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 Channel 4, Bank Holiday Monday.
By Tom Prescott
Thank God for Peter Kay. The Bolton born comic and
man-of-a-thousand-faces in his hit TV show Phoenix Nights, has, over the
past few years, become a British institution; a well-loved figure who
turns the most trivial of daily nuisances in the world of the working
class family, and turns them into comedy gold. Without this man, life
would, quite simply, be a bit boring.
And so it should be only fitting for Channel 4, the station that helped
launch Kay’s career on experimental comedy show ‘The Comedy Lab’, to
dedicate their Bank Holiday Monday evening to the flabby funny man.
With two out-takes shows, a documentary and Peter’s hilarious MEN Show,
there was plenty here to keep you laughing your head off all night.
I’ve often struggled to see the point in outtake shows such as ‘It’ll Be
Alright On The Phoenix Nights’. Basically, you’re sat watching a bunch
of people laughing at themselves, without actually doing anything funny.
And at times, watching these series of clips from two brilliant series
of Phoenix Nights, I did feel a bit bored and bemused.
However, they do say laughing is contagious (or is that yawning?), and
occasionally, I found myself laughing for seemingly no reason other than
the fact that everyone else on the screen was doing it!
Things soon picked up though with the fascinating documentary ‘One
Hundred And Eighty’, taking an insightful, yet still stupendously funny
look at life on the road, as Peter takes to stages across the country on
his ‘Mum Wants A Bungalow’ tour.
Containing a number of hilarious stories, ‘One Hundred And Eighty’ (the
title no doubt inspired by naff 80’s show ‘Bullseye’ that he mocks to
great effect on this tour) is Peter Kay as you’ve never seen him before.
Yet you probably have seen him before in his belting live show at the
Manchester Arena. Released on DVD at Christmas, ‘Peter Kay, Live at the
Manchester Arena’ is a riotous, rip-roaring hour-and-odd of cracking
comedy.
OK, so it starts off with that uber-annoying ‘Is This The Way To
Amarillo’ song that Peter forced upon us all last summer, but from then
on in, ‘Live…’ is Peter Kay at his exasperated best.
Taking a hysterical look at the otherwise mundane realities of life in
the working class towns of NorthWest England, Kay delivers line after
line of comic genius. Whether it’s his mum’s new cordless phone (‘Hello,
it’s us, The Borrowers!’) or mobile phones (‘What r u watchin?’..Coronation
Street…I know, we’re in the same room’) this is some of the funniest
stand up you’ve ever heard, ending in a full on sing song and Kay
sucking on a helium balloon.
And then there’s another ‘It’ll be Alright on the Phoenix Nights’, which
again isn’t that funny. Regardless, I laughed anyway.
However, for all the comedy gold here, the funniest bits were the new
sketches featuring two of Peter Kay’s best-loved creations, Max & Paddy.
I enjoyed ‘Max & Paddy’s Road to Nowhere’ during it’s tenure on C4, but
never have I laughed so much at these two ex-bouncers. Max becomes
either a bit forgetful or completely ignorant to the world at large;
being totally unaware that Princess Diana had died, Elton John was gay
and Michael Jackson had been on trial were all priceless moments that
I’d pay good money to see again.
Excellent stuff thanks very much Channel 4!
Recommended Links:
www.peterkay.co.uk
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