What were gigs one to four like?
Well, gig one was really great.
Two was pretty good.
Three was horrific, four was great because that was the semi-final, and then five was the final!
Jimmy Carr was in the final, and Dave ODocherty who won the Perrier this year.
Did you come up against the perception that 19 year olds arent supposed to be that funny?
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The gig went well, I just wasnt ready.
What do you know when youre 19?
I was just stomping around doing gigs.
What happened with gig six?
Just a conveyor belt of gigs!
For someone like yourself, youve come into the national eye through panel games.
Do you think thats the best way for a comedian to break through now?
No, not really.
You look at someone like Daniel Kitson.
It just sort of has helped me.
I quite like it because theyre just fun, they keep you on your toes.
Its all on the cuff really.
Its a real natural test of being funny in the moment.
For me its great, but for others its not.
How did you come to be involved withMock The Week, then?
And then do an audition in their office with other comics.
And that went quite well, and they asked me to do it, and that went quite well!
It kind of snowballed from there, really!
Success seems to have come a lot quicker to you than many.
Is there a secret to that?
Gigs in little pubs.
The thing is you always try and turn over material.
I think that doesnt lend itself to progressing.
You dont really have a career plan, though.
Everything is a work in progress.
You have to delve into your back catalogue a bit.
I wouldnt say its an overnight success.
And then this came along.
Ive read some of the reviews that your DVD has been getting on Amazon in advance of its release.
But youve talked in the past about how onMock The Weekits the researched material that tends to work better.
Yet so much of your act seems to thrive on spontaneity.
How do you mix it, and which do you actually prefer?
Thats a really good question.
At the moment Im really enjoying bantering, and arsing around with the audience, I really like that.
But then you go through stages of having certain bits of material that you really enjoy doing.
you’ve got the option to dish them out and theyre funny.
But its nice to be in the privileged position where people say, Wheeeeeeeeeey!
when you wonder on stage, and you’re free to have a bit of fun.
It then makes everyone else feel really alienated, you know?
Conversely, if you did it on the telly, youd be sent a years supply of Rolo yogurts!
It just looks like youre punching each other out of the way by the end?
Yeah, its pretty savage!
But on the night, that goes on for half an hour.
We just pummel the audience and each other.
I really like that bit, weirdly; its a nice spot.
Someone said something piss funny, okay, Ill try and match it.
Its the ultimate dressing room, isnt it?
Somebody funny says heres what Ive got to say thats funny, somebody else goes look what Ive got.
But people love it.
Sometimes it can be really quite tricky, but I find it all quite funny.
Im one of the people who actually laughs at everyone elses jokes!
Thats quite a turnaround of material?
Its just a new hour, really.
Its that thing of coming up with a new hour every year.
Ive been doing that at the Edinburgh Festival, and its good training, really.
Every year, you have a new hour.
Ill tell you whats weird about it.
There was Disneys copyright ofThe Lion King!
I did a little dance where I had the nuts going wimba-whey, a-wimba-whey.
We werent allowed to keep that in!
Well, in the context of Russell Howards balls.
And they sent back a very firm no!
I cant imagine too many people follow Frank Skinners scientific tack.
Its just that thing that you have different ways.
Youre just aware of it when youre putting a new hour together.
Gradually you have to change and adapt those bits.
So Ill put greater emphasis on twisting words, but I do a lot of it on stage.
It was really interesting reading his book, just seeing how as you say hes scientific about it.
But I find that fascinating.
I think hes an extraordinarily good stand-up.
I saw him at theSecret Policemans Balland he was unbelievable.
Someone who can make a 7,000 seater room literally feel like he was having a natter with them.
Funny, funny fucker.
And a very clever one.
And he wears his intelligence so lightly that hes always accused of being laddish.
But hes not actually at all.
If you actually engage with it, youll see that its really clever.
This is now your first stand-up DVD did you feel the same pressure?
Its a horrible feeling.
It can never be right, thats the problem.
You just have to do it to the best of your ability, and walk away.
Comedys not really meant to be watched on DVD is it?
Youre meant to be there.
I find myself very inexperienced in terms of making DVDs, thats the weirdest thing.
To go from pissing around in comedy clubs and arsing about, to suddenly this is shit!
This is going to be in shops!.
Thinking about it, you get more serious about it, which knocks the everyday fun out of it.
I assume you get quite involved with the DVD, but Im curious what the post-production length is?
I gather Michael McIntyres new disc is being turned around in three weeks, which seems quite short.
But yours has been coming for a while.
I recorded mine in October last year, so its been in the can for ages, really.
you might rattle it out, and hes fantastic, so itll be great.
What stand up gigs would you buy a ticket for yourself?
I went to see Chris Rock at the Birmingham NIA, actually, and that was unbelievable.
And Id pay money to watch probably Tommy Tiernan.
I landed on your MySpace page, and inevitably it lists your favourite movies on there.
One shone out like a beacon Teen Wolf.
Can you encapsulate what you love aboutTeen Wolf, and presumably what you hate about the sequel?
You know youve got certain films that just remind you of your childhood?
Its one of those films.
Ive not seen it for years.
But certain scenes in it just remind me so much of me and my brother watching it.
It does that for me.
Plus that scene when hes changing into a wolf.
And he pulls the door, and his dads a wolf!
Its just so, so funny and corny.
I just dig it!
Did you watch the sequel?
It was shit wasnt it?
Whats going on there?
Never go back to a lit firework!
But theres one that says Russell Howard Help Me.
Ninjas Killed My Family.
Need s for Karate Lessons.
Thats the entirety of the message.
How do you respond to it?!
Does it tie into a gig?
I dont check my MySpace any more, Avalon do it.
Would you shape your gig though, dependent of someone you knew was going to be in the audience?
To be honest, if it was porn stars, Id probably have a bit of fun with that.
It must be like an open goal…!
Its ridiculous isnt it?
Humorous whimsy and cock seems an odd combination!
But no, not specifically.
Youve really got to gear it to them.
Whos the mad one in the office?!
on a bigger scale.
Ive done a couple of them and I just feel dirty Id rather just do gigs for normal people.
Its that thing though that lots of comics do corporates because you get paid shitloads.
It just feels like dirty money, you know, boring gigs.
Perhaps you could take the porn stars along?
[laughs] I could put it on my rider!
You know, my friend did that once.
Hell, er, remain unnamed!
Thats about as far as that story should really go!
I know youve extended your tour into next year?
And you dont see enough of the world.
You just see the same things about the world.
I dont want to be one of those comics who says, Hey, whats wrong with air travel?
and stuff like that.
I need to get out there, really.
And just do different things.
Russell Howard, thank you very much!
Russell Howard Live is out now on DVD.
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