Andrew Dice Clay was born Andrew Clay Silverstein on 29 September 1957 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. In the early stages of his career, using the name Andrew Clay, was an actor and appeared in 1980s low budget Porn films. He eventually gave up acting and turned his hand to standup comedy, inventing a persona known as "The Dice Man" (named after a Luke Rhinehart novel).

Unlike many other comedians who turned their comedy into a tool of political or social commentary, including contempories like Bill Hicks and Sam Kinison as well as influences such as George Carlin and Lenny Bruce, Clay's desire was to be as shocking as humanly possible. His material consisted of highly racist, misogynistic and homophobic tirades, often directed at audience members. Often, offended members of audience would walk out of his shows, unable to take anymore of Clay's insults.

Comedy records do not traditionally sell very well, and so it was a great shock, even to Clay himself, when his debut album Dice was a commercial success. Clay was the most controversial comic since Lenny Bruce, and his appearance on Saturday Night Live as host resulted in guest Sinead O' Connor and cast member Nora Dunn walking off the set in protest to Clay's misogynistic persona. Naturally this made him even more famous. Further controversy ensued when Clay appeared on MTV to promote his new movie, The Adventures Of Ford Fairlaine, and performed an expletive filled routine that earned him a lifetime ban from the network.

Clay would then go on to record what some regard as his masterpiece. The 2 CD set The Day The Laughter Died, lasting just under 2 hours, hit the Top 40 Album Chart and is cosidered the first ever comedy concept album. The concept, according to Clay, was to perform "the worst show possible". Clay went in front of a paying audience with no planned material and insulted the audience, as whole as well as individually, for nearly 2 hours. Many members of the audience, even by the standards of a Clay show, left and the entire concert was released without any edits. The album was produced by Beastie Boys and Slayer producer Rick Rubin.

After "Ford Fairlaine" failed at the box office, effectively ending Clay's movie career, a standup performance at Madison Square Garden was given a movie release as Dice Rules in 1991. It failed commercially due to many theaters refusing to show it, and by the release in 1992 of his album 40 To Long Clay was almost forgotten.

His 1993 album The Day The Laughter Died, Part 2 was recorded in front a small audience, most of his audience tired of his audience baiting, and Clay vanished from the media spotlight for a couple of years. He returned in 1995, playing the part of a caring family man in CBS' sitcom Bless This House. Clay claimed that "The Dice Man" was an act and that his role in Bless This House was more like him as a person. The show failed and Clay reverted back to his old tricks of audience baiting and offensive humour, his audience was smaller than ever and he failed to convert many new fans with the release of his 1999 album, Face Down, Ass Up.

Discography