Frank Skinner interview

Written by: Nadia Brooks
Published: Wednesday 5th March 2014

"You've changed my life," Frank Skinner tells me at the end of a 45-minute interview. Maybe I'll become a life coach to the stars.

Once the frontman for the heady Britpop culture of the mid-1990s, the popular image of Skinner was of a beer-swilling, football-loving, groupie-mad lad.

But he's now the 'Man In A Suit' that his first stand-up show in five years is named after, recently presented Sky Arts' Portrait Artist of the Year show and at, 56, is a first time father.

His metamorphosis from lad to dad is obvious and he himself admits he's mellowed.

It's perhaps in watching his son Buzz - named after the second man on the moon - start to walk and talk that has inspired Frank to ponder areas of his life and career that only ever made fledgling steps.

Our conversation begins after I watch Frank perform Man In A Suit one fog-swamped London night. After tentatively trying it out at the Soho Theatre and Leicester Square Theatre in the capital he's now touring it around the UK.

The show has less of the loutishness - one particularly crude tale of a unique sexual technique serves as merely an example of the kind of material he used to do. It is the show's crescendo and works precisely because Frank hasn't littered his set with it. There's not even that much swearing.

When I point this out, he tells me: "To be honest I am quite a big fan of swearing.

"When you write a show it's sort of whatever's in your head at that time and in the old days I probably swore a lot more because I swore a lot more in life. I swear less around the house because he's [Buzz] starting to learn stuff now. So yeah maybe that has affected my act."

It's not the only thing that's changed since Frank, who won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1991, started out. Now you can't move for comedians.

"There's a lot of them now but I've always felt that the good people get to the top," he says. I think some rubbish people get to the top as well but they kind of get brought up. It's like bubbles going up in a drink, they bring some of the other bubbles up with them.

"I'm sure there's still loads of brilliant comics coming through. But I think it's probably harder now. When I started out doing clubs in London I would say there was about 40 full time comedians. Now there's about 400. So it is tougher, certainly."

He also reckons comics are more ruthless when it comes to TV.

"The sort of comedy that we were doing back then was rarely on television. Now I think if you do well in London comedy clubs you can have your own TV series in two years. There's a lot of 'eyes on the prize' a bit more now."

Frank's already got the prize - he scored a success with his unexpected turn as co-host with Joan Bakewell in the recent Sky Arts Portrait Artist of The Year show and he continues to present popular BBC panel show Room 101 (pictured).

But he wishes he'd remained true to his first love - stand-up.

"I'm not desperate for the money, I don't want to play the O2, I just wanted to do stand-up so I did," he says.

"It didn't really matter to me where I did it or who the audience was as long as I was up there doing it again. It means that when I close my eyes last thing at night I can think, 'Yes I am a stand-up comedian after all.'

"You know they say that when you die you look back on the things that you didn't do? Well I think my regret will probably be that I didn't do enough stand-up comedy. Because I've had a few years of doing mainly telly and really I should've kept on doing the stand-up because I think it's the best."

Frank really hit the mainstream when he hosted Fantasy Football League with pal David Baddiel. And he admits it's David who helped him return to stand-up after Frank convinced his pal he should do an Edinburgh show - last year's Fame.

"For years I'd been trying to persuade him to do stand-up. He said he thought he'd never do it again. I used to nag him about it. When I saw him doing it, it made me think, 'Oh God, I should do it. I can't put this off any more.'

"So he inspired me. After years of trying to get him to do stand-up, he's actually got me doing it again."

He continues: "I certainly would do another Edinburgh show. What if I did something different - what about if I did a one man play? That's the great thing about Edinburgh.

"Whatever I do I'd want it to be comedy. If you can write comedy you should because most people can't. I've always thought drama seems pretty easy. It's just people talking."

There are a million and one ideas waiting to spring into existence from the unified field of Frank's holographic mind. The Sky Arts show, which he describes as "enjoyable and incredibly interesting" has given him a renewed desire to indulge in daubings.

A fan of the likes of Andy Warhol, Tracey Emin and Hieronymous Bosch, Frank says: "Sometimes I will just nip into an art gallery if I've got 15 minutes spare and just look at one painting. I don't know why more people don't. I've quite often thought, 'Wouldn't it be great to be able to paint?' I even had drawing lessons for a few weeks but gave up."

Why Frank?

"This guy put a chair on top of a table and then he put a pot on the chair and said, 'Draw that.' I drew it and he said, 'Rub that out, that bit's wrong.' So I rubbed it out. When I went the next week it was the same chair, same table and same pot. I think we drew the same thing for a few weeks. I thought, 'This is doing my head in,' so I gave up.

"When you see these people working [on the Sky Arts show] you do think, 'I have to try this again,' because it's just brilliant. Shall we make a pact to do it?"

I'll give it a go if you give it another go, I tell him.

"I think I am going to give it another go."

What about a new sitcom? Frank wrote and starred in Blue Heaven in 1994 and Shane (pictured) 10 years later. Surely it's about time for another one?

"Yeah but I've never done one that's generally been regarded as a good one I don't think.

"Blue Heaven was about 20 years ago. At the time all the sitcoms on the telly more or less had a studio audience and I did one without. Then when it got popular not to have a studio audience I wrote one that had one - Shane.

"So I've always been just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

He continues: "I wrote a sitcom that never got made a few years ago about a football manager.

"It was quite odd. I don't know if you could do it with a studio audience. Maybe I should get that dusted off again. It's still something that I occasionally think about - how it would be great to write a really popular sitcom that people like. So maybe I'll have another go.

"Oh, this interview has given me so many ideas."

I wonder aloud that it seems they don't give programmes enough time to bed-in now. Michael Palin has talked about how he doesn't think Monty Python's Flying Circus would be commissioned today.

"There's a series of Shane at ITV which was never shown. That's still on the shelf somewhere," Frank responds.

It's been over a decade since you released your autobiography - isn't it time to update it?

"I think it only goes up to 2000 and also I keep a journal every day so all the notes are there I suppose. Yeah, I hadn't really thought about it but maybe I will. So what have I got to do on the strength of this interview? I've got to write a sitcom, do art and write another autobiography.

"Nadia, I feel you've been an inspirational figure in my life. I feel I want to get you to do something now - how about write a novel?"

I tell him of the book I've written about my 6,000-mile Stateside road trip, which I've already performed an Edinburgh Fringe show based on.

He then muses: "I find that sometimes I talk about ideas for things to somebody - I don't mean someone professional - and while I'm explaining something I think I understand it a bit better myself."

Perhaps doing stand-up is a way to understand yourself better? Do you prefer arena shows or more intimate ones?

"I think most comics would say that the smaller gigs are more enjoyable," he says.

"On the last tour I did a couple of nights at the NIA in Birmingham. But I didn't enjoy them as much as I usually do. It just felt a bit too big for me. I don't know how people get on at the O2.

"I just felt too far away, I didn't feel I could really talk to anyone. When I've seen people at those big gigs they don't talk to the crowd really, they just do the show. But I can see why people do the O2 because it's easier than doing ten shows in 2,000-seater theatres."

Yes but is there not a joy in heading out on the open road and touring? Or is it a case of, 'Oh no not another Travelodge'?

"Well I was recently having this conversation because my manager was very keen on me touring this show but I didn't know if I should or not."

Why?

"I don't know. I just thought I didn't need to tour. You also start thinking, 'Will my old fans just want loads of football and dirty jokes?' And it's not really got that. So will I feel like I'm letting people down a bit? What do you think?"

I think you should do little ones around the country, definitely.

"I mean, as someone said to me you won't find out until you try it," he says.

Exactly. If you don't do, you'll never know.

"No that's true and that would be bad. Ok, that's my fourth thing. Really this is less of an interview and more of a life coaching session."

I need to get employed by your company and coach all the comedians.

"Exactly. I feel I'm not reciprocating, I feel I should inspire you. I mentioned the book - you've already done that."

Get me a publishing deal and we'll call it quits.

"Ok I'll ask around."

Lovely, it's been great talking with you Frank.

"Thank you Nadia, you've changed my life. I'll get you a part in the sitcom."

I'll hold you to that.

"Ok, it's a deal."

Nadia Brooks is a freelance journalist and script supervisor. She performed her debut Edinburgh Festival show in 2013 about a 6,000-mile solo road trip she took across America. She is currently looking for a publisher for her first book - an esoteric travelogue about the adventure. For more information go to allthewritenotes.wordpress.com or follow @write_notes on Twitter.