TALK TIME: BRENDON BURNSAustralian comedian talks to EOIN BUTLER
First of all, is it Brendan or Brendon?
It's Brend-on. From what I've been told, my mum closed her eyes, ran her finger through a book of baby names and stopped at a random one. Up to that point, my dad had been threatening to call me Rex or Cuthbert, or something like that. They're both the same name, though, just spelt differently.
Your first introduction to audiences here was on 'The 11 O'Clock Show' on Channel 4 alongside Ricky Gervais and Sasha Baron Cohen. Any idea what those guys are up to now?
Actually, my first introduction to Irish audiences was presenting MTV Hot. That was free-to-air in Ireland, wasn't it? I've no idea what those two blokes are doing at the moment .
Were they fun to work with starting out?
Well, Ricky wasn't there when I was there. He started the season after I left. Sasha's stuff was mostly pre-records, so I only saw him now and again. However, Sasha and I did work together on the first thing he ever did, which was a kids' talk show piece. He was the host.
Looking at some of the names that came through on that show (Jimmy Carr, Mackenzie Crook), it was obviously an environment that was receptive to fresh ideas.
No, not at all. Michael Jackson [then station chief] had just moved to Channel 4 and it was his first declaration of intent, I think. He wanted a British version of The Daily Show, but it had trouble finding its voice. It was a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. There were network execs constantly breathing down our necks. At one stage we literally had lawyers deciding what was or wasn't funny.
Really?
Absolutely, we had lawyers on set telling us, "No, you can't say that." We'd say: "Why not? It isn't libellous." And they'd say, "Yeah, but isn't funny." My reaction was, like, "What? You're a bloody lawyer, mate!"
After 11 years performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, you won the top award in 2007. What clicked that year?
I think Edinburgh is 60 per cent talent, 40 per cent decisions. So I just made the right decisions that year. It was the right show, the right topic. I'd picked the right people to work with.
Your show that year was about cultural sensitivities, dissecting what is and isn't offensive.
That's about right, yeah. I was originally inspired by The Prodigy's Smack My Bitch Up video - the way everyone was up in arms about that video before they'd even seen the thing.
The clip that went viral showed you ejecting an audience member after she accused you of being racially insensitive. What some people still don't realise is that she was part of the show.
Yeah, what we were trying to do there was to make people take a look at themselves - to look at whether they are too easily outraged, or indeed too apathetic, in certain situations. If there's any confusion about that clip, the full thing is online now. Just go to YouTube and type in "Brendon Burns vs Heckler - Full."
Your new DVD is called 'Sober Not Clean'. What's the distinction?
What's the distinction? Oh, between being sober and being clean? Right. I suppose it's a nod to the fact that, just because I recently got sober, it doesn't mean I'm one of those God-bothering types. I'm still a filthy comic who doesn't censor himself.
If the gods of stand-up somehow decreed that there was one topic you could never cover again, what topic would you be most distraught to lose?
Culture and cultural differences. Definitely.
Finally, if the gods of stand-up were to decree that there was one topic no comic could ever discuss again, which would you be happiest to lose?
I'm the wrong guy to ask because, as far as I'm concerned, I don't think there are any hack topics - only bad routines. At the moment, everyone's talking about the death of Michael Jackson. I think that's fine. It's a comedian's job to be relevant. But the highest compliment a comedian can be paid is for someone to say, "That's the best Michael Jackson routine I've heard yet. You've really nailed it, mate."
Brendon Burns plays Stradbelly Laughs @ the Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Co Laois, September 4th, 5th and 6th. www.electricpicnic.ie