CityLife

Interview: Terry Alderton

Terry Alderton

GIVEN the amount of time Terry Alderton has been working the comedy circuit - plus the rapturous receptions he gets when playing the clubs; and his many television appearances - it’s a surprise he hasn’t gone on tour sooner.

“Yeah I know it’s mad isn’t it?” agrees Alderton. “People have been saying for years I should do it, particularly my friend Johnny. Then the final straw was when Eddie Izzard was in the dressing room in the Comedy Store and just said 'you’ve got to go out on tour'.

"I thought 'just get out and do it', because as he pointed out, you can’t just keep doing that in comedy clubs - going down a storm and really you’re just hiding in the comedy clubs, aren’t you? You’re not going to get anywhere there.”

That said, he’s been an incredibly and consistently strong presence in the lineup of gigs for years. No matter how limp a gig might be, top it off with Alderton and you’re guaranteed a storming finale. His are energetic routines peppered with noises, voices and extended skits, such as his memorable closer recreating a man’s journey home from the pub. It’s a scenario that sounds familiar, but no one does it quite like Alderton.

These are the routines that led to him setting the record for the most encores in a row at the Comedy Store. It may be on his press release, but Alderton’s a little sheepish about the fact.

Philosophical

“I know, I know, this was their idea. There was a time there where I’d done two weekends in the space of about five weeks with breaks between, so that’s ten shows in total and I encored every single show - and come the Saturday late show, I died on my arse. So it was poetic licence because I’d got really above my station; thought I was untouchable. Actually, that’s not fair - I probably got nervous, if I’m honest.”

Alderton is one of those comedians where comedy was a natural choice for him. “I was the class clown. I did a lot of impressions and when I was at school and I was a bit of a cry baby - and when I hit senior school I didn’t cry anymore and I’d make people laugh. I didn’t think 'ooh I know what I’m going to do…' - it was an organic thing.”

Of his ability, he’s philosophical. “Of course it’s very subjective, comedy, isn’t it? You can have someone in stitches and someone else say ‘that was complete rubbish mate.’ That’s the real beauty of it I suppose. It’s pretty straightforward really, I just have an ability to do it, whether I’m naturally funny… people say that’s what I am, but why wife would argue that."

Though in 2000 the Perrier award panel were definitely in the ‘Alderton is funny camp’ when they saw fit to nominate him for the main award.

Around that time he also fronted the National Lottery show - but these days Alderton doesn’t consider presenting something he wants to pursue, preferring the buzz of live performance. “I’ve kind of turned a corner, I think - and I want to build it up as a comic rather than a presenter.

"I did a college gig the other night; I went on stage, big, big applause, which was lovely. Then when I turned around and started talking to the voices [a beautifully executed one-sided conversation with the voices in his head], it was amazing. They just went mental, it was an incredible feeling. I felt like someone had thrown a cold bucket of ice water over me. It was wonderful.”

Terry Alderton brings his one-man show to the Comedy Store on October 21 and returns there for the weekend shows on October 25 and 26. He plays Burnley Mechanics on December 2.