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Doing it For Charity.


I enjoyed mine and Glyn’s set at tonight’s charity gig.

I’ve always felt our material comes over best in an environment where we are just an act on the bill rather than the hosts. It gives what we do more impact. It’s also a lot less pressured. You’re not overseeing every aspect of the show around you. You’re not playing to a returning audience who've seen your best stuff before. You can rock up, do your thing and go, without having to run back on stage twenty minutes later to keep the momentum going.

It’s also nice to share the stage with Glyn; to have him to bounce off of. This is probably accentuated by the fact I've spent so much time working on my solo stuff in recent weeks. I’m enjoying it, but it’s good to go back to the dynamic I know so well, and to not be solely responsible.

My solo set was testing, but by that stage of the evening the audience’s attention was waning. Davinci (formerly Plinston) Hall is a tough room for comedy. Charity gigs are also always hard. Glyn and I have done enough of them to know that.

That said, it was nice to be back at the venue. I did my first amateur show there in the early 90s (playing the title role in Plinston Player’s self-written musical Old Misery Guts; I was typecast even then). My band supported Slade and The Troggs there around 1999-2000, and I did the Buddy show there a few years later. It's an ever-present part of my life. I can’t escape it.

The students running the gig were lovely and did an excellent job. It was also great to see my friend Stephen Halliday return to stand-up after a seven-year hiatus, and to finally see my other friend – yes, I have more than one - Katie Pritchard do her thing. She's got bags of energy and confidence. It was a great to watch. I also got to draw the raffle, which is always a bonus. Still, I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s work-in-progress show. At least then, the audience’s attention won't be split.


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