Quote of the day:

"I am looking forward to the end of the Bush administration, as a comedian, as person, as a citizen, as a mamal" - John Stewart on The Daily Show

NO AGENDA - channel 4 11.05pm TONIGHT

Yes Ch4 in their wisdom are showing the Palladium show from March 2006 tonight. And before you write in 'it's all old stuff!' I can tell you that it is.

There you go. Filming series 2 at moment. Interesting.

A little clip by Louis CK on the 'N word' for you to enjoy :)

http://www.chortle.co.uk/video/2008/09/12/7402/louis_ck_on_the_n-word

Peace out x

'No Agenda - Live at the London Palladium' is being screened on television on CH4
Friday 12 September at 11.05pm.

THANK YOU EDINBURGH

Well what a fun time we had in Edinburgh. No publicity, no previews, no press, only one review in The Scotsman and still over 5,000 of you turned out to see the new show. You're a tough audience too (i.e. they've seen it all) and to get any laughs at all in Edinburgh is always an achievement. Thanks also to punters who came up to me with their views on the show: 'keep the silly stuff' - 'loved the crap jokes' - 'amazingly, there was more than just the dancing to enjoy' and my favourite: 'you could have gone on all night' (a fan in Luxembourg). Actually I couldnt have gone all night because I got decidedly limp, upset that the run had to come to an end so much did I enjoy it. But I truly love it - that city really is a jewel in Britain's crown. And now that I'm an official If.com Spirit of the Fringe Award winner am definitely going back, if only to have that fact displayed on my posters. Good to be a winner. Being a nominee for the Perrier back in 2002 was a let down. Now me and the rest of us (400 or so comics given the award by the lazy panel who couldn't decide who to give it to, so gave it the comics at the festival) are winners! So I'm def going back. Man, with Metallica making a come back maybe I can regale crowds next year of the time I was a driver in their pack in 1988 when they did The Apollo and Knebworth. And before you all say 'what?!' yes i was their driver - or rather I was one of four drivers who took the band - each one had their own limo (with their own groupies) and i took James H. Back then I was into Chic, Earth Wind & Fire and Demis Roussos so I didn't actually know who they were. But they were nice to me so I've always had a place in my heart for Metalica. I was even described by James H as 'a funny cat'. This was after I trash talked a woman driver who cut me up (to show I was rock n roll too) on the Finchley road as we drove to Knebworth and they found that particularly funny. "You yelling at a lady? You tell em dude! Man this guy's a funny cat" I think were his exact words. They later encouraged me to shout at elderly drivers justifying it with 'finish what you started dude!" but naturally I felt that would have been going too far. I am ashamed to admit it but I did resort to honking an old man in a sky blue three wheeler (for the handicapped) for no reason which gave him a fright and made them laugh like jackals. With that cheap shot I am in convinced that at that precise moment the mainstream Middle Eastern crowd-pleaser in me was born.

R.I.P. GEOFFREY PERKINS (aged 55)

I cannot believe he is dead. This man was a brilliant TV producer, doing shows like The Fast Show, Catherine Tate and Father Ted to name but three, but also a genuinely lovely man. He once told me the Americans wanted to buy Fawlty Towers but had one concern: "We're not sure of the character of Basil" :) I worked with him twice on readings at the BBC and he was in charge when the BBC first approached me. It was when he left in 2001 that things went tits up for me there and you didn't hear from me again until 3 years later on the Jack Dee Live @ The Apollo (which I think everyone in Britain has now seen). He will be sorely missed.

Quote of the week:

"I want to go to Chelsea" - Brazilian footballer Robinho a day before he signed for Man City. His publicist moved quickly to clarify: "Robinho is still coming to Chelsea but for the shopping on the King's Road which was always his intention".

HELLO SCOTLAND

Have pitched up in Edinburgh for 8 shows starting tonight at the Pleasance Grand (the slot that Tim Minchin has had) 9.45 to 11pm. I've not been to the festival since 2005 so very excited. Edinburgh has been a creative home for me and many performers, essentially learning our craft by immersing yourself in all the festival has to offer, i.e. good shows bad shows, amazing shows, absolutely ridiculous 'who ever encouraged him he could do this in the first place?!'  shows, street theatre, jugglers, loud mouths, egos the size of Alaska, late night comedy, late night bars, late night chats to nervous performers exchanging news of bad reviews (Omid to Dave Fulton: "I got a one star review". Fulton: "Dude. That's one more than me"), pouring out your angst to total strangers - Fulton: "yeah dude, Fest magazine had five stars above my name all blanked out" (to a Somali exchange student in 2005) - worrying about audience figures, deciding to do some flyering, and end up standing on the Royal Mile in the rain begging Somali exchange students to come to my show... who probably would come if they spoke any English and even understood why I was holding their collars pleading with them in a fat needy way, desparate for attention coz no one else was coming to my show. Yes that was me in 1997 - average attendance: 12. But I did sell out the very last weekend due to a great review coming out on the last Saturday in the Scotsman: "he's fat, he's unpolished, he's off beat, but he's very very funny" - whoever you were that was the reason am back now :)

I've already seen a no. of shows including Tim Minchin, Ian Stone, 'Late Live' with some blistering performances from comics such a Ed Byrne, Craig Campbell and the ever mad If.com winner Brendon Burns  - and tho we coming to the last week of the festival and traditionally people get run down, depressed and overwhelmed with a 'what's it all about? why am I here?' mind set begining to set in - looks like everyone is on form, all the in-fighting between comedy promoters has evapourated, people seem to be getting on famously and the vibe is chilled and relaxed. Bumped into Bruce Hills (head man at Montreal comedy festival) who looks younger everytime I see him seemingly having cracked the secret to eternal youth, and Shazia Mirza (great teeth) who tells me she's been getting a critical mauling (no change there) but seems totally relaxed and enjoying her sold out shows and was in sparkling form. Ian Stone has had 9 reviewers in and only seen one review come out and is Jewishly soldiering on banging out the funnies (that's not racist, that's what Jews do). Even my old mate Ivor Dembina is doing the Laughing Horse free fringe and is getting an audience every night which, if you know Ivor, is a miracle on the scale of the feeding of the 5,000.  

Quote of the week:

"Wanna see a REAL miracle? Seeing my ass up in Edinburgh again" - Dave Fulton

BERNIE MAC R.I.P.

Just got in from performing at the Comedy Store to hear of the passing of one of the greatest comedians of our time. I am very upset as I write this now. Gorge clooney, his co-star in 'Oceans Eleven' said 'the world just got a little less funnier' and anyone who was priviledged enough to see him live (or even on Youtube) cannot but agree. Bernie Mac was truly hilarious and the one member of the original 'Kings of comedy' who made the other three laugh the most. It is a terrible loss to the acting and the comedy worlds.

Here's clip from 'Kings of comedy' filmed in 1999 released in 2000, directed by Spike Lee:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC4ul_FYnlQ