Ah Glaswegians! They are self-deprecating, don't suffer fools gladly, but like a right good laugh. That's why the Glasgow Comedy Festival is now in its ninth year, and I've been lucky enough to be part of it from the start.
Well, when I say lucky, I didn't feel that way the first time I was asked to be involved. I still remember lying in bed, awake at 3am saying to myself 'bloody train station, oh no, why?' I had to get up at 5.30am ready to perform to bunch of bewildered commuters at Glasgow Central Station running late for their train. It was like a sadder and lonelier version of the T-Mobile flashmob advert.
Well, when I say lucky, I didn't feel that way the first time I was asked to be involved. I still remember lying in bed, awake at 3am saying to myself 'bloody train station, oh no, why?' I had to get up at 5.30am ready to perform to bunch of bewildered commuters at Glasgow Central Station running late for their train. It was like a sadder and lonelier version of the T-Mobile flashmob advert.
My comedy busking continued the next year when it was 'on the buses', performing stand up to a bunch of bleary-eyed passengers from Glasgow's Buchanan Street Bus Station all the way to Edinburgh and back. The ones who weren't listening to their iPods were staring out the window or pretending to read their free newspaper upside down, It was on the BBC News so the viewers at home could witness my struggle. The following year was on the trains, then it was shopping malls then the Glasgow Underground - all nice and scary PR stunts to get punters in the mood for the festival and give me more sleepless nights! But it was exciting fun and stood me in good stead for the shows coming up.
I can't complain about my shows at the comedy festival. I started out in the Thirteenth Note - a basement bar in the Trongate, then moved on to the Arches, the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow City Halls, the Theatre Royal, The King's Theatre, and last year, the amazing Clyde auditorium. This was a very effective laxative which was filmed for TV, and DVD. Also along the way I loved taking comedy to the communities around Glasgow, including Easterhouse, Drumchapel, Castlemilk.
This year I am honoured to be the opening headline act at the festival. I will be playing the King's Theatre on the Thursday 17 March, and what was my stategy for choosing this date? Well, my wife Alison and I are due our first baby at the end of March. Alison asked, 'When's the first available date.......?'
Des McLean will be performing his solo show Live at the King's 2011 on Thursday 17 March at the King's Theatre. Click here for more show information.
Find out more about Des McLean at www.desmclean.com.
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