Why he’s looking forward to getting back to basics on the Scottish leg of his new tour

Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan tells Philippa Gerrard

THIS IS QUITE A LONG TOUR THAT YOU’VE EMBARKED ON. HOW IS IT GOING SO FAR?

I tend to do tours in about two-year chunks – although the show you see at the beginning of the cycle is radically different to the one you’d see at the end. I get tired of some jokes and become quite ruthless with my work. Meanwhile, other ideas mature and grow into something new. It’s quite an intensive way of working, particularly when you’re working three or four nights a week for 48 weeks a year. On the one hand you stay “match fit” as it were and get to develop yourself as a performer, but the bad side is that you can develop some bad habits. Saying that though, I’ve been doing stand-up for nearly 25 years now and I’m still excited by it.

ARE THINGS DIFFERENT COMPARED TO WHEN YOU STARTED IN COMEDY BACK IN THE 1990S?

I do think things are different. We live in far more conservative times, and I don’t mean politically, necessarily. The media are more concerned with what should and shouldn’t be said on stage these days. You need to be very careful with language and with intent, which is quite different to what I always thought comedy was… you know, bit reckless and outside the rules. When I started, comedy was like something of a dark pit where anything could be said, it was wild. The comedians who came before me would probably say it was even wilder. But there was a general feeling that comedy was an appropriate avenue for the unsayable.

SO HAVE YOU ALTERED YOUR COMEDY FOR THE CHANGING ATTITUDES?

Well yes and no I suppose. I’ve noticed younger audience goers can be like “oh my god – I can’t believe he just said that” which is sort of new. They’ve grown up with the strict standards unlike older people who remember what it was like previously. I genuinely try to have fun when I’m out on stage and say what comes into my head without censoring myself. This show has parts which are shallow and parts which I think are meaningful, as well as parts which are what I like to call “flights of fancy”. I suppose I’d like to compare myself to Eddie Izzard who has the most incredible, surrealist imagination, along with Billy Connolly’s masterful storytelling and a bit of Kevin Bridges’ fearlessness. ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO TOURING SCOTLAND?

The reason this tour of Scotland came about is thanks to a tour of England which began back in April. On all the promo for the shows it had in big letters: “Tommy Tiernan Tours the UK”, with a grand total of zero dates north of the border. Of course that was a bit of an oversight and Scottish folk weren’t very happy. So that had to be rectified and to make up for it I’ve decided not to just visit Glasgow and Edinburgh, but also some smaller places I’ve never heard of before like Oban and Findhorn.

IS IT MORE NERVE-WRACKING TO PLAY SMALL, INTIMATE SHOWS COMPARED TO YOUR USUAL THEATRES AND ARENAS?

I was recently offered a tour of Canada and Australia, and honestly, I’d rather lick dirty lino. I’ve done it all before. You head straight from the airport to the hotel, to the venue then back to the airport and on to the next place… the distances are so vast and the schedule is so tight that there is no time to explore or walk around. Someone offered me to play Findhorn and I was like “yes!”. They will be small rooms but I’m looking forward to it. It’s hard to say why. Perhaps it’s the sort of kinship between Ireland and Scotland that I feel too. And of course my love of Scottish comics like Billy Connolly, Frankie Boyle and Fern Brady.

HOW DID YOU ORIGINALLY GET INTO COMEDY?

I was doing nothing, if I’m honest. I left school and was lucky enough to have no pressure on me to do anything. My view is, if you give people space and time, they will be creative in their own way. Some need more space and time than others. I needed six years of being unemployed. There was a comedy club in the town I lived in in the west of Ireland, and one night I asked the manager if I could be on stage for five minutes next week. He said yes and I think in the end maybe one joke worked. It was tense but I thrived on being in the spotlight. Before that I’d never considered comedy as a career. I wasn’t a writer or an actor, I loved music but couldn’t sing. Comedy was somewhere in the middle where I could be creative.

ANY MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM YOUR CAREER?

There is one heckler story which has stayed with me. On one of my tour posters one year it said “Wild and Crazy Tommy Tiernan Comes to Town” or something equally as daft. A guy came to the show in a onesie and a pair of antlers. He was asked to take the antlers off as people were making complaints they couldn’t see. The third time he was asked, he stood up and that’s when I saw him. “I was promised madness!” he yelled at me, “something wild and crazy!”. Then walked out. So now I know whatever your poster promises, you have to bring it.

● Tommy Tiernan’s show Paddy Crazy Horse is coming to Aberdeen tonight at the Tivoli Theatre, Corran Halls in Oban on October 19, Inverness Ironworks on October 30 and Findhorn’s Universal Hall on November 1. For tickets, see www.tommedian.com ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● I

ROCK ON TOMMY: Comedian Tommy Tiernan is on tour in Scotland

When does your weekend start? My weekend usually starts after we’ve finished a big job on the farm, but I usually get a Sunday afternoon off to potter about or go for a walk. Perfect night in? Probably quite boring but I like a nice meal including a tasty Scotch Beef PGI steak, a nice coffee and a film. Perfect night out? I love going out for dinner to nice places, and if that can be combined with a game of rugby, before or after, to watch, so much the better! Ideal weekend partner? Obviously my wife or daughter but if had to pick someone else, I think Scotland rugby player John Barclay and I would get on pretty well. Favourite weekend shopping destination? Edinburgh. I went to university there so I know all the good spots. Favourite place to walk? I love going for walks around the farm, but other than that I’d say some of the great walks around the Cairngorms and all the lochs hidden in the forests. Weekend you’d love to live again? I’d love to go back to Bologna in Italy, where we went on honeymoon. Weekend you’d hate to live again? When I had a go at shearing sheep. Perfect Sunday breakfast? I make a mean scrambled eggs, but nothing sets you up for the day like a square sausage and black pudding roll - all Scottish of course. Your cure for the Sunday blues? Doing something practical, whether it’s washing the car or putting up a fence, as it gives me a sense of satisfaction. Your dream weekend (if money was no object)? Taking the family to somewhere like Fiji; sun, sea and a bit of rugby! Bruce McConachie farms within the Cairngorms National park and features in adverts for Quality Meat Scotland’s Meat with Integrity campaign.