Interview Alex Boardman
We speak to the comic before he performs at Highlight
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What inspired you to become a stand-up and what are your memories of your early gigs?
I always liked comedy on TV and from the age of 10 I used to memorise segments of ‘The Young Ones’ and do them in school the day after. I’d seen lots of comedy shows live, but one Sunday night I went with a friend to see Jack Dee play Royton Assembly Hall, a small gig on the outskirts of Oldham. That night something just clicked and I knew I could do it. A week later I did my first gig in Manchester, I think I was 18 or 19. The earliest memories from those gigs were not ever being able to get the mic out of the stand and really struggling to talk and breathe. No one really laughed but it didn’t seem to matter. Dave Gorman was the compere and Steve Coogan and Henry Normal were sometimes in the audience.
How would you say your style has evolved since you first started out?
I used to only ever say what I’d written beforehand and never deviate from my set. After a few instances of having jokes stolen by other comics I started to write longer stories with much more difficult-to-steal jokes within them. What is quite funny is some of the early jokes I did on a televised new act competition in 1997 are still out there now being used by one or two comics who ‘borrowed’ them. Now I like to improvise as much as possible and play with the crowd. Ideally, if a gig has gone well, I’ve done hardly any material I wrote beforehand and best of all, no-one can steal the material because it is only relevant to that particular night.
What’s the worst heckle you’ve ever received?
Most heckles are really poor quality and uninspired, so I haven’t ever received a funny one, however, the most damaging one ever was at a Christmas gig I did 12 years ago at a naval base somewhere north of Leeds, out in the sticks. The audience had booed off a singer and I was thrown to the lions. After about 10 minutes of just arguing with various drunken sailors, all of whom seemed to be about 18 stone of muscle, I offered to leave the stage, as the gig was pointless. The man who’d booked me shouted I should stay on as he was paying me £300 to do 30 minutes. When the audience found out I was getting £300 there was nearly a riot. I escaped the stage as tables started to be turned over and a stool was thrown. Nowadays I would charge a lot, lot more for a gig like this… second thoughts, I just wouldn’t do it.
You’ve also done comedy writing - but is stand-up your main passion?
Yes. I was a show-off at school, or to give it its technical name, a pain in the arse. Stand-up lets me be all those things I wanted to be when I was a kid, it let’s me say to people things that would get me arrested in the street and best of all I get paid for it.
What are your main interests outside comedy?
I really like animals and have quite a lot of pets. In another life I would like to work with animals. I used to work on Galaxy Manchester as a presenter and a couple of years ago got to be a keeper for the day at Knowsley Safari Park. Feeding elephants and giraffes was one of the best things I have ever done in my life. Aside from that I like reading crime novels and love football and basketball. Not European basketball though, as it’s rubbish.
Can you sit back and enjoy other comedy or, as a professional comedian, do you find yourself analysing other people’s work rather than laughing at it?
If it’s really good you can’t help but laugh. I don’t analyse jokes in a sitcom or comedy film but I tend to watch for the mechanics of plots and stories. When watching stand-up I do analyse a lot but can still enjoy it. I always laugh when watching Sean Lock or Bill Bailey or Harry Hill do stand-up as they are all superb comedians. Some of the comedians on the live circuit today are amazing but are not suitable for TV, and by that I don’t necessarily mean they are too rude. If something is funny the first instinct is always to laugh. After that, all comedians then dissect it and see why they laughed.
Are you playing any festivals this year?
I am doing Kendal Calling in July. My wife heard Clint Boon from the Inspiral Carpets saying on the radio that it was his favourite festival to go to with the kids. He went on to describe how chilled out it was and how friendly, so my wife decided we should go. The day after I got an email asking if I would like to headline the comedy bit on the Saturday night, so I said yes, as it seemed like fate. I worry that I’m not a cool enough parent to go to a festival with my kids.
What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen, or the best joke you’ve heard, recently?
I’m waiting for Season 7 of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ to be delivered, so if you asked me in a day or so it would probably be that. As for a joke, I was in Ibiza last week and the kids kept saying, ‘What do you call a Spanish goalkeeper with no legs? … Gracias’. It was funny the first six or seven times.
You can see Alex Boardman performing at Highlight in Leeds on 9th and 10th July
Posted on Wednesday 23rd June 2010
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Highlight
The Cube, Albion Street, Leeds, LS2 8PN
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