The Pub Landlord is the alter ego of comedian Al Murray. Standing onstage with a shaved head, in his maroon blazer and a belt with BEER emblazoned on the buckle, he does look like several bar-keeps I've met.
The Landlord is your classic bar-room philosopher, he has a view on everything, be it European law ("Back off Brussels"), alcohol ("A man on his own in a bar, with a pint, thats beautiful that is"), or Great Britain ("the only country in the world with it's own adjective") and he'll tell you whether you want to hear it or not.
The character has been likened to Alf Garnett, for the bigoted, Little Englander small minded world outlook they share, but while his patronising sexist and insecure xenophobic gags should offend people, he seems oblivious to the fact that he is the real butt of the joke. You end up coming away feeling a little sorry for him. With his failures as a father (he has no contact with his son, Carl — short for Carlsberg - "If I had a girl she'd have been called Stella...") and with women ("It's been a year…") he comes away looking quite pathetic, and you can't help but laugh
Al Murrays show lasts around two hours, which fly past as he serves pints to the audience, confiscates any pints from women ("A pint for the fella - a glass of white wine, or a fruit based drink for the lady") and berates anyone drinking bottled beer. The upshot of his live show was a TV series on Sky One - 'Time Gentlemen, Please'.
The Pub Landlord was nominated for the Perrier Awards 3 years in a row, more consecutive times than any other artist, before finally winning it in 1999.