‘As a comedian being liked is literally what pays my bills’
Jason Manford's first show since 2018, Like Me, looks at questions of relatability and the need we all have to be loved...
As he sets off on his first stand-up tour since 2018, Jason Manford is thrilled by the reaction to the warm-up gigs he’s been doing ahead of the main event. Promising audiences ‘a bloody good laugh’ the much-loved comedian, singer, actor and TV and radio presenter says:
‘It’s a fun and slightly silly show, and from the dates we’ve done so far people are loving it.
‘I think they’re just so happy to be entertained because it’s been such a long time.’
Committed to an epic 200-plus run of performances that kicked off in Colchester, lands in Portsmouth next month, and winds up at Aberdeen in November 2022, Jason adds: ‘It’s great to be back on the road and to hear that laughter again.’
Despite first hitting the stand-up circuit with his own tour in 2008, Manford admits to being nervous when he began doing warm-ups for his new Like Me UK and Ireland tour.
‘And it’s very odd to be nervous again. ‘Obviously you get nervous energy but to actually be like: “Can I still do this?” is something I haven’t had for a long time.
‘So to be back on stage and for it to be going so well is really satisfying and really good fun.’
Having written most of the new material since the pandemic struck, he won’t be shying away from talking about Covid, saying: ‘It is very much about recent times. There will be a point, I suppose, where it’s not as topical but at the moment we’ve all been through something absolutely mental and sometimes you just need someone to acknowledge that and talk about it.
‘I did a lot of the writing during lockdown so much of it is about the times we’re going through, but invariably you start off with certain subjects – such as talking about the vaccine – and end up on a different tangent.
‘They’re just leaping-off points really.’ Jason’s last excursion around the country was in the musical Curtains, which had to be cut short by a month because of lockdown, and he hasn’t done a solo tour since Muddle Class wrapped in late 2018.
There’s a funny story behind the title of the new tour.
Partly it’s a reference to relatability and how we’re all alike, but mainly it’s about our obsession with being liked and was inspired by a conversation Manford had with his uncle – who is a vicar – about a previous show he’d done that not everyone seemed to rave about.
‘My uncle said: “Not everybody liked Jesus, so who do you think you are?”
‘I’m not religious but the idea that this person was essentially killed for saying: “Why don’t we be nice to each other?” is very telling when it comes to humankind, human history and where we are now.
‘We live in this mad world where being liked on Facebook releases endorphins in the brain.
‘I find that fascinating and also as a comedian being liked is literally what pays my bills.’
That said, being liked isn’t a problem for Jason Manford.
One of the UK’s most popular entertainers, he has won numerous awards and has a string of sell-out tours to his name, plus a CV that spans such TV credits as Unbeatable, Live at the Apollo and The Masked Singer.
He has also acted in the likes of Scarborough and Death in Paradise and has also done a host of stage musicals including The Producers, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Guys and Dolls.
When we speak this busiest of multitaskers has just finished recording his Absolute Radio show and laughs loudly when I wonder if he ever rests.
‘Rest? I’ve had 18 months of rest!’ He then admits: ‘Actually, I think I spent two weeks doing nothing, then I started volunteering and doing various other things.
‘I just can’t sit still for long. I did keep busy during lockdown but that’s who I am. Now I look back and think: “I probably should have rested a bit more.” but I just couldn’t.’
Jason famously did Iceland deliveries around Cheshire, where he lives with his wife and children.
He also volunteered to drive local folk to vaccination centres and such, saying humbly: ‘With volunteering there’s an assumption that you must be some sort of nice person but I was like: “I’ve got six kids at home, all home-schooling so I’d rather
I’ve got six kids at home, all home-schooling so I’d rather take Mavis to the chiropodist JASON ON VOLUNTEERING DURING THE PANDEMIC
take Mavis to the chiropodist”.’
The ‘various other things’ he did included online gigs and quizzes for kids as well as hosting a new panel show called The Complaints Department, which will air on Comedy Central and features two teams of celebrity comics delving into the great British pastime of whingeing. Is Jason a complainer himself?
‘I didn’t think I was. I thought I’d spend most of that show sort of going: “These people are a bit whinge-y”, but most of the time it was actually like: “This guy’s got a point”.’
As for if he’s ever been on the receiving ends of complaints himself, he chuckles as he circles back to the theme of his new tour: ‘I had a guy once who said: “The thing that annoys me about Jason Manford is the fact that he wants people to like him”.
I remember thinking: “Gosh, I’m in a real Catch-22 with that guy because I can’t ever get him to like me when that’s the thing that annoys him most about me”.’
Guests on the panel show include Jimmy Carr, Sarah Millican, Russell Kane and Sarah Pascoe, whereas when Jason is on tour it’s just him, the crew and the supporting act.
He likes the being-your-own-boss aspect to it, explaining: ‘You’re not waiting on someone else to make decisions. It’s just: “I’ve written this show, book those venues, let’s do it".’
He’s careful to factor family time into the schedule, with the father-of-six saying: ‘It’s been hard these last few weeks because I’ve been doing two shows a night, every night, but once the tour starts in earnest I do three or four nights a week, then I’m home for the other nights.
‘It works out really nicely.’
Lasting more than a year, it’s a very long venture but the funnyman is relishing it. ‘It’s like exercise. The more you do it the better you become.
‘Also, I’ve got the sort of personality and on-stage presence where people feel like we’re just having a chat. They join in. You’ll say something and they’ll shout out: “I’ve done that too!” I love that.”
Manford reiterates how happy he is being back in front of live audiences.
‘Oh my God! The first two weeks being back on stage, with what is basically a work in progress before the tour starts, the reaction was so amazing. I thought: “I don’t need to do any work here”.’
He laughs another of many laughs. ‘Then I realised it’s because people were so excited to be out of the house again.
‘They’re so happy to be out and about, so it’s a real pleasure and an honour for me as a performer that they’ve chosen to spend some of their first nights out with me.
‘And as I say, just hearing that laughter again is magical. I’ve missed it.’
Jason Manford: Like Me is at Portsmouth Guildhall on Friday, January 14 (rescheduled from April 2021 – original tickets remain valid). Tickets £35.40.
Go to portsmouthguildhall.org.uk.