Tony Husband: the life and times of the acclaimed cartoonist

Cartoonist par excellence Tony Husband was renowned for his black humour, until the very end. A doyen of the daft, he was forever amused by his own, and other folks’ blunders so had limitless material for his craft.

He was noted for his contributions to Oink! and Round the Bend, but particularly Private Eye, where he was celebrated for his series The Yobs. His work also appeared in The Times, the Daily Mai’, Sunday Express and magazines such as The Spectator, and Cheshire Life.

Born in Blackpool on August 28, 1950, William Anthony Husband was one of four sons to Ron, a managing executive with Great Universal Stores and amateur painter/cartoonist, and Vera, née Fletcher. Cheshire would play its part in the development of the future artist as Tony was raised in the village of Gee Cross, near Hyde, and attended Holy Trinity CE Primary School and Greenfield Street Secondary School, both in Hyde. It was art classes at Greenfield Street where his talent was discovered. Having left school at 16, Tony began cartooning at speed, averaging over 60 a week, while working as an office junior, window dresser, and designer for a jeweller. His work experiences introduced him to the dark side of humour as an endless stream of characters piqued his interest. It was 1968 when Tony had his first cartoons published in Burlington World and he duly embarked on a career as a freelancer in the mid-1970s, albeit not yet full-time.

Great British Life: The gentle humour of a Tony Husband cartoon. The gentle humour of a Tony Husband cartoon. (Image: Tony Husband)

Tony married Carole Garner in 1976. They had one child, the photographer Paul Husband (born 1978) with whom Tony would eventually collaborate to write a book, From a Dark Place…. His cartooning, meanwhile, was of the prolific persuasion. He sent a batch of unsolicited material to Private Eye, the country’s principal satirical mag, modestly not expecting anything of his to be used, so was pleasantly surprised when a mate pointed out that a couple of his drawings had been published. Tony confessed he dashed straight to Stockport to get himself a copy. He became a full-time cartoonist in 1984, publishing his first book, Use Your Head, the same year, which imagined all sorts of inappropriate uses for a severed bonce.

Regular work with the magazine followed, and as many of the cartoons featuring skinhead types, the editor suggested a strip titled The Yobs (a.k.a. ‘bovver boys possessed of low IQs’), which was published from 1985. Another strip, The Oldies, occupied most of the ‘90s. Tony Husband was published in every edition of Private Eye between 1984 and his death in 2023, a creative run of almost 40 years.

Great British Life: Tony Husband drew for Private Eye from 1985 until his death last year. Tony Husband drew for Private Eye from 1985 until his death last year. (Image: Newsquest)

Tony co-founded and edited Oink! (1986-88), a children’s comic was intended to be anarchy in picture form, or ‘Viz for Children’ as it was described. He also co-wrote a children’s TV series, Round the Bend (1989-91) and had further involvement with another kids’ TV series, Hangar 17 (1992-94). He went touring with poet Ian McMillan, in a poetry/cartoon show entitled A Cartoon History of Here. He also co-wrote a book and play, Save the Human, with David Wood.

Among the many accolades he earned, Tony was recognised in 2000 with a pair of Cartoonist of the Year trophies, while in 2005 the ongoing excellence of his work was acknowledged with a Cartoon Art Trust Pont Award for ‘depicting the British way of life’. Tony’s gift was not just his drawing skills but his mildly sardonic sense of humour. Take the one where a farmer is dishing it out to a couple walking a mutt: ‘Your dog is worrying my sheep!’ The Hound of the Despondencies is indeed worrying the flock: ‘There’s global warming, droughts, floods, the ice caps melting…’ The sheep look suitably downbeat. To show there was no favouritism Tony had a similar moggy cartoon: a bloke, and presumed garden lover, is haranguing his neighbour over the fence: ‘Your cat keeps doing its business in my garden’. The cat in question meanwhile is hunched behind a desk jabbering away on the phone.

Great British Life: The book Tony Husband wrote about his father's struggles with Alzheimer's Disease. The book Tony Husband wrote about his father's struggles with Alzheimer's Disease. (Image: Tony Husband)

Tony’s work wasn’t always a barrel of laughs though. He was prepared to tackle tough subjects, for example, ‘From a Dark Place…’ (2016) examined the misery suffered by his son, Paul (now a successful photographer), through his former heroin addiction. He also illustrated Libby Moore’s After … The Impact of Child Abuse (2019).

Tony Husband died on October 18, 2023, aged 73 after suffering a heart attack on London’s Westminster Bridge. He had been hurrying to try and make a Private Eye party on a boat on the Thames which was to set off from Westminster Pier at 12.30pm, sharp. When the boat was underway it was announced one person hadn’t made it – Tony Husband, whose train from Manchester had been delayed. This news was greeted with a mix of groans and laughs. What no one knew, of course, was the friend and colleague had suffered a heart attack as he dashed from Westminster Tube station to the Pier.

Great British Life: The cartoon Tony Husband sent just before he died on Westminster Bridge on the way to a Private Eye party. The cartoon Tony Husband sent just before he died on Westminster Bridge on the way to a Private Eye party. (Image: Tony Husband)

The cartoonist's art in mixing daftness and dark humour is perhaps best exemplified by his book of cartoons Take Care, Son: The Story of my Dad and his Dementia (2014), documenting his father's struggles with Alzheimer’s Tony Husband became an active campaigner for dementia sufferers thereafter). His own end, sudden as it may have been assuredly could have come straight out of one of his own cartoons. In fact, his final cartoon shows him on Westminster Pier waving at the rapidly disappearing party boat. Realising he wasn’t going to make it in time, Tony had hurriedly drawn it, then sent it via his phone to one of his fellow cartoonists.

Tony listed music, golf, wine, Manchester United FC and tortoises among his favourite things and was always tickled that he had a Who’s Who entry. In typically self-effacing manner he said: ‘A lot of people tell me they put my work on their toilet walls. I really like that’.

Great British Life: Tony Husband with poet Ian McMillan when they worked together on a stage show - A Cartoon History of Here. Tony Husband with poet Ian McMillan when they worked together on a stage show - A Cartoon History of Here. (Image: Newsquest)