Circuit Training 41: Sean's (New) Show

The twinkly-eyed Irish wing of that late-'80s Comedy-is-the-New-Rock-and-Roll malarkey, Sean Hughes was a prime mover in stand-ups getting longer meatier slots, won the Perrier, made a marvellously convention-free sitcom - Sean's Show - did a decade on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, successfully dabbled in acting, poetry, novel-writing and eventually returned to stand-up having initially jacked it in due to all the screaming teenage fans (the poor devil).

Now he's back with a new live show involving a hospital bed but, worry not, just because someone isn't on telly so much these days, it doesn't mean they're personally at death's door. Well, not in Sean's case anyway...

Sorting this interview was a good excuse to buy Sean's Show on DVD. A neglected classic?

It's funny, I don't leave the house very often but I was in [designer furniture store] Heals yesterday - I'm at that age where retail therapy works for me - and this black guy, about 30, started doing my theme song, and was saying "it's the greatest show ever made!" And I was thinking, 'it's a hell of a long time ago...'

Was it properly appreciated at the time?

You know how political The Comedy Awards are - they gave it to Desmond's, that sitcom. And God love it, but Desmond's was shit. I find awards in general a bit pathetic.

Myself and Norman Lovett have just written a sitcom, and we did it to an audience just last week. It went down phenomenally well but the way TV works, if you're not new or very young, fuck off. I don't have a problem with that but it's very short-sighted.

Do you watch much TV comedy?

The problem is, there are so many Michael McIntyre type shows where people do, like, six minutes, they're really slick, but it gives the impression that when people go and see comedy, that's what they're going to see, and that's really not the case.

I know it sounds bullshit but I feel really privileged to be in a situation where I can go out and talk ideas through on stage. But I did Derby the other night and once I started talking about Libya you could see their eyes glazing over.

Your new show sounds fairly high-concept - is it?

There is a hospital bed on it. It's not a tribute to my dad, but it's just about the ageing process really, how you make different noises as you get older. A very uplifting show I hope. I've only done the show twice so far but I'm just getting an amazing reaction from people.

That's why I'm doing two shows in Edinburgh [next year] - straight stand-up where I can dick about with the audience, but I really want to get the words out in this show. There's going to be a third wall with this one.

The enthusiasm's back then? You gave up gigging for a good few years.

I was kind of burned out a little bit with comedy, and going as far as I could stand up-wise. Then I started writing novels, which I really enjoyed doing, but writing novels takes forever. Then I got a bit lazy and did things like Buzzcocks, which is a fine show and I wouldn't slag it off, but you aren't using too many brain-cells and I just found after 10 series that we were doing the same show every week.

Bill Bailey bitched about it when he left...

Yeah, and it is very well paid so you shouldn't slag it off - I really appreciated what they did for me and I said I'd do one more series rather than 'fuck you, that's me out of here.' Then people were saying 'you should do stand-up again', so I did and I realised I could do it with fresh eyes, having turned 40 and all that.

How did you replace the buzz of stand-up when you stopped?

Drugs. I'm half joking.

But that's the reason I gave up Sean's Show as well, I give up things when I really feel I can't do them anymore. That series, it was extremely popular but I saw myself as a stand-up comic and I was doing tours with the equivalent of what Russell Brand is doing now.

I'm sure it's very similar to what Russell Howard is going through, and it must drive him crazy, because you're trying to do ideas and they're not listening. I'd do signings after shows and the signings lasted longer than the show.

Back to Sean's Show: did you get free reign with it?

Yeah, and that's why I'm so grateful to this day and I'll never go 'ooh, I can't get a sitcom off the ground' - they let me do anything I wanted to do and it was brilliant. Then with Buzzcocks that was another bite of the cherry: I won't give up on it [TV] but I won't do panel shows, because I've done that. I really feel for comics now - the only way you can do comedy on TV is a five minute slot which is not really for real, or a panel show. And I think these people are really skilled, why are you making them do basic stuff?

In the States they have those Comedy Central showcases...

I don't understand why we're not doing that. There's only one particular kind of comedy getting on there now, even with Stewart Lee, who's very good, although not as good as he thinks he is.

You were good friends with Bill Hicks - I'd be interested in what he thought of your screaming-teen audience.

I got out of it as soon as I could really, for that reason. So I think that when I came back to comedy with a bit more edge, you don't have to prove anything anymore, and financially, I'm not doing it where I have to make a living, it's not the be-all and end-all. When I do shows I usually demand a lot of money, but I'm not doing it for the money, I'm very principled in that sense, I won't do anything for money, and I think that's where Hicks was coming from.

I've got a soul, I don't do ads or corporate stuff. But even things I've done like voicing the character on [kids show] Rubber Dubbers, I'm really proud of that, I wouldn't even see that as selling out, it was an acting job which I really enjoyed doing.

How do you feel about other comics doing ads?

'Let's kill these people!' No, I know people have to make a living and it's very much a personal principle, I will not chastise people for doing them, but it's not for me. I think that's fine if you want to do them, but the only thing I will say is, if you basically are asking people to pay to see you because you've got ideas, then they realise that you can be paid to say someone else's ideas, that's something really wrong there.

I believe you're quite a clean-living chap these days?

I was a heavy smoker, which I've quit. I haven't got a problem with drinking, I drank way too much but I probably will drink again, socially, but not for at least a year, and I've actually found it quite easy. I want to give up everything so that by the time I die, I'm quite happy to die because I'll think 'well, I'm not gonna miss anything'. The only problem with giving up drinking is that sweet tooth that comes. Jesus, I tell you what I'm really loving now - Bounty bars. I feel like I'm getting my five a day. Love Bounty.

Not being in the public eye so much these days, do people think you're ill?

Definitely with television. This is an absolutely true story, which is in the 'dad' show. The night before the funeral, they have the empty coffin in the church where the immediate family sit in the front row and it's an opportunity for the neighbours to shake your hand. And all they'd do with my mum and my two brothers and an uncle, they'd say 'sorry for your troubles'. Except then they came up to me and said 'sorry for your troubles - you haven't been on telly much lately have you?'

Life Becomes Noises is at London's Soho Theatre from 21-26 November. Visit www.sohotheatre.com for details.