Interviews · 20 August 2019
John Robins The full interview
John Robins interviewed by Kevin Durham, 20 August 2019. 16m 27s on tape.
In this John Robins interview clip John Robins talks about his career and living with Russell Howard. If you enjoyed this John Robins interview then please leave me a comment in the comment box below. John Robins is a British comedian, radio presenter, writer, and actor known for his witty and self-deprecating humor. He has established himself as a popular figure in the UK comedy scene, with his stand-up shows, podcast, and radio work. This report aims to provide an overview of Robins' career, including his early life, education, and rise to fame, as well as his achievements, notable performances, and contributions to the entertainment industry.
What's on the tape
A transcript, made by machine from the audio and tidied up. It gets names and the odd word wrong, so treat it as a way to find the bit you want rather than as a quotation. Every timestamp jumps to that moment in the video.
0:01 Comedian and presenter John Robbins if you like this interview with TV presenter and comedian John Robbins then please do subscribe to my channel and leave me a comment. Below or we'll hear your feedback give me a mark out of 10 what's this video any good or a big pile of rubbish John I just want to say thanks. For agreeing to interview us before your show I hope we're not kind of knocking you off your normal flow or not disrupting any rituals no I'm. In about half an hour I'll go into my mind Palace and then I'll be you won't be able to disturb me there okay I'm watching what. You do when you're in that mind Palace you just sit down there's no loud to disturb you you masturbate anything oh no nothing nothing like that I tend. To just attempt to go through my notes by end up playing annoying games on my iPhone annoying games what's that's annoying game it's brilliant games.
0:52 Kingdom rush Kingdom rush frontiers any kind of tower defense based game I've spent more time defending towers and I have performing comedy so you get really annoyed that you get up to a certain level of these games. They've got a bios of [ __ ] do you not get really annoyed by that if you talk about the heroes in Kingdom rush I've never bought one and still I've got three. Stars on every level so I already get inside of the mind my stand-up comic so it's a scary place let's go into a place it's. There are no rules in the mind of a comedian so talk me through like the process so you get an idea how does that idea. Then go on stage what what's the process you go through well it varies from comics a comic a lot of people will sort of sit and write the idea.
1:44 Out longhand but for me the ideas come on stage and then I sort of make a note after all that was a funny story and not write anything beforehand. Not really nice go in rule pretty much written I did yeah and often it will come from stop chatting to the crowd and it'll remind you of spark. A memory of an anecdote it's like when you're with your the way I've described it's like when you're with your friends in a pub or a bar and they they're. Talking about something you go ah this happened to me once and you say it before you've never maybe haven't remembered it in five years you haven't said out loud before. And then from there it just you keep sort of keeps gathering Moss gathering was and you ever get heckled really badly. No not really I don't think they think that really happens as much as people would like to think it's mainly just sort of drunken.
2:42 Noises sometimes all sort of cacain noises which you can tell there's a difference between a cocaine noise and a drunk noise difference annoys so a drunk. Noises or incoherent whereas a cocaine noise is very focused. Okay said oh no no it has usually got a nice London sort of cockney accent and then you look at someone and they're quite scary. So you don't sort of slam them as hard and what's your best bit down. Well a guy kept repeating things that happened the other day guy kept repeating everything I was saying on stage so I said are you a cave. Classic echo cave you know exit yeah and there's a role isn't there that you can you can use put-downs from other comedians but you can't obviously. You can't use material from other comedians but heckle heckle replies are shared I don't know really I I'm not sure it happens enough for them to sort of go around I mean there are like ones.
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3:40 That loads of people say like where'd you learn to whisper in a sawmill. If someone's talking about loud but then there's a Canadian who once got confused and he was trying to say that he's trying to say where did you learn to whisper. You know sawmill but yeah actually saying the guy where'd you learn to heckle in a Whispering Gallery which doesn't make any sense very funny yeah. And how did you end up in a flat with Russell Howard and John Richardson how did that happen. We were just three young sexy bucks looking for a shag pad Richardson obviously is the sort of leader the most aggressive sexual beast of the trio. Did he check the most definitely check the least.
4:30 Probably Russell he's a god-fearing man and Richardson just wanted a soundproof basement and it was a turned out to be a four bed and there was another comedian. There called mark over but he he can no longer have sex because his [ __ ] wore off it wore off yes good not there anymore and so there's. The patch like a yogurt Lego man just have you seen let the right one in the right well you wouldn't understand what's there watch that and so we lived together for a year. And then sort of Russell went to Russell moved to Bath Richard went to Swindon I mean all of the metropolis in the UK and me and over stayed in Bristol. Then I moved to London you get jealous of their careers because they're doing a lot of TV stuff you know Russell obviously doing stuff at the o2 job.
5:29 Look at him anything no I look at them and think great stuff is there anyone in the comedy world you get jealous off um no not really because you can only have your own career. You can't like and it all happens for different people at different times and so for example the show I'm doing tonight is my spife hour-long. Show but it's been you know it's been done and performed in rooms of between twenty and a hundred and fifty people so it wouldn't that show wouldn't. Work in like the o2 yeah because it would be insane so I don't think God I wish I was doing the o2 tonight yeah I mean it would be awful. Because we want to go there eventually that's well I don't know about that but is I just think you'd need different types of comedy food brooms.
6:22 That big and everyone who plays that those massive rooms learns ways to make their comedy fit that arena yeah. So I'm not sure I wouldn't want to necessarily play the o2 not there's anything wrong with playing it but maybe I think the ideal comedy. Venue size is like four or five hundreds I think in terms of the leash feeling it in your face feeling of money. Linked to a big venue like if if you start out doing comedy to make money then you're insane I'm still not rich from comedy and I think people would know. Say I was quite good but I it's not a it's not a financial. Industry to going I mean I went to a good university for Christ's sake I could be earning north of 40k year what you started English.
7:13 English and you ever use that at all in your taste don't use English now. Got for you a degree was it okay one of those literate degrees we just read books and write essays about him yeah yeah I do I those I read. I you I read excerpts from the great gatsby in this show which is sort of more that's more like GCSE sort of from that's when I read that because this show is about nostalgia. And to regret and time passing so gatsby fits in there I philip larkin I have used on the stage I did old and Middle English as well but thus. Far no bear wolf has made it into my set not yeah no yeah okay and any embarrassing story to share with us about Jon or Russell or anything.
8:07 Happened in that comic harrassing stories about Jon or assault yeah or just anything happen in that love Richardson got a chocolate fountain for a party. And it didn't work you know it's that kind of amazing sort of stuff that you just couldn't script he he led it he he let it cool and the chocolates. Solidified in the thing thus rendering it completely useless but crucially none of us are drug takers none of us break the law so there was no kind of crazy wild. Parties any sense of like one-upmanship when you were oh yeah there's an awful lot of sparring and sort of verbal sniping and it was it was really good lesson. In how to be quick on your toes comedy-wise Richardson is the is the quickest is that one of the quickest comics I've ever met that he's. Bang yeah so yeah there's lots of that went on and who's the the worst comic that you've met the worst comments coming we're not just talking about material.
9:05 I'm talking about you know well the worst human being I've met through comedy yeah. I won't tell you his or her name but mr. X there is one most a 99% of people do a comedy are good people and is actually. You would expect it be an industry full of like prima donnas and annoying people but I mean there's most of them are legends there are a few. Tools how hard is it for a comedian to make it nowadays because I know when you started I read on your on your website it's 2005. I think back then you know stand-up wasn't as popular Oh anywhere as near as popular as it is now obviously with shows like live at the Apollo. Mock the Week it kind of feels like almost everyone is out there trying to do stand-up so it's a lot harder now for a new comic.
9:57 It's weird it's it's harder and easier in a sense because when I started there was a very definite. Sort of career progression and what you did is that you did sort of unpaid spots at clubs there into 20s at clubs and then you would do in an Edinburgh show. And then you do another one and then you do like five Edinburgh shows and then people would go on this person is kind of great. Then you do start touring then you go and telly yeah whereas now what's. Changed which I never saw coming is that you start off quite good but you're young and people go he's great let's put more telly in and off the back of telly you then do your first Edinburgh. Show which blows my mind hey so what you go out there you do five minutes lots and then what you get TV good yes that I can.
10:44 Do and because you know people like new stuff and they like cool young do I mean I'm wearing skinny jeans I know I I'd never heard of these until. I saw comedians wearing them I'm wearing now to be cool if you're cool now I feel warmer because they act like a thermal sort of under. Stocking that's why I opted from Steve links quite chilly there are so many comics I mean when I when I started there were probably about 500. Shows in Edinburgh now they're about eight or nine hundred maybe a thousand shows in Edinburgh but then 10 years before me they're probably about 100. Shows in Edinburgh so weirdly if you look at her like an Edinburgh Festival guide from like 1998. Every single comedian in that guide is amazing whereas now there's a thousand and you know half of the rubbish.
11:36 Yeah yeah but you know that's the guest the spirit of the festival but it's weird to look back and just think [ __ ] what it would have been like to be able to go to a show and know that comic. Was going to be amazing yeah did you see any of these really big comics when they were just starting out I think yeah Russell and McIntyre. Probably the biggest acts I worked with early on so if you were starting out now would you do anything differently hey good thing everything how would you do it I would. Have an accent I would an accent what you mean put one on yeah probably Spanish or Portuguese or maybe Chinese. Accent I think those not there's a lot of Chinese comedy going around I would I'd probably moved to London a bit earlier so what you stayed in Bristol.
12:26 Just too long yeah sort of it's it's quite scared of London I think what what's scary well it's big messy people yeah God whereas Bristol. You can walk from anywhere to anywhere in 45 minutes yeah max so you never sort of never more than an hour's walk from a hot bath yeah. Where's the London you just get stuck okay so you move to London and then and then what would be your plan from there what in this alternative. You mean this alternative universe you're starting from scratch I'd play with all the big I would probably probably. Start up a I don't it's hard to imagine an alternate reality here myself I don't think I think I'm doing Orion I don't need to I think you pretty good let. Me do it all over again no is it five shows Edinburgh now yeah yeah I've hours that's a lot of stuff is it all new stuff every.
13:24 Show yeah it's a lot gear so what you just Chucky Chucky and tire like just everything out the window and then start afresh for every show yeah. And some people will like take-up greatest hit shows but they're yeah dicks. I'm very much the opinion that every Edinburgh show should be I'd say 90% new stuff means sometimes you get the odd joke that kind of think. So there's four my next show which I'm now writing there's a line from my first show which fits really nicely so I'll pop that in there but it wouldn't. Do like I wouldn't do like all old stuff. Well that leaves nicely to a next question tell us about where is where is my mind your show so it's a show about nostalgia and living. In the past about adolescents and growing older really so the you know the great meaty topics of our age old are you 29 30 31.
14:23 31 oh yeah 31 been the show I'm 30 because it was written when I was 30 so I'm not lying about my age is for purposes of a joke yeah. And it's about the happiest day of my life which was at Reading Festival in 2001 was there well I think so yeah that's the one and mm. Yeah mm 103 day yeah yeah and they got the going up to drum yeah they always do that yeah right I didn't know that no but I think seeing. Green dough before yeah so it's about that Running Festival what. Met a girl we all and it's just part of the perfect. Weekend and how as you get older those moments which you look back on fondly sort of become almost kind of beautified beyond any actual it's not based in reality yeah. I don't know what someone who's sort of obsessed is quite a lot about the past.
15:20 And this bus'll coming to terms with that as as one gets older do you fell in yeah well as I listened not sure you can at that age but certainly. Certainly thought she's really top banana. Such a dad say do you have kids no gods you [ __ ] with things like that I should do I soft my interior monologue. Is quite Alan Partridge like and he sort of infected my sort of thoughts quite a lot so I just speak as him well not really thank you for you this time and it's any of you and good luck the show Cheers. Cummings very much [ __ ] man. I'd love to know your thoughts on that video so give me more get out of 10 10 being great not being rubbish what do you think this video. School leave me a comment subscribe.
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