A RICH COMIC LIFE PODCAST

In this episode, I talk to the great musician and comedian, TONY DE MEUR AKA RONNIE GOLDEN. Tony De Meur’s alter ego is Ronnie Golden, a British singer, guitarist and comedian. In 1975, he was founder of the new-wave band The Fabulous Poodles. From the early 80s he has made numerous appearances on the London comedy circuit. Golden also fronts the Soul and R & B group, Ronnie and The Rex and was a long-time musical collaborator with comedy legend, Barry Cryer. I have seen Golden perform with Barry Cryer every year from 2005 to 2018 at the Edinburgh Fringe. Combined with Golden’s humorous songs and Cryer’s priceless jokes, the shows were always a highlight at the festival. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Tony De Meur aka Ronnie Golden’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2018/08/21/ronnie-golden/

In this episode, I talk to the great comedian, ALEXANDRA HADDOW. Regularly performing at comedy clubs all over the country, London-based Haddow is a naturally funny woman on stage displaying charisma, smut and audacity whilst delivering extremely relatable humorous stories. She hosts Dulwich Hamlet Comedy every month, her debut solo show Not My Finest Hour in 2023 won plaudits at comedy festivals, and she has been tour-support for the likes of Frankie Boyle and Bill Bailey. I have watched Haddow as a guest for 21 Soho in 2022, Always Be Comedy in 2023 and also her solo show Not My Finest Hour at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Alexandra Haddow’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2022/10/09/alexandra-haddow/ Alexandra Haddow Links: Twitter: www.twitter.com/missahaddow Instagram: www.instagram.com/alexandrahaddow/

In this episode, I talk to the great comedian, AARON SIMMONDS. Unfazed by his disability, Simmonds delivers razor sharp observations on life and with his amiable, easy going and very likeable personality on stage, he is a major comic talent. I have seen Simmonds perform his solo show, Hot Wheels, for the Hastings Comedy Festival in 2022, and headline the Sofa SoFunny! showcase in London in 2024. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Aaron Simmonds’ blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2022/06/25/aaron-simmonds/ Aaron Simmonds Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/aaron.simmonds/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/RollingComedian Instagram: www.instagram.com/rollingcomedian/ Website: www.aaronsimmondscomedy.com

In this episode, I talk to the wonderful comedian, MARK NICHOLAS. Mark Nicholas is a brilliant Autistic comedian who has been creating stand-up comedy since 2021. He has been a guest at many comedy nights and festivals, including The Comedy Store in London. He also presents the award-winning Laugh-Able Comedy Night in London showcasing talented comics with disabilities and mental health conditions. I have seen Nicholas appear for Laughing Horse Pick of The Fringe at Brighton in 2022 and for the Sofa So Funny! showcase in London, also in 2022. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Mark Nicholas’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2022/05/22/mark-nicholas/ Mark Nicholas Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/marknicholasstandupcomedian/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/marknicholascomic/

In this episode, I talk to the actor, writer and journalist, KATE COPSTICK. Copstick is one of the best-known comedy critics and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She was a Perrier Comedy Award judge in 2003 and 2004. She was also a Malcolm Hardee Award Judge from 2008 to 2015 and she is a regular critic to The Scotsman newspaper. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview.

In this episode, I talk to the fantastic comedian, KATE MARTIN. Martin is an absolute natural on-stage and an exceptionally funny comedian. A brilliant and highly energetic storyteller with razor-sharp punchlines and observations, she can easily command a room generating waves of laughter, and regularly headlines at comedy clubs. I have seen Martin perform for Epic Comedy in 2022, The Rat Pack Stand-Up Comedy at The Camden Comedy Club in 2023 and for Sofa So Funny! in 2022 and 2023. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Kate Martin Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/kate.martin.94064 Twitter: www.twitter.com/ThatKateMartin Instagram: www.instagram.com/thatkatemartin/ Website: www.thatkatemartin.com

In this episode, I talk to the brilliant comedian, MARK OLVER. Stand-up comedian Olver is a very popular headliner act and compere and has been promoting and performing comedy in Bristol since 1998. From Edinburgh Fringe solo shows to warming-up the audience for TV’s Deal or No Deal, he has a wealth of experience, jokes, and material. He is an extremely funny, warm and engaging comic. I have seen Olver as a guest for Vix Leyton’s Comedy Roulette online, and Always Be Comedy Online in 2020, compere for Up The Creek Saturday Night Comedy in 2022 and warm-up compere for recordings of Channel 4’s The Last Leg from 2021 to present. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Mark Olver Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/markolver Twitter: www.twitter.com/markolver Instagram: www.instagram.com/markjohnolver/

In this episode, I talk to the great comedian, Kate McGann A Finalist for So You Think You’re Funny in 2019 and the South Coast Comedian of the Year 2021, McGann deserves every success. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Kate McGann Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/KateMcGannComedian/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/katemcgannarang/

In this episode, I talk to the wonderful comedian, Alex Hylton. Based in the East Midlands, Hylton is an exceptionally funny comedian with a very likeable, and self-effacing stage persona. He is the monthly compere at 45 West Comedy Club in Leicester and has been in the finals, and won many comedy competitions, including best show at the Leicester Comedy Festival in 2020 and 2022. I have watched Hylton at the Leicester Comedy Festival compering Late Night Jokes on Us in 2022 and his brilliant solo show, Performer, in 2023. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Alex Hylton’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2022/02/17/alex-hylton/ Alex Hylton Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlexHyltonComedy/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/AlexParisHylton/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/alexparishylton/

In this episode, I talk to the great comedian, writer and rapper, Joe Jacobs. Based in London, Jacobs’ style is to mix the comedy with rap. He has been seen and heard on amongst others, BBC Radio 4, BBC 6 Music and gained millions of online views. Apart from stand-up comedy, he is also known as Jester Jacobs and has been releasing steady music since his debut album in 2008, Mental Disorder. His two Edinburgh Fringe solo shows, Ripe, in 2017 and Grimefulness, in 2019 both received critical acclaim. I saw him give an exceptionally funny performance at 21 Soho, London in 2022, and I am looking forward to seeing the highly original comic talent again in 2024. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Joe Jacobs’ blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2022/10/09/joe-jacobs/ Joe Jacobs’ Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/jesterjacobs Twitter: www.twitter.com/jesterjacobs Instagram: www.instagram.com/jesterjacobs/ You Tube: www.youtube.com/jesterjacobs Website: www.joejacobs.website

In this episode, I talk to Dr Oliver Double. Dr Double is an academic and was previously an accomplished stand-up comedian who regularly played the circuit and created Sheffield’s longest running comedy club, The Last Laugh. Since 1999, he has been based at the University of Kent School of Arts, teaching and researching comic and popular performance. He has written several books and has helped to establish The British Stand Up Comedy Archive (BSUCA). Dr Double is also the regular compere of the Funny Rabbit Comedy Club performing at the Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury. I first saw Dr Double at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015 where he interviewed Jo Brand and Alexei Sayle for his Talking Comedy series. I visited the Bristol Slapstick Festival in 2023 where Double was a guest of Robin Ince talking about the books of Monty Python. In 2023, I visited twice the BSUCA, where I watched Double compere a Funny Rabbit Comedy night, and I am very proud to say that the comedians’ interviews featured in my podcast are being added to the Archive collection. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Dr Double’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2023/01/29/dr-oliver-double/ Dr Oliver Double Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/oliver.double/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/OliverDouble/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/oliver.double/ Website: www.kent.ac.uk/arts/people/544/double-oliver Website: www.arichcomiclife.blog/the-british-stand-up-comedy-archive/

In this episode, I talk to the wonderful comedian, BARRY FERNS Beginning his stand-up career in 1995 aged 17, then quitting stand-up to make Edinburgh Fringe sketch shows, and then starting stand-up again from 2008, Barry Ferns is an extremely quick-witted host and headline comedian. One of the founding members of Angel Comedy in London and nominated for best compere at the Chortle Awards in 2014 for his work at the Angel Comedy Club, in 2012, he was in the final of the Leicester Square Comedian of The Year competition and he regularly appears at many comedy festivals. I have seen Ferns perform for Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of The Fringe at the Edinburgh Festival in 2015 and at the Hastings Fringe Comedy Festival 2022 hosting the Norman Award Newcomer of The Year. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Barry Ferns Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/barrybarryferns/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/barryferns Instagram: www.instagram.com/barrybarryferns/ Website: www.barryferns.co.uk

In this episode, I talk to the great comedian, JIM DALY. Presenter, actor and writer, London-based stand-up comedian Daly has hosted Chesham Comedy night and performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He is a regular writing contributor for the extremely popular News Revue show. A Crystal Palace fan, he hosts the weekly football show, Football Friday on https://www.joe.co.uk/, the FYP Podcast, one of the UKs most downloaded independent football podcasts and has had more than five million views online for his comedy football songs and blogs. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Jim Daly Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/jimdalycomedy/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/jimdalycomedy Instagram: www.instagram.com/jimdalycomedy/ Website: www.jimdalycomedy.com/

In this episode, I talk to the wonderful comedian, ANDREW BIRD. Bird is a regular headliner on the comedy circuit and has supported the likes of Rob Brydon, Rhod Gilbert and Michael McIntyre on tour. A brilliant storyteller on stage with a very likeable persona, he is a brilliant comedian. On TV, he has written for 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Lee Mack’s Duck Quacks Don’t Echo, and Jon Richardson’s Ultimate Warrior. On radio, he is a regular guest on BBC Radio 2’s The Rhod Gilbert Show. I have seen Bird perform at the Krater Comedy Club in Brighton and for Boatshow Comedy in 2015, Top Secret Comedy Club in 2020 and The Return of The Craic Online in 2021. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Andrew Bird’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2020/09/07/andrew-bird/ Andrew Bird Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/AndrewBirdComedian Twitter: www.twitter.com/a_tweety_bird Instagram: www.instagram.com/andrewbirdcomedian/ Website: www.andrewbirdcomedian.com

In this episode, I talk to the great comedian, VICTORIA MELODY. Award winning comedian Melody writes, produces and performs comedy, theatre and film. With a love of experimentation, she has appeared on stage in such diverse roles as a pigeon fancier, dog handler, funeral director, beauty queen and police officer. Her stand-up comedy is enthusiastic, off-the-wall, original, and relatable. Her solo show for the Edinburgh Festival in 2022 saw her perform with a headset describing the processes of comedy. Brimming with ideas, Melody is an extremely funny and endearing comedian. I have seen Melody appear twice as part of the Sofa So Funny showcase, at St Christopher’s Pub, Liverpool Street, London in 2022 and Upstairs at The Flying Horse in Liverpool Street, London in 2023. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Victoria Melody’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2022/03/19/victoria-melody/ Victoria Melody Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheVictoriaMelody Twitter: www.twitter.com/victoriamelody Instagram: www.instagram.com/victoriamelody_/ Website: www.victoriamelody.com

In this episode, I talk to the wonderful comedian, BELLA HULL. Bella Hull is a London-based stand-up comedian and writer. Very engaging and exciting on stage, she is confident and extremely funny with very clever material about her life and career. Hull performed her debut solo show, Babycakes, at the Edinburgh Fringe and then the Soho Theatre to rave reviews in 2022. I have watched Hull perform for Always Be Comedy both online, and at Sambrook’s Brewery in Wandsworth in 2022, and at the Kennington venue in 2023. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Bella Hull’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2022/04/03/bella-hull/ Bella Hull Links: Twitter: www.twitter.com/bellabellahull Instagram: www.instagram.com/bellabellahull/

In this episode, I talk to the brilliant comedian and photographer, STEVE BEST. As a comedian, Best has a very immature and zany presence on stage elevating his comedy to laugh-out-loud status. He is a man of many talents and has an exceptional form of slapstick humour. As a photographer, Best has unprecedented access to the comedy world, regularly seen at comedy gigs taking photographs of the comics backstage and capturing the real essence of what it is like to be a stand-up comedian. His wonderful, published books, to date, are Comedy Snapshot (2014), Joker Face (2017) and Comedians (2022). The sequel Comedians 2 is due for publication in September 2023. All are available from his website below. I have watched Best perform at the Putney Comedy Tree in London in 2009, as well as attending the exhibitions Steve Best: Clicking Comedians (2018), Steve Best: Comedians Back To Front (2019) and was an invited guest for the launch of his book Comedians (2022), all at the Observatory Photographic Gallery in London. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Steve Best’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2020/01/26/steve-best/ Steve Best Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/SteveBestComic/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/SteveBestComic/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/stevebestpics/ Website: www.stevebest.com

For the 100th episode, I talk to a special guest, the brilliant comedian, JACK DOCHERTY. Docherty is a Scottish comedian, actor, and writer. He first performed at the 1980 Edinburgh Fringe with the comedy sketch group The Bodgers (with Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and Peter Baikie). Docherty and Hunter became staff writers for the BBC radio comedy contributing to shows such as Radio Active, Week Ending and The News Huddlines. They were teamed with Norwenna Banks and John Sparkes and went onto make four series of the successful sketch show, Absolutely, for Channel 4 between 1989 and 1992. Also in the eighties, his writing skills helped make Spitting Image, Alas Smith & Jones, Vic Reeves Big Night Out, and The Lenny Henry Show, all major hits. In 1997 (until 1999), he was part of the launch of Channel 5, becoming Britain's first five nights a week chat show host on The Jack Docherty Show. From 2014, he has memorably starred as Chief Miekelson in BBC Scotland’s Scot Squad, winning awards for the part, and then wrote and starred in radio and television versions of Stop Start In 2018 he returned to the Edinburgh Fringe with new solo shows in 2018 and 2022, and has a new show, David Bowie and Me: Parallel Lives in 2023. I have many happy memories of sitting in the audience at recordings of The Jack Docherty Show at The Whitehall Theatre in London (now Trafalgar Theatre) from 1997 to 1999. I have also seen Docherty perform for Stop Start at the BBC Radio Theatre in 2015, and his solo shows Miekelson and McGlashan: Serious Men at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018 and Nothing But, at the Soho Theatre, London in 2022. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Jack Docherty’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2018/08/30/jack-docherty/ Jack Docherty Links: Twitter: www.twitter.com/mrjackdocherty Instagram: www.instagram.com/mrjackdocherty

In this episode, I talk to the fantastic comedian, IAN STONE about his comedy career. Stone is a writer, podcaster, broadcaster and one of the best stand-up comedians and comperes in Britain. On stage, he appears easy-going yet anxious, delivering hysterical topical humour with a downgrading and mocking tone. On the comedy circuit for years and receiving a nomination for best show in 2012 at the Leicester Comedy Festival awards, his 2022 Edinburgh show, Righter of Wrongs, was a sellout, and he is returning to the Fringe with a brand-new show in August 2023. I have seen Stone many times over the years, and he has made me laugh out loud consistently. I first saw him at the BBC Stand Up Show in Edinburgh in 2007, then, amongst others, Banana Cabaret in Balham in 2013, the Ealing Comedy Festival in 2016 and his solo 2023 show at the Leicester Comedy Festival, In The Wilderness. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Ian Stone’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2019/06/23/ian-stone/ Ian Stone Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ianstonecomedian/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/iandstone Instagram: www.instagram.com/iandstone Website: www.ianstonecomedian.co.uk

In this episode, I talk to the wonderful comedian, BRENNAN REECE about his comedy career. Reece is a working class, northern comedian who won became a comedian in 2010 and won the English Comedian of The Year in 2015. His cheeky on-stage persona is extremely funny and very endearing. I have watched Reece perform for The Return of The Craic online comedy club in 2021, the Edinburgh Comedy Allstars, and his brilliant solo show, Crowded, at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2022 and for Always Be Comedy in London also in 2022. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast, if you like what you hear, please subscribe and I hope you enjoy the interview. Please read Brennan Reece’s blog at: www.arichcomiclife.blog/2021/01/31/brennan-reece/ Brennan Reece’s Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/brennan.reece/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/brennanreece Instagram: www.instagram/brennanreece Website: www.brennanreece.com