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Five live stage shows based on Bottom have been recorded. Each recording is taken from a single show in a live UK tour. Previously available on individual video cassettes and DVDs, the entire collection can now be purchased as a box set on DVD. The first three live shows were released in a box set called the Bottom Live Scratch and Sniff Box Set, which is now scarce. As at 2021, neither the series nor the live show have been subject to Blu-Ray or 4K transfers. The live format allowed Rik and Ade to shake off the bounds of BBC censorship and be as rude and crude as they pleased; subsequently each show was rated 18 for language, violence and sexual references. Each show also featured regular breaking of the fourth wall as Rik and Ade interacted with the audience and, on some occasions, reacted to hecklers. A common theme over the five live shows was Rik Mayall's tendency to forget his lines and break into uncontrollable laughter whenever things didn't go to plan. It was also common for Ade Edmondson to taunt Rik Mayall whenever these kinds of mistakes happened. Most of the bloopers in the live recordings were not cut out of the video/DVD releases.

In addition to the live shows, Rik and Ade performed a one-off set at the Peter Cook Posthumous Tribute in 2002.

Bottom Live[]

Bottom Live was filmed in 1993 at The Mayflower Theatre in Southampton as part of the Bottom Live Tour. The tour was so successful that Rik and Ade wrote and recorded a third series of Bottom for the BBC in 1995, before continuing their characters' exploits in further live shows. The show is notable for Rik Mayall's near ten minutes of infectious laughter when he messes up his lines and struggles to carry on with the plot.

Bottom Live: The Big Number 2 Tour[]

Bottom Live: The Big Number 2 Tour is the second live show based on Bottom. It was filmed in Oxford in 1995 as part of their 1995 UK tour. It was the first live show to incorporate a second set; a prison cell for the majority of Act Two.

Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island[]

Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island is the third live show based on Bottom and was filmed at the Bristol Hippodrome in 1997. The show was a significant departure for the characters, with a complete change of setting, wardrobe and arguably the characterisation of Richie and Eddie. The second act reuses a gag from The Young Ones episode "Bomb" when a large red atomic bomb appears on the stage which neither character acknowledge for quite some time into the performance.

Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity[]

Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity is the fourth live show and was recorded in Nottingham in 2001. The show and tour's title alludes to the Arthur C. Clarke novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, however largely does not take a science-fiction twist until the final act. The show continues Richie and Eddie's escapades on the desert island. It was the first show to have a DVD release.

Peter Cook Posthumous Tribute 2002[]

In 2002, various British comedians took to the stage at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End to pay tribute to late comedian Peter Cook, including Rik & Ade in the guise of Richie and Eddie.

Bottom Live 2003: The Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour[]

Bottom Live 2003: The Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour is the fifth and final live show, recorded in Southend in 2003 as part of the very ambitious Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour. The setting of the show returns to Richie and Eddie's flat, albeit in the toilet, and later in a strange netherworld thanks to Eddie's time machine. This marked the last ever live tour by Rik and Ade, and served as a farewell to the characters of Richie and Eddie.

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