Cak!
1982 live album by Alexei Sayle
Cak! is a 1982 live comedy album by the English actor and comedian Alexei Sayle. This was his first album, although he had contributed previously to The Comic Strip's compilation album from 1981. The album consists of spoken word segments and songs. "Song for Len" is about Leonard Cohen. In the "Dire Straits" sketch from Alexei Sayle's Stuff, a copy of Cak! and The Fish People Tapes can be seen on the record shelves.
The album ends with an early version of "'Ullo John! Gotta New Motor?", the studio recording of which (from The Fish People Tapes) made the UK Top Twenty in 1984. Sayle also performed "Dr.
“Cak!” enters the record as 1982 live album by Alexei Sayle. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what live, album and Alexei can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Cak!” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, live, album and Alexei provides the most credible route into that argument.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5018029. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1982, 1981 and 1984.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Cak!”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Cak! primary sources, Cak! archive and live research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cak!”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Cak!” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.