The first viral star? That will be right
Comedian Neil is heading for the Arts Centre
Before YouTube averaged four billion video views a day, before every man and their dog had their own channel, there was The Wee Man.
The Scottish comedian – Neil Bratchpiece, to give him his Sunday name – was one of the country’s first viral stars with the 2007 video, Here You ( That’ll Be Right) with “rave masters” N. E. D. S. Kru.
The Wee Man swigs from his customary bottle of Buckfast and puffs on a comically large roll- up in a children’s playpark in the video, which has more than three million views on YouTube.
Almost a decade after the video became a smash hit with Scots, Neil will bring his latest standup show Wee Man Syndrome to Irvine’s Harbour Arts Centre this Saturday.
He said: “I guess it would be fair to call me Scotland’s first viral video, although labelling me as a star is a touch of hyperbole.
“I think around the time the power of the internet’s reach wasn’t fully realized. It certainly took me by surprise.”
“For my first few years I’d occasionally do sketches in a double act so the ned character emerged from them. When that video came out I had only really been doing solo stand up for a few months.”
The video spawned a legion of fans and earned Neil appearances on BBC Scotland comedy Scots Squad, as well as a regular role with Glasgow’s Insane Championship Wrestling.
His wrestling role has seen him appear on TV screens across the country thanks to documentary Insane Fight Club, and the promotion now has a regular TV deal in Italy – though a British deal is still yet to come to fruition.
His debut as manager of The Bucky Boys – Davey Boy and Stevie Boy – saw them match up perfectly, and he still makes regular appearances along with fellow Scots stand- up, Kilmarnock’s Billy Kirkwood.
Neil said: “ICW came about when I initially got asked to make a one off appearance back in the small- scale Maryhill days.
“I forgot all the words to that song and got jumped by Noam Dar, who is now getting ready to appear for WWE.
“Mark Dallas ( ICW’s owner) saw potential for me to be a regular and I began managing the Bucky Boys soon after. I am continually taken aback by its growth.”
Neil’s Irvine show is promoted alongside Sidesplitters Comedy Club – and he feels shows away from cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh are vital for growing the comedy scene.
“The Scottish comedy scene is absolutely bursting with talent, to a much greater extent than network TV would let you know.
“Just because someone hasn’t appeared on Live At The Apollo doesn’t mean they won’t make you bust your ribs laughing. I’d urge anyone and everyone to support live performance as much as you can.
“It’s for reasons like this I think the likes of SideSplitters are great organisations. The more the entire country get to experience the cream of the crop the better.”
Tickets are still available for Wee Man Syndrome at the Harbour Arts Centre on Saturday, May 28 – visit www. harbourartscentre. com for more details.