Hovis Presley (3 August 1960 – 9 June 2005) was an English poet and stand-up comedian from Bolton, Lancashire, noted for his down-to-earth humour. Born as Richard Henry McFarlane, he attended Thornleigh Salesian College, Bolton and went on to graduate from Bradford University. He went on to have a variety of jobs and travelled widely, from labouring on German railways to teaching English in Cairo and India. The choice of stage persona "Hovis Presley" was in itself a deft example of aspects of his work—ironic word-play, incongruously blending the expected norms of poetry with slightly surreal evocations of ordinary, and distinctively Northern English life.