Chris Ramsey has just embarked on his biggest tour to date, Is That Chris Ramsey?, culminating in a massive homecoming gig at NewcastleÔÇÖs Metro Arena. He’s also bringing the show to Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on┬áThursday 27 April, but before, the Geordie star of Comedy Central’s┬áThe┬áChris Ramsey Show tells us about life on the road and how adjusting to first-time fatherhood hasnÔÇÖt stopped him from being arrested in his underpantsÔǪ
Hi, is that Chris Ramsey?
I see what you did there.
HowÔÇÖs the tour going?
Amazing. IÔÇÖve got a big set that I love and itÔÇÖs my first time with a headset mic. ItÔÇÖs so free. ItÔÇÖs the best show IÔÇÖve done yet.
And itÔÇÖs your biggest tour to date?
Yeah. The scary thing about touring is that the venues are booked before Ive written the show, so Ive got the title, Ive got the poster
YouÔÇÖre a bit last minute then?
ItÔÇÖs the only way I can do it man. I was the kid at school where if you got your homework on a Thursday, I would do it on the Sunday night. IÔÇÖd have it hanging over us all weekend. ItÔÇÖs just who I am.
But you must have had a rough idea of the show mapped out in your head?
IÔÇÖve ended up having a theme again. ThereÔÇÖs a bit of a crisis of confidence theme in my everyday life, on becoming a dad. So I start off talking about the most confident person IÔÇÖve ever met, about my wife, my son, my fears, and then at the end I talk about a situation where I wish IÔÇÖd been a lot more confident when I was apprehended by the police last year in a hotel in me underpants. IÔÇÖd like to have handled that better.
What do you thinkÔÇÖs brought on this crisis of confidence then?
ItÔÇÖs just cos offstage youÔÇÖre a proper dulled-down version of who you are on stage. And itÔÇÖs just that sometimes you wish you could be just a bit more like the person you are on stage. And it all comes to a head at the end when the police are handcuffing me in a hotel. You see it in films and think you know how youÔÇÖd handle it, but when it happens to you, you find out who you really are. And thatÔÇÖs why I call the show Is That Chris Ramsey? Cos I found out who I really was that night.
ThatÔÇÖs very interesting, wishing you were more like someone that you actually are anyway!
With comedy, youÔÇÖre not allowed to be the person you are on stage. Cos people would be like, ÔÇÿWoah, dickhead, tone it down!ÔÇÖ Very very rarely do you get a comic whoÔÇÖs exactly the same offstage as they are onstage.
ItÔÇÖs a bit like having a split personality isnÔÇÖt it, in a way.
Not to the level of Johnny Vegas, but nearly. Obviously his real nameÔÇÖs Michael Pennington, but the way he talks about Johnny, itÔÇÖs like a twin or a part of his personality. His bookÔÇÖs incredible.
Are there any places you particularly enjoy playing on tour?
IÔÇÖve got a full-on bias towards the North-East. But thereÔÇÖs no real rule to what makes a great gig. We did Dartford for the first time the other day. One of those outskirts of London towns and theyÔÇÖre normally all right, sometimes they can be a bit hard work. But it was phenomenal. The audience were so up for it. If IÔÇÖve got a gig in Newcastle and a gig in Dartford, IÔÇÖd put my life savings on the gig in Newcastle being better. But that gig in Dartford IÔÇÖd wager against any of the others.
And youÔÇÖre finishing the tour in Newcastle at the arena. ThatÔÇÖs a big gig.
ThatÔÇÖll be my biggest one ever. The idea of that many people coming to see you is spectacular. ItÔÇÖs crazy. Ten thousand people! The biggest venue IÔÇÖve played so far is the Albert Hall. Five thousand people at the Royal Variety Performance. Though it felt like 2,000, cos hardly any of them were laughing. It was quite a hard gig.
Your last show, All Growed Up, dealt with becoming an adult. But now youÔÇÖre 30, with a kid, so presumably youÔÇÖve not got much choice?
Yes but with the new show I didnÔÇÖt want to make it a dad show. I had a load of stories about my son, but I binned most of them cos they felt like stories that anyone could do about being a dad.
YouÔÇÖve got a young following, havenÔÇÖt you?
Not as young as youÔÇÖd think. IÔÇÖve got a lovely mix. Last night there was an entire family. I once did a gig where there were grandparents as well. Three generations turned up. ItÔÇÖs always really nice to see an older face.
As youÔÇÖre such a natural storyteller, do you appreciate a bit of audience banter or does it put you off your stride?
I love it. When I come out, I start chatting to the audience immediately. ItÔÇÖs never a problem, unless theyÔÇÖre shouting abuse.
Your materialÔÇÖs very personal. Do you deal with Trump and Brexit like so many other comics, or just ignore it?
Well Trump does all his own jokes anyway. Anything you could possibly do, heÔÇÖs already done. So itÔÇÖs impossible to satirise him.
Since your last tour, youÔÇÖve got your own show on Comedy Central. ItÔÇÖs a lot of fun isnÔÇÖt it, like an extension of your personality.
ThatÔÇÖs what I wanted. ThereÔÇÖs so much grim stuff going on and I was never going to do a John Oliver type satire show. ThatÔÇÖs not my style. I wanted a show that was fun and entertaining and high-energy. All of the guests came away saying, ÔÇÿThat was so much fun to be on.ÔÇÖ It was so nice to hear colleagues you admire like Jimmy Carr saying that.
Who do you admire most in comedy?
Billy Connolly. I remember watching him with my dad when I was a kid and I couldnÔÇÖt believe this bloke would stand up there telling these amazing stories to the room and a theatre of people were just hanging on his every word. The first one I saw with him was An Audience With, with Robbie Coltrane, Bob Geldof and Michael Parkinson, and my dad explained that he was a comedian. I never even realised it was a proper job. I used to watch Lee Evans as well.
What are you like when youÔÇÖre on the road?
Well IÔÇÖm currently sitting in a Mercedes Benz Sprinter van. The tour managerÔÇÖs driving and IÔÇÖm sitting on a leather recliner with a table, my support act Carl Hutchinson is sitting on my left listening to music on his laptop, and IÔÇÖve got in front of us a PlayStation 4 with a 32-inch telly up on the wall and IÔÇÖve currently got Resident Evil Origins on pause so I can have this interview.
So what do you and Carl do after a show? Do you tear the place up or go back and chill?
Honestly, you canÔÇÖt man. It seems like weÔÇÖre just sitting around doing nothing and itÔÇÖs just a couple of hours each night, but itÔÇÖs actually infuriating how much it takes out of you doing a two-hour show. I got angry when I got ill. Why? ItÔÇÖs not like IÔÇÖm down the mine. IÔÇÖm just on stage talking. Just sitting in the van can exhaust you. My idea of a good tear-up is going back to the hotel, having a couple of beers out of the minibar and ordering a pizza. WeÔÇÖre pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. But after Newcastle Arena, thereÔÇÖll be hell on!