WOULD ANYONE ELSE DO A
ROUTINE ABOUT HAVING SEX
WITH CONJOINED TWINS?
Anger managemen
On the surface, Doug Stanhope and Ed Byrne have little in common. Brian Donaldson watches their DVDs and reckons they’re closer than you’d imagine.
it the run-up to the release of I’m/untit- d” ll’lrimvir‘ul. it became obvious that lid Byrne has been putting this moment off for a while. In an ever increasing field of comedy DVDs. it seemed odd that one of the most photogenic stand—ups of his era (if you go for the unfed rocker look) wasn‘t nestling in between Jimmy (‘arr‘s latest one-line feasts and Peter Kay"s newest fitness film. Now. alter a decade of sell-out shows on the lidinburgh Fringe (asides from the early days and those over-ambitious Playhouse dates in 2()()()) and across the world. he had finally got up off his arse to get a DVI) out. The blurb‘s words. not mine. liilmed in Leeds. I’m/antic A" ll'lrimsr'r'ul is like a greatest hits compilation of gags and observations from his years in showbiz. which does give you a chance to laugh all over again at lid‘s tales of how
girlfriends don‘t seem to understand that bed is for
either having sex or falling asleep in: it's not a venue for having nice or nasty chats in. While Byrne is neatly besuited and utterly charming with his pedantry. you just know that he is capable of starting a verbal rammy in an empty room. never mind one with a strong-willed female in it. He has issues over smoking bans. social smokers. airports and Americans. and while he does it all with a wink and a smile. there is a genuine frustration brewing with the ways of the world. Byrne‘s delivery and affection for his audience seem like a world or two away from Doug Stanhope and his misanthropic musings and crowd-baiting. Can you imagine Ed Byrne (or anyone else for that matter) doing a routine about having brutal sex with
38 THE LIST 7-21 Sep 2006
conjoined twins‘.’ While this reviewer was less than impressed by Stanhope‘s shambling. unfocussed performance at the Tron this .-\t1gust. it‘s clear to see from the Dem/beat Hem DVD that when he cares. he is hot: though weirdly. it could be argued that.
judging by the DVD extras. he might actually have
been funnier in his early chinos and mullet years.
Nowadays. whether he is ripping apart the police or
priests. kids or conservatives. Stanhope does indeed deserve to carry the Lenny Bruce/Bill llicks torch. Whether he‘d want to is another matter.
When it comes to extras. it‘s nice to see the lads put
in a bit of effort. Asides from Stanhope‘s bad hair
years. we get to see him ranting on the streets (where you imagine he‘d exist permanently if he wasn‘t on the world's stages) with a bottle in a brown paper bag and a banjo player by his side. Meanwhile. lid Byrne allows us to see the whole show twice over. once with Dara O'Briain by his side and the second time with commentary provided by (ilenn Wool. Brendon Burns. Andrew Maxwell and Paul Byrne llid‘s brother and comedy director). l‘or ‘commentary ‘. read a merry. quite hilarious attack on everything to do with the comic on stage.
Doug Stanhope and lid Byrne. then: more alike than yottU think and both angry thirtysomething men. Albeit one with a Queen fan haircut. the other with post-mullet issues.
Doug Stanhope: Deadbeat Hero is out now on Ad Lib; Ed Byrne: Pedantic 8. Whimsical is out now on Warner.
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