It's easy to think of topics like Religion, Politics and Race as the staple content of standup comedy, in the same way the bread is the staple of the human diet, or staples are the staple of the helix stapler.  But it wasn't always this way.  There was a time when some would argue that comedy was just not funny, at least not by todays standards.

There was a time when controversial topics, and even controversial language, had no place in stand-up.  Then, in the 1960's along came Lenny Bruce. (he may have come along by car, or he may have walked, we just don't know, and some would argue that it's not an important detail, and question the reasoning of this author in spending 34 words in mentioning it, and a further 17 words in mentioning how many words it took).

Modern Critics are still divided on whether Bruce was funny, but most agree that he was important.  The controversial topics he broached in his live acts were seen by the authorities as highly indecent.  He was first arrested on stage in 1961, and what followed was an ordeal whereby he would be hounded by the authorities in almost every live performance, and could barely do a set without being arrested.

Now over 40 years later, his fans have launched an appeal to get Lenny's name cleared of obscenity charges dating back to 1964.  He was convicted after undercover policemen heard him utter 100 'obscene' words during a performance in Greenwich village. Bruce contested the judgement but died of a drugs overdose before his appeal was heard.

We'll let you know the outcome of the appeal here on Funny.co.uk in a future news article, (or by carrier pidgeon for those of you have have an older, steam powered fax line).