Brian Donaldson talks Perrier nominations, Peter Kay and Poliakoff with Jason Manford, a man with the comedy world at his feet.
t could all liayc bccn so may diiicrcnt ior
.lason \Ianiotd. .lust oycr a ycar ago. no onc
outsidc oi thc .\'orth \Vcst oi langiand had hcaid ol him btit now hc is wcll known to thc last c\ct' l’crricr pancl. (‘hanncl -l commissioning bosscs and Bill Nighy. liycn illtitlglt. lzlsl July. it was thc IIUI \tl gtititl pc‘iiplc oi 'I‘unbridgc \Vclls who \cry ncarly scalcd thc comic‘s latc. ()nc wcck bcl'orc hc was doc to bring his dcbut scl. /.cgcml. to Izdinburgh. lic playcd a warm»up iii thc slccpy (ior slccpy. rcad comatoscl Kcnt town. ‘I was Hi this posh littlc iiall and 35 minutcs into thc show. not mm a smilc. nothingf .\Ianiord lclls mc. smiling. shaking his hcad. in a Iiuston Station pub. ‘In my hcad I was thinking. “Oh god Iiyc got to do this lot a month". 'I‘Ilct'c was a bit oi a lull aitcr yct anothcr iaiicd punchlinc and a guy in thc iront row said. “You can go homc ii you want. son".‘
.'\ccompanicd by a traumatiscd tcclmician. .\Ianiord droy c scycn hours back to Manchcstcr in complctc silcncc. bttt thc crow dis ad\crsc t‘caction ga\ c him thc jolt that hc nccdcd and a major rchaui was undcrway. I‘our w ccks latcr and hliilil'tll'tl iaccd packcd audicnccs al thc I’lcasancc (including his gran who was thc cliiscsl hc gill it) bcing Ilc‘c‘lslctll. \ktts llillILIL‘tI it pi‘cstigious award irom 'I'lic [MI and \Vritcrs (Build and gcncraily rccciycd mass acclaim.
By thc cntl oi August hc iound himscli in thc nominccs' cnclosurc as thc I’crricr Award was about to bc aimounccd. .\Ianiord was dclightcd whcn thc namc I.aura Solon cmcrgcd irom I’aul .\Icrton's lips.
"l‘o bc honcst. nobody chccrcd loudcr than mc whcn somcbody clsc won. ()lwiously I'd hayc loud to w in; I‘m not an idiot. but I wasn‘t a bit disappointcd bccausc this was a million timcs morc than I could ha\ c c\pcctcd. lispccially aitcr 'I'unbridgc \Vclls, .-\nd w hcrc do you go aitcr w inning thc top comcdy award in your first ycar'.’ liycn now. to bc honcst. I still c\pcct thc phonc call to comc that it was all a mistakc: “Sorry. w c mcant .lason Byrch
Qtlllc‘ w ho thc puntcrs at .\Ianchcstcr's biggcst comcdy \cnuc. thc Bun ('lub. thought thcy w crc gclting onc c\cning back in I‘N‘) is anothcr story. 'I‘Iict‘c was a lad thcrc who had bccn working ior two ycars c\ cry 'l‘hursday clcaring tablcs oi cinpty pint glasscs t'pot collcctor" as it may bc wordcd on his (V). 'I‘hc likcs oi Stcyc (‘oogan. I.cc liyans and Iiddic I//ard had pcriormcd thcrc but on this particular 'l'hursday night. thc \chiclc dcliycring a trio oi l.ondon comics had brokcn down lcaying a rathcr largc gap in thc bill. This l7-ycar-old callcd .lason .\Ianiord said to a hcayily
(’r/um
pcrspiring boss that hc would ‘hayc a go'. Initially rcluctant. thc managcr had littlc option bill to unlcash thc rookic on thc crowd ior liyc minutcs. ‘So. I did lots oi jokcs about thc arca and gcncral stuii likc iunny answcrs you‘d hcard on l'Umi/y [Minnow and as I camc oil. thc tnanagcr askcd Inc ii I wanlcd to go back on and I said. “I don‘t hay c any morc. that's inc doch
th six months on irom this auspicious dcbut. Maniord had bccn namcd North Wcst (‘omcdian oi thc Ycar and bccn w'cighcd down with thc cndorscmcnts oi I’ctcr Kay and Jolmny chas. Ah ycs. that l’ctcr Kay thing. Maniord has bccn dubbcd ‘thc ncw I’ctcr Kay.‘ Why'.’ Wcil. thcy
‘I STILL EXPECT THE PHONE CALL TO COME THAT IT WAS ALL A BIT OF A MISTAKE: “SORRY WE MEANT JASON BYRNE'"
hayc similar pltysiqtlcs twhcn Maniord tclls mc that hc w'ishcs hc was a pound bchind Kay hc is talking about iinancial rathcr than llcshy mattcrs). thcy kind oi talk thc samc. thcy hail irom Irish- Manchcstcr backgroumls. and arc blcsscd with thc Iaidback pub wit oi thc ciionlcssly populist. ‘()nc rcyicw' said. “it's hard to mcntion Jason Maniord without tnaking comparison to I’clcr Kay." Wcil. hayc a try. go on. But. you know. hc was my hcro whcn I stat‘tcd. along with Billy (‘onnolly and l)a\'c Allcn: pcopic who had good storics and just wantcd as many pcopic to laugh as possiblc which you‘d think cycry comcdian would bc likc but thcy'rc not. Sonic jUst want
thcir own audicncc. I want as big a dcmographic as I can. I'm not a comic to split thc room.‘
With thc uproarious sttcccss oi l'r/um [arc/til. a show which mcrgcd knockabout social obscryation with a gallcry oi thc spooky things that popular culturc throws up twhcthcr it's suicidal munchkins in ll'irunl of U: or ghostly shadows in 'I‘lin'c .Ilcn um! u Baby). thc tclly pcopic madc thcir incyitablc cnquirics. (‘hanncl 4 wcrc quick oii thc mark. signing Mani‘ord up to makc a pilot documcntary cailcd .llmlc'rn Ilin'rim. which argucs that contcmporary blokcs arc mcrc wcascls comparcd to our dads. ‘Mcn arc gctting a hit morc mctroscxual and all that.' hc says in his bcst Pliru‘lllt Nights \‘oicc. ‘Iior thc show. I wcnt to a maic grooming salon and had a manicurc and got my cycbrows w'axcd. 'I'hcy wantcd inc to do thc back. sack and crack. but not ior a Ill-minutc pilot ior Ii-l. no way. Ii w'c gct a scrics. thcn maybc. 'I‘hcrc's nothing to gct masculinc about thcsc days. My dad had thc mincrs‘ strikc. 'I‘hatchcrism and iootbail hooliganism. All wc‘yc got is happy slapping.‘
Maniord is also working on a sitcom ior ('hanncl «I about ‘a scally vicar in Manchcstcr' but it’s the BB(‘ who hayc alrcady giycn him some proper acting ainimc. Ilc scoopcd a mic as iourth dcprcssiy'c druggic on thc right in thc Johnny chas BB(‘3 comcdy drama I(/('(l/. but. morc contcntiousiy. was hauch irom thc comcdy clubs ior a cameo in Stcphcn l’oliakoii's (litlmn 's [Mug/um. shown on BB('l in January. Maniord‘s bit was iilmcd in Iidinburgh‘s 'I'raycrsc 'I'hcatrc whcrc a bcdraggicd. dinncr- suitcd Bill Nighy stumhlcs in to try and lind his daughtcr who is chccriully watching somc stand- up. ‘It was all rcally wcird. 'l’hcy said that l was to tak'c thc mickcy out oi Bill Nighy but not to mcntion his agc. So. hc comcs in all dishcyclicd and I said something Iik‘c ‘oh ayc. James Bond has let himscli go' and it took about thrcc tak'cs bccausc Bill kcpt laughing. llc was rcally grcat and thc produccrs wch jUst bcing a bit oycr- scnsitiyc on his bchaii.’ The next story will surely crop up in a iuturc Maniord show. "I‘hc sct dcsigncr rang up and askcd me what should bc on a comedy stagc. I said. you know. jUst me and a mic. mayhc a stool and a comedy club logo in the background. So. I turned up and all they had given me was this big glass bowl iull oi jcllybcans.‘ Pcrhaps it was a sign that life has become very sweet ior Jason Maniord.
The Stand, Edinburgh, Fri 7 8. Sat 8 Jul; the Stand, Glasgow, Sun 9 Jul. Brian Donaldson travelled to London courtesy of GNER. For tickets and information call 08457 225 225 or log onto www.9ner.co.uk
6-20 Jul 2006 THE LIST 23