Should I Release This, or Will I Never Live It Down?

I need your opinion

Often the best comedy involves going as close to the line as possible without actually overstepping it.

But that inevitably means sometimes you do overstep.

That’s why comedians like to try out material and then work on it over many performances, before it is considered ready. What was ‘too much’ can be planed down a bit until it is ‘just right’.

That is harder to do with video, for obvious reasons. You can re-edit, you can re-shoot, but it’s expensive and difficult.

Not everyone’s boundaries of acceptability are the same. One person’s ‘that’s too far” is another person’s ‘that’s really funny’. They might hate you one night in Exeter and love you the next in Plymouth. Your own line will change over the course of your life - even over the course of a day: I’ve always found that audiences are much more tolerant of edgier material after it gets dark - which makes some kind of sense when you think about it.

Society’s own boundaries change. What was funny in the 1970s is often seen as distasteful (what people really mean when they say offensive) today, because morals have changed - and thus the line has moved.

What was edgy in the 1980s can often just be boring today.

Which brings me to the point of today’s missive.

Did you watch the video I sent out on Monday?

Here it is in case you missed it.

It is a bit shall we say saucier than my usual ouvre - I blame videographer Goat for that - and most people took it with the comic spirit with which it was intended. I have a lot of nice messages - thank you - and comments - thank you too. Some people think it’s my best yet.

But I also had one very nasty email full of invective and worse from someone who, I noticed, watched the video no fewer than 12 times before unsubscribing. He then watched it several times again.

I’m not sure if I should release this one to the wider world on YouTube, Facebook, X, Insta et al, or I should just keep it here, between us. (That’s the advantage of subscribing to this Substack - you get to see stuff before anyone else, and sometimes stuff which nobody else sees).

So can I ask your opinion?

Thanks for the input - much appreciated. Now, to the important business of where you can see me live.

It’s Crazy Coqs tonight. Can’t wait.

Then to Birmingham and Huddersfield next week.

📅 Shows coming up

At time of writing it’s as follows, but if you are reading this in the future the full updated list is here.

• London, Crazy Coqs, Nov 5. Tickets here. (SOLD OUT - waiting list only)

• Huddersfield, Keys, Nov 14. Tickets here.

• Birmingham, Glee, Nov 15. Tickets here

• London, Crazy Coqs, Dec 3. Tickets here. (SOLD OUT - waiting list only)

• London, Backyard, Dec 15. End of the Year Show. Tickets here. Not many left.

• London, Crazy Coqs, Jan 21. Tickets here (These sell out quickly)

• Stafford, Gatehouse, Feb 26. Tickets here.

• Leeds, HiFi Club, Feb 27. Tickets here.

• London, Crazy Coqs, March 4. Tickets here (These sell out quickly)

• Lincoln, The Engine Shed. March 5. Tickets here.

• Oxford, Glee, March 6. Tickets here.

• Leicester, Just the Tonic at Peter’s Pizzeria, March 12. Tickets here.

• Lichfield, Garrick. March 13. Tickets here.

• Southend, Palace Theatre, March 26. Tickets here.

• Guildford, G Live, March 28. Tickets here.

• Swindon, Swindon Arts Centre, April 18. Tickets here.

If you can’t make any of these, you can always …

My full calendar, which includes talks, short spots in comedy clubs and the like, is here here.

I have also started a WhatsApp Channel, if you’d like to watch, share and swap songs there.