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Adrian Edmondson: interviewed October 2003
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| Adrian Edmondson (left) and Rik Mayall |
- You are on the road again with a new show. Tell us about it.
Eddie has always been an inventor of ridiculous machinery but this time he has turned the lavatory into a laboratory — a “lav-oratory” if you will — with the aim of making The Lager of Mass Destruction. But as a by-product he comes up with an even better device — a time-travelling machine made out of a toilet. It is, of course, called The Turdis. Eddie and Richie travel back in it to the dawn of time where, to their absolute horror, they discover nothing has been invented yet — there are no pubs, no birds, no handguns, no lager, no Emmerdale Farm and no porn mags. It’s an absolute disaster!
- What is it about toilet humour?
Why does something make you laugh? There is a lot of rubbish written about toilet humour — people saying it is childish and pretending it is beneath them — but there is no doubting the effectiveness of a really good willy gag. From the stage I’ve seen people of all ages absolutely roaring at really good toilet humour. I remember once having to stop performing when I thought an elderly man a few rows back from the front was actually going to die because he was laughing so hard.
- Aren’t you bored of working with Rick Mayall by now?
It only works because we still amuse each other. After we have been working with other people, it is so refreshing to laugh unreservedly when we are back together again. There are no qualifications when I am with Rik. We are very similar. We are not worried about our dignity — we are attracted to failure. Performers like Tommy Cooper, who are always getting things wrong, are much more endearing than comedians who are sassy and smart.
- Don’t you fancy doing stand-up which is slightly more respectable?
A lot of people are obsessed with looking cool. They feel they have to look after their image. But our image is of two idiots beating each other up while trying to get off with women. It echoes the human condition, I feel. It is just Rik and I are brave enough to stand up and admit to it. I am 46 and there are occasions when I am performing Bottom and I think “Is this lacking dignity?” and the answer comes back “Yes …thank God!” This is still the stuff which makes me laugh the most. There is no age limit to this sort of comedy. Like blues music, it has universal appeal.
- With the show’s title in mind, do you talk about war?
It is not about war — it is about the stupid buzzwords which supposedly-important people use. We have never been strictly political, only strictly funny. We only have one agenda, which is to make ‘em laugh their pants off. Unless they are girls, of course, when it is to make them laugh their bras off so we can get a quick look ...
-- Bottom 5: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour, Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, Croydon, Oct 12 & 13, 8pm, £26-£25, 020 8688 9291. A live Video/DVD will be released by Universal Pictures on November 24, certificate 18.
7:05pm Monday 29th September 2003
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