ABRAND NEWME
FATHERHOOD HAS CHANGED BAD BOY COMIC Marriage to Gallacher girl with Scots dad has tamed womanising wildman
incidents when he behaved like a spoiled brat. He also writes poignantly about the birth of his daughter. Brand said: “Little Mabes was born when I was in the middle of writing the book, so it was obviously a vivid experience. “I got into a position psychologically and emotionally because of this programme, so it was possible that the best thing in the world could happen to me – becoming a father. “I feel better than I ever have done. I feel very connected with who I am and I’m very grateful. “I really love my wife, my daughter and my friends. There’s a lot of love in my life. My life is defined mostly by love, whereas a lot of times my life has been defined by anger and self-pity.” He wouldn’t go as far as to say he’s gone soft, though. Brand added: “People change over time but I still have quite a lot of passion. The family is because of the programme, the mellowing is because of the programme, the loving myself is because of the programme.
“I’ve long wanted to know for a fact that I’m not the most important person in the world, and to see that that’s a beautiful thing, not a terrifying thing.”
The madcap thoughts are never far from the surface, although he practises transcendental meditation every day, as well as praying.
But there’s still the wild, can’t-sit-still side of the outspoken comedian, as he continues his mammoth stand-up tour Re: Birth, taking Laura and Mabel with him.
“We go on the road like travellers,” he said.
“The baby comes, Laura comes. We are all jammed in the car with saucepans, like The Beverly Hillbillies.
“There’s stuff clattering up on the roof, the dog’s barking, it’s mental. Laura’s a very compassionate woman, I mean she’d have to be, wouldn’t she? She’s got a hell of a halo around her head.”
He’s already completed one leg of the tour in the UK and has recently been in the US with the family.
He said: “I still really love comedy. I’ve calmed down now by changing nappies and staring at one person. Nowadays, I come off stage and go home to my wife and baby or back to a hotel with them.
“In the old days, I used to go crawling though the night, like a vampire trundling down from his castle looking for villagers.”
He admits that he has many flaws. What’s his greatest one?
Brand said: “A tendency to return to a selfish perspective.”
Steps eight and nine, he points out, deal with identifying when you’ve done something wrong and making amends by apologising.
He advises readers to make a list of people they have harmed.
He said: “Mine was like a bible, or the Yellow Pages.
“It has to be appropriate. You don’t knock on someone’s front door and say, ‘Is your wife in, because I was having an affair with her and I just want to apologise?’
“I don’t have regrets. You accept that you are the person you are and your experiences made you what you are. Regret is like wanting something that can never happen.” ● Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions by Russell Brand is published by Bluebird, £20.