Issue 30 / August 2011 Issue 29 / July 2011


Issue 31 / September 2011 DOC BROWN


COMEDY www.guestlist.net


FESTIVAL EVENT PREVIEW


UK rapper-turned-funny man took five minutes out of his manic schedule to talk to us about acting, The Inbetweeners and his hip-hop roots.


ANDY PARSONS @ Shepherds Bush Empire.15th September


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Super-satirist announces September takeover of Shepherd’s Bush


The only kind of rioting that we should really have in London is riotous laughter... So, if you are craving a little more than pub stand-up comedy, your best bet is probably Shepherd’s Bush Empire.


This September you can catch one of the best satirists in the country, Andy Parsons, there with the good old-fashioned British comedian demonstrating his excellence in observational


Oshi@guestlist.net


Hey man, how are you doing? Yeah good, I’m in Manchester working up here for a few months.


Is it a show or are you doing a tour? I’m shooting a children’s series I’ve created; it’ll be out in January. There are 13 half hour episodes. It’s a three month shoot so we’re working everyday from, like, 7am ‘til 7pm.


I hear there was a little controversy over the ‘Mad World’ remix you did a while back... Yeah, we’re talking about seven years ago now... It was an unofficial remix and it was quite dark and a bit socio-political I guess. It was controversial but it gave me the buzz and the boost I needed to get into the rap game for real.


Nice, and then you did some work with Lowkey, right? Yeah, Lowkey is somebody I’m proud to say I discovered. I used to host a night in the record shop back in the day and we would do an open mic night every Friday. He was 16 and he was so hungry: the fire in his eyes was unbelievable.


Cool. What’s the best thing


about the path you’ve taken now? It’s fun! There’s this one element where I can just relax, mess around and show the other side of me: the vulnerability that is hard to show in rap because it’s so intrinsically linked to the streets and street culture. If you’re a creative person, determined to make a living off your imagination, you can’t be bound by any genre or particular scene or style. I wave the flag for hip-hop all day long, but to confine myself to rap would be a bit small-minded. I love it


Who are your influences in comedy? Wow, there are so many great comics on the circuit. There’s Daniel Kitson and Adam Bloom who have been around for years, but there are a number of young comics on the up at the moment worth checking out like Marlon Davies and Nathan Caton. Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish have got a radio show on BBC6 music and they crack me up.


Tell me something positive “I wave the flag for hip-hop all day


long, but if you’re a creative person you can’t be bound by any genre or particular scene or style”


though and I will always come back to it as long as it wants me, but there are other things I’m interested in.


How was working with The Inbetweeners? It was awesome, man. I did some stuff in the third series and it was a great experience for me. I’m loving the acting and I’m loving the opportunity to see how the industry works... It’s something I feel I could spend my life doing. When I’m too ugly to be starring in stuff I’ll be writing instead [laughs].


about your life as a rapper? There are so many positives... I came up at a time when the internet hadn’t yet taken over; you had to get out there and battle to prove yourself. All that experience made me the person I am today and I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without hip-hop. Until the day I die I will love that music and the fact that I was a part of it. I always wanted to see the day when a kid would come up from London or Birmingham or Manchester and become a superstar, and now look at Dappy,


Tinie, Wiley, Example, Wretch... They’re proper superstars now, man!


If you had to take three people to a desert island with you, who would they be? I’d bring Richard Pryor; I read his biography and it was like reading the Bible. I’d love to pick his brain. On a personal level I’d bring my dad. He passed away and I always feel like he had a whole life that I’d like to talk to him about. Also, Obama. To get a sense of how he came from where he did to be where he’s at would be a fascinating conversation.


I see you’ve got a show coming to the UCL Bloomsbury theatre? Yeah, in October. We’re gonna shoot a DVD there as well so check that out.


Nice. Well, I’ll give you a shout towards October. Good luck with everything! Thank you very much.


humour. The first thing that may spring to your mind is Mock The Week... But we’re not going to talk about that. What gives Parsons’ brand of analysis its own identity is his intelligent awareness of the British people, his clear understanding of satire and its application, and a distinctly British humour that manages to appeal to all. The price (£15) isn’t too shabby either, so make sure you head down for your dose of laughter.


EVENT REVIEW ABSOLUTELY FREE COMEDY


@ The Queen’s Head. Weekly: Tues / Weds / Thurs


A regular comedy night with irregular guests


For upcoming gigs, news and all the Doc Brown info you could possibly need, see www.docbrown.co.uk


A comedy night at the small Queen’s Head pub in King’s Cross could potentially end up being a great evening of old- fashioned low-key pub comedy where many small-time (but funny) bohemian comedians try out their acts. At this night you either feel like you’re a test audience for the comics, or very clearly connected with them... Deserving of a special mention is ‘Chastity Butterworth’, a novel


character we saw juxtaposing a caricature of a traditional British woman from the 1920s to the 1950s with the filthy gutter mouth of a girl from inner-city London. An intrinsic part of her skit is the rigid structure of one- liners that, presented via the character of ‘Chastity’, are easily enjoyable. Even though you might end up in a comedian- heavy room, you’re likely to have a bizarrely enjoyable evening.


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