Anthony Irvine (born 17 February 1951), also known as the Iceman and aim, is a British performance artist and visual artist.Mcgillivray, David. British Alternative Theatre Directory 1992-1993 (Rebecca Books, 1992).
Performance
As the Iceman, his act is to creatively melt large blocks of ice while talking to the audience over a soundtrack of tightly-looped music and sound effects.Giappone, K. (2018) The Punk Turn in Comedy: Masks of Anarchy His methods of attempting to melt the ice include breath, salt and a blowtorch. He might also sing songs, make puns, attempt to release a rubber duck from inside the block of ice, or sell photographs of the ice to the audience.
In the 1980s and '90s, he performed at notable alternative comedy venues including Cluub ZarathustraWringham, R. (2012) You Are Nothing and Malcolm Hardee's Tunnel Club as well as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2007, he performed at the Hackney Empire in a tribute show to the late Malcolm Hardee. In 2011 he performed at the Royal Festival Hall.
He is often cited by Stewart Lee as a legend of alternative comedyLee, S. March of the Lemmings. (Faber & Faber, 2019) and by Jo Brand as a favourite act of the 1980s. Lee dedicates his epic poem about stand-up comedy, "I'll Only Go if you Throw Glass," to notable 1980s performers including the Iceman.
In 1995, Irvine appeared in Peter Chelsom's film Funny Bones. In the same year, he shared the Edinburgh Tapwater Award with Malcolm Hardee and Charlie Chuck.Hardee, M. (1996) I Stole Freddie Mercury's Birthday Cake.
In 2022, Irvine published an ice-related children's book called Lockdown Melter.
2025 saw an Iceman performance called "The Final Block" at the Bill Murray Comedy Club in London.https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2025/03/28/57770/the_iceman%3A_the_final_block
Visual Art
Since 2014, he has produced art brut paintings under the name aim. 2023 saw his first solo art show at Guggleton Farm Arts in Dorset.
He returned to Guggleton Farm Arts for a second show in 2024.
In 2025, he held an art show at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill.
Legacy: book and film
The Iceman is the subject of a 2023 book released by Go Faster Stripe called Melt it! The Book of the Iceman. As a result, he appeared on Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast.
The book was adapted to become Melt It! The Film of the Iceman in 2026.https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2025/03/28/57770/the_iceman%3A_the_final_blockhttps://outsideleft.com/main.php?story=melt-it-the-film-of-the-iceman
References
External links Iceblocked The Iceman's official website
Anthony Irvine interviewed on C86 Podcast