Banging With Manning

In 1992, Bernard Manning released Banging With Manning, a direct-to-VHS tape billed as a spoof of the era’s popular sex education videos. It arrived during a profitable run of home media for the Manchester comedian, joining a catalog of titles like Shooting from the Lip and Bernard Bites Back that catered to his reliable working men’s club audience.

While the video itself offered buyers exactly the blue material they expected, the release is mostly documented today for its troubled radio advertising campaign. Broadcast regulators objected to the word “banging”. This forced the promotional team to rewrite the commercial scripts on the spot, marketing the video to audiences without ever saying its name.