Innes Own Right.

Today, Neil Innes told me off for writing a song so catchy it stuck in his head, which was a compliment I'm delighted to take on board.

Posing with Neil Innes after tonight's Hitchin Mostly Comedy (03.10.19)
He said it to me just after Glyn and I finished soundchecking Ukulele Girl for the evening's show; something I felt very conscious he was watching at the back. Being nonchalant about it was never going to be easy - this was someone who'd worked with Paul McCartney and George Harrison, after all - but I did my best to act like he was the sort of audience I put up with every day.

 He turned out to be lovely, which is always a bonus when you meet someone with his pedigree whose work you highly rate. I suspected I'd at least be able to talk to him quite freely about the work of him and his contemporaries, but it was nice that he was happy to discuss them, and was just generally a good sport. It goes to show how the biggest and best people we have at the club are almost always the nicest.

 The show itself was a good one. Numbers were lower than I'd expected, which was a bit ridiculous considering who was on the bill, but I guess our audience is a little spoilt for choice line-ups-wise and the odd one's going to fall by the wayside, but that didn't stop it being enjoyable for those who showed up; you can't blame the people who came for those who didn't. And it was great to hear Neil's anecdotes as much as his songs. And 'Brave Sir Robin' was the icing on the cake.

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