...It's Just a Ride...

If you can't be bothered reading the biography, please just scroll down to the clips at the bottom, and have a look.

Comedian? Definitely. Social Commentator? Yes, that as well. Preacher? Again, it's a yes.
Bill Hicks was all of these things and a hell of a lot more.
To say his impact on the world of comedy was equal to Dylan's in music is not to exaggerate.
It's hard to think of anyone in the world of either comedy or music whose ability to offend, outrage, provoke and excite and elate all at the same time was equal to Bill's.
Subjects would range from the mundane, everyday occurrences that we all share, to the extreme, shocking, almost nightmarish thoughts that we all share but aren't brave enough to voice.
No topic was off the hit list for Bill. But this was never presented in a way so as just to shock; the whole point of what Bill did was to challenge, then expand, the audiences limits; to present two sides to an argument where the world's media seemed intent on presenting just one.
His gift with words, his rock & roll, Old Testament preacher approach to any subject that really struck a chord with him, is one that's served as an inspiration and influence in ways previously only reserved for the giants of the music world.
All too sadly, his premature (premature being a huge understatement) death from cancer at the age of 32, immortalised him for eternity in realms occupied by the likes of Lenny Bruce, Sam Kinnison, and every rock star whose flame just burned out too young.
The music parallels don't end there, either. Like Hendrix, Bill was virtually nothing when he started in his American homeland, finding notoriety, fame, and instant legendary status in Great Britain instead. Returning to his homeland later, like Hendrix, he found mesmerised audiences waiting for him nationwide.
A successful stint on the high-profile Jay Leno show led to an ever higher-profile run on David Letterman's show. But the run ended in legendary notoriety. Bill was heavily censored with his hard-hitting rant against extremists in the pro/anti-abortion debate that was rife in the States at the time, and aside from Public Access stations, Bill was banned in all but name from American t.v.
But his fanbase didn't mind. His tours across the globe were instant sell-outs, and recordings of his shows saw him re-popularising the comedy record, and outselling many big-name music acts in the Billboard chart.
His death of pancreatic cancer in 1993 filtered through slowly to the world. For example, I didn't find out about it until some three weeks after the fact, when someone happened to mention it in a letter to the N.M.E.
It was the first time I could remember in my lifetime that someone who seemed as important as Lennon or Presley had died.
And just like them, there's STILL no-one coming forward to fill the void he left behind.