that the opposite is true is petty and needless.
Keep tweeting, Cheggers!
