Memory Lane with Kerry Godliman and Jen Brister - S03 E35: Markus Birdman

Episode Date: October 24, 2024

"My friends asked my father when he was most disappointed... He said when I was arrested and my friends in unison both went... Which time?" This week we have the wonderfully talented @markusbirdman on the show! We had a wild time chatting his father, his daughter, nearly becoming a vicar and so much more. Markus is on tour next year and tickets are on sale now. We also have @kerryagodliman and @jenbristercomedy talking about doing a LIVE SHOW AT THE BRIGHTON DOME! PHOTO 1: Youthful looks PHOTO 2: Art College PHOTO 3: My pilgrimage PHOTO 4: Male role-models PHOTO 5: My daughter PHOTO 6: Having a stroke PICS & MORE - https://www.instagram.com/memory_lane_podcast/ A Dot Dot Dot Production produced by Joel Porter Hosted by Jen Brister & Kerry Godliman Distributed by Keep It Light Media Sales and advertising enquiries: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Peloton. A new era of fitness is here. Introducing the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus, powered by Peloton IQ. Built for breakthroughs, with personalized workout plans, real-time insights, and endless ways to move. Lift with confidence, while Peloton IQ counts reps, corrects form, and tracks your progress. Let yourself run, lift, flow, and go. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus at OnePeloton.ca. Is it the matcha, or am I this energized from scoring three Sephora holiday gift sets?

Definitely the sets. Full size and minis bundled together? What a steal. And that packaging? So cute. It practically wraps itself. And I know I should be giving them away, but I'm keeping the Summer Fridays and Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez. I don't blame you. The best holiday beauty are only at Sephora. Gift sets from Summer Fridays, Rare Beauty, Way, and more are going fast. Get full-size favorites and must-have minis bundled for more value.

Shop before they're gone, in store online at Sephora.com. Hello and welcome to Memory Lane. I'm Jen Bristair and I'm Kerry Godleman. Each week we'll be taking a trip down Memory Lane with our very special guest as they bring in four photos from their lives to talk about. To check out the photos we'd be having a natter with them about, they're on the episode image and you can also see them a little bit more clearly

on our Instagram page. So have a little look at Memory Lane podcast. Come on, we can all be nosy together. Can you hear that call? A carpet man. I can hear that and I'm really delighted that the carpet man is out. I'm really sorry about that. The carpet man is here.

I mean, I can't tell you. Right, the dog's ill. She's been pissing on the carpets. She can't go outside to go to the loo. John's face is great. She can't go outside to go to the loo. So she's been pissing on the rug. So I've had to get a carpet clean around.

Right. That's the kind of life I've been having while you've been gallivanting around being a rock star. I have been a rock star. It's really felt like that. Yeah. I've seen the pictures. I've seen on social. media, you've been totally living the dream. I've been dealing with dog piss back in the UK.

Well, we all know not to take too much notice of social media. Social media doesn't... What are you talking about? That's all I take notice on. It doesn't highlight the conversations with Louisa and I in the green room going, I don't know if I can do this. I'm so tight. When will this end? You look like you're having a great... Louisa is a very, very positive woman. She, well, Louisa was an absolute tip-top companion. She was fantastic. She, she, she, she, She looked like she was exactly what you needed. She was exactly what I needed.

And also she was a brilliant support act. She's a brilliant comedian. So we matched. And also, you need a bit of Louisa in your life. Nope. I've actually begun to realise that you don't need that much of me. Less of me. More of Louisa, I think.

That was what? Well, it's all about balance, isn't it? I mean, it sounds like you seemed like a very good double act of energy. Yes. You need your kind of slightly dower. Doer? Do you say doer or dower? I don't tend to use that word at all. Well, I'm using it right now. Get on board.

Dower. Let's go with dower. Okay. You are a dower. You know, I'd say, jaded. Jaded? Jaded. Jaded. Sure. Angry. I mean, I relate to all of this, babe. Right. Okay.

And she is a very positive, upbeat. What other words would you use? Optimistic, energized, motivated. Yeah, yeah. Positive, yes. So you need that yin and yang, don't you? You need it. Well, I feel like if she'd be the yin and I'm definitely the yang.

Oh, I don't even know that much about which is which. I just know what I'm saying is you need both. Okay. Yeah, you're absolutely quiet. I've never known what is yin and what is yang. I don't even know what yin and yang does, but it feels like if I was going to be one of them, it would be the yang. It'll be yang. Yeah.

Okay. I've very much enjoyed hearing your carpet cleaner in the background. I do hope you bought the necessary wee spray. you know that you put on the carpet. I didn't get involved. I assume so. He knows what he's doing. He's a professional.

Well, we've got... He's got a massive machine. I've got three litres of it at home if you ever run out. Why have you got it? Oh, because of cats. No, I don't know if you've noticed. I don't have a pet. I have two small children.

One of whom... What the piss on the floor? When he was about three or four, went through a phase of just urinating. We actually had to get rid of the carpet. The carpet's gone. But we still have the urine diffusing agent.

Anybody listening if you want to get... You're going to try and sell it? Well, I don't... I'm not going to sell it. You're going to try and sell... We don't have a carpet anymore. Through our podcast.

That's desperate in it. That's a desperate stream of income. I would give it away. I'm giving away. You can't even give... Let's get QVC on this. You can't even give this away. Oh, talking it away.

So your little video with Louisa where she tried to get you to sell your shows or yourself. How good was I? How good was I at promoting myself? You weren't very good. I was so really tired. No, you were bad.

You looked so tired and uninterested. You looked happy. You looked relaxed, but you didn't want to be burdened with having to do self-promotion. No. I just had dinner. I just had dinner on a very large glass of rosé. So I was like, what are we doing this for? It did tickle me.

So we have got another live performance happening. Christmas time. Yes, December anyway. Yes, December. Well, I take the whole month of December. I mean, I would say it's too early to call it Christmas time because I don't get really involved in Christmas until mid-December. All of it can back off. Anyway, this is in December, December the 3rd.

Well, I'm going to describe it as a Christmas, live at Christmas special. Are you going to wear a Christmas jump? Yes, I'm going to wear a jumper and I'll have a hat on. You're going to wear a hat? Maybe. Yeah. I'm going to bring you a hat. Would you like me to do that?

Yes, please. Yeah, you're welcome. It's going to be at the dome. Not the big room. Don't get too excited. At the dome on the third. Which you're pleased, don't you can walk there? Holy macaroni.

When you said to me, we're doing it at the dome. I was like, what is happening? Yes, I'll be there. All your Christmases. In fact, that is the best Christmas present both of you could ever have given me. Might be the only Christmas present we'll be giving you. Yeah, that's fair. I don't mind.

So come and see us. Third of December. We'll be at the dome doing a live. memory lane episode with a special guest that we will reveal to you once we've booked them. Oh man. It's going to be exciting. It's going to be exciting. You know how much I love Brighton. I love Brighton. That's why I live there. Now Kerry, in the spirit of promotion, I would like to promote if this is okay, you two. This gig, it's a music gig. Guys, it's a music gig. It's cool. Are you doing, are you a musician now?

is this what happens when you go to Austin? I am now playing the banjo and singing. No. This is a music gig that I've got for, or I haven't even organised this. Somebody else organised this, Valeri organised this. It's called Turnup for Gaza. It's a music gig at the Colour Factory on the 19th of November,

all in aid of the non-profit I started all our relations. Look how good I am at promoting all of a sudden. Oh, you're brilliant at this. Now I am. Where is that venue? I don't know that, then. It's in Hackney. It's Hackney Wick.

It's in the, at Queen's Yard in Hackneywick. And the line-up is insane of just incredible musicians. Tom Skinner, Rosie Plain, Beta Max, Daunologue, Ruth Gawler, Tom Herbert, Alice Grant, Robin Rocket, Donna Thompson, to name but a few. Juliet Stevenson and Holly McNish are also going to be there performing. Oh, I've brought tickets for Holly McNish.

Oh, did you? Well, I think you should buy tickets for this. And you will also see me. Are you going to like compare it? Yeah, I'll sort of compare it, do the intros and all that kind of. Oh, I really want to come to this. It's real, all money will go towards all our relations of helping 15 families on the ground in Gaza.

It's going to be an absolute banger of a night. 19th of November, Colourfactory, turn up for Gaza, be there or be at home with your feet up, watching repeats as strictly. Whatever it is people do these days. I don't know. That's that, that promotion. And also what we should, Joel, good luck editing this.

Also, we should, we should talk, who's our guest? Jen, who is our guest for today's episode? Our guest for today's episode, remind me, who is it? Today we are talking to Marcus Birdman. Oh, today we're talking to my dear friend, Marcus Birdman, who I adore. So Marcus is a very good friend of mine and a brilliant stand-up comedian. and he is about to go on tour in the new year, I think, in February, so his tickets are available to go and see him live.

We had a lovely chat with Marcus. So please sit back, relax, grab a cup of tea, and enjoy our chat with the wonderful Marcus Birdman. Are these in an order? Well, you'd be able to see by his age. Well, I thought that with our last guest, and I got it very wrong. All of these pictures, you are an adult. Yeah, there's none of you as a kid.

child. Well, there's one, no, there's one where I'm 15, 16. What a beautiful looking lesbian. Look at you. He's so handsome. What happened?

Beautiful, beautiful, certainly. Look at your lips. They're quite lush, aren't there? They're so lush. You've definitely got lip gloss on. You've got lip gloss on.

What happened? You look very attractive in that picture. Thank you for much. Did you know it at the time? Was there a sort of like swagger to you? Did you think I'm pretty hot? I'm pretty hot stuff.

No. I was always... I don't know. I don't know why you sniggering. I think I was always quite self-possessed. Right. Physically. I think you've, you carry yourself in a way.

I carry myself all right. I'm quite confident. 15, that's quite young to look that self-confident. Most 15-year-olds, I know, they're covered in sports. They've got a stoop. He's got stoop. I have all phones now. They're all like that.

Unibrow. Back hackney. Yeah. I would get like one. massive spot. You know, like, I never got acting. You consolidated all your spots into one manageable spot. Unmanageable spot. Or unmanageable, yeah. But which would come and would be on the end of my nose or something. So tell us about you growing up. Where are you from? I'm from Bishop Stortford. And your dad was a vicar. Is that right?

Well, he was the chaplain of the school I went to. There's a few comedians that have had this experience. Finn, Taylor. Finn, and I'm sure someone else, that it's a simple, that there's an interesting that you are in two camps. Yeah, it's not ideal actually in rest of them. Because you're not part of the kids, aren't you? And do they know? Yes, and it's not like they gave me any hard time, but it's weird when you go to, oh, you're all going on a skiing holiday.

Right. Oh, you've all got two BMXs, have you, brilliant? You know, it's sort of a bit weird. Fortunately, my dad was quite, I don't know, popular's the right word, but yeah, popular's the right word. Because he was the chaplain, and then he, he would be kind of, involved with if there were any kind of bad boys or people who were I'm not that they really were in private school so you know it's not really like you get bullied in

private school particularly or that you're you're going to come across people who are bad bad news but any of them who maybe were were quite often speaking to my father in a kind of pastoral role right so they would tend to maybe I got a pass in that respect teachers actually were more hard on me I think than the pupils were fine did you have a rebellious streak So you two know each other and I don't know Mokers at all So I might ask questions I mean it's still going in it I mean I think that's unfair

Is that fair that a lot Isn't that traditional thing with Vickers kids That they all get face tats and Yeah They rebel The um What's the saying isn't it Vickers son's the worst

Vickers daughter's the best Ah Right I don't I mean I think I wasn't that rebellious I was probably a bit rebellious I don't know. I mean...

But you've always... I think what you said earlier is probably the truth of it is that you've always had a great sense of self and given that you clashed with your parents in various different ways is having that. I don't know.

I think ever since... You know, like we've known each other for like 15 years or whatever but you've always had a great sense of who you are and I don't feel like you are ever prepared to dilute that for anyone, including your parents. Or God. Or God. Definitely not God.

Definitely not God. I spend a lot of time dismantling that one. Because I was talking to Francesca the other day and she told me something I don't think I knew. Or maybe you had told me and I hadn't really taken it in. It's that you did graffiti. You're really talented artist, that should be said. But that you did graffiti when you were living,

was it in Brighton or in that? And that actually your net, the name Birdman. That was your tag. That was a tag, yeah. So I had no idea that you did graffiti. So I did, yeah. So I did, yeah. In fact, my first, so I did, I went to art college and then was sort of singly unemployable and thought I need to go and do a PGCE to, for want of a better thing to do.

Yeah. And the night before my PGCE placement, I got arrested for graffiti. And they didn't let me out of the cell till the morning. and I had to ring up the school and go, I'm sorry I'm late I can't start my bike or whatever it was that's how you start your teacher. And I was just like, I've got so far to go

to kind of get into a realm of normal professionalism. Right. Did you feel that that was one of the many red flags that you slalom through? I think my father thought was one of the red flag. Actually, it was quite talking to me with rebellious street up By the one time I was at my parents' house with two of my friends, and Ben asked my dad when, I think I've sort of told you this as well, Jen. Ben asked my father when I'd most disappointed.

And my dad went, oh, when he got arrested? Him and Lee, both in unison, which time was that? Oh, really? And my father just walked off and half. Wow, so there's a few arrest stories. There was a few arrests stories. So it's like a couple for graffiti, yeah. By the seven-time world's best leisure airline champions, Air Transat.

When you support Movember, you're not just fundraising. You're showing up for the men you love. Your dad, your brother, your partner, your friends. It isn't just a men's issue. It's a human one. That's why Movember exists to change the face of men's health. From mental health and suicide prevention to prostate and testicular cancer research and early detection, Movember is tackling the biggest health issues facing men today.

Join the movement and donate now at Movember.com. It's hockey season and you can get anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So no, you can't get a nice rank on Uber Eats. But iced tea, ice cream, or just plain old ice? Yes, we deliver those. Goaltenders, no, but chicken tenders, yes. Because those are groceries and we deliver those too.

Along with your favorite restaurant food, alcohol and other everyday as high. Order Uber Eats now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly. Product availability varies by region. See app for details. Tell us about this picture. So that would have been my degree show,

so I would have been about 21. Where did you go to art school? Well, I started in Edinburgh, and then I hated it. Really? So I went to Newcastle. Yeah. What did you hate about it? Tell us about that.

Because you were going to spend a lot of time there, Lisa. Yeah. Was it the city itself? I don't know. I think at the time I was probably having a nervous. us breakdown. Oh, okay.

In the sort of parlance of like today, right. You know, I would say that's probably what happened. How far in? 19. Do you 19? So I kind of went and it was just, I just wasn't a mess and I wasn't ready and I just did loads of drugs and it was just not the ideal sort of, I just blew up, I think. Yeah.

Part of my existential sort of crisis at that age was just how the hell, I wish I'm sure we will, you know, how the hell? am I going to pull this life off? Yeah. You know? How do I make a job? I'm not going to, I can't work. I remember that feeling so well.

I remember looking at the top of the bus. I was going to some shit job and I just looked at all these people going to proper jobs and thought, why, how I don't belong among them. I don't know how I'm going to make a living. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Or when you're looking around. It is frightening when you're young. And I don't know if you've ever had this,

you've had like a temporary job, a job that you hate. Yeah, loads. And maybe, you know, they send you out on an errand and you go out in the middle of town. And then you're looking around going, why are these people not at work? I want to know what all you people are doing. Because I don't want to do what I'm doing. But you all seem to be very busy not being in a job. I want that.

I just, that was my goal was to just not be in an office. Oh, yeah, yeah. I just couldn't do it. Reduced my ambitions from kind of superstardom to just not get a proper job. And also, if you're doing graffiti or stuff like that, You're like, that's a creative outlet, but it's not going to pay the bills. Well, hence the PGCE, you know. So I kind of in a kind of panic to find some gainful employment, yeah.

And that's why when the morning of my attempts to get gainful employment, I didn't get out of a police cell. I thought I'm so far away from gainful employment. Yeah. So when did comedy fit into all of this? Well, I started doing performance poetry, which I did, a few years and I did it probably from about 95 to about 2000 yeah and and prior to that did you know you had that that joke antennae or that sort of that you went towards humour as a

creative outlet not really I mean I think I just was always I was interested in writing and even even you know I'm back to talking about the graffiti even my artwork had a lot of writing in it quotes that I use writing not only as sort of narrative like well decorative like graffiti is. The word is used as a decoration but also has a narrative so it might say a statement or it might say some sort of political philosophy or ideology.

And I always loved that and I always used that in my artwork. And so maybe I took that to its logical conclusion. Well philosophy comedy has always been my favourite kind of comedy when there's ideas in there with the knob gags. And I think, I mean it's been said and I'm a son of a pretty,

preacher man where you know and my father himself would say well you know I think you could be a vicar and it's been said a number of times to me by family members um and I mean good god yeah yeah but but um we are preachers yeah is the speaking to absolutely fundamentally that is that is and I don't mean that no sort of um but you don't have to bring the Christian god in to it's just it's the philosophizing yeah but how do you take that craft and artistry in front of a room full of piss head and do the clubs and you're like, shush, shush, shush, this is art.

I've seen it. That's what it gets the crunch. But you do do it. You know, I mean, we've done loads of fucking shit gigs together and where the audience are awful people. Yeah.

And you still maintain those rhythms and that kind of timing and you don't, you don't sort of compromise. You did not see my gig on Saturday night. Where are you in this picture? Are you a magic picture? So, no, I'm on Mount Sinai.

Where's that? Oh, wow. It's in Egypt. It looks cold. It's where Moses was given the Ten Commandments. Facts. Right. Religion's coming back.

The recurring thing of religion. It's the recurring thing of religion. I went to Egypt and sort of that Middle East, Israel, Jerusalem, Palestine. really to get rid of every last vestige of Christianity that I had. Israel and Palestine is remarkably unchristian, and the Christianity that's there is quite unrecognizable because it tends to be Greek Orthodox or Russian Orthodox. It's not like the Church of England.

So if you come with the Church of England sensibility, you don't recognise anything. Right. And then you'd speak to people. Paul and you go, what was your relationship with Jesus? And they go, I haven't really got one. You know, and then you go, oh, right, it's a choice. Yeah. It's not a fact.

And I'm not deviant by not having a relationship with Jesus or choosing not to have a relationship with Jesus, which I hitherto fell. You know, I could stop believing in God, and I could stop believing in Jesus. But it's me walking away, and it's me being deviant from my father, from the church. And then you go to somewhere and they go, Jesus, ooh.

You know, not because they're deviants, because they might be Muslims or they might be, you know, and they just go, they know about as much about Jesus as I know about, you know, Muhammad, which is respectfully next to nothing. And you go, oh, right, it's just a choice. And that was, oh God, it was an absolute revelation. And how old were you when you went on that journey? Mid-20s, late, yeah, mid-20s. As you do unpack it, did that then impact on your relationship with your father? I don't know how, I never really had a particularly good relationship with my father. So it didn't really impact on it.

Questioning it made me more, maybe talk to him more, because he was more kind of, I was the most religious of his children, even though I was gunning. Well, because I was actively engaging in trying to deconstruct it. Whereas I think my siblings, well, one of my sisters was, I've just never interested in the first place. God bless her, and I wish I'd had that sensibility. But my other two would be, well, I would be practicing Christians now.

and I think they would say they were. But kind of part of the woodwork, really. So I don't think they've really, I don't mean, respectfully to them, I don't mean that they haven't questioned their faith or whatever. But I've really questioned my faith, and I have a lot of questions for my father. So within that realm...

Did he enjoy your curiosity? Yes, I think he did, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It must have at some point, because I know you two didn't have always the best relationship, but at that period of time, to have those sort of intellectuals, discussions, at least you can to have that connection with your dad at that

point, was it? But it never continued post these discussions. Once you'd said, right dad, well, I'm now chosen, I'm not going to follow this Christian faith that you have dedicated your life to. Was that it? It was like, okay. What's for tea?

Yeah, a little bit. Was it? I don't know, maybe. I don't know, maybe. It's so tricky, isn't it? And you wore a lovely shawl. You look fabulous. That is a very, look. And you very much were channeling Jesus and that. It's got a life of Brian. He has got a life of Brian vibe to the whole thing.

I like it. Let's go to your next picture, which is gorgeous, which is you with your daughter. So cute. She's so cute. She's still quite cute, but she's a bit more worldly wise now at our team. Does she still rock a bubble hat? No, she does not rock a bubble hat now. It's uber stylish.

Is she? Yeah. Yeah, she really is. She's currently covered in tattoos as well, which is a tricky one. When did that happen? Oh, my God. I've not seen this. No.

She's got her whole leg, one leg. Well, listen. I know, I know, I know. You literally can't say anything. You're our head to toe in tattoos. When did these happen? The tattoos. Yeah.

Well, she's 19, so within the last year. Wow. Oh, Elsie can't wait to get tattooed up. They're all doing it, aren't they? I met a young person recently. They didn't have any. I was like, what's up with you? Why don't you?

tattoos, yeah. It's the ones that creep up the neck. I'm like, come on, girls, don't do that. Yeah, well, I've said that to her. Stay away from your face and neck. That's all I'm going to say. Good rule. And hands as well, actually.

Yeah. You've got them on your hair. I have, but then I've got, you know. But these are new? They're relatively new. And also, I've got a job where it doesn't matter. And, you know. She doesn't know yet.

She doesn't know what she wants to do yet. Going back to our earlier conversation. And I think, obviously, tattoos are far more. Permanent. They're very permanent. Did you know? Or you can get them. taken off. There's a lot of money in tattoo

removal. Have you seen what they look like when they're taken off? Not good. Well, either way. I spoke to someone recently and they said, oh, I got this tattoo but... And now it looks like a burn. No, she said I purposely got it kind of thin line because I can have it off in a year or two. I'm like, you're not getting the whole permanent thing. You're not running with the permanent nature of tattoo. That seems to cut out. But it's part of that move, because tattoos

have really taken off in the last few years, haven't they? with younger people. But there is a bit of me that wonders maybe if they think they're not permanent, that they can maybe get rid of them a little bit. I mean, she just looks so cute. Yeah, she's funny as well. Is she? Yeah, that's so...

You crack each other up. That is good, though, so unique. Yeah, yeah, she crass me up. Yeah, yeah, it's that, um, you know, I was going to sort of, that's, one has to be very careful not to try and create mini me in it. Because that can be a very frustration. And I think that's what my father tried to do. do with me and that's a lot of and I think that's such a good lesson to learn as a parent

as you're not to try and create a small version of you they're not you they've got their own choices and they might think everything that you stand for is rubbish you know as long as it's not I'm joining the EDL but you know to have no no interest that you're interested in and some of that can be quite disappointing yeah and other bits of it kind of going oh all right it can open up a portal into some shit grind music that are hitherto not paid any attention. Well, a lot of this generational, isn't it? That's the thing I have to remind myself all the time. She's growing up in 2004 and her world's different to the world.

When I was 17, the world was so different. So all the things I give her shit for, I'm like, well, I didn't really, I didn't have social media. I didn't have any of that star. I'm so grateful. So it's so unreasonable for me to compare her to me when it's like, Like, our worlds are so different. Yes. Let's go to this next photograph.

What is happening in here? So that is my tutor from college, art college, Jeff. Not Christopher Walken. I mean, there's a cross between Christopher Walken and Spike Milligan. Yeah. I mean, that's not a bad. That is actually, without never me and him, that's not a bad. He'd be very happy with that.

And that's about bang on. So, he, as I discussed, as my relationship with my father, was a bit strained and I think I've had a couple of men in my life who were father figures and they've tended to be my tutor from college and then I worked for a sculptor and they were alternative father figures I think and he would hate me for saying this because he's terribly vain and likes to think of himself as young and cool but and he is a friend of mine and he absolutely is a friend of mine, but he, he just had such a good vision about how the world was. He was, at one point he was Britain's leading Elvisologist. He's, he's an art tutor, so his

visual art, but he's really fascinated with popular culture and kind of using your art to discuss popular culture and kind of making artwork, again, that isn't kind of esoteric, but that is about kind of rock and roll or it's about fashions or it's about kind of historical events but kind of contemporary and he was just such a brilliant person in my life, man in my life. Yeah.

Who everything he seemed to say was something that I wanted to be or do or be interested in. Right. And you know respectfully and I always totally coat my father off but nothing my father said was that. I remember kind of

I remember so my father had to die actually but during Brexit I don't really know I kind of essence I thought I think I want to remain but I don't know and I thought

I'll ring my father up and whatever it is that he says I'll do the opposite and that was that's kind of my barometer my absolute barometer of like if I need to know what side of the fence

I need to be sitting on politically morally and how did that pan up absolutely bang bang on You know. Really? Yeah, yeah. I mean, my father was quintessential, you know, voted,

voted, leave and then died. You know, thank you very much. Okay, now. You know, to bring back sovereignty, all that sort of, whatever that means, you know. So he, Jeff, and also just as a cool dude, Jeff. He was like, you know, he was all really good gear and had a kind of, you know, Elvis kind of quiff.

Yeah, yeah. He's a hilarious sort of, and then he's hilarious, everything he says is hilarious, inadvertently. And we were doing, and we had an art. when we're at a visiting lecture and it was when I was at art college everything was about the kind of gender actually

and the the lecture was called the gender of the drip right this one was all about whether paint allowing paint to kind of drip as opposed to really controlling it was gendered right it was horseshit you know it was like I can get behind it. I'm fully as all. It's interesting.

It's like, what is that hypothesis? I'm prepared to go along with it. Well, because because really controlling pain is male. Very male, very male energy. And then letting it bleed. Letting it go. All of that. See where I'm going with that?

Yeah. Well, you'd be bang on here. I should have gone to art school. I could have been great. And the tutor came out with, you know, the phrase less is more. And Jeff, who was from his father, ran a, you know, worked down the pit in sort of a county Durham at the back of the room, just went, less is usually less as far as I'm concerned.

And we, you know, it's absolute horror from nearly everybody, apart from me and my friend Simon, who was like, that is bang on. Yeah, yeah, this guy's punk and I'm on board. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This last picture here is he, is he's, you in hospital? Yeah. So I

I mean, I've talked at great length about this and I've done two shows about having, I had a stroke in, well, I've had two strokes. I had one in 2012 and then a sort of more serious one in 2021.

So that is a me in hospital, 2021. And I just kind of thought it's quite, it's quite, um, inadvertently and obviously important in my life.

and psyche and kind of as an event and how that's kind of shaped me now because I think I'm much less as a weird one I was such a hypochondriac growing up and nothing happened and then something quite serious happened and I'm kind of not anymore just chilled you out yeah kind of as because it's sort of really, I suppose, because it's, what is hypochondria? I suppose it's paranoia, isn't it, maybe, or phobia? Yeah. It's not fear, because fear's real, isn't it? Of a, of a, but then when you have actually had something bad to you,

yeah, to happen to you, health-wise, you actually can play the numbers, and it's quite, it's quite, you're unlikely to be, you know. Also, I mean, I understand that the closer you are to death, the more you appreciate life. I mean, it's a cliche, but yeah, kind of. Yeah, I mean, it's a bit neat, and that does wear off. You're right.

Because it's sort of, absolutely, you know, for the next day, man, the sky's blue. And it does, one goes back to the kind of normalcy. Yeah. But I think you do appreciate, and maybe this is age as well, that you do appreciate this. This is a really nice off.

afternoon talking to two billion people. Did you get that? Pre-lockdown. I loved lockdown because you got off the treadmill. You got off the rat race and you got off the, oh, how's that bastard got that? Because nobody was getting there. And so that was really relaxing.

And I kind of, and then, and I had no inclination to write anything, and I didn't write anything. And then I had a stroke. and then things just started to occur to me that were kind of funny. But by definition, it was an extreme situation and weird shit would happen. And so, which is, you know, gold for stats. Yeah.

And so I found it quite inspiring. And it was a new leash, really, of life. Yeah. And kind of having a guy, God, I've been doing this for 20 years and I'm a bit jaded. But what you start asking for is different. You don't go, I want that telejob. You go, I want ideas. You start asking for inspiration as opposed to status.

Your focus goes in a different direction as you age, doesn't it? And you're like, oh, if you send me some ideas, I'll craft it into something fun and interesting, and then tour it. Well, I think you should always, if you're, you know, if you're creative or an artist in inverted commas, whatever, that you should, it's about the work. and whatever happens to the work because it's popular or not popular is not in your doing No, you just make it. It's a fool's errand to try and

if you're concentrating on your career and not to disrespect people who are but you're not concentrating on the work and the work suffers and I think you have to you have to kind of concentrate on the work

and it'll be what it'll be it will be popular or it'll be not popular and you enjoy it all. Yeah, I love it. I absolutely love it. And one of the things I went on in it, there was no more photos, but I've started a new relationship over the last three years. And it's just fantastic. And I've been touring with Melinda, who's also a comic, and we do it together. And all of the kind of, I'm not on my own anymore because we go everywhere together. And it's brilliant. And so we're doing, I'm not, I'm not kind of, I'm not kind of, I'm not kind of, away from my life. And we have a laugh. Yeah, yeah. And we're both sort of kind of fulfilled. And it's great. That's great. I'm just going to keep doing it on my own and that's fine. It's better you do it on your own. It's probably better than I do on my own. So people can come and see you on this.

Yeah, so we're touring from beginning of February. So Melinda's supporting you on tour? Fantastic. So February and March and people can find out all about tickets and where to buy them on your website. On website, Marcusburden.com. It's been lovely having you here. Thanks very much for having me. And I will come and see your show.

You're welcome. I went to a premiere last week. Holy macaroni. I know, it's really exciting. It is exciting. What did you premiere? Well, do you remember ages ago? I don't know if you do remember,

but I played a woman in a toilet in a film with Florence Pugh and Andrew Gaffis. Yes, giving birth. No, you weren't giving birth, but you were helping someone give birth. Pew was giving birth. Sure. I helped deliver the baby.

How is the baby doing? The baby's fine. The baby's fine. In the film world, I saw the baby. It was a really cute baby, actually. Anyway, I went to that premiere. Right, that feels like a million years ago. The baby's probably like 22 now.

It was a long time ago. God, film world is slow, man. We shot that a long time ago. Anyway, it was premiered at the London Film Festival. Oh. So I was just saying to Joel, I tied myself in knots about trying to avoid which coming out of Pye face because I knew that that was going to be the...

Right. On Getty images. for the end of time. That's the overarching concern. So I think I did all right. I think I did all right. I didn't do that. I didn't do any laughing.

Don't laugh. I just kept my chin in a high. Hi. Yeah. And took the kids. They had a great time. They really enjoyed it. Florence Pugh wasn't there, unfortunately.

Andrew Garfield was. Oh, well, Andrew Garfield seems like a lovely young man. He is a lovely man. He had a cardboard cut out of Florence Pugh to compensate, which was quite fun. And was it fun to watch yourself, Kerry, Did you watch yourself and go, oh, look at me up on the big screen. Yes, yes. My one big scene, it was a good scene, it got a good reaction.

I felt very pleased with it. Oh, Kerry. It was like a short film in a big film, a big long feature film with a tiny little short film with me. In it? In it. Look at that. Yeah, it was really lovely, actually. I was really pleased.

Did you take the stage afterwards to go, Andrew, can I just take a moment to discuss the short film within the film? Any questions. Any questions? About what we can all agree was the highlight of this particular movie. I think we can all agree that. Yeah. Did you do that? No, I wasn't invited. That's unusual. I don't know. It must have been an admin oversight. I think it must have been. Never mind. Don't worry about it. But it was very exciting. Anyway, that was my big scoop. But you have just come back from America. So have you recovered from your jet lag yet. Oh my God. The jet lag is real. So I got back and I had taken a big fat melatonin on the for the plane. For the plane. And I did sleep on the plane. So when I was supposed to sleep, I slept. And I was so, and then I woke up. So I got about four and a half hour's sleep. I was like, oh my God, I've absolutely nailed this.

Because when I arrived, it was the morning. And then I stayed awake all day. I didn't go to bed. I was cocky as fuck. Got to 11 o'clock. I was like, I'm going to bed. slept through to what? To something ridiculous, like 1pm. I haven't slept like that since I was a teenager. Oh.

And I think it was almost like the post The exhaustion I felt was like... Yeah, it must be to come down from the whole thing. Yeah, and I was exhausted because I'd been on, I'd be like I had been non-stop travelling for three weeks, like literally non-stop. My body was like, I think you're too old to do this. So I had like a crash, kind of crash you get after Edinburgh.

Do you remember those crashes after Edinburgh? after Edinburgh. I do remember, but I was young when I did Edinburgh. Well, I had small children. I don't know what was going on. Well, I don't know what's going on when I was doing it. I mean, and I didn't even, oh, I did have children for the last two. But anyway, they weren't with me, so that was helpful.

Yeah. But I felt like death. But I slept through and I said to Chloe, do you know what? I think I'm not going to get any jet lag this time. I think I'm, I think I've figured out how to do this. Cut to, cut to going to bed that night. Chloe's like, it's bedtime. I went, it feels a bit early.

She went, it's quarters of midnight. I went, oh, I don't really feel very tired. What is time? A mere construct. Exactly. Well, Chloe said, you've got to go to sleep now because otherwise your body, you've got to get your psychedia. You've got to go to bed. I said, okay, lying in bed.

Two o'clock in the morning, I thought, this isn't working. Went downstairs, did a bit of admin, pottered about, made myself a cup of tea. and then thought, okay, we're like three o'clock in the morning. Time to go to bed. Oh, God. Oh, God. Lay in bed until 6.30 in the morning. Wide awake.

Wide awake. Kids get up at seven. I'm like, I've probably nodded off for about half an hour at this point. And then I was like, oh, I guess that was my night's sleep, which was zero hours, zero hours sleep. And now you've caught up. Are you back in the land of alignment? Well, last, Greenwich Mean Time alignment.

I think I did. So last night I slept. So that was good. And it can just dominate a week, can it. It can just be about a week of weirdness and trying to make it work. Do you know what the best thing about this whole thing is? It's going to be about a week of weirdness. And then I'm going to get back to normal.

Hooray. Go to Australia. Yes. And then I'm going to Australia. Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yeah, yeah.

So. Okay, so what would we change? What would we change? If I was doing a training program with you and we reviewed this whole situation. Yeah. What would we change, Jen? Well, so many things to sort of. I don't really know how to unpack this now.

It's too late. It's too late to unpack it now. It's too late now. It's too late now. But going forward, going forward. I would have probably said, do you really want to fly to Australia? Two weeks? I said that to you.

I said that to you back when you tried to get me to do that. with you in Australia. I said to you, this is batshit. You said it to be then. But I said, no, thank you. Thank you, but no, thank you. No, you did. That is bat shit.

It is bat shit. It is bad shit. And you were excited. That's just that I was drunk. I was drunk on the idea of being an international globe trotter. Of international globe trotter. Trotter, that's it. Yeah.

I thought, oh, this is my time. I'm a global citizen. I go all over the world with my jokes. With my jokes. All my jokes all over the world to every continent. All of them. All three of them. And I bounce them about.

Now look at you. Now look at you. She's stuck to the UK circuit. Why didn't I just take that gig in Loughborough? Why am I going to Melbourne? Look, it's too late now. And I'm going to embrace it because when I go, to Melbourne. Sure, my body

won't know which way is up. Sure. This will age me in ways that I'm not even aware of yet. Yeah, I get there. It'd be like doing hallucinogenics. You might discover areas of your brain that you didn't know were there. I don't need ayahuasca. I just need four weeks of jet-like, okay? And that

is all you need in order to get in touch with your inner child. To break on through to the other side. That's hysteria, by the way. Oh man. How long are you going to the other side of the world for again? Let you just remember that. Should we just remind ourselves how long you're going

to the other side of the world for? Well, actually, I will be gone for an entire week. How long will I be in Australia for? Three days. Four and a half, actually. Four and a half days. Four and a half. Four and a half four.

Fucking long way to go, though, in it? I mean, sure. It's quite a long way to go. But what will I, what will I I, what will I see? Melbourne? Yeah, I've been to Melbourne before. Several times.

No, you'll have a really good time. I'm only slamming it because there's a tincture of jealousy and it all sounds really thrilling. But it's just that the tiredness is, is that shit gets real, man. It does get real, isn't it? And it can unravel your mental health. Yeah, I mean, let's not lean into that because that's very precarious as it is. You're going to need some crystals. What for my shackles?

All of it. Oh, for all of it. I don't know what crystals do. I don't either, but you're going to have to rub those bad boys and get them around your neck. Rub. Right. If you see me with a neck, with a neck full of crystals, rubbing them. Can you get help?

Because something terrible has happened. I'll know that you've really changed. Yeah. Yeah. Changed. You know that something, I've gone down a wormhole. I'm Max Rushton. I'm David O'Dardy.

And we'd like to invite you to listen to our new podcast, What Did You Do Yesterday? It's a show that asks guests the big question, quite literally, what did you do yesterday? That's it. That is it. Max, I'm still not sure. Where do we put the stress? Is it what did you do yesterday? What did you do yesterday?

You know what did you do yesterday? I'm really down playing it. Like, what did you do yesterday? Like, I'm just a guy just asking a question. But do you think I should go bigger? What did you do yesterday? What did you do yesterday? Every single word this time I'm going to try and make it like it is the killer word.

What did you do yesterday? That's too much, isn't it? That is over the top. What did you do yesterday? Available wherever you get your podcasts every Sunday.