The standup on the wisest words ever given to him, his pre-show rituals and how he discovered his vocation at an anarchist vegetarian commune
How did you get into comedy?
I grew up in the West Country and there wasn’t much of a comedy scene at the time. On the invite of a friend, I went to London and we saw a comedy gig in Archway that was comically alternative. It was like a sitcom’s version of what alternative comedy would be. It was in an anarchist vegetarian commune called The Earth Exchange and it was vegetarian food at the back and alternative so-called comedy at the front. I saw an act called Otiz Cannelloni who did this surreal meta magic and there were some storytellers, character comedians and John Hegley. He was singing short, intense songs on the mandolin and he had this brilliant stage persona. It was the first time I realised: “That’s what I want to do!” It was just a question of how I could engineer my life so I could do it.
I went back to the West Country and my school friend Toby and I set up a comedy club in Bath. It wasn’t a vegan exchange, that was a bit of a stretch for the West Country in the 80s, but it was great fun. We compered a monthly talent show. New acts would come to perform and there were prizes for whoever the audience liked.
