A RAMSHACKLE student act at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1987 started Stewart Lee’s rise to one of the finest alternative comics Britain has ever produced.
A true ‘comedian’s comedian’ over the last 20 years, Lee’s name has become synonymous with quality of the likes of Harry Hill, Steve Coogan, the Mighty Boosh, Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci.
His list of connections is a ‘who’s who’ of British comedy, and if that wasn’t enough he is also Ricky Gervais’s favourite comedian.
“When I was growing up there were two distinct schools of stand-up; you had traditional older working men’s club comics, then there were people like Billy Connolly, folk comics who had that surrealist streak, playing guitar, and Dave Allen, who just did what he pleased.
“It seemed that there was nothing in between, so when I started I was opening for rock bands in odd venues, it was a little crazy.”
He speaks of Ted Chippington, a little-know comic who claims he did his act “purely to annoy people”, perfecting a brand of curious anti-humour in a way that almost crossed over into art, it is clear to see where Lee gets his anarchic streak from but the difference is Lee has always had that natural comedian skill, a deadpan delivery of killer lines and a painfully funny venomous streak that can take down any target.
The 1990s was a high water mark, his and partner Richard Herring’s influential Fist of Fun TV show developed a rabidly loyal fanbase that has stuck with him until today, his most significant work in the last ten years has been the controversial but universally acclaimed Jerry Springer: The Opera.
A play which ran at theatres around the country, garnering rave reviews and gathering bigger and bigger audiences over several years, Jerry Springer peaked with award-winning shows at the National Theatre in London.
It was then televised on BBC2, receiving a record number of complaints before it even aired.
Before all this however, his name entered the public conscious in the 1990s along with writing partner Richard Herring’s as their cult favourite TV show Fist of Fun kick started a new era of sketch-show comedy.
Many years of touring as an individual performer cemented his place as a class act on stage, but in 2000 he hung up the mic.
“It wasn’t a challenge any more, I just found it dull, once you start playing big shows to crowds who know who you are it becomes less interesting, I wanted to make it difficult and I wanted to feel out of my comfort zone. At Wrexham I’ll be performing a song, which should be fun,” he laughs.
It turned out to be a blessing as his most significant work to date was soon to follow in the form of the controversial but universally acclaimed play Jerry Springer: The Opera.
The award-winning show involving a nappy-clad Jesus and tap dancing Klu Klux Klan members ran at theatres around the country, earning rave reviews playing to larger crowds, eventually peaking with a run at the National Theatre in London.
“I enjoyed directing, but when you create something like that which keeps getting bigger it becomes a management job. There’s a lot of money involved and it’s not your show any more.
Has he ever considered writing a sequel, Jeremy Kyle: the Musical?
“No. Springer went on a journey, he started off as something good and became a joke, Jeremy Kyle started off as a joke and became even more of a joke- there’s no journey there, the audience won’t have learned anything,” he is laughing again.
He returned to stand-up in 2004, challenging himself to make the new shows as difficult as possible.
“I took stock and realised that everything you can do in theatre you can do in stand-up, it’s just you and the audience, it’s a special bond. I think I had to leave stand-up for a while to realise how much I liked it.
“You never really escape stand-up though, it’s like trying to leave the mafia,” he laughs.
This year saw the broadcast of his first TV show in 10 years; Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle a mixture of stand-up and sketches which aired on BBC2 and despite strong material he says: “The people who normally watch stuff to complain didn’t bother this time, it was great.”
"Televised stand-up seems to distance the performer from the crowd, you see the stand-up tell a joke then they cut to someone in the crowd laughing, usually Gok Wan, it doesnt work."
"We broke those rules and tried to make it as real as possible, we werent telling the audience to enjoy themselves or when to laugh, and we got a good reception from people."
His current live show, which hits Wrexham before heading to the Edinburgh Festival, came from experiencing a strange form of midlife crisis in a coffee shop.
“I was sitting there, with my loyalty card, and I went to get a free cup with my stamps, and they rejected it because the stamps were not the right colour, and I was absolutely enraged, and I took a second and thought, ‘Is this what I’ve become? Is this what angers me now!?’”
He is laughing again, and his self-deprecating observational style is hard not to like, he sees how petty and silly people can be and turns this into comedy.
Departmental changes at the BBC have delayed news of a second series of his TV show but it is still in the pipeline, but a rare talent like Lee will not be kept quiet for long
The natural timing, the deadpan delivery and venomous streak are all present even during an early morning chat. He means business and Wrexham is in store for a comedic tour de force.
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Stewart Lee is performing at Glyndwr University on November 5, for tickets call the box office on 01978 290666