How do you go about picking the places where youve been playing?
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Not really.
I think in one sense, the idea of it is you could do just about anywhere.
I didnt really have time to write a Walsall one very much at all a week-and-a-half, or something.
I had a terrible panic because I went out there to look round the place.
It was 10 days before the recording and I hadnt got a clue.
I hadnt even started researching it, let alone writing it.
Theres a couple of people, Hey Mark, were coming to your show next week.
I thought, oh my God!
What do you mean youre coming to the show?
I havent even started writing stuff yet!
Yeah, that really panicked me.
Its the place everyone seems to drive through to get to Ikea.
Well, yeah, there is that because its up by the bloody motorways there, isnt it?
Theres a horrible ugliness about the place but its all these sort of interesting things, though.
I dont think theres anywhere thatd be undoable.
Its a bit like theWho Do You Think You Arething about anyone.
You look into their history.
I did hear a story that show, actually.
Youre just too boring.
So, thats really lovely.
Your grandad was a crofter and his dad was a crofter and crofter and crofter for 200 years.
So, were not going to do you, Im afraid.
Theyll go for Lembit Opik instead.
Thats who they want.
[Laughs] Yeah, exactly.
It sounds like youve pretty much just opened an A to Z and just stuck pins in it then.
Well, sort of.
Its like some student fanzine.
Mum, can I borrow some money because I want to go to Scotland.
So, Im hoping, if we do another series, because Id love to go to the Shetlands.
Id be really excited at going to the Shetlands.
Because its just like a fascinating place to be at the moment.
Or even one of these sort of weird places in Cornwall.
But that was too far as well.
Id have driven you.
Ill save you a few quid.
[Laughs] But then oh yeah well have to stay overnight and have a night.
Oh God, its the bloody BBC at the moment.
Some of the things that you get restricted on, its unbelievable.
Its almost like that.
Can you give us an example?
Oh, God, no.
Im gonna get in trouble now!
With your show, I think its a bit of a double-edged sword.
Because what must be really interesting is going before a local audience and talking about local material.
Well, it is a little bit.
I think the thing is its getting its like the Walsall hippo.
Did you know about the Walsall hippo?
I read that inThe Independent piece you wrote.
Did you know about it beforehand?
I had no idea.
Oh, right, yeah.
Because the thing is its sort of getting a sense of what everybody knows about, really.
So, its fairly obvious that the hippo was quite central to the whole town.
And then, I went up there, and I put it in the article.
And I did think, Wow.
I cant wait to see this hippo.
And it just.. its just like a bench.
Not even as big as a bench.
Its a little bit of concrete in the precinct.
So, I could do loads of stuff about the hippo.
I was fairly certain theyre all going to get that.
Sometimes you get it wrong.
Theyve got these famous illuminations.
And theyve been going on since 1951.
And I thought, Oh, thats outrageous.
I just assumed there was outrage about this.
And about half of them sort of went meh, and I said Thats not really enthusiastic.
Were not gonna get em back like that.
And then a bloke went, Well, theyre shit.
We dont want them.
I said, Well, you dont agree with that, do you?
And the people went Yeah, we do, really.
It was sort of split about 50-50.
And then someone went, If youd seen them.
Mark, then youd know why we dont mind if theyre cancelled.
So, I thought, Well, there you go.
Ive completely misjudged that.
Was that the kind of heckle interaction that you would get across the six gigs that you did?
No, not really.
Weve still got two of them to go yet.
But, yeah, pretty much.
I sort of do want it to be like that, really.
Where people are calling stuff out.
Skipton, the one that went out yesterday, they were lovely there.
And I wonder if its because theyre sort of outgoing, North Yorkshire, sort of farmer-y people.
Theres all that, We say what we think up ere And they do as well.
Theyre a feisty crowd.
If you get something wrong: Youre talking shite there, lad.
There was a bit of that, but they were great fun.
You chose places that you’ve got the option to do the accent for!
[Laughs] Well, no.
There was Boston in Lincolnshire, and that was bloody hard!
Its like a sort of East Anglia, but its much quicker than that.
And its just got a little bit of north in it every now and again.
So, I didnt quite get on top of that.
Sort of half did it, it was alright.
The Skipton one, I loved that.
You get talking to people and some of them are just genuinely funny.
Do you have a load of blokes in dark sunglasses following you around going Chill out.
Luminous in the house, init?
And he said, No.
And then I found out later he did have a sort of posse with him.
That he had come along with his mum and his dad.
[laughs] What a fantastic entourage to have when youre a rapper.
I didnt know that when I was talking to him.
He was a lovely lad, though.
How much work did you have to put into the preparation?
Well, you have to do enough to sort of know what youre talking about.
I dont know if that comes across with you here.
I think they will all know about that.
Thats quite a famous thing there.
But, its notjustthat.
Itd be great fun in a way.
Will they think, Well, why the bollocks should I care about this place?
I dunno, but there we are.
I think we could do it on telly.
I did go and do a series of the [Mark Steel]Lectureson the telly.
I would just stand in front of an audience, and then we just film it.
Luckily, wiser voices said, no, thats rubbish.
Weve got to start all over and think how wed do it as a television show.
So, youve got to change what you do according to the thing youre doing it on.
So, I think this could be done on the telly.
I dont know how wed do it or what have you.
But, wed find a way of doing, I think.
You wouldnt be able to go past the M25 then on the budget then, I wouldnt have thought.
You know, these days, thats right: We think its agreatidea.
Id watch you do a gig with Ann Widdecombee.
That would be television gold.
Ill start an appeal.
Ill put the first tenner towards the budget.
Get Jimmy Carr in it for her as well.
[Laughs] Dont suggest it.
That will be great.
Im still voting Widdecombee.
And we have to do a double act.
And you have to do a song at the end, as well.
OrDancing On Ice, you could be my partner.
I dont know whether you caught the Jon Stewart demolition of Jim Cramer onThe Daily Showin the US?
I read about it.
Do you feel a kind of responsibility for comedians to do that now?
Well, not necessarily.
I think, especially at the moment, theres such outrage about the bankers and stuff.
I saw Al Murray on the television talking about when he does a show.
You know, you just mention bankers, its just complete I think incendiary was the word he used.
And I think there is that going on.
Theyll sort of gently take the mickey, but theyre all friends, really.
The journalists are like that.
They sort of poke at the politicians but, really they get on with them and they admire them.
Therefore I think the comics probablyaremore in touch, really.
You just get to know it.
With the early 80s it was Thatcher all the time.
And I know from that time, you were in a minority.
You couldnt go out to a mainstream audience and yell about politicians.
You could do, but… you couldnt get a mainstream audience to be on your side.
you’re free to now.
And I think its been like that for a while.
Not only with the Iraq war.
You just take it as read that people though that was a stupid idea.
But the people who agreed with it kept quiet, you know.
Because they felt embarrassed about things like that.
I think its like that.
Its certainly like that now over the bankers and stuff.
Its not like in the 80s when people said Im bloody unemployed, its the fault of the union.
Its their own fault.
They should get on a bike and go to work.
Its not like that now.
And now most people will cheer you.
The idea that Obama could be elected four years ago would have been inconceivable.
But, add that hes black on top of that and he get elected.
Its just a big change, I think, thats happened.
With The Cramer interview, it was refreshing.
You thought, Someone there actually gives a shit.
I sort of think of myself as a comic, really.
I dont think theres anything particularly incendiary about this programme Im doing, for example.
I mean most of its the jokes.
But then theres people like Mark Thomas.
Rory Bremner, as well, I think.
Theyd watch his programme and get all these facts and figures.
I always sort of shy away from that a little bit.
Ive just bought his Coca-Cola book [Belching Out the Devil: Global Adventures with Coca-Cola] .
Ive only just started reading that, myself.
With regards to your writing: weve followed your books.
Weve followed your columns.
Im curious have you ever considered writing fiction?
Thats a good question.
Yeah, Ive considered it.
I think that its a whole new set of rules and its all a bit hard, really.
Its a whole nother new thing to learn, isnt it?
Its a bit like I dont know you think You know what?
I sort of think I want to take up squash.
Thats a whole new thing.
I think I feel like that.
Not another thing Im gonna realise Im shit at.
So, I dont know.
People do, dont they?
Its another one of those avenues where well-written fiction is very good at addressing fairly weighty topics.
Sometimes even better than non-fiction…
Yeah.
Thats true about all sorts of periods.
If you want toreallyknow about the thing.
We think youd be the ideal host for the National Lottery?
Would you ever consider putting your name forward for that?
We think youd take about ten minutes off the show straight away.
[Laughs] Its a long time since Ive seen it.
They sort of combined it with a quiz the last time I was watching it.
I used to watch with my son.
Therell be a dead bloke thatll win it.
Were going to suggest you to the BBC.
Yeah, thatd be good.
None of the faffing round with the taking ages to get the numbers out.
Now lets tell some jokes.
Id go for it.
Id go for that.
At the very least, you should be voice of the balls.
And this is just a tax on the bloody poor.
Another way of doing it would be the poorer you are the more you pay.
What a bloody disgrace.
Anyway, the next numbers 26.
See, I think youre ideal.
Youre, presumably still finishing off theWhats Going Ontour at the moment.
Could I ask what other stuff youre up to?
Because weve only done four of them.
Im in sort of maximum panic with that, really.
I have two more to do.
Then I think were going to do another series of that, sort of quite soon.
So, I shall stick with that.
I dont know after that.
Someone mentioned another book, I dunno.
It seems to go, you know.
Im lucky, really.
Ive got enough things, shows and that.
Well, many congratulations on the show!
you’re free to listen tothe latest episode here.
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