The 12th Man

Australian entertainment history was effectively rewritten a decade ago by a clever Australian conceptualist with a wicked wit, a predilection for playing with words and an outstanding art for mimicry, who was able to deftly tickle the national funnybone by 'borrowing' the persona of a revered icon and imbuing it with an unexpected verbal dexterity and dimension.

The conceptualist was Billy Birmingham who, as The 12th Man, became one of the most successful spoken-word recording artists in the world (certainly the most successful in Australia, ever).

The icon was and indeed still is cricketing legend Richie Benaud, who became the thematic centre piece of a string of...

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