Did You Hear the One About the Clock Inn for Comedy? Comedy – It’S a Funny Old Business

WHAT'S ON Did you hear the one about the Clock Inn for Comedy? Comedy – it’s a funny old business. Not least for those giggle inducers who travel its circuit to raise our spirits and make us smile. But 2020 had other plans for us all, and funny it certainly hasn’t been. With no shows to talk about for the foreseeable, Sammy Jones decided to prod the past with a look back into the archive... lenty of household names have A young Milton Jones was also working passed through Milton Keynes the circuit then, and in November that year to perform to sell-out audiences Andrew Maxwell played with a ‘new act’ in P at Milton Keynes Theatre. But support called Peter Kay. getting to that level takes a lot of work. Wonder what happened to him?! Evenings spent eating up motorway Long before he hit the big screen in miles, grabbing service station pasties for movies including Sex and The City 2 nutrition and performing in front of stony- and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s faced punters is all part of earning your End, Omid Djalili showed his funnies at stripes. the venue, and Al A couple of decades Murray was a familiar ago, the Clock Inn at name at the haunt, Shenley Church End even delivering an welcomed many fresh Edinburgh preview faced newbies to the of his Pub Landlord stage. Microphone show. in hand they would The Clock Inn was step out and hope a circuit fixture and to turn the collective many acts appeared audience frown time and again, but Al Murray aka Pub Landlord upside down. Luckily, Pic by Sammy Jones every so often a Shenley clientele new face would take craved their comedy fix, so an eager attentions. In the fall of 1999 tickets to audience was usually on hand. see Noel Fielding were £4. Noel was back I can recall a few fab nights out in the a couple of months later with Julian Barrett decidedly snug confines of the venue, with ‘The Boys from the Boosh.’ which had an audience capacity of just That little project worked out rather well, 100! didn’t it? Chris Kemp was the promoter of leading That same season saw the arrival music venue The Pitz at the time when of Chris Addison, who went on to star he took on the Clock Inn for Comedy in The Thick Of It and Doctor Who. He nights too: “The comedy stage housed directed the 2019 comedy The Hustle, the likes of Phil Jupitus, Al Murray, Jenny starring Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway, Eclair, Jo Brand and a horde of other now and earlier this year oversaw Breeders. famous mega comedians. These were all Addison, writer Simon Blackwell and co- purchased for the grand price of £120 a star Martin Freeman created the brilliant show, which included two comedians and Sky One delivery. no rider,” he remembered. Tony Law and Ross Noble hit the stage In the autumn of 1995, comedians for the summer season in 1999, and stepping out included Sean Lock, Alistair Noble’s set is embedded in our memory; McGowan, Bill Bailey and Simon Pegg. when our companion chose to visit the It’s fair to say they’ve all done pretty well little boys room just as soon as Ross since; a team host on Channel 4 comedy began his set, it meant we were targeted panel show 8 of 10 Cats, a BAFTA winning for the rest of his performance! actor and impressionist, an actor and As the new millennium got underway, musician, and a Hollywood star whose Richard Ayoade (who would make his credits include Mission: Impossible! name a few years later in The IT Crowd), Tickets for those performances were Catherine Tate and Jimmy Carr all came hardly wallet busting either – just three through as support acts. Would you have quid got you in and seated. dared heckle the king of the put down? Dave Gorman, ‘The BAFTA winning writer The lack of live entertainment just now is of BBC’s Mrs Merton Show,’ and Paul Foot no joke, but back in the day, comedy at the on the same bill would’ve set you back a Clock Inn really was a funny old game! Sean Lock fiver in 1997. ©Nicholas Kay For the latest local news visit www.mkpulse.co.uk | MK Pulse Magazine | October 2020 55.

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