NEWSextra
A star is bor
Comedian, presenter and tabloid favourite Russell Brand more than met his match in The List’s competition winner, Sarah Kennedy. Allan Radcliffe reports.
I seemed such a giant wheeze.
What better way to fire
excitement for The [.isr‘s Festival cover star Russell Brand than to capitalise on his burgeoning reputation as a ladies man. party animal and all-round bon viveur with a competition. offering a lucky reader the chance of a one-to-one with the wild- haired dandy of comedy‘.’
The crazed notion fired the public imagination. Among the cascade of 500 responses. which ranged from the sublime to the downright scary. one witty. sparky. outrageous voice leapt from the page. According to Sarah
Kennedy MD (she‘s a doctor of
psychiatry no less) AKA Miss Modus of stylish Edinburgh-based
band Modus. that precious hour of
Russell‘s company should be hers because ‘these back street x-rays. trips to Chernobyl and 88 entry tapes are costing me a packet — give me a shortcut please!!!’ Moreover. the self-confessed fan claimed to have ‘stalked the reviewer who said Russell was “Ben Elton without the jokes" and ironically branded his testicles R and B. I didn’t even brand the R on the right side just to confuse him. ha ha ha.‘
Thus selected for this dream date. Sarah revealed the moment she first set eyes on the up and
8 THE LIST 7—21 880 2006
coming star.
‘I saw him last year at the Assembly Rooms. It was the funniest thing I'd seen at the Festival. He was like an Essex Woody Allen. a bit neurotic. but with a lot of sexual undertones to his act. We tried to get tickets this year but of course it was sold out. so I was really excited to see The Li's-1's competition. Part of me entered because I quite liked the idea of a bit of wordplay around the subject of Russell Brand.‘
Sarah dutifully turned up at the appointed hour. only to he stood up twice (due to a double booking and a throat condition) before finally being ushered into
Russell‘s dressing room at the Edinburgh Conference Centre. She admits to having been a bit nervous.
‘A date is supposed to be romantic. and given his sexually full-on presence onstage. I felt a bit disconcerted. But actually. knowing a bit about his past and his addictions l was expecting him to be more vulnerable than he was when I met him. At first he was a bit knackered after the gig. and I felt the onus was on me to carry the conversation forward.‘
As it happened. Sarah and Russell hit it off famously. going on to hobnob with Russell's mates and assorted liggers at a well- known Edinburgh bar. before heading back to the comic‘s flat for cups of tea and a good. old- fashioned chinwag.
As an interesting footnote to this saga. the morning after Sarah's encounter with Russell. The Sun carried a story detailing how the comedian had left his Edinburgh flat in a terrible mess. If you squint your eyes at the picture. lying. face up on the coffee table in the middle of the rubble is a copy of your friendly neighbourhood events bible. The List. Clearly. the man has taste. In more ways than one.
www.themodus.net
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