Funny in 95. Joe is a team captain on BBC Radio Scotland‘s film quiz Scene Stealers.
Career high 'I did T in the Park in 99 and that was to about 5.000 folk.‘ Best put down? ‘l'm glad you came. but it‘s a pity your dad did.‘ Humour snippet 'Hell hath no fury like a buttered scone.‘ Giggle-o-meter A smooth crowd- pleaser With a cheekin disguised dark underside.
Age 32 Biog Hill's first foray into stand-up came after a press officer friend booked him in for a slot at Edinburgh's Gilded Balloon in 98 without telling him. He loved it and has gone on to host the Stand's OOT nights. his own Fringe shows and even popped up on the BBC's T In The Park coverage. He's focusing on TV. doing warm-ups for Jo Brand's new show and working on the new BBC Scotland offering, The Live F/oorshow. Add to that a four- week radio programme called Craig Hi/l's PaSSionate Encounters and you've got a very busy man. Career high 'When the woman who cleans my stairs came to me and said: “Excuse me. are you a TV personality? Sylvia from upstairs saw you being filmed at the bottom of the stairs in a kilt. and suddenly on Tuesday it was on TV." I said: "Oh yes. I was on talking about wearing a kilt during the Festival." She said: "Sylvia says it‘s fair raised the tone of the close."' Humour snippet 'l'm of the school of young ones who hates telling jokes which is probably a wonderful irony. being a comedian. I do Julie Andrews Living La Vida Loca which I think is quite revealing.‘ Giggle-o-meter With his cheeky charm endearing him to one and all, surely it's only a matter of time before he gets his own primetime TV slot.
Craig Hill
Age 32
Biog Emerging from Glasgow's Funny Farm comedy collective. Kay won the So You Think You're Funny award in 1989. was a Perrier nominee in 1993
and was named Best Live Stand-Up in the British Comedy Awards in 1994. He reached his biggest audience in 1996 with his Channel 4 series Phil Kay Fee/s . . .. deSpite what he calls his ‘healthy disregard for TV'. He‘s appeared on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. played the part of Dr Livingstone in Barbados and. since 2000. turned in a fortnightly column in The List.
Career high 'Marijuana: l have been stoned at every show I‘ve ever done.‘ Humour snippet ‘l'm going to make a show about my bikes being stolen. I‘ve lost five. because I don‘t lock them much. The last one just got nicked from outside Shimla Pinks and the owner said he'd get me footage of it being stolen. I was sitting in the restaurant and it got nicked twice. I ran out and the guy said: “Why don't you have a lock?" I said: “Why don't you just not nick my bike?" Performing in front of a large video image of my bike being nicked is a nice idea.’ Glggle-o-meter Kay exists in the same freewheeling landscape as Ross Noble. except without the safety net of prepared material. The results range from hilarious to just plain strange.
Age 23
Biog Glasgow's Jamie McKenzie is the funny guy you meet down the pub. Or he was until Billy Bonkers gave him a microphone. One year on and he's
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hooked. Still at support level, he has the perfect source for new material. ‘I work in the markets at the weekends so I'm out there giving the blue rinses all my chat. You get a lot of stuff from them. I‘ve been dying to use it. but I'm always feart they're in the audience.‘ Career high 'Being on the telly for the semi-finals of the BBC New Comedy Award.‘
Humour snippet 'I better check the girlfriend's not in.’ (Whistles) Giggle-o-meter Top notch patter. charisma and storytelling prowess.
Age 32
Biog Hilarious observations about life in Leith are what McNeil! does best. Starting two years ago at the Stand's comedy workshops. the former taxi driver slags off his home town to anyone who'll listen and the locals lap it up. A member of The Dark Side Of The Toon trio. McNeill plans to take his set beyond Edinburgh.
Best heckle? 'This guy said to me: “That's a bit rough on Glasgow. eh?" And I said: "Aye. it is a bit r0ugh in Glasgow." and he wasn't very happy.‘ Humour snippet ‘When I had American tOurists in the taxi, we were stopped at the pedestrian crossing and there was a warning on it for blind people. They asked what it was and then said: "Gee. in our country they don't even let them drive."' Giggle-o-meter A keenly perceptive nice guy heading straight for pole position.
Age 45
Biog Vladimir McTavish. Paul Sneddon. Bob Doolally; whatever name he goes by. this comedian has built up a rock-solid reputation. Originally an actor, McTavish got his first taste of stand-up at Newcastle's Comedy Cafe. but moved back to Scotland where he's a firm favourite.
Who provokes the big
screams on the big screen? Words: Miles Fielder
ttempts by comedians
to transfer their laughs
to the big screen do not usually result in cinematic masterpieces. Remember Porridge the movie? Or That Riviera Touch. starring the otherwise hilarious Morecambe and Wise? Kevin And Perry 60 Large? No. of course not.
Scottish comedians have. however. fared better. Most notably Billy Connolly. who was very nearly in the running for an Oscar for his dramatic role in Mrs Brown. Being nominated for such a major award is. by the standards of comedians on film, right off the scale. Although Robbie Coltrane has yet to receive a golden statuette. the sheer girth of his performances. from James Bond villain to Harry Potter hero and soon-to-be-seen Jack the Ripper detective. makes him one of the most successful crossover comics.
One level of notoriety down. and we find that Alan Cumming. formerly one half of Victor and Barry with Forbes Masson, has carved a nice little niche in Hollywood blockbusters. playing camp villains who turn out to be good guys in Spy Kids and Josie And The Pussycats. And this year you'll see his really very good directing debut (with Tinseltown friend Jennifer Jason Leigh). The Anniversary Party. Brother and sister comedians Craig and Lynn Ferguson have rather shrewdly moved away from Bing Hitler and half of the Alexander Sisters, with quite different screen roles in The Big Tease and Born Romantic and Chicken Run. respectively.
In fact. you can go back as far as the 203, where we find goggle-eyed Scot James Flnlayson practising his famed ‘double take“ opposite Laurel and Hardy. We. therefore, look fonivard keenly to Phil Kay's appearance (as an extra) in Lynne Ramsay's film of Alan Warner's book Morvern Cal/ar.
Coltrane: bad hair day
1i'--1ll Jan 2002 THE LIST 17