I first found the Doug Anthony All Stars when I was about fourteen, when YouTube recommended some videos of theirs to me. I presume this is because of the amount of Tim Minchin I was listening to at the time.
I think I would be a very different person now if that hadn’t happened.
I think that most people’s initial reactions to the All Stars are something along the lines of “what the fuck is this?”. I don’t think I was any different. But I was intrigued and I kept listening.
The All Stars don’t really give you room for any middle ground. You either don’t get it or you’re addicted. I got hooked pretty quickly. I already had a pretty dark sense of humour and I liked comedy music so it wasn’t difficult to like them. They were strange and loud and beautiful and I love them.
I was heartbroken when I learned they’d broken up when I was just a baby, realising that I’d never have the chance to experience them live. It was like Adam Ant all over again.
And just like Adam Ant, they got back together and started touring again a couple of years ago.
They announced the dates for their Edinburgh fringe show in 2016 before mentioning even considering a London date. The weekend they were performing, I was going to Norway for my friend’s birthday. I was fully prepared to get a train to Scotland and back to see them perform before my flight. I was in the process of rescheduling things when they announced a London gig for the week or so after.
I went on my own, planning to see the show and be deliriously happy on my way home straight after the show I could get up early for work the next morning.
That did not happen.
I got chatting to the woman sitting next to me and we got along really well. We were both quite excited about our common interest. After the show, she offered to lend me money to buy merch because the stand didn’t take card and I didn’t have cash. I originally planned to pay her back at a cash point on the way to the tube station, but we went to the bar instead and I bought her drinks. At first we said we’d stay for one or two, and then the Doug Anthonys appeared in the bar and we ended up staying until the bar closed and getting Ubers home at 3am.
Tim, Lisa and I at the 2016 show
I was late for work the next day. It was worth it.
I spent the whole evening speaking to the beautiful Tim Ferguson, about comedy and films and all sorts of other things. He is easily one of the most charming men I’ve ever had the good fortune to meet.
I saw them again this Friday. The experience was much the same.
I went with a friend this time, who I have introduced to the All Stars in the past year. We got chatting before the show to the couple sitting next to us, who were celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary and recognised me from last year’s show. I fucking love All Stars audiences. They invited us back to their hotel bar with them and their friends for celebratory drinks. Obviously I said yes. (I did not consult Jonathan, my friend.)
The performance was spectacular.
I don’t think I’ll ever stop being amazed by this band. They have so much raw energy. They make brutal comments about the world around us all that is equal parts poignant and hilarious. Their sense of humour is as twisted as ever and no less sharp that it was twenty years ago. They nailed dark humour decades ago in a way that many comedians don’t master in a lifetime and they’re still doing it. They are as talented as ever, but they do now return the things they take off members of the audience!
Paul McDermott’s voice continues to make me melt. It’s just so beautiful.
Having drank more than a reasonable amount before the show, I would’ve liked an interval. I don’t think I’ve ever been more conflicted about whether or not I should just piss in my seat. When I finally got up to go to the toilet, I was doubled over unable to stay up straight.
I really did not want to leave that show.
It was quite magical.
Afterwards, Jonathan and I went for pizza with the couple and their friends, then went back to the hotel. It was a stunning place, with an enormous foyer and toilets almost the size of my flat, but surprisingly reasonable prices.
We had not been there for more than one drink when the All Stars arrived. They were staying in the same hotel. I was delighted.
By that point, I had had a considerable amount to drink and was feeling very confident. I got up immediately and walked towards Tim, asking him if he remember me from last year.
I practically barged Al Murray out of my way to get to him. I always assumed that if I was ever in the same room as Al Murray that I’d be pretty starstruck, but really I just wanted him out of my way so I could talk to Tim. In fact, when telling my colleagues how my weekend was, I completely omitted to mention that he was there until many hours after I first told the story. One of my friends who is a big comedy fan was appalled that I could forget to include that I met Al Murray. Sort of.
Somehow, Tim remembered me. He even commented that I’d had a haircut, which some of my close friends did not notice as quickly as he did! Last year after chatting to him at the gig, I’d emailed him a video of Jonathan doing stand up and he remembered him too. I am quite amazed by that man.
I genuinely wish I remembered more of the conversations I had that evening, if I’m honest. I talked to a lot of people. About the All Stars and about other comedians and about Jonathan and about just whatever else was happening. I flitted between various conversations, sometimes interrupting people and then inviting myself into their group if I know anything about drunk me. I hope I wasn’t too much of an idiot.
I shook Flacco’s hand and it was very warm. I advised a man who I later found out was the band’s manager to go to visit Bergen in Norway because it is beautiful. (It is, you should go.) I told everyone how brilliant Jonathan is at comedy (he really is, go watch him) and the next morning I had a note in my phone telling me to email a video of him to an address at Avalon Entertainment. I have since done that. I certainly hope something comes of it. Jono deserves it and it would excite me greatly.
I didn’t get much of a chance to speak to Paul McDermott. I would’ve liked to but, despite apparently being in social butterfly mode, I’m quite intimated by him. It’s daunting being around such a talented person.
(Arguably, I should feel the same way about Tim, but he has a habit of welcoming you in right away and making you feel very comfortable in a matter of seconds. It’s a rare skill.)
But, at the end of the evening, Paul McDermott said goodbye to everyone he knew and very politely gave me a little hug and a kiss. That was lovely.
I bought a book while I was there and thumbed through the photographs in it on my way home at about 4am. I was shocked and delighted to find a picture of me in there! Sort of.
There was a photo of last year’s show at the Soho Theatre, with the All Stars holding their arms up ready to take a bow and the back of my head just in front of Tim’s lap. There are many other heads in that picture, but I can’t quite describe how lucky I feel to have been one of them.
It me!
I owe a lot to the Doug Anthony All Stars. They influenced me a hell of a lot when I was a teenager. Without them, I don’t think I would even know about a lot of the things that I genuinely love today. I wouldn’t have watched The Sideshow and found Tripod. I started practicing my guitar more on my own (there was no way that I was going to ask my dad to help me learn a song called ‘I Fuck Dogs’). I wouldn’t have watched as much of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and found some of my favourite comedians. (If I remember rightly, I first saw Andrew O’Neill on a MICF comedy compilation video, and I met Jonathan at an Andrew O’Neill gig. Without the Doug Anthonys I wouldn’t have met one of my best friends. Christ.)
It’s a wonderful feeling to know that people who have had such a big impact on me are so genuine and kind off stage. As much as I adore their bad boy stage personas, it’s reassuring to know that the people who helped to shape me are such lovely human beings.
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