00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers.
00:05Lovely to speak to Stephen K. Amos.
00:07Now, it's a monster tour you're embarking on.
00:10In our area, you've got gigs at Haddon, Crawley, Eastleigh, Guildford, Brighton,
00:14coming up over the next few months.
00:16Under the title, Now We're Talking.
00:18But the point is, you're saying you've been doing this nearly 30 years,
00:22and you're astonished that you are still doing it.
00:24Why are you astonished?
00:26Well, first of all, thank you for having me, Phil.
00:29And it's wonderful to be able to sit here in my residence in South West London
00:34with a completely blank background, observing you with all those books behind you,
00:39which is telling me something.
00:41Maybe I should read a book or two.
00:43I've read every single one, obviously.
00:46Yes, I mean...
00:47Yeah, there's no clue. It's your personality behind you.
00:50There's nothing there.
00:53No, I think, I remember, for example, when I finished university,
00:56going to see my parents and my dad handing me a job application from the local council.
01:03Because back then, he said to me,
01:04Stephen, apply for this job.
01:06When you work for the council, you get a job for life.
01:09And that was the thing back then, getting a job for life.
01:11So who would have thought, all these years later,
01:14that I'd be doing a job, stand-up comedy,
01:16which has turned into, essentially, my job for life.
01:20Oh, so you don't see that as a missed opportunity, then?
01:24Well, you know, I mean, are councils a job for life anymore?
01:28I don't know.
01:29I'm just very pleased.
01:30I did take the application form, but I didn't fill it in.
01:34Instead, I pursued this, I won't even say a pipe dream,
01:40because back then, it was just going into rooms,
01:42about pubs, maybe 30, 40, 50 people,
01:45and going, hey, here's some funny musings.
01:48And thankfully, it has snowballed, and I'm still standing.
01:52Well, absolutely.
01:53And that's a seriously impressive achievement,
01:55because you imagine that of all the art forms,
01:57comedy must be the hardest to endure in, mustn't it?
02:01Well...
02:01Changing passions, or maybe not?
02:03Well, I think...
02:04Reinventing yourself every year?
02:06I think comedy can be quite difficult,
02:09in terms of you are your sole person to rely on.
02:14It is only you.
02:15There's nobody else on stage.
02:17You write your own material.
02:19Comedy tastes change.
02:21Sensibilities changes.
02:23When you start writing a new show or a new joke,
02:27you might not get the wording correctly at the beginning,
02:30so people might get really upset or whatever.
02:32The mood changes of the world.
02:36You know, there's a whole big thing about what you can
02:38and cannot say within comedy,
02:40which I completely disagree with,
02:42because I think that comedy is absolutely subjective,
02:46and any comedian should be able to tackle any subject.
02:49A good comedian, that is.
02:51Right.
02:52So nothing off limits, then?
02:54Not as far as I'm concerned,
02:55because if you think about it,
02:57if every comedian was to try and tailor a show
03:01that everybody would be happy with,
03:02that comedian would have to stand at the venue of their show,
03:06and as people come in,
03:07have a clipboard,
03:09and tick off all the things that might upset people,
03:11and then do a show accordingly.
03:12That is not going to happen.
03:14It's not practical.
03:15And it would be pretty bland, wouldn't it?
03:17It would be pretty bland, of course.
03:18And some people just hear a buzzword,
03:21or some people get upset
03:22because you're talking about a subject that affects them.
03:26Forgetting these subjects may affect you as well.
03:30In previous shows, for example,
03:31I've talked about grief and the loss of somebody.
03:35I've talked about cancer.
03:37And some audience members,
03:38they hear the word cancer,
03:39and they shut down without listening to the context of the joke or the story.
03:45And that is a theme for this year's show, isn't it?
03:48This winter, this autumn, spring to listen.
03:50The theme for this show,
03:54even though it's called Now We're Talking,
03:55I'm very much aware and very pleased
03:58that there are these campaigns around
04:01encouraging people to talk about all sorts of things,
04:04but we also need campaigns to encourage people to listen.
04:07So one of the things I say...
04:08You would need an audience to do anyways.
04:10Well, absolutely.
04:11Because I say to my audience, you know, off the bat,
04:13that think of this as a conversation between a new friend,
04:19one where you get to not speak for an entire hour,
04:23and I get to talk,
04:24but the only thing you have to do is listen and laugh.
04:28Fantastic.
04:28And just looking at that list of dates,
04:30it's an impressive list of dates.
04:32Is that daunting,
04:33or is that exciting when you look at that tour?
04:36For me, it's very exciting.
04:39It's so exciting because getting to go out,
04:43as I call it, into the field, into the trenches,
04:46that's where, A, I get to see more of the country.
04:50It's also where I get to hear what people like,
04:53if people are really into the things I'm talking about.
04:56It's also how you keep current,
04:58because, you know, when you've been going for as long as I have,
05:0130 years,
05:01you kind of forget that generations are coming up behind you.
05:06Behind you.
05:06I've got people now coming to my shows,
05:09telling me that their dad likes me,
05:12or their grandparents like me.
05:14And I'm like, oh my goodness.
05:15I thought time stood still for me,
05:17but no.
05:18Well, it's better than that their dad didn't like you,
05:21isn't it, I suppose?
05:22I'll take it.
05:23I'll take it.
05:24Fantastic.
05:25We're really lovely to speak to you.
05:27Good luck with the tour,
05:28and thank you for your time.
05:30Thank you, Phil.
05:31Great talking to you.
