Skip to main content

Lee-ve Me Alone.


Tonight I had a moment of solidarity when I looked up on the tube to see Stewart Lee sat opposite me, looking through his notes on his way to do a show in the same venue, but in the other space.

It’s times like that when you briefly put into perspective what you’re doing and the privileged position you’re in. There were only three people performing at Leicester Square Theatre tonight: Stewart Lee, Jason Byrne and me - and while I’m under no illusions about my position is in the comedy food chain, it’s nice to be a part of that scene and to acknowledge the achievement, however small it may be.

I obviously knew he was going to be at the venue tonight and that I might bump into him, but there was something pleasingly coincidental about winding up in the same tube carriage to both be looking through our notes. I’m more than aware of how much of a grafter he is - much like his former comedy partner Richard Herring - but it was still lovely to see him methodically going through his script, still taking it seriously while being so many dates in.

I decided to do the British thing and pretend I hadn’t spotted him, rather than put us both in the awkward position of having to acknowledge each other to walk to the venue together. The carriage was packed anyway, so I would only have drawn attention to him. I think he clocked me, but whether he could place me out of context is a whole other thing; still, it was nice to see him actively caring about what he was about to do; he’s that perfect balance of being a truly exceptional comic and a really nice man; I truly admire him for that.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...
Read more

'...I'm Gonna Look at You 'til My Eyes Go Blind."

Over the past week or two, I’ve been on a bit of a Sheryl Crow kick, largely thanks to rediscovering her cover of one of my most-liked Bob Dylan songs. She has one of my favourite female voices, yet despite this, I only own one CD and that’s just a single (her '97 release ‘Hard to Make a Stand’); on that basis, you can only imagine how much of her back catalogue I’d own if I hated her (it would fall into minus-figures). Dylan, conversely, takes up more of my collection than anyone else, save The Beatles and Paul McCartney’s solo work. He’s one of those artists who, when you get him, you really get him - and once I’d tuned into his style as a student, I'd time and again be blown away by his lyrics; he’ll have more jaw-dropping imagery in one track than other people fit in a whole career. These days, I mostly listen to music in the morning when getting ready, and more often than not, this will consist of a suggested YouTube playlist when I’m in the bath, r...
Read more

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...
Read more