Beyond The Title podcast: Comedy top 5
Published: Friday 1st November 2024
Freelance writer and journalist Josh Barry has been presenting the Beyond The Title interview podcast for nearly a decade. To tie in with the show's 200th episode being published (which is an all-star edition looking back over previous interviews), we asked Josh to list his favourite five comedy-related guests.
Barry Cryer
One of the absolute legends of British Comedy, it's easy to forget that Barry Cryer was present at just about every significant comedy landmark from the 1950s to the post millennium.
Anyone who attempted to interview him expecting to be able to control the conversation would be mistaken because his passion for an anecdote would always navigate the interview to surprising territory. Some would have an inclination to reign him back in but, to me, that was the magic of Cryer: the ability to move effortlessly between subjects, forever making them funny and entertaining.
Tim Brooke-Taylor
This shall forever occupy a very special place in my heart as, in October 2019, who would have possibly thought that in just six months, Tim would no longer be around? Like most of his contemporaries, it was obvious that Tim loved nothing more than discussing and debating comedy.
He remembered an amusing moment when I asked him to confirm if The Goodies were influenced by LSD: he roared with laughter and said that comedy was only ever the drug he needed!
Rosie Jones
As a disabled person, I make a conscious effort not to define the podcast with disability related issues. Yet whenever I saw Rosie Jones on TV, I somehow resonated with her attitude towards life and her perception of her disability seemed to echo mine and when she appeared on the podcast, I realised I wasn't wrong! It was obvious that as a result of our mutual experience of disability became the point of reference which everything else would spring from and, because I was also disabled, Rosie was able to be a little more honest about her experiences.
Mo Gilligan
Part of the delight of Beyond The Title has been the ability to chart a comedian's journey from fringe personality to household name. In 2019 Mo Gilligan had merely made one series of Channel 4's Big Narstie Show and was on the cusp of becoming a household name. This was a pivotal period for him which saw the commission of his Friday night chat show The Lateish Show and it was fascinating to obtain his insights into where he thought his career was heading. Out of all the interviews I've done, this is the one I always look back on and think I was incredibly lucky to get him at such a pivotal time in his career.
Jon Culshaw
Our mutual love for the golden years of light entertainment was what first bonded me and the acclaimed writer, comedian and impressionist when we met on the Isle of Wight just prior to the 2020 lockdown. Bob Monkhouse and Mike Yarwood featured heavily in our conversation and it was obvious that, irrespective of his ability to remain on the cutting edge of British satire, Culshaw also has a deep rooted passion for entertainment past that endeared me to him.
You can hear all the episodes and find out more about the podcast via beyondthetitle.co.uk
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