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Sean Lock Interview
By Tom Butler
askmen.com[/align]
Sean Lock, TV comedian and quiz show stalwart, has been a stand up comic for over 20 years, and is just about to release his second live DVD, Sean Lock: Lockipedia. The genesis of the title is far from complicated, "The last one was called Sean Lock Live, which was an inspired moment," deadpanned Sean, "I came up with the name Lockipedia, because Locki sounds a bit like Wiki... it really was that blatant." The show sees Sean giving his verdict on the facts of life, and features some audience participation that really puts Sean on the spot.
AskMen caught up with the comic just as the tour was coming to and end, and we quizzed him on the trials and tribulations of life as a stand up comic.
AM: What sets Lockipedia apart from other live shows?
SL: I do this thing in the show called 'Audience Battleships', where I’ll call out a seat number and whoever’s in that seat has to give me their name, a letter, and any word beginning with that letter, then I see what I can do with it. It’s impossible to do it really, and I think the audiences get that; they understand that it’s an insane thing to do to yourself.
The only reason I do it -- without blowing my own trumpet -- is because the stand-up is so good, that I can afford these moments where things can go anywhere.
AM: Do you ever get stuck?
SL: Oh yeah, all the time, but it’s about how I get out of it. I just have to find a way out of it somehow, and that’s when it becomes interesting, it makes the show much more interesting for me to do.
AM: When did you first realise that you could make people laugh, and that this was what you wanted to do?
SL: I was quite lucky really, I fell into it by accident. I just used to go to pubs where they had it on, and had a go at it. It was an escape from the workplace for me, I didn’t ever want to be a comedian. I did it for about a year and a half, before I realised I could make a living out of it, and gave up my job.
It was very lucky really that I found it, and I had a great time in those years where I didn’t really care about it. I used to write a few jokes, but then I realised that it was a career and that I’d better work at it, and try to get better at it.
AM: If you could go back in time, what advice would you give the Sean Lock of 21 years ago before he went on stage?
SL: “You know they’re going to invent time machines don’t you?” That’s what I’d say to him. And the other Sean would say, “Christ I’m pissed.”
AM: Has being funny ever helped to get you laid?
SL: I don’t think that gigging ever did, I never used to use it as a sexual tool. Some comedians would hang around the bar after a gig and pick up girls, but not me. When I first started, I never used to wear my glasses on stage, and I would wear a pinstripe flared suit which I got from a second hand shop. I used to go onstage and my opening joke was, “Do you like my suit? I call it my just got out of prison look.” I looked very different when I came offstage, and I liked that transition. I only remember one or two gigs where I even got recognised afterwards.
In my general life, I imagine having a sense of humour has helped to soften my forceful personality. That sounds really sinister doesn’t it?
AM: When you’re on a long tour like this, do you ever get sick of telling the same jokes?
SL: No, I really like the jokes, I’m very proud of the show. It’s quite a thing to conjure up laughs so I still find a lot of it funny, and the thing about the modern comedy culture, because of the DVD, you can’t ever do it again. Once it’s on DVD, that’s it, it’s gone.
I know comedians who’ve been doing the same jokes for ten, twelve, fourteen years so, doing a tour keeps that freshness. You do still enjoy the show, but the show’s better now as it’s always polishing and improving as it goes along. I know it could sound a cynical, but I don’t get bored of it. If I had to do it for another year I probably would!
AM: Do you go out and watch live comedy yourself?
SL: I don’t usually, only because I work so much... and I can’t stand comedy. No, it's because I’m always busy, I’ve got a family with three children, so if I’ve got a night off, I’m not going to go and see a comedian. My wife would just be like (shrugs shoulders) -- because she’s Italian -– “What da fuck?” She wouldn’t want me to go out.
When I was in Edinburgh for a few days, I saw Mickey Flanagan who I thought was excellent; he’s a very good comedian. I do see a few, but not a great deal any more, which is a shame because I really like comedians. One of the things about being successful is that you spend a lot of time of your own. That was one of the best things about when I started -- the social aspect -- because comedians are generally quite witty and intelligent people to hang out with.
People always portray comedians as that they always hate each other, or that they’re all grasping and vaulting over each other, but I’ve never found them like that. Most comedians are good people. There are a few resentful, grumpy little shits, but that’s usually because things haven’t happened for them. I would never resent another comedian's success, because I don’t think that any comedian has made it without working very, very hard.
AM: Who’s your all time favourite funnyman?
SL: My all-time favourite stand up comedian would probably be Steven Wright the American, he’s a fantastic joke writer. Or Richard Pryor, that famous Richard Pryor show is fantastic. Or maybe early Sam Kinison, he was quite shocking but he was an amazing performer. I think Americans are light years ahead of us.
AM: Do you ever have problems switching off Sean Lock the comedian when you go home?
SL: Yeah, I have to knock myself out with alcohol every night, but I pay the price...I have a sex addiction. No, honestly, it is quite hard to make that transition, but you have to learn how to do it without booze, because I used to do it with booze all the time. I still have a drink, but I used to go mad with it every night, but I can’t do that anymore, I’m getting too old.
Sean Lock - Lockipedia Live is out on DVD November 22, 2010
