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1:27

Hello, hello, welcome back. It's Stu Goldsmith here.

1:29

This is The Comedians Comedian podcast. And today

1:31

I'm talking to Josh Pugh, a comedic force.

1:33

I don't know the difference between the words

1:36

comedic and comic. I think they do the

1:38

same jobs. But a force nonetheless, hailing

1:40

from the heart of the Midlands. He

1:42

was nominated for Dave's Edinburgh Comedy

1:45

Award in 2022 for one of

1:47

my favorite show titles, Sausage, Egg,

1:49

Josh Pugh, Chips and Beans. And

1:52

there is something genuinely brilliant about...

1:55

I wanted years ago, I think I wanted to do... I

1:57

mean, it's basically the over to the trash.

2:00

news to Ernie Pie with Ernie

2:02

and the Sky. I wanted to do something similar

2:05

to suggest that George Egg did a similar

2:07

kind of broken pun. I love how broken

2:09

this is. What a title. Sausage, Egg, Josh,

2:11

Pew, Chips and Beans. He

2:13

got the comedy, he was nominated for the comedy award for that. And

2:17

he is just such a special,

2:19

special comedian. He is, we talk

2:21

in this episode, in this show,

2:24

about his ability to just

2:26

nail a premise. There is

2:28

something fundamental about stand-up that

2:30

Josh Pew fundamentally gets. And I

2:32

think his twin superpowers are that

2:34

and relatability. This is a really

2:37

good episode. If you have a

2:41

Patreon, if you have a

2:43

Patreon, I have a Patreon, and if you

2:45

have it with me, you can watch the

2:47

full episode as well as getting 15 minutes

2:49

of bonus features where we have a pretty

2:51

heartfelt conversation, by which I mean I didn't

2:53

want to leave it in but I've been convinced because

2:56

I felt I revealed too much of myself, about

2:59

whether or not stand-up material should be

3:01

tailored to what the audience wants. Really

3:03

interesting conversation. Plus, you get to watch

3:05

the full episode. I only had one

3:07

camera so it's only Josh's face, but

3:09

the lighting is superb. It looks like

3:11

a music video. It's great. So we're

3:13

going to talk about creating

3:15

an audience through viral social media clips. He's

3:17

the king of that, and I only recently

3:19

remembered that he was doing it before

3:22

he started going viral with

3:24

little piece-to-camera type videos. I don't

3:26

know what we're calling those even, but

3:28

you know little Instagram reels and TikToks

3:31

where it's just one person talking. He's

3:33

so, so good at them. He just

3:35

makes them look infuriatingly easy. But also,

3:37

I remember now before that, he had

3:39

kind of mini viral things on Facebook

3:41

where he'd do like a round-up of

3:43

the week and he was just such

3:45

a good writer. Brilliant. We will also

3:49

talk about being a premise machine and

3:51

how to turn that into content, and

3:53

we will also talk about connecting his

3:55

humility to cope with a disability.

3:57

So loads of stuff coming up there.

4:00

He's also a talented footballer representing

4:02

England's partially-sided team for over a

4:05

decade in 23 World Championships. Is

4:07

there nothing he can't do? Here we go,

4:09

this is Josh Pugh. Hello,

4:18

shit. What

4:21

shall we start with? You were about to tell me about your podcast,

4:23

but I was just saying, I often

4:26

forget to start by sort

4:28

of establishing who the guest

4:30

is. Who do you think

4:32

you are? Who are you

4:34

in comedy? So I'm

4:37

a stand-up comedian. I've

4:39

been a stand-up comedian for nine years. And

4:42

I'd say in the last two

4:44

years, maybe three years, I've

4:47

started to get a bit of stuff and

4:49

started to get a bit of traction online. And

4:52

more people probably know me from... Yeah,

4:56

people probably know of me because of my

4:58

online videos. And

5:01

then, yeah, since I said so when

5:03

I did my tour last year, I'd say, you know,

5:05

say it was a hundred-city room. I'd

5:08

say 90, maybe 85 of

5:10

that from videos online. I'd

5:13

say 5% of maybe

5:15

see me do support for somebody. Yeah.

5:19

Maybe 3% miscellaneous and

5:21

the rest bits of TV and podcasts.

5:24

Okay. So

5:27

yeah, but predominantly I

5:29

see myself as a stand-up. I do

5:31

scripts, I've got ambitions to do sitcom

5:33

and that kind of stuff. But the

5:35

thing I love most and could

5:38

talk about all day is we'll probably do

5:41

stand-up. That's what I love. When you came

5:43

on stage, we're in Brighton at the moment,

5:45

we did Comedia together last night. And when

5:47

you walked on stage, there was a definite...

5:50

You know that thing and you'll recognize this

5:52

and maybe you're used to it now. But

5:54

there was a definite snap change in the

5:57

applause when the audience... Some of them were

5:59

like, guy now. Some of them

6:01

were like, oh, is that guy? Yeah,

6:03

I actually didn't notice that last night.

6:05

Well, you weren't waiting having to headlight

6:07

off. You're not nervously watching that. I'm

6:09

sick. Yeah, it kind of, I remember,

6:11

so during lockdown, so before lockdown,

6:13

you know, I always, I've

6:15

always thought I'm pretty good at this, you know, you

6:17

kind of even when you maybe

6:20

not getting the opportunity to feel you should get at

6:22

certain points and whatever. But I always

6:24

kind of thought, no, I am good at this.

6:26

And then through lockdown,

6:28

I started doing these videos without any real

6:30

plan or strategy. And then I remember coming

6:32

back and doing an open mic in Birmingham,

6:34

and nobody comes to this open mic, but

6:36

it's quite a full room. And I

6:39

said to the promoter, why is everybody here? I said, I think

6:41

they're to see you. Amazing. And then I went on

6:43

and it was like, I just kind

6:45

of came back to an audience. And

6:47

it just, it's so much easier. Yeah, and

6:49

as well, like we were talking last night

6:51

about the way that there are so many

6:54

comics now and so many different ways of

6:56

doing it, that there are people now like

6:58

years ago, there were people who were big

7:00

on social media, but couldn't necessarily do the

7:02

job of live standup. But you

7:05

are someone who even before that you are,

7:07

I remember you're a comic that other comics

7:09

go to see. Yeah, I've

7:11

always taken that as a massive compliment,

7:13

really. I have, you know,

7:16

social media for me, it's nothing, I've never

7:18

taken it seriously. I've never kind of worried

7:21

about it or I mean, it's a bit different now.

7:23

It's a bit more thing. But I

7:25

remember being at the college and it was

7:27

like college intranet and you could put notices

7:29

on the college intranet. And

7:32

I was putting silly things and silly notices

7:34

on this intranet. And people

7:36

used to look like that. And that was kind of

7:38

my first online content video,

7:41

it's this notice board. And then it went to

7:43

Facebook. I remember I used to do these statuses

7:45

about these made up gigs I'd done and these

7:47

kind of shaggy dog stories. Yes, I remember that.

7:49

That was a while ago now. Yeah, it was a

7:52

while ago. That's kind of been punted out of my

7:54

memory by the Instagram stuff. Yeah, kind of. Now and

7:56

again, I get like a Facebook memory of it and

7:58

I'm like, that is that's The phone

8:00

and of so and pure.

8:03

Family. So live you just to

8:05

audition for instead as. Are

8:08

so similar amount. Of so what

8:11

does it isn't of the platform to mess about

8:13

are merely and then kind of. I did on

8:15

twitter it more videos and twitter not Spanish, airborne

8:17

and Scottish dusted do I need to And and

8:19

it on his two outs are Now it's become

8:22

a bit more. I. Misread them into the

8:24

video chat but. I

8:26

mean and then it just got caught. It's a

8:28

set myself a target last year or so they

8:30

wanna wait. For. Yeah and see

8:32

where it gets my ah ite as an or something

8:34

that our guts the as according to the yeah attempts

8:36

to the second is just coming to an end and

8:38

think of my as a break and just to the

8:41

as and one at estimate I think the a bit

8:43

scared of as well because of. Yeah. Is

8:45

one of them Said for two years

8:47

every Monday it's A It seems to

8:49

me that you are. You're. A

8:52

couple of different things in disguise and up in

8:54

disguise it the wrong were all I mean is

8:56

it took me a minute to notice what was

8:58

really going on so I thought we'd You Will

9:00

stand Up last night. I. Went

9:03

on a minute. these of one liners.

9:05

May not teach you you appeared to

9:07

be. You appear to me to be

9:10

a comic talking about. They're not. see

9:12

of the Stasi so densely ripped off,

9:14

densely witness. Not the word but it

9:16

so kind of. The

9:18

your set to be a one liner com

9:20

a chance that you pass. Did you get to

9:23

be a one liner comic and have hundreds

9:25

and hundreds of short? Very good job but that

9:27

we then topics in there within observations. It's

9:29

not very good at both of those things and

9:31

I I think that's part of why. Did

9:34

you know you went on a storm last night

9:36

and i and as you but special duty of

9:38

is why we have seen us or less a

9:40

mask things with with a bunch of much rifle

9:42

continent next made about losing pretty similarly really what

9:45

I've been watching your videos from while and agree

9:47

what some this morning with this coming out and

9:49

part of me wince on this is a sketch

9:51

show. It's. A sister. It's not just

9:53

it looks like, yes, of looks like, oh,

9:55

he's an asshole Thing of just thoughts on

9:57

my last. I'm not saying that's a contrivance.

10:00

Then you'll die yet. But really I

10:02

was like oh these are very he

10:04

thought about the that. I'm.

10:06

Not a factor. I'm. Not a

10:08

current to go, I'm not hours to green you

10:10

can do these brilliant so things on the

10:12

premises. Yeah, H One is is is a premise

10:15

really and that's why I've always been good. At

10:17

Christmas it's him a good my income or day.

10:19

It was said to me like a premise machine.

10:21

Hundred percent are a kind of. I

10:24

don't Always I've always said this I think

10:26

as like or incident they're quite. I wouldn't

10:28

think to sag because it is. it's edges

10:31

of the disperse pure idea as it appears

10:33

I think of as good as anybody and

10:35

in the world about. Talked

10:37

about that not zero in on that

10:39

fact it sit for the lay person

10:41

I know what premises yet you understand

10:43

that of the initial idea or concept

10:45

of what than could go into based

10:47

on the routine of a joke or

10:49

think I haven't thought bit up first

10:51

idea. That. The Magic. Think.

10:54

Arm. So good at that's my big suit.

10:56

the strength is haven't or then i suppose

10:59

is and about learn what does he like

11:01

of that. He had it was

11:03

at the castle on the i'd be more big

11:05

stone things and then rinse in most out of

11:07

it. That's where are just gonna get worse and

11:09

worse. So that that class for me to work

11:11

out of expenses at is a premise and that's

11:13

what these videos or allow me to do is.

11:15

what about cognitive? You get to work and standup.

11:18

Is. Such I might be video them

11:20

and. See an end to

11:22

that? the one nine something when I started of

11:24

corners. I. Think she's comes

11:26

out of one in lasts all the time. And get

11:29

in. You. Know. Yes,

11:34

The of Mcnabb big thing is. A.

11:37

Premise and then the figures. A pretty help me.

11:39

Get. More more ideas and of say tomato video

11:42

you want to finish on a he has it's

11:44

a sketch show you get out of a glass

11:46

and then the been to the next scheduled. Just

11:48

going to have. In.

11:51

I'm not not too bright the is

11:53

it this but it's a it's premise.

11:56

Escalation. Pay. Off that so

11:58

that that so it is A and. Privacy. Can

12:00

you give me some examples of what you

12:02

mean Because I think of the the videos

12:05

viewers I I think of most often off

12:07

the wall most readily and like the club

12:09

owner with the past month, just that club

12:12

owner with the past and yes such as

12:14

gentle setting up of the characters like a

12:16

world away from from the sources and like

12:18

I lost a hurry and so sketch out

12:21

the as loved that because it was like

12:23

it kind of I think I remember him

12:25

saying is it's be somewhere else that it

12:28

was he sauces maybe even pull white. House

12:30

Bunk probably completely wrong. A bit of

12:32

something like he was it a similar

12:34

time disease which was just. A

12:37

comic book like this person had him

12:40

when he not this week. He added

12:42

very broad strokes characters whereas with your

12:44

was it's like the subtlety is part

12:46

of what makes the magic. I actually

12:48

think that guy. That.it for

12:51

been he season is easy local it's

12:53

a flight characteristics of keep some he

12:55

is so what's the name the characters

12:58

are had done it for been coffee.it's

13:00

over and and he's like. He's

13:03

my generation shopkeeper, Yeah.

13:05

You know what? him in your. Are.

13:08

And is is now loaded up hipsters.

13:11

yeah that so that's kind of them.

13:13

a suspicious of take I'm already but

13:15

some of the first thing you really

13:17

want wealth me was cm. In.

13:20

Fighting the for cheese pizza. So

13:23

it is. I thought House Boy put forties

13:25

and apace so that they are there are

13:27

then authority people come up with your you

13:29

choose a. Uses. An ingredient

13:32

chase aka more seven and then the

13:34

tip of just blanked and auto sales

13:36

and it's of events So it said

13:38

the whole outskirt. But. what would

13:40

my that richer is if it was have opportunity

13:42

the been waiting for the opportunity he has to

13:44

do a pizza that the then fluffed so design

13:46

and. And took

13:49

up saying i'm things in disguise. What was really

13:51

am is a big and people one thing is

13:53

I'm a big comedy gate. I. Can emma

13:55

on a bit of an think people crossing? think

13:57

Adnan accident football and a bit of a. Welcome.

14:00

To our talking on his book Or

14:03

your love comedy Group loving comedy I

14:05

have a good are a threat. And.

14:07

I really enjoy. Yeah.

14:10

I can kind of remember bits and this

14:12

has meant to say. But up A D

14:14

M. Immeditate. I slow

14:17

down is nice. Yeah, I'd. Made

14:19

the observation before difficulty excited about this. Yes,

14:21

I admit he gave us a hundred years

14:23

and the i don't that's a good idea

14:25

of a a scholar's Either it's been done

14:28

before yet or he gets don't like to

14:30

my some would you bugliosi to Colorado or

14:32

not when I've seen him do it allows

14:34

any kinda suck out other our democracy super

14:36

not Arkadelphia hostage remember thinking that as a

14:38

child? Yeah, yeah, I think I'm. Not

14:41

with any kind of plan or strategy. I

14:43

didn't do anything until his on twenty four.

14:45

That said, Yeah. I do

14:48

as Loader was lost on the of

14:50

them. Must have been a funny sort

14:52

of a moment as I've had this idea

14:54

the an unrecognized. it's funny. I have

14:56

observed as and then someone who is

14:58

widely recognized as one of the great friends

15:00

has had the same idea. massively racial

15:02

injustice Reassure Yeah, yeah, northward yeah yeah. So.

15:06

And. And he said the people don't expect

15:09

a bigger might not expect that from you

15:11

yet because you talk has you talk and

15:13

you to consider is what what are those

15:15

things Like I said smith who rejects answer

15:17

is yes that's not what we're talking about.

15:19

You know it's kind of celery hair and

15:21

that that thing you'd like to be. And

15:23

what does an audience see? What do you

15:25

understand the an audience say when and he

15:27

is when you will clan. Is

15:30

simply like that. A thing. And

15:32

I I. I don't really. Talk

15:35

about a high stakes are high status.

15:37

I think on on the same status.

15:41

Or something. I think I'm them. but.

15:45

When. So they don't a soon present

15:47

of. That. That nuts and

15:49

kind of condemns things I've noticed

15:51

into a political form. Named.

15:54

And am. Asking. for so long

15:56

and comedy people you are the most it you know he

15:59

trying to get her gets on stuff and it

16:01

maybe isn't always obvious to industry people, you

16:03

know, what I am, but actually

16:07

I've just, just to put quite

16:10

a 4D person you have to spend a

16:12

bit of time with and you know

16:14

that's what standard pieces, you're a 4D, that luxury

16:16

is a stand up, you can kind of, that's

16:18

your time on the stage, that's your 20 minutes

16:21

for them to get to know you and what you're

16:23

about and that's what I

16:25

enjoy. Are there any decisions

16:27

that you've made about who you are or

16:30

is who you are, like who you are

16:32

on stage, or is who you are on

16:34

stage, to your mind, simply who

16:36

you are? Yeah, closer and closer.

16:40

I think

16:44

I can be, I can

16:46

be dumb on purpose or

16:49

I can be, I have like

16:52

a skewed intellect, but

16:54

the base is me

16:56

and I try, there's

16:58

a big, big sports person so I

17:00

love him, there's a boxer called Alexander

17:02

Usyk, who's a Ukrainian boxer and

17:05

he hasn't got a

17:07

real obvious attribute, like he's not a

17:09

big puncher but he can do

17:12

so many different things and

17:14

kind of, he's deceptive in so many ways

17:18

and I kind of try not to, I kind

17:20

of reluctant to go down one thing or to make

17:22

a bit, you know, in

17:25

terms of what I wear and stuff, I just wear what I want to

17:27

wear or I kind of, anything

17:30

that can be put into a

17:32

box, I'm not sure it's massively helpful for

17:35

creativity and being a rich,

17:38

common voice. Yeah, I agree and I think

17:40

it's interesting, you said the word rich a

17:42

couple of times, I think that word in

17:44

my head as well because the characters in

17:47

the social videos are very rich characters, that's

17:49

one of the pleasures of them is that

17:51

there's a depth and a warmth and a

17:53

kind of roundedness to them rather

17:55

than I think a lot of, maybe

17:57

the majority of like one person,

17:59

people, to camera, self-shot, video,

18:01

stand up. Often

18:03

it's there simply to serve the junk. They're

18:07

like a person doing the joke. They

18:09

might as well be wearing a hat that denotes this role.

18:12

Whereas I think when you do it, and this

18:14

is interesting, because I know you're technically an actor.

18:16

You're a web site. Maybe you're just going to

18:18

use that as an actor. But

18:22

I can absolutely imagine you being an actor.

18:25

I can imagine a casting director looking at that, in

18:27

as much as I know anything about it, looking

18:30

at those videos and going, oh,

18:32

here's someone with depth and relatability.

18:34

And I wonder what

18:36

the relationship is between, like,

18:39

you're so relatable, your stuff. Like, last night, and in

18:41

that, and I recognize some of it from the set,

18:43

some of it from the YouTube show, some that I

18:45

hadn't seen before. But the

18:48

stuff is so kind of, like Peter

18:50

Kay, it has a quality which is

18:52

like an everyman sort of, yeah,

18:55

I remember your bit about your dad on

18:57

holiday and immediately get everything in the safe.

19:00

And my dad never did that, but I'm a dad and I do that.

19:02

And I was like, yeah. And I feel

19:04

like all you hear on Sommations, I can just go tick,

19:06

tick, tick, tick, tick. I relate to every

19:08

single one of these. In a way, it kind of drives

19:10

me mad, because I don't know how relatable

19:12

I am as a comic. And I think that's something I've

19:14

always struggled with, is who are they?

19:17

Who am I to them? And it's like,

19:19

you know, it's this really 12-year podcast, obviously.

19:21

Whereas I feel like with you, you're just

19:23

you, and you're real you, and they're like,

19:26

oh, it's this guy. Like, there's no, it's a funny

19:28

face. There's no airs

19:30

and graces to you. You're not

19:32

coming out pow. You know, and so airs and graces

19:34

or whatever, that word ceremony and whatever, that

19:37

can be brilliant to watch. You're the antithesis

19:39

of someone like Reuben Kay, you

19:41

know, who's like big makeup eyes, comes

19:43

out like a matador pow. You

19:46

just come on and you're you. And that's something

19:48

I yearn for, is

19:50

to just go, that's a real guy there. But the same thing, you

19:52

know, that isn't, you know, that isn't, that's

19:57

your decision to make. You can't just come on and... You

20:00

can't just be an idiot all the time or you

20:02

can't just be like, I'm just a guy I'm happy

20:04

to be because that gets tiring as well. You've got

20:06

to, there's got to be some element of performance

20:09

and you know. Oh yeah,

20:12

I don't mean you're not crying. Yeah, yeah. I

20:14

think you're very natural. Yeah, I think I

20:16

kind of, but I've always, what I'm good

20:19

at, I've always been kind of, you

20:22

know, I sit in a weird place where I can do,

20:24

you know, I'm probably

20:26

mates with the club comics and

20:29

I'm mates with the Soho theatre. I

20:32

could probably, I think it'd be hard

20:34

to, I could get asked to do Mac

20:36

and stuff, but then I'd also

20:38

do like The Frog and

20:41

even at school I was kind of, you know,

20:44

I had my friends but I

20:47

was pretty liked, pretty popular guy

20:49

really. In terms of that sort of

20:51

very arrogant thing to say, but I mean kind of. It's

20:53

not at all, but I can see that

20:55

one of your likeable qualities is humility. It's

20:58

very hard to say, lots of people like me

21:00

without ever kicking a hole in my head. I'd

21:03

be quite happy in that group or that group

21:05

or that group. I probably had friends from, I

21:08

just, I think I'm just sitting there, I

21:10

think I'm a bit of a, I don't know if

21:12

there were comedians, it suggests I'm changing what I am,

21:14

but I, you know,

21:17

I enjoyed mixing with different people and you

21:20

know, I have the sports side of me and I've

21:22

got the comedy side of me and, but

21:25

actually within that I'm by myself

21:27

really that I'm kind of,

21:29

you know, if I spend too long with sports people I'll get

21:31

fed up with them and if I spend too long with comedy people

21:33

I get fed up with them. I like to kind

21:35

of, yeah. It

21:38

must be very nice to have something to

21:40

which, because we were talking before we started

21:42

recording about you've got caps, you've got 65

21:44

caps for England. Yeah, yeah. As

21:47

a footballer in which team, what's the name of

21:49

the team? So I play for England's partially sighted

21:51

team. Okay. And that, you know, I've

21:53

caught up with this eye condition. Yeah. And

21:55

what is it? I don't know what it is. So I've

21:57

basically got about 15% vision, right? You know, I'm legally blind.

22:00

and my sight is low. And

22:02

there's no way that hasn't impacted

22:04

on the way I've gone

22:06

through school and gone through. You

22:09

know, I'm a person, you know, when you've got something like that,

22:11

when you grow up with, you know, you're

22:13

the one kid in school with something like

22:15

that, you kind of, it's in my interest for people

22:17

to help me. I've

22:19

gotta be somebody that people would want to help and be

22:21

around. The pactor,

22:23

because, you know, if I was in the

22:25

wild, I'm the vulnerable one, so I need these guys

22:27

to, I need to bring

22:30

something, you know, they need to like

22:32

me, you know. Do you think there's

22:34

a relationship between that and humility? And

22:37

your humility as a person and your humility

22:40

on stage, your kind of likability. What

22:44

do you mean, so is, yeah? Well, I mean, you

22:46

may have sort of already confirmed this, but I'm just

22:48

interested in like, to

22:50

what extent was that deliberate?

22:53

Like, did you ever have the thought, oh,

22:55

I've gotta make sure I get on with people

22:57

because I need people, or is it simply a

22:59

case of the circumstances around you growing up? Yeah,

23:01

I think it's just, it's nice to be liked

23:04

anyway. And

23:06

if anything, I'll never leverage it, if anything, you

23:08

know, kind of people probably help me much more.

23:11

I've never asked for help, I'm so reluctant to

23:13

ask for anything. I

23:15

think that in itself makes people wanna help

23:18

you weirdly. What

23:20

does 15% mean? Is

23:23

it like distance or? So yeah, it's got

23:25

my central vision, so at school I couldn't

23:27

read off the board or any textbooks and

23:29

this was kind of like the

23:32

late 90s, early 2000s. Like now

23:34

at school, everybody's, my wife at school, everybody's

23:36

got a statement or

23:39

they're involved with the

23:41

CENCO, the Special Educational Needs Team, whereas at

23:44

my school I was the only, I

23:46

was like a real, they didn't know what to do with me, really,

23:48

and I kind of got moved around a bit. And

23:52

actually at school it's the biggest thing, it's the

23:54

hardest thing because that's when you're

23:56

trying to access textbooks and the

23:59

book. and you

24:01

know I was like an August birthday so I

24:03

was always a small kid I'm the small kid that

24:06

can't say you know so I think

24:09

I doubt that had a big impact on how

24:12

I am and stuff. It must

24:14

have been hard did you take it

24:16

hard like did it did you become

24:19

kind of introverted or sad about it or

24:21

did you like? I think I struggled with

24:23

it when I got to my early 20s

24:25

I think at school you

24:28

just kind of get on with it at school it didn't

24:30

really you know I still played football and did rugby and

24:32

boxing and all this stuff and it didn't I didn't

24:34

really understand how hampered I

24:36

was by it if that makes sense. My mum had

24:39

me very young and my dad was and I kind

24:41

of they didn't know anything about

24:43

it nobody really and I kind of I didn't

24:45

realize the disadvantages I had

24:48

I didn't understand why other people have to do

24:50

things so easily and for me it was harder

24:52

and then as I got kind of to 20s

24:54

and that was a bit resentful of it and

24:58

but now I'm completely comfortable with it and

25:01

you know it's given me so much really. It's

25:03

one of those like me and my son both have

25:05

asthma we both have allergic asthma and it's funny he

25:08

gets really frustrated about having to take his preventer inhaler

25:10

every day and I've said to him in the past

25:12

I kind of try and keep it as a sometimes

25:14

when he's like I don't want to take I'm never

25:16

taking it again yeah I just

25:18

have to sort of remind it in medieval times we'd

25:21

be dead yeah so like there's this sort of thing

25:23

where you

25:27

go like it's really it's really up

25:29

it's really encouraging instead of positive to

25:31

hear someone say it was very hard

25:33

then I struggled then but now there's the yeah it's

25:35

shit yeah it's kind of it's not me I'd say

25:38

to my thirties to even tell people or you know

25:40

kind of yeah it's not something as visible yeah and

25:42

on stage it's kind of a it's a bit of

25:44

a luxury really you know I'm not you know you

25:47

know if kind of Rosie Jones goes on

25:49

she her first government's has got you know

25:52

she's got a reference her disability was I've

25:54

got the luxury to to use it

25:56

or not use a hate the word use

25:58

it but I haven't got to address it. And

26:01

do you have gear about it? Did you in the early

26:03

days? No, never. I

26:05

never wanted, and I've got a

26:07

bit of a rule with it in my shows, I only use

26:10

it as much as it affects

26:13

my life, if that makes sense. It's

26:15

in my show as much as it's in my life.

26:17

It's a little rule I've given myself.

26:20

What do you mean by

26:22

that? So, I don't know, I

26:24

kind of... So it'd

26:27

be like the back

26:29

end of the show, and it'd have

26:31

to inform something. If

26:34

I'm going to talk about it, I want it

26:37

to be in a way that means something rather

26:39

than a gag.

26:41

Yeah.

26:45

Let's talk a little bit more about premises.

26:48

Is it teachable than that kind of act

26:50

that you have of going... And

26:53

what is it? Let's just zero in on that a

26:55

bit more. It's the ability to look at it and

26:57

go... Because I often have ideas, and I think, yeah,

26:59

but what's the premise? Is it to do with attitude?

27:01

Is it to do with what's

27:04

the funniest bit of the idea? Is

27:06

it to do with clarity

27:08

on that, and how you express it? It's

27:10

just so obvious. It's just

27:13

noticing things and noticing contrasts

27:15

and juxtapositions. I

27:17

just make a note of it on my phone, and I'll

27:20

never be so... I

27:23

made a note on my phone about...

27:25

I'd moved house, and

27:28

the removals guy, he left his lunch

27:30

at home. And this

27:32

is the removals guy. The

27:34

one thing he had to bring of his own, he's

27:36

left at home. And that is

27:39

just... Anything,

27:42

I don't know. It's really

27:45

hard. That has an internal

27:47

paradoxical logic. That's the worst thing

27:49

that's ever happened for that guy.

27:52

It's a logic. It's like a

27:54

logic. It's like juxtapositions.

27:57

And it's... Sometimes it's just

27:59

kind of... completely hypothetical. Imagine

28:02

if this happened, I just write everything

28:04

down, I just always

28:09

look in even if I don't know I am. And

28:11

with that removal man lunch thing, is

28:13

that gear now? No, that's literally something

28:16

of, that's just the first thing I

28:18

could think of and that is objectively

28:21

a premise. What I do with it

28:23

next is that's the hard bit and

28:25

that's what I'm trying to get

28:27

better at. Can you draw the line for us? Can

28:29

you kind of describe the journey of a bit that

28:31

you did last night, sorry, or a bit that's like

28:33

a working bit and take me back to the apprentice

28:36

and go and then I tried that and did that

28:38

and did that with it? Are you an over- Yeah,

28:40

so I've got this new bit last night I did

28:42

about the parenting advice and your

28:44

parents giving you advice and

28:47

about, I mean, I won't do the

28:49

bit, but my parents

28:51

have brought up two babies out

28:54

of seven billion babies on this planet. What

28:57

gives them the right to drive, you

28:59

know, they haven't based on that data, you

29:01

wouldn't take advice based

29:04

on that data in any other walk of

29:06

life. Yes. So that is the premise. So the premise

29:08

is they've only brought two babies up. Yes.

29:12

And then you need to extrapolate

29:14

that into the next stage,

29:16

which is the transpose that logic

29:18

onto a- Onto a new thing.

29:20

Yeah. With an

29:22

act out, with the funniest thing at the

29:24

end. And can you generate

29:26

premises or do you have to just notice them? Do

29:28

you just have to be open to them falling into

29:31

your head? The second one,

29:33

I have to just, I have

29:36

to find them. I wouldn't sit down.

29:38

To me, it would seem

29:40

silly to sit down without a premise and try

29:43

and write. I think you'd sit and you'd take

29:45

yourself up to fail there. But you should sit

29:47

down with something. Are

29:49

there any means of- You

29:51

could observe something that isn't a

29:54

premise and make it a premise, if that makes

29:56

sense. If you've noticed something and written it in

29:58

your phone, there'll be something in it. I

30:00

think because your brain's a lot

30:03

flagged it. That's a good rule to have.

30:05

If it exists there as a thing, if

30:07

it exists as a note, then there's something

30:09

to it. There's something I try to remind

30:11

myself, I may be able to arrogantly send

30:13

this to audiences, we're tongue in cheek, to

30:16

say, listen, this thing that I've just said

30:18

didn't work, but the job

30:20

I need to do is work out,

30:23

like it is funny. I just haven't

30:25

communicated what I find funny about it.

30:28

That's why no one's laughing. Trust me, that's

30:30

funny. I've got the same thing. I went

30:32

to Cheltenham races and I

30:34

missed the first race and

30:37

30 horses set

30:40

off at the correct time and I

30:42

missed it. I lived 40 minutes away and I

30:44

missed it. Now that is, I

30:47

can't get that to work yet, but that

30:49

is objectively, you

30:52

know, and I probably might not even ever work it out.

30:54

Or if I do work it out, it might

30:56

not be a stand up and

30:58

it might have to go, but I

31:00

could get it further on than it is. And

31:04

do you have a toolkit for what

31:06

to do next with that specific idea?

31:08

What would be, would you kind of

31:11

like sit down and write, put it in

31:13

your phone while you're walking around and to

31:15

try and go, okay, how, like, what

31:18

are the options? And like off the top of my head, I'd be

31:20

like, you could explain that that was a

31:22

real thing that happened and you could insert

31:24

an attitude in it and be frustrated or

31:26

I'm not proud of myself that I'm so,

31:28

like, you could take different kind of, you

31:30

know, emotional attitudes towards it. Yeah, yeah, totally

31:32

that. So it'd be, I suppose it'd

31:34

be, why, what does that

31:36

say about me? What

31:38

does that say about me? What does that say about

31:40

me? I recognise that. There's echoes of that in some

31:43

of your stuff. What does that say about me that

31:45

I can't even, and then

31:47

I'd probably build up the horse story, like that, how

31:49

they started. Some of those were in Ireland that

31:52

to get on and

31:54

I'd probably make that sillier and then make

31:56

my journey simpler. Just, you

31:59

know, the juxtaposition of them. there, then want a,

32:01

b and horses, somebody

32:03

had to drive them. They, you know, I love kind of,

32:07

and I make my journey easier. And then it'd

32:09

be like how, and that'd be, you'd

32:11

have to frame it as, you know, how, how

32:13

useless am I or how, you

32:16

know, or

32:18

maybe, you know, and then you can do different, I suppose it might

32:20

even be like, you know, but they, that is their

32:22

job to found there. I'm

32:25

there for leisure. You know, and there's

32:28

something there as well. It's not simply the premise.

32:30

The word leisure is an excellent, a very funny

32:32

word. Yeah. Yeah. You've got to, I made some

32:34

notes. I don't mean to interrupt the flow here,

32:36

but I wrote down some stuff last night. I

32:39

think including what I was watching you some stuff

32:41

about the word choice. Oh,

32:46

I can't find anything. I think it's updated. Oh,

32:52

that was, there's a lovely joke about, about the

32:55

way that the generation of men

32:57

before you just

33:00

was so lazy and pathetic. And it's a

33:02

love you're very good at to pull back

33:04

and reveal that doesn't feel like one. Yeah.

33:07

I mean, like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I can reveal that sort

33:09

of a derided turn now. Yeah. And then I got off

33:11

the bus. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But you're

33:13

very good at a sort of a switcharoo of

33:15

the thing that is that you're frustrated about. Yeah.

33:18

And some of those, I mean, that's particularly good.

33:20

For example, that could, that's,

33:23

that's getting towards being

33:26

a bit edgy. That's it.

33:28

That's the edgy start I forget.

33:30

Yeah. You're not very edgy. Yeah.

33:33

But what you're riffing on

33:35

is I'm an unreconstructed male. Yeah. Why

33:37

do I not get to do that? Yeah.

33:40

But it's not edgy though, is it? Because

33:42

we like you and trust you. Yeah. But

33:45

I see what you mean. It might be the edgiest. Do

33:47

you get? Yeah. It might be. You have like revealing an

33:49

unlikable quality to yourself. Yeah. I

33:51

feel the thing I feel, you

33:54

know, it is unfair is

33:56

I don't get to be lazy just because

33:59

of, you know. Do you,

34:02

as an audience, I mean because you

34:04

say I'm supernaturally likeable and really likeable

34:06

in a very specific, not likeable in a

34:08

kind of like, like Graham

34:10

Norton is likeable because he's sort of out there

34:13

and big and bright and twinkly and what have

34:15

you, you're more likeable

34:17

in a kind of salt of the earth.

34:19

I always think this is an Andrew Bird.

34:21

If I was casting a movie and I

34:23

needed a guy in like a metal helmet

34:25

with a sword, I'd call him Bernie because

34:27

he's just got that quality. He's got the

34:29

jaw as well. You could be in the

34:32

night's watch in Game of

34:35

Thrones. What is that, is it like

34:37

a sort of man of the people kind of

34:39

quality or something? I don't know, it's just kind

34:41

of myself. I kind of, I mean you

34:45

could get into it. I live in a very, I live

34:47

in the middle of the

34:49

country. You're from Warwickshire aren't you?

34:51

I grew up in Warwickshire. I grew up in

34:53

Levington. Yeah, so I'm in the North, I'm in

34:55

Otherston, Nanita in Bedworth, so the

34:58

Arsehole of North Warwickshire I

35:00

think it's been called. But the, I

35:02

don't know, I think I live, I think

35:05

Gavin and Stacy is a great sitcom because

35:07

I think it captures how a lot of

35:09

people in Britain live more than any other

35:11

sitcom has for so long. I

35:14

think I'm like a lot

35:16

of people, and maybe that voice hasn't been

35:18

heard for a long time. Or

35:21

I think, it was a

35:23

massive thing to me and this just sounds so silly and

35:25

I've kind of ashamed it took

35:27

me this long. But as

35:29

soon as I realised it isn't about those

35:31

people in comedy, it's about all

35:33

those people who

35:37

could be audience. As soon

35:39

as I started working on things for

35:41

them and what they would love, it

35:43

just changed for me. What

35:45

were you doing before? Just kind

35:48

of making decisions, making artistic

35:50

decisions based

35:53

on what trends were

35:55

or what seemed to

35:57

get on TV. tropes

36:01

of, you know... Can you give me some

36:03

examples? I

36:06

probably, I probably, I probably, I actually didn't

36:08

realise how mainstream I was as a comedian.

36:11

I'm probably more Paddy McGinnis

36:13

than Stuart Lee. Yeah. And

36:15

when I realised that, even

36:17

things like that, so people, you know, people slating

36:20

Paddy McGinnis is stand up. It's quite a

36:22

popular thing to do. Comedians will slag that

36:24

off. And I'm actually, my

36:27

way of thinking is, you know, he, loads

36:29

of people love that. Yeah.

36:31

And he represents something to those people. And

36:35

I think to dismiss that is maybe

36:37

why you're not

36:39

connecting with the population.

36:43

It's just about,

36:45

yeah, it's just about connecting with people, I think.

36:47

I think, I

36:50

don't know. Sure. Okay.

37:51

So this is Josh. I got a bit giddy at the beginning of these. and

38:00

I can only apologize for that now because he

38:02

is such a quiet considered and humble guy and

38:04

we will find out at

38:07

the very end of this episode is

38:09

he happy and Obviously he's

38:11

happy but the specific way in which

38:13

he's happy is brilliant. I was telling

38:15

people about this recording For

38:18

ages after recording it just when I

38:20

would see people socially there is something

38:22

so lovely about his Appreciation

38:25

of what's important. He's

38:27

like a brilliant happy comedian and you don't get

38:30

many of them We're going to talk in the

38:32

second half about what Josh thinks are his strengths

38:34

as a comic We'll talk about coping with bad

38:36

gigs finding out what actually matters and finding out

38:38

whether he's happy spoiler alert. Yes His

38:41

existing Levita loca tour tours throughout the UK

38:44

It's a June this year and you can

38:46

see the full list of dates at Josh

38:48

Pugh comic.com And you can

38:50

watch Josh Pugh live from Birmingham Town Hall on

38:52

YouTube That's on the 800 pound

38:54

gorilla media channel a great bunch

38:57

of dudes they are Also,

38:59

I mean obviously you can follow the Josh

39:01

Pugh comic on everything, but I

39:04

particularly recommend Instagram and Tiktok Although

39:06

he I think he's yes. He's on Twitter as well. Josh

39:08

Pugh comic a quick guest

39:10

announcement now If you are one of

39:13

the people who's managed to snag a

39:15

ticket to Mac to come and see

39:17

spoilers I think there's maybe four tickets

39:19

or five tickets left. I'm hereby now

39:21

announcing the guests the guests are Nathaniel

39:23

Metcalf Amy Gledhill and Chloe pets that

39:25

is going to be a rip-roaring Whatever

39:28

it is. What is redacted? It's sort of

39:30

a dick about panel game Con-con

39:33

flavored thing full of scurrilous

39:35

rumours and gossip and if we do ever

39:37

release it It will only be to the

39:39

insiders club and it will be heavily bleeped

39:41

No doubt so come along to that if

39:43

you can grab one of those final tickets

39:45

That's Saturday the 4th of May at the

39:47

Macomb Cliff comedy festival at 4 p.m A

39:50

few tickets now are on sale at Mac comedy

39:52

fest.co.uk Also spoilers has got

39:54

tickets still available. It's a big old room

39:56

and I was there last year, but now

39:58

it's bet it's Last year was, as

40:00

you remember from this podcast, it was frustrating for

40:03

me because the show was getting there but not

40:05

there, and now the show is super there. So

40:07

if you have missed it, I don't know if I'm going to tour

40:09

it, I don't know if I'm ever going to release it because I'm

40:12

doing so many other things with it. Please,

40:14

if you're at Mac, come along and see spoilers.

40:16

I think you will love it and it will make

40:18

you feel good despite being about the client. So

40:20

it really will, I think it really will. Go

40:24

to maccomedyfest.co.uk for all of that

40:26

and joshpewcomic.com to find out where

40:28

you can get tickets for existing

40:30

Levita Loca and other Superb. Someone

40:39

has asked a question that I don't understand,

40:41

because the people have put an artham

40:43

energy under it. I'm wondering whether I can, you know

40:46

you can understand a joke, you can work backwards. Have

40:48

you done a video about being

40:51

a physiotherapist? So this

40:53

was the last video I did, so last Monday,

40:55

so I do a, even the decision to put

40:57

my videos out on a Monday morning, that

40:59

is me saying people are going to work on a Monday morning,

41:03

I should be up commuting with them. That's

41:05

me. Okay. So

41:07

that's why I do my video then. Okay. So the

41:09

last video I did was about seeing a

41:11

physio, and basically the physio telling

41:13

you that your body's wrong, your job's wrong,

41:15

your shoes are wrong, but stay positive. I

41:19

didn't realise how relatable that was. The

41:22

question was for Al, Al Maff is

41:24

a little, and he said when did

41:26

he meet my actual physiotherapist? So that's

41:29

what the question, I think that worked

41:31

out what the question was. I think

41:33

that had like 2.2 million views on

41:35

Twitter, which is just like, that

41:41

Monday morning, 60 second video,

41:43

they all do really well, touch wood. And

41:46

that is, you know, that's better than being

41:48

on TV in terms of eyes on you. Yeah.

41:52

And I mean, not to go back to the videos, but I never really

41:54

kind of, I don't really,

41:57

I just film it on my phone with a camera. I

41:59

can't do anything. I can't really see to do the stuff.

42:01

I can't do anything mad with it. I've got to do it

42:03

in one or two takes And

42:06

I think even that is weirdly

42:09

Because there's no shine on it. I

42:12

think people relate to that more as

42:14

well Do you do

42:16

you write it? You write it like a routine? I like

42:18

takes like a week to do one a week 20 one

42:20

a week I kind of it's

42:22

become a bit of an albatross around my back really

42:24

but I kind of Like

42:27

I've done to this morning in my room because it's

42:29

white walls and that's much I know where black t-shirts

42:31

hand in front of a white wall look

42:34

towards the camera get in to make sure your faces in

42:36

it So

42:38

I'll get the I'll get the beat so I get the premise the

42:40

beats do it a few times I might find one or two

42:42

more things when I'm doing it and Then

42:45

just get the crispest take of it

42:49

So you kind of go for like a rough

42:52

cut one of like that's the premise that's the beats

42:54

I'm gonna do it and if it works great is

42:56

done. Yeah, and if you trip over or discover anything

42:58

else you like Go again

43:00

and try and find the yeah. Yeah, totally I

43:03

mean but weirdly that I

43:05

have this with jokes as well there the

43:07

shorter the time from concept to execution

43:11

The better it performs It's

43:14

so easy to to do work in

43:16

inverted commas. Yeah Feeling

43:18

like I better I better do some work.

43:20

Yeah, I mean rather than everything you do

43:22

ruins the original Yeah, that's not

43:25

always the thing sometimes you get an idea in

43:27

the sharpening. Oh, yeah, but definitely they were like

43:34

Yeah, yeah, totally so what

43:36

else what are the other kind of things that

43:38

go into the videos in terms of

43:40

like If you've got like

43:42

you did to this morning. Is that because You

43:46

need content for Monday morning, or is it because you

43:48

were wandering around and you went? Oh, that's not work

43:50

and you came up with it there. Yeah, it's got

43:52

to the point now They were because I need to

43:55

have to in the camp Okay, I know my wife

43:57

and my family for a weekend and I'll try and

43:59

do maximum at the time. And

44:01

were they based on notes from your phone? Yeah,

44:03

so that they've come to the point now. Given

44:05

that they've not gone out, this won't go out

44:07

for a while, but what was one of the

44:09

ones that you did? So one was about, I

44:12

think he's like a decorator in an art gallery. Okay.

44:14

And obviously he's there as a painter

44:18

and he's not, you know, he's kind of saying that he's, yeah, they're

44:20

good, but you know, and then his

44:22

relationship as a painter and the

44:24

great artist and statistically he's got more painting

44:26

in this art gallery than

44:29

these renowned artists. That's

44:31

by square meter. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that's

44:33

pure premise. It's a guy, there's an attitude

44:35

to it because he's, he feels

44:37

a certain way. He just kind of

44:39

agreed that he can get in the rest of his life.

44:42

There's probably a bit of wordplay, like the painter thing that

44:44

could be, you know, in someone else's hands, that'd just be

44:46

a misdirection, like a, like a one-liner. And

44:50

then there's a bit of attitude, but, and I

44:52

just kind of did that. And then I think the other one I

44:54

did was just a guy saying, I've

44:57

got you. I've got you. And

44:59

the other guy, but another. Thank

45:01

you. But also what kind of a

45:03

vague tokenistic way, I was, you know, kind

45:05

of just really joining to these, you know,

45:08

people, you're having a bad time with people text you saying, I'm

45:10

here, I'm here for you, mate. What you

45:12

actually, what you actually offer in there. And

45:17

there's an honesty to that one. Now we think about it. There's

45:19

a real honesty to, you know, don't

45:21

just say what do you mean? Like what? Yeah.

45:24

Finance, you know. So

45:26

yeah, they're the two. So one's like a pure premise.

45:29

Someone's like a sketchy,

45:31

that's quite sketchy. The painting one, that's kind

45:33

of quite a sketchy premise.

45:35

Isn't it? That could be like, you know,

45:38

sketchbook could do that. And then

45:40

the other one is almost a stand-up

45:42

bit brought to life on video.

45:45

And do you have a sense when you make them

45:47

of which ones will go and which

45:49

ones will, by which I mean, which ones will get 200,000,

45:52

which ones will get 2 million? Do you get any sense? Yeah,

45:55

I do. And it'd be easy

45:57

for me to put down to brilliant comic

45:59

instinct. was actually I've done,

46:02

you know, I've done a video every week for

46:04

two years and I've probably learnt, you

46:07

know, sometimes the things we think are instinct are

46:10

actually, we've got loads of data

46:12

because we've done it for so long. And

46:15

that's actually what the sport helps me so

46:17

much in comedy, just in terms of, you

46:20

know, in

46:22

terms of, I don't know, I think

46:27

I've got a bit of flair and stuff about what

46:29

I do, but also I do, you know, if

46:32

numbers are telling me something, I will, I will listen

46:34

to it. That's

46:37

interesting. I think that this sport that's come

46:39

up a few times in podcasts in the

46:41

past, that we did with other with

46:44

other comics, I mean, that like a background

46:46

in sports is a really healthy thing to

46:48

have because you want to succeed, but you

46:50

know that you can't necessarily be the best

46:52

in the world. It doesn't mean that it's

46:55

all been for nothing if you're not the

46:57

best in the world. You're playing, like, do

46:59

you see comedy like a sort of a

47:01

game that you're playing that you'd be great

47:03

to win at this and I can, you

47:06

know, you may reference, you know, I've

47:08

these are my strengths and that's what I need. I'm

47:10

working on myself. It's very sport oriented. Yeah, I suppose

47:12

it is. It's kind of, you

47:14

know, if you're a certain kind of tennis

47:17

player, you want the game to go a

47:19

certain way because that's what your strengths are

47:21

and you're you're trying to engineer the

47:24

game to go that way. And if sometimes you're out

47:26

of your depth in a certain thing, you've got to

47:28

just make do and you

47:30

can do it there, but you'd rather I'm

47:33

specifically thinking about Tim Henman going to the

47:35

net and Andy Roddick being at the back

47:37

of the court. So

47:40

where I'm at with that is so stand up

47:42

of a very comfortable stand up. You know,

47:44

I really kind of back myself as a stand

47:46

up where I'm learning and where I'm

47:48

not so strong is like a panel

47:51

thing or a podcast because my strengths of the stand up

47:58

are writing and thinking. idea

48:00

through and presenting the idea in the best

48:02

way. I'm not

48:05

a big, I'm quite a quiet person

48:07

really. Like so much, you know, I've

48:09

done panel shows where if

48:11

that game was going on in my house, I'd go into

48:13

the room. But

48:16

here I am on TV having to not

48:19

only do the game but also be,

48:21

you know, be upbeat and just, I'll just

48:24

stay quiet, you know, I only speak really

48:26

socially when it's worth

48:28

saying something. Whereas to force

48:30

things out it feels,

48:32

it really puts me out of my comfort zone and

48:34

I feel, yeah, I

48:36

think I've done okay on stuff but it's, yeah,

48:39

that's where, so where all the comics

48:42

are, you know, the more

48:44

maybe personality driven, that's where they would really

48:47

thrive and I'm kind of out of my depth and

48:49

wish I was for the 10 minutes I wish I

48:51

was like them, you know. Is

48:55

there a sporting analogy you could employ

48:57

to think about that,

49:00

do you mean like to think more warmly and more positively

49:02

about it? Is it a case of like, you

49:04

know, you've got to just, like you've just got to

49:06

take loads of shots? Do you mean that? Yeah, yeah,

49:09

yeah, possibly. You know what I mean? In a mock

49:11

the week situation, you just need to

49:13

just bang as many gangs out as

49:15

you can, feel good about them and just ignore

49:18

it if they miss. I don't know what sport

49:20

that's about to tell you. There's a

49:22

bit of punching, there's a bit of shooting. It'd

49:24

be so often you get to pop up and throw

49:26

the dart. Yeah, not really, but

49:28

I'm working it out and I will work it

49:30

out, that's my other thing, I will

49:32

eventually work anything out. When

49:36

I think about the Edinburgh's I've had, I kind of, so

49:38

I've been going nine years, I've done five Edinburgh's,

49:40

I did my first, starting in 2017, I

49:42

debuted at the Pleasants, would not be clear what

49:44

that meant in 2017 and then

49:49

I had some bad Edinburgh's. But yeah, show was

49:51

okay, show was, you know, the bit of backing

49:53

in Emper's New

49:55

Clothes, you know, it's as good a show as

49:57

any of the new shows. But

50:01

then I would just learn how to do it. I'd

50:05

always do a good Edinburgh show now. If

50:08

you had some crafting titles. Yeah.

50:11

That's one of the questions actually. I'd have

50:13

to credit the question. I'd have asked this

50:15

anyway, but look, this is well put. Yeah.

50:17

Paul Savage, top contributor. It's a legend. Hello

50:19

Paul. He has two shows,

50:21

two shows which I would consider among the very

50:24

best show titles ever. I think I'd agree with

50:26

this actually. Maybe the real Edinburgh Awards are the

50:28

friends we made along the way. And I think

50:30

when I, I don't think I knew you, but

50:32

I may have texted you or messaged you. Time

50:35

to say that is phenomenal. And

50:38

Sausage, Bacon, Egg, Josh, Pew, Chips and

50:40

Beans. How important is that in getting

50:42

an audience or pre-filtering them or is

50:44

it just a laugh? So that initially

50:46

I think, what

50:50

we're saying about digging deep, but I would say it's a laugh

50:52

is what I'd say. But if you really looked

50:54

at it, if you dug it. You

50:58

think it's instinct, but you're prepared to accept that

51:00

there is decision being made. Yeah, totally. I

51:04

think that's born out of having, you

51:06

know, not having an agent and not having a

51:08

promoter or producer and just

51:10

clutching at something. It's just

51:12

another opportunity to be funny. And

51:15

I'll take it to try and get people in. I

51:18

saw that show, maybe the real comedy awards are

51:20

the friends we made along the way on the

51:22

basis of the title. Yeah. And I

51:24

think I can't be alone in having done that. Yeah, yeah. And

51:27

that's one of those things I think that comics love as

51:29

well. Like it's so easy. It's

51:32

so easy to fall into the trap, I

51:34

think, as a comic now that we all

51:36

have to be writer, producer, director, videographer, all

51:39

those rest of those things. It's

51:41

easy, I think, for me here, and I'm going to

51:43

speak to myself, to fall into the trap of optimizing.

51:45

I'm just trying to optimize. I'm just trying to

51:48

do that as best I could with that as

51:50

well and that as cleverly and efficiently as possible.

51:52

And actually doing things because they're funny

51:54

for the sake of a funny thing.

51:57

Yeah. Is something that's easy to overlook.

52:00

scramble to succeed and then you

52:02

turn around 10 years later and you're like,

52:04

oh fuck, all these people who were just

52:06

having fun, they did really well because people

52:08

respond warmly to people having fun. And also

52:10

it's kind of a decision

52:12

not to be cool. It's

52:14

a decision to, that's your

52:16

title for the year, is it? You

52:19

know, it's a decision not to, you know,

52:21

you've not had a cool photo shoot and you

52:23

know, you're not making an album, you know, we're

52:25

not making a music album. It's

52:27

kind of, I suppose it's going to

52:29

be saying, I'm not taking, I'm not,

52:31

you know, it's not

52:34

a big, cool

52:36

photo shoot. There's a lot of big,

52:38

cool photo shoots. Yeah, I've done a

52:40

few. And it's hard, you know, people

52:42

get it wrong. I don't mean, you

52:45

know, it's hard. I find that the hardest bit of

52:47

the job is what to wear on

52:49

anything, what to do in photos,

52:52

because that's the 2D personality

52:55

stuff rather than that. You know, that's not right.

52:57

It's hard to be rich and do anything in

52:59

that. It's just kind of, well, I'll

53:01

just come on and just smile. Yeah, I feel

53:03

like there's two or three photographers

53:05

who understand how to get

53:07

richness and they're incredibly expensive.

53:10

It's so interesting. I,

53:13

so when I got, when

53:15

I got nominated in 2022 last year, the

53:21

photo shoot, you didn't go and do a photo shoot. And

53:24

it was so interesting. So

53:26

interesting, the photo shoot with all the nominees. And

53:29

I was looking at it like, oh, everybody's doing their

53:31

thing on this photo. So Corinne

53:33

Holt, brilliant, had his

53:35

head through the zero. Yeah. Alfie Brown

53:37

was out in a pair of sunglasses.

53:40

Just like that. Yeah. Sam Campbell was

53:42

eating a bacon sandwich. Yeah. Everyone's

53:45

rejecting the concept in a fun way.

53:47

Or you mean like exactly. Everybody's boiling

53:49

down by a thing. And I

53:51

think I just look like a guy that like who's

53:54

going to pick his kids up from school.

53:56

But even that was my thing. Yeah. I

54:00

wouldn't know what to do. It was so it's such

54:02

a pure example of

54:04

this is that because that's

54:06

what stands you know more than the show that's what

54:08

you look back 20 years time

54:11

with that picture and it's so interesting

54:16

and but then I think

54:19

I operate as the only person that noticed it. I've

54:21

got a couple of bits I've got a new bit

54:24

about getting in a seven-seater taxi and

54:28

I'm so proud of it because you're the six

54:30

of the people in the taxi with all comedians

54:32

yeah and I got it yeah and I

54:34

think in that moment I think I was the only person

54:36

that noticed our we're all

54:38

doing what we think

54:40

we are in a in

54:42

a still. It's like those mad gigs they

54:45

have in London where this so we were

54:47

talking last night about the insane state of

54:49

standing sorry starting stand-up comedy at

54:51

the moment yeah where I remember

54:53

doing like amused moose gigs where it'd be like

54:55

okay everyone does five minutes and you rattle through

54:58

and those types of gigs now like everyone does

55:00

two minutes a minute and a half that

55:02

photo is almost like the ultimate reduction

55:05

of that concept yeah walk up look

55:08

the way you look you know assume strike

55:10

the pose that is you yeah we'll get

55:12

through a thousand comics and we'll choose three

55:15

of them to become famous yeah it's it's

55:17

crazy it's crazy. Do

55:19

you do crowd work? If

55:22

I absolutely have to. If

55:26

I absolutely am forced into doing crowd work I

55:28

will I will I

55:30

can't really see the audience which is hard

55:32

but I will I will engage in

55:35

it if I need to or if I've got a jen-

55:37

What's your name where are you from what do you look

55:39

like? Yeah yeah

55:41

yeah but I will you but I'm not

55:43

really interested in it I'm not really interested in crowd work I

55:45

love to see it done well but it

55:48

doesn't really interest me it's

55:50

not um it

55:54

yeah I think when I do it you

55:56

know if it's a list of things I

55:59

would need to get better at. Yeah, crowd work

56:01

if you know if I was a coach not sitting

56:03

down with me and looking at the next year That

56:05

would be something but let's have that conversation. I want you

56:07

to be a coach and I want you to sit down

56:10

with you and go Like what

56:12

other things would you say as that coach? Yeah I'm

56:14

not gonna ask people what your strengths and weaknesses are,

56:16

so let's stick with the sports analogy. So I'd say

56:18

that you need to Manage

56:21

yourself better the decisions you make

56:23

in terms of what you take

56:27

I Think I need to

56:29

get better at being Josh Pugh

56:32

on something Because you

56:35

can't you know, there's a trajectory potentially

56:37

here where I go, you know bigger

56:39

than I am now Who knows and

56:42

you can't just be I'm just he's a normal

56:44

guy happy to be here people will tie that

56:46

very quickly They'll be you think

56:48

there'll be a core that forever in me because that's

56:50

who I am Yeah, but at some point it's like

56:52

everybody second show that John Bishop second show Mickey Fannigan

56:54

second second show. It's about Then

56:57

the normal person becoming the

57:00

famous person. Yeah, and it's at some

57:02

point you've got them Just

57:06

money this one just managing the next

57:08

step of my career and yeah and

57:10

being You

57:12

know but look, you know Mickey

57:15

Fannigan's got a great great joke about shoplifting

57:19

from Service

57:22

stations and his wife go Mickey you a millionaire

57:26

I Love

57:28

his bit. He talked about a big in a hotel. He

57:30

says very nice hotel. You'd like it. You should work harder

57:36

So, yeah, yeah crowd work but at the same time fuck

57:38

if I don't want to do I don't have to do

57:40

I work you can listen, you know,

57:42

I'll do if I have to I'm not gonna go out and

57:45

spend six months Getting better

57:47

at crowd work. I'm what's the part, you know, yeah I'll

57:49

just be for what he should actually work on is

57:51

just being Present in the room rather

57:54

than thinking I'll go and work practice

57:56

doing crowd work. I'll just go into that.

57:58

I'll be present in the room and just

58:01

deal with anything that happens. I

58:05

then just dig deeper into my bits, kind of try and

58:07

get a bit more out of them. Try

58:11

and get to the truth

58:13

of the bits and what I'm saying. I'm

58:17

so proud of myself when I do a new show and

58:19

I've got a new show, I've done it. I

58:22

didn't think I could do it again, I've done it again. When

58:27

you get a new bit, it's still the best thing in

58:29

it. You're so happy and that's

58:31

the best feeling really. What bit are you most

58:33

excited about at the moment that's new? I

58:39

spoke a few times about

58:41

not getting to be lazy, but I think

58:43

that's going to be, I've

58:46

got another bit that I didn't do last night. And

58:50

can you, will you dig down into that

58:52

bit, like as you expand it?

58:55

Yeah. Will you listen to the coach Josh

58:57

and go, as I expand this

58:59

and make it funnier and more reliable

59:01

or whatever those things are, also

59:03

what does it say about you and what does it

59:06

say about the world and that kind of thing? Yeah,

59:08

I mean, I'm doing that, I don't know, you need

59:10

to say about instinct. I'm

59:12

not consciously doing that, but I am doing it. That's

59:15

going on, isn't it? That's going on

59:17

in your analytical brain, that is happening. Just because

59:19

I'm not sitting down and drawing out, what's that

59:22

saying about me? I'm kind of just

59:25

trying to be honest with myself. You

59:27

know, it's, yeah, and that kind

59:29

of thing. I, yeah, so

59:32

that bit. And then,

59:37

yeah, I've

59:39

got this idea about Nepo babies, which I want

59:41

to do something with. I want

59:43

to do a pro Nepo babies, but it's

59:45

a bit of a challenge for myself. Yeah. Because I want to

59:48

have a Nepo baby, that's what I want. And

59:51

this thing that we've all got to start from

59:53

scratch every time. Yeah. I think it's such a British

59:56

thing. No head starts. No head

59:58

starts. I never

1:00:04

get into the working class chat or the privately

1:00:07

educated chat because one,

1:00:10

we're adults, we left school

1:00:12

20 years ago. And also

1:00:15

they're just doing that, they've just

1:00:18

come out as a baby and that's where they are

1:00:20

and that's where we are. And we're all

1:00:23

in Britain, they

1:00:26

get a little advantage in

1:00:29

Edinburgh but we've got a massive advantage

1:00:31

of knowing how a lot

1:00:33

of the population, population, you know, yeah.

1:00:37

I think my upbringing and

1:00:39

where I'm from has been such an advantage

1:00:41

to me. Not economically but such an advantage

1:00:43

in terms of, you know,

1:00:45

seeing how people live, the kind of people you're around, the

1:00:48

kind of jobs you have, you know,

1:00:50

it's kind of a, it's been really helpful. And

1:00:54

all the big, you know, this working

1:00:56

class stuff, all the arena comics, they're

1:00:58

all working class comics. We think

1:01:00

of these, you know,

1:01:02

kind of the middle class and the private educated, they're

1:01:05

doing great in Edinburgh but the next, the

1:01:07

big hitters, you know, Peter

1:01:09

Cage, you know, Gervais Sémmetra,

1:01:13

they're like, they're working class comics and

1:01:15

it's because of the people around,

1:01:17

I think. How

1:01:21

do you cope when things go

1:01:23

badly? How do you cope when

1:01:25

things go badly? How do you cope with, I don't

1:01:28

know, envy or missing

1:01:30

out on things or? To

1:01:33

be very honest, I've been so

1:01:35

blessed the last two years. I haven't really missed

1:01:38

out on anything. Anything I have missed out

1:01:40

on I probably wouldn't know about. And I

1:01:42

don't really hold anything in any esteem

1:01:46

and I don't mean that in a

1:01:48

disrespect but I certainly, you

1:01:50

know, you can't say a

1:01:52

lot about the apologies doesn't matter when you're not on it and

1:01:55

then something that matters when you're on it. I don't really, you know,

1:01:58

I don't really hold any one

1:02:01

thing in any great esteem and

1:02:04

I get what

1:02:06

I get and I'm so, yeah, I get, it's

1:02:08

different because I'm getting, you know, I'm making

1:02:10

a living and I'm doing

1:02:12

well and I'm getting plenty of opportunities.

1:02:15

So it's a really hard question to

1:02:18

answer, you know, but I am, Soho

1:02:21

never meant anything to me, you know, doing,

1:02:23

not getting a Soho and that would certainly,

1:02:25

you know, I remember

1:02:27

people doing, the state says on Facebook about that

1:02:30

they've got their dream of everyone

1:02:32

at Soho. Yeah. And I remember

1:02:34

thinking, what, a black box theater in the city you're not

1:02:36

from? What does that mean?

1:02:38

And so

1:02:41

yeah, I kind of, when it

1:02:43

goes, the only thing I find

1:02:45

hard is this being

1:02:48

a job and me getting around, getting my head

1:02:50

around that this being a job and this is

1:02:53

how I make my living and I just can't get

1:02:56

my, I can't really get my head around it. Talk

1:02:58

to me about that. I just can't get my

1:03:01

head around, I can't, like I'm at work

1:03:03

with other people who are not at work and

1:03:05

vice versa. I just can't, I

1:03:09

kind of, and it's not, it's not a guilt, it's more of, I just kind

1:03:11

of, I'm a person, you

1:03:13

know, the sports, I throw from

1:03:15

routine and knowing what's coming and

1:03:18

knowing what my week's look like and my happiness is

1:03:21

based around me getting into

1:03:23

a routine, doing the things that I

1:03:25

need to do and when

1:03:27

that is thrown out, I do,

1:03:30

it does take me a minute to, I

1:03:32

can, you know, my wife, she bears the brunt of it really and

1:03:34

she's, you know, she's so good. So

1:03:37

yeah, that's the big thing I struggle with is, this

1:03:40

is what I'm doing and it's, yeah.

1:03:43

Emma Edwards says, please can Josh remind me of the

1:03:45

punchline for him fitting in with the office banter? I

1:03:47

know I spat my mind out but I can't remember

1:03:49

the line. Yeah, so

1:03:51

just say the line. Get your funny out

1:03:54

cowl. Will

1:03:58

you give up the footballs? Paul

1:04:00

Rainscroft if his comedy success continues to grow?

1:04:04

It's so hard because for

1:04:11

the stand up you can keep getting better at

1:04:13

stand up but sport, your age but

1:04:17

I'm in a unique position

1:04:19

that it's disability sport

1:04:22

and nobody would know

1:04:24

about R-Squad or less people would know about

1:04:26

R-Squad if it wasn't for me so I've got a bit of a lot

1:04:29

of people who are really good at it and I'm just going

1:04:31

to keep getting better at it

1:04:33

although my

1:04:35

contribution on the pitch will diminish the

1:04:38

longer I can stay involved and shine a light on the other lads

1:04:40

and the sport and

1:04:44

also David Beckham, I think he's got 50 Beckham and he said he's not

1:04:46

retired from England he

1:04:50

said I'm ready, if you need me I'm ready so

1:04:52

that's my approach and

1:04:55

I'm going to go to the Paralympics for a World

1:04:57

Cup victory so yeah, win World Cup, save

1:04:59

that, that arena thing, I wouldn't hold that

1:05:01

in any regard of anything else

1:05:03

it's a great thing but it's

1:05:06

just... You don't need comedy

1:05:08

to make you happy I

1:05:11

do but I just need to be doing it I

1:05:15

just need to be doing comedy to make me happy, I don't

1:05:17

need to get... But

1:05:21

it's easy to say when you're getting stuff Yeah

1:05:25

and you did all the competitions you did you won

1:05:27

didn't you? You

1:05:29

just went ping ping ping Well I had

1:05:31

a bit of a weird trajectory, I had a really good start and

1:05:35

then I signed with

1:05:37

a first agent, he did a Christian

1:05:39

comedy but I was just

1:05:41

so happy to get an agent, I was like yeah and

1:05:44

then I left and then I joined another

1:05:46

agent it's quite

1:05:48

a frustrating period and

1:05:50

I don't think they knew what to do

1:05:52

with me and then I couldn't get

1:05:54

an agent for like two years

1:05:57

so before lockdown it's... So

1:06:00

it was mad, I was gonna sign with them. I couldn't

1:06:02

get, I mean, I emailed all

1:06:04

the agents and tried. And by this point I'd done, I

1:06:07

think they weren't interested because I'd done my debut and spunk my

1:06:09

debut. Which, that's my advice, by

1:06:11

the way, if you wanna be a proper

1:06:13

comedian forever, go and spunk your

1:06:16

debut. Don't be advised to do that. Get

1:06:18

it started, I'm good, I'm glad. There's so much

1:06:21

gaming the system going on. And it's all based

1:06:23

on like- It's all on your back. It's not,

1:06:26

you could be on your third hour and be a really

1:06:28

good hour. There's a main award,

1:06:30

by the way, which

1:06:32

you can get if you're an award person. And

1:06:36

I couldn't get an agent for, I remember I met

1:06:38

with this agent and I won't say

1:06:40

the name, but started the meeting by

1:06:42

saying, now we take the accent of the

1:06:44

big answers I've given up on and

1:06:47

then ended the call by saying, I bet we're not

1:06:49

gonna be taking you. And

1:06:52

then I signed with Hannah Martin at PBJ,

1:06:56

who kind of, she just got

1:06:58

it straight away. She was like, she

1:07:00

said it was like finding a lottery ticket. She was

1:07:02

like, I can't believe no

1:07:05

one's taking her. I'm like, oh, thank you. And

1:07:08

then she moved. So she's been a massive

1:07:10

factor to have somebody who

1:07:12

really believed in me and also knows my

1:07:14

strengths and stuff and what I would like to know, what I

1:07:17

wouldn't like to do. You

1:07:19

know, you can't underestimate all this online

1:07:21

stuff, but having someone else doing

1:07:23

something for you and those people and is

1:07:26

liked by producers, it's still

1:07:28

a big, there still exists for a reason.

1:07:33

Just to come back before we wrap up, just to come

1:07:35

back to that point about you don't need, I just wanna

1:07:37

spend some time with that because I think that is an

1:07:40

incredibly useful takeaway from this. You

1:07:43

seem to be, you know, I

1:07:45

like to finish by asking people, are you happy? Are

1:07:47

you happy? You know, I am

1:07:49

very happy. Yeah, I have a lot of struggles

1:07:51

and, you know, I kind of, you know,

1:07:55

what I mean, she asked my wife that, she's, I struggle

1:07:59

a lot. But I love

1:08:01

doing comedy and I'm the best I've ever

1:08:03

been in terms of mental health. I mean

1:08:05

I was a depressed kid, I've got it

1:08:07

in me to be like that, but

1:08:10

yeah I'm doing well and

1:08:12

I'm having a, for

1:08:14

the most part, I'm having a really nice time

1:08:17

and I'm aware of

1:08:19

how lucky I am and stuff.

1:08:23

And yeah, what I

1:08:25

need to work on is actively enjoying myself.

1:08:31

That's what my new show is, existing in the Vida Loca.

1:08:34

That's what it's about, it's about being in the moment and

1:08:36

enjoying it. And getting stuck in.

1:08:38

Because that's something that you struggle with. Yeah,

1:08:40

struggle to, and also to, a

1:08:43

massive thing I've learned, if you get something you

1:08:46

think it's going to make you feel a certain way and then

1:08:48

it doesn't, don't panic, it's okay,

1:08:50

it doesn't matter. If you

1:08:53

walk into a room and it's not the

1:08:55

room you thought, it's okay, it'll take a

1:08:57

minute and so that's a big

1:08:59

thing I'm working on. And that would be if

1:09:01

I was coaching myself I'd say try and

1:09:04

enjoy these great things you get into there. But

1:09:07

it's really hard because it's a fine line between,

1:09:10

because I never want to be in or of

1:09:12

anything or hold anything, any massive regard, that

1:09:14

can sometimes be, I don't want

1:09:17

to be flipping about an opportunity to ever not

1:09:19

give something the respect it deserves, which I wouldn't

1:09:21

do in terms of work thing, but

1:09:23

also because I'm so

1:09:25

hell bent on my happiness isn't

1:09:28

dependent on this. It

1:09:30

can also, actually, but do enjoy it though. Do

1:09:33

go there and enjoy it and be present and enjoy it. And

1:09:35

if you do something, you meet somebody and you're excited to meet

1:09:37

them. Don't be like, oh, who

1:09:39

are they? I'm nobody there, nobody. It's

1:09:43

a great thing and enjoy it. Yes, I

1:09:45

often try to protect myself by affecting that

1:09:47

I don't care about things that I do care about. Yeah,

1:09:50

yeah, totally. I

1:09:53

just wanted to bring things to an end then having

1:09:55

established that you are happy. leave

1:10:00

it really on that point of like you

1:10:02

don't need comedy to make you happy. It

1:10:04

does make you happy but you don't need

1:10:06

it. There's no desperation

1:10:09

coming off you at all which I think

1:10:11

that can sometimes people can rush on and

1:10:13

say hey how are you doing? It's a

1:10:15

well kind of thing. It just gets this

1:10:17

reach of desperation and there's none of that

1:10:19

with you. Yeah I

1:10:21

am you know I really love it. I really love it. I really love

1:10:23

it and it's a time of my

1:10:26

life I had no idea. I always knew I wanted to do something

1:10:28

but I didn't know what I wanted to do. And

1:10:30

then it's easy to say

1:10:32

now in Hansa but the second I'd found comedy and

1:10:34

I was confident enough to do it and actually start

1:10:37

that was kind of enough really. That's

1:10:39

kind of enough for me. But

1:10:43

you know I'm ambitious. I'm

1:10:45

ambitious and it's easy to

1:10:47

be forward by my dominion.

1:10:50

I've got my eye on the prize but

1:10:53

it's not everything to mean. Other things have

1:10:55

been more important to me than that. What's

1:10:57

the prize? Being

1:10:59

really successful and having a great career. You're proud

1:11:01

of making a great sitcom. You

1:11:03

know people you know being a

1:11:05

big. I remember at

1:11:08

my 2022 show people would come out of

1:11:10

the room so happy and like

1:11:13

so buzzing and I remember

1:11:15

saying to like producers I can do this. You let

1:11:17

me do a script I can do this and make

1:11:20

people feel like this. You know you know the

1:11:24

Christmas like I love Christmas specials. I love a

1:11:26

sitcom with Christmas specials. And

1:11:28

I want you know I kind of

1:11:31

want people to be buzzing about something and

1:11:34

like oh this is great. That's that feeling of

1:11:36

a sitcom getting out. I mean it's different now

1:11:38

because of how we consume TV but getting back.

1:11:40

I was just on the left turn on tonight

1:11:42

and you've got even the sixth episode's gone. And

1:11:45

then there's another series and that's what I love that.

1:11:47

I'd love to do that. Thank

1:11:50

you Stu. So

1:11:53

that was Josh right? Right?

1:11:55

Right. Existing La Vida Loca

1:11:57

tours throughout the UK up to the June

1:12:00

you can find thanks at joshpewcomic.com. You

1:12:02

can follow him at JoshPewComic on Twitter,

1:12:04

Instagram and TikTok and you can see

1:12:06

him on YouTube live from Birmingham Town

1:12:08

Hall on the £800 Gorilla Media Channel.

1:12:11

The other blurb, if you have, if

1:12:13

you're not in the Patreon you can

1:12:15

join the Patreon at patreon.com/comcompod. If

1:12:18

you are still listening via Orsound or

1:12:21

PayPal or Moonclerk we're switching them all off very

1:12:23

soon, I think three weeks and we're switching them

1:12:25

all off. So if you want to continue being

1:12:27

a member of the Insider's Club you have to

1:12:29

port your membership to Patreon

1:12:31

by which I mean switch it off and then

1:12:34

join the Patreon. There's no porting available. But if

1:12:36

you do that you get full video episodes. I

1:12:38

mean I've got certain, we're really building up a

1:12:40

bank of video stuff now, it's great. Extra

1:12:43

content in video as well as audio, 15

1:12:45

minutes extra with Josh and it is heartfelt

1:12:47

this one. It's heartfelt

1:12:50

and I think anytime previously or since if

1:12:52

you ever hear me on the podcast going heartfelt, it's

1:12:55

basically code for I didn't

1:12:57

want to release this bit because I felt it was

1:12:59

too revealing of myself. So there we go, some heartfelt

1:13:01

extras. Guest announcements in

1:13:03

advance like Mac largely, it's almost sold

1:13:05

out to Patrons because we announced it

1:13:07

to the Patreon. And a monthly

1:13:09

Stew and A, a Q&A with me with a fun

1:13:11

title, I'm going to record that later today for this

1:13:14

month. Get your questions in

1:13:16

through the Patreon for the next one. You

1:13:18

also get access to the full back catalogue

1:13:20

of extras with the new RSS feed patreon.com/com

1:13:22

compad for more info. Thank you to our

1:13:24

insider producers who are all at a

1:13:27

tier of Patreon of which they get

1:13:29

their names said. They are Mike Sheldon,

1:13:31

Ashley Stewart, James Burry, Paul Swaddle, Richard

1:13:33

Lucas, Jonathan Stewart, Caroline Schmidt, Andrus Purdey,

1:13:36

Nick Waite, Miles Wals, Dave McCarroll, Gary

1:13:38

McClellan, Jay Lucas, Sam Allen and Glenn

1:13:40

Tickle. And a big big thank you

1:13:42

to our special insider executive producer, Neil.

1:13:45

That's just the way I feel, Peters.

1:13:48

I will post Amble at you in just a moment,

1:13:50

but the music was by Rob Smoughton, the producer was

1:13:52

producer Callum, and that was

1:13:54

Josh Pugh. I'm

1:13:57

very nearly said, Ace River

1:13:59

style. What a guy! He's

1:14:01

such a nice dude and he's so happy and

1:14:03

he's just got comedy just right where he wants

1:14:06

it and it's an inspiration to us all. Thanks

1:14:08

Josh. So

1:14:11

once again, once again I've been sat in

1:14:13

the cellar all morning getting work done and

1:14:16

by the time I come to record these blurbs my

1:14:19

nose is completely bunged up. I'm clearly allergic to

1:14:21

something. Is it going to be like microphone pop

1:14:23

shields? Because I've been fine until I've swung the

1:14:25

microphone into place on its charming

1:14:27

little robotic arm. I'm so

1:14:30

sorry. Oh god, I don't know what I can do.

1:14:32

I'm just so bunged up. This

1:14:34

is no kind of a post-amble. I've got a specific thing to

1:14:37

talk about. Two things

1:14:39

really. What should I do? This

1:14:41

is my list of things. I've got a list of

1:14:43

things, some of which I'll save for the Stu and

1:14:45

A and some of which I'll do two of these

1:14:47

here now. My

1:14:49

Spotify Eurovision plan. That daft.

1:14:52

My son, the bootros. Now no longer wants

1:14:54

to be called Bootros. He wants me. He

1:14:56

knows that I talk about him on stage

1:14:58

and in the podcast and he's furious that

1:15:00

I don't use his real name but I

1:15:02

think at the age of eight, yes eight,

1:15:05

he's um I don't

1:15:07

think he, like I'm weirdly guarded about

1:15:09

the internet. I don't want ever to be

1:15:11

a victim of some of the awful

1:15:14

internet bullying and shaming that happens by

1:15:16

putting stuff online. Like obviously my

1:15:18

stuff's all over the place but I just don't think

1:15:20

it's fair to put your kids faces online so I

1:15:22

don't do that. I don't put their real names online

1:15:25

either and that

1:15:27

seems completely reasonable to me in a way that I

1:15:29

can't explain. Like loads of people do

1:15:32

do that. It's fine. I just I just think the

1:15:35

internet's mad already right. In the same way that we

1:15:37

don't know what's going to happen 20 years, when

1:15:40

you've vaped for 20 years. We don't know. Maybe

1:15:42

your spine explodes. We've no idea. I think we

1:15:44

also, we don't really know what

1:15:46

happens 20 years after you've been putting your

1:15:48

kids faces on the internet and those occasions

1:15:50

that we we do find out about that.

1:15:53

It's a bit of good news, is it? But

1:15:55

he's annoyed. Anyway he is, I can

1:15:57

reveal, I can exclusively reveal that he's

1:15:59

a huge Eurovision fan and through him

1:16:01

I've ended up being Slightly

1:16:04

more open to the concept of Eurovision, which is

1:16:06

not my janitorium But

1:16:09

we discovered that you can

1:16:12

get hold of the Eurovision

1:16:14

finalists, you know the the entrance the the entrance for

1:16:17

the big I didn't realize there's a whole I didn't

1:16:19

even know they were finalists I thought every country just

1:16:21

went yeah, you'll do but apparently there's more

1:16:24

to it than that but on Spotify there's a playlist

1:16:26

of all the people that are going to be on

1:16:28

Eurovision and So

1:16:31

we have the opportunity to listen to it in advance

1:16:33

and I was gonna play it to him and and

1:16:36

then he told me He didn't want spoilers, but

1:16:38

so he hasn't listened to any of it. But

1:16:41

in In

1:16:44

in assessing it and having that conversation

1:16:47

We you can click through from Spotify

1:16:49

to all the artists profiles on various

1:16:51

social media predominantly Instagram and

1:16:53

a lot of them because it

1:16:55

like some of them have like got 10 million or 2

1:16:57

million followers on one

1:16:59

thing or another Some of

1:17:01

them have got sort of between five and

1:17:04

twenty thousand followers So I tweeted about this

1:17:06

and I don't mean to do this in

1:17:08

a mean or disingenuous way I just thought

1:17:10

what a wonderful opportunity to befriend

1:17:14

For example the French.

1:17:16

I don't know. I can't I don't have the examples in front

1:17:18

of me, but there'll be people It

1:17:21

would be much more fun to watch your revision Knowing

1:17:23

that you'd had a bit of correspondence with

1:17:25

one of the finalists because I think someone

1:17:28

who's got five thousand followers on Instagram We'll

1:17:30

probably answer a DM. I'm not suggesting you

1:17:32

embark on some sort of friendship heist It

1:17:35

kind of is leading towards that in a way that I don't

1:17:37

mean it No

1:17:41

people in it you feel a bit more invested like

1:17:43

if you were going to watch the Grand National Which

1:17:45

I don't agree with and but if you were and

1:17:48

you could make friends with one of the horses beforehand

1:17:50

It'd be better than it be more fun all

1:17:53

the drama jockeys would make more sense anyway So

1:17:55

that's my Spotify Eurovision plan. I wanted to I'll

1:17:57

tell you about DJ shadow and then everything else

1:18:00

I'll save for the stew and eggs. I've got to do that in just

1:18:02

a second. DJ

1:18:05

Shadow, Shadwell to his friends, not true.

1:18:08

My friend Mark and I went to see DJ

1:18:10

Shadow last night and it was... it was...

1:18:14

I've got a couple of observations, I really enjoyed it.

1:18:16

It didn't grab

1:18:18

me emotionally but I don't think it

1:18:20

was supposed to. You might be huge

1:18:23

fans of Shadwell and tell me I'm

1:18:25

quite wrong. It

1:18:27

didn't grab me emotionally but it grabbed me

1:18:29

sort of in every other conceivable way. I

1:18:32

stood... now this... this

1:18:34

is big news in my mind. I

1:18:37

stood for an hour and

1:18:39

45 minutes occasionally dancing. It's

1:18:41

not easy to dance to, doesn't have like

1:18:43

a... again I think by design it's

1:18:46

not necessarily intended to be danced to. I

1:18:49

hope I'm not slagging DJ Shadow I

1:18:51

like his work a lot. But

1:18:54

I stood for an hour and 45

1:18:57

and gave it my complete attention. I

1:18:59

didn't fiddle with my phone and I didn't go for

1:19:02

a wee. I don't think I've spent an hour

1:19:04

and 45 minutes in my life without going for a

1:19:06

wee. Or even

1:19:08

thinking... I mean I have... I've been that long

1:19:11

without going for a wee but I don't know if I've been

1:19:13

that long without... at a gig without thinking oh god I'm gonna

1:19:15

have to go for a wee in a minute and getting all

1:19:17

stressed about it. I

1:19:20

couldn't believe how complete... I basically think...

1:19:23

halfway through I went oh this is

1:19:25

music designed for people on AD... people

1:19:27

on ADHP? I'm gonna refer

1:19:29

to it now. People who have ADHD

1:19:31

and then I thought oh does that mean he

1:19:34

has ADHD? I've no idea. Not kind to speculate

1:19:36

about people's neurodivergent

1:19:38

status. But

1:19:41

also I thought does everyone here have

1:19:43

ADHD? Is that why we're all thinking?

1:19:45

Because he was like a

1:19:47

sort of... this is going somewhere... it was... arguably...

1:19:49

he was like a sort of sushi chef

1:19:51

mixed with an artist who has a palette

1:19:54

of paint and he was rather than going

1:19:56

like a band or a... I don't know...

1:19:58

I don't see a huge amount of... But

1:20:00

if you go and see Hot Chip for example, love Hot Chip,

1:20:03

they're a band of DJs I guess, I

1:20:05

don't know how to describe them, but it's

1:20:07

music and it's got, it's consistent and you

1:20:09

can dance to it and it's like this

1:20:11

is a song, it's this length and this

1:20:13

is the shape of it and it's a

1:20:15

familiar shape or it's a familiar shape being

1:20:17

messed with in a way which is understandable.

1:20:21

Well DJ

1:20:23

Shadow was like, there's a bit, bit of that, do

1:20:25

you want a bit of that, what about some of

1:20:27

that, that just stops. What about this bit,

1:20:30

oh there's a thing there that could pick up, that's a song,

1:20:32

there's some rap over it and now it's finished and there's a

1:20:34

bit of that. Wow, it completely

1:20:36

filled up and it can, like the video,

1:20:40

the DJ stuff, the visuals,

1:20:42

that's what

1:20:44

the young people call it, is it, is it

1:20:46

what the 40 year old call it. The

1:20:49

visuals, the visual element of it was so

1:20:51

good and interesting, well you know you see

1:20:54

some DJs where it's like someone just made

1:20:56

some stuff to happen in the background, God

1:20:59

there must be music fans listening to this, who

1:21:01

switched off, there must be music fans no longer

1:21:03

listening to this and I understand. But

1:21:06

it was, I just, I felt like, and

1:21:08

this is my point, in terms of the

1:21:10

artistry, in terms of the decision, the decisions

1:21:13

he had made in advance and was making,

1:21:16

I just thought what a brilliant thing to

1:21:19

be at a stage in your career where

1:21:21

you can just go, I'm just doing this,

1:21:23

I'm doing exactly what I want to and

1:21:25

it's this and it's found its audience and

1:21:28

it doesn't necessarily fit the shapes that you might

1:21:30

anticipate but you know that way that everyone always

1:21:32

says, I always think of this, everyone always makes

1:21:34

this point about Radiohead, they had huge hits and

1:21:36

then they threw it all away and then reinvented

1:21:38

themselves and then that was successful then they threw

1:21:41

it all away and reinvented themselves. It's

1:21:43

like that in

1:21:45

some kind of a way whereby,

1:21:47

I mean there was one, I

1:21:49

had no idea, I had no idea, when he got to

1:21:52

the end of an hour and he started talking I thought

1:21:54

is this it, is he wrapping up, no idea because there's

1:21:56

nothing familiar about any of the delivery of the stuff. Look,

1:21:59

I've been to K- before all right I'm not

1:22:01

just like oh Stu's discovered a DJ but

1:22:03

the way he did it was so particular

1:22:06

and so uncompromising in

1:22:09

terms of I just felt

1:22:11

in a way that I really liked he was like I want to

1:22:13

do this now and then I'm gonna do some of that and then

1:22:15

I'm gonna do a bit of that and

1:22:17

there was a bit maybe halfway through

1:22:19

maybe more where he

1:22:24

like he played a thing I would say to mark

1:22:27

do you think he's going to assemble these bits he was

1:22:29

just kind of putting bits out there's a that noise and

1:22:31

some some of that a bit of that and I thought

1:22:34

normally by now in anyone else's

1:22:36

performance this would have coalesced into it

1:22:38

you know I mean here's some chaos

1:22:40

and now order emerges and I thought

1:22:42

I don't know if he's going to

1:22:44

assemble the bits and I felt like

1:22:46

shouting enthusiastically assemble the bits man assemble

1:22:48

the bits or maybe he's

1:22:50

deliberately maybe that was the point of he's like these

1:22:52

bits could be assembled but I'm not going to

1:22:55

it reminds me of a sort of idea for a

1:22:57

chunk of stand-up material I've had

1:22:59

which I've never really made

1:23:01

work to my satisfaction or indeed the audience

1:23:03

is I like once or twice I've pulled

1:23:06

this off where I've just sort of said writing

1:23:08

comedies such hard work wouldn't it be nice if

1:23:10

I could just give you the bits and you

1:23:13

assemble them yourself and then I sort of improvise

1:23:15

some bits that I give to them and then

1:23:17

I try to improvise to play with that idea

1:23:19

of what that would look like in the room I

1:23:21

like I said I maybe tried it eight times

1:23:24

and twice I've it's gone yeah that's what I

1:23:26

wanted it to be the rest too weird but

1:23:29

I felt like maybe he's just teasing us

1:23:31

by coming giving us some bits that he

1:23:33

could assemble and then refusing declining to assemble

1:23:36

them and then just move on to

1:23:38

the next track God it was I really really

1:23:40

enjoyed it it was a singular night but what

1:23:42

a joy of an artist as an artist to

1:23:44

be able to go I do

1:23:47

this because this is what I want

1:23:49

and it has enough of an audience

1:23:51

yeah that was a nice it was a nice

1:23:53

full room I'm sure you wouldn't have been disappointed by

1:23:55

the the packedness of the room but

1:23:59

I I've. Really failed is. Just.

1:24:02

So odd it was singular an uncompromising of

1:24:04

use those words both and I have noble

1:24:06

words with which to describe it but psychically

1:24:08

from these said I book. That that

1:24:11

will have to do you? Because that's what I wanted

1:24:13

to say. Up please

1:24:15

try to retain a consistent since

1:24:17

herself if I think. If

1:24:19

as such as I can either. Cast

1:24:23

in a pub about know Danity. And.

1:24:25

I'll have to sign out front on a time. He

1:24:32

cast powers to those are just. Use

1:24:36

the show that we recommend. He

1:24:41

friends, I'm sure you can't mount a government

1:24:43

and let teacher and on my partner. Has

1:24:46

been. Depleted stories you

1:24:49

haven't heard about America's greatest

1:24:51

thinkers and. Figureheads also.

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Interview many of today's leading cultural

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experts like and cramps Ken Burns

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and have regretted Keep sharing their

1:25:00

insights can want us to think

1:25:03

in new. And innovative place.

1:25:06

To proceeding on podcast.

1:25:08

Amazon Music. Is.

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Easy to see to teach. A

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cast helps creators launch grow and

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lot of. A

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cast.