A Postcard From Edinburgh…

Hello, I write this missive from the city of Edinburgh. I arrived some days (weeks?) ago with my guitar, a life-size cut-out of Ricky Gervais and a suitcase full of hopes and dreams.

I’m here for a month to perform my one-man show based on the book wot I wrote, Anoint My Head – How I Failed to Make it as Britpop Indie Rockstar.

It’s a whopping 25 shows in a row. Here is the flyer…

I’ve told myself I’m not going to drink. I need my wits about me. Edinburgh is a party city. There are shows everywhere, the bars are heaving and as I type, in what I thought was a quiet pub, a drag artist called Kate Butch has taken to the stage to sing Wuthering Shites…

So maybe just a wee one.

It’s exciting to be here. I’ve no idea what the month ahead holds.

Recently, I’ve enjoyed telling people how I am ‘doing Edinburgh’, but now comes the actual doing it.

Which is always a bit harder.

I initially planned to do the book festival, but it turned into a one-man show somewhere along the line, and I got booked into a comedy venue.

I tried stand-up in the early 90s, which was disastrous (see the Silent Comedians / Chuckle Club chapters in Anoint My Head), but my motto is to jump right in and work out details later….

Always say YES!

And although that may not have worked with the Pointy Birds 30 years ago, history isn’t always doomed to repeat itself.

Is it?

So a full-run was booked…

And then came the hard part of adapting the book, from page to stage…

Which was difficult.

So many moving parts, and no matter what you think might work in your head, stuff needs to be tested in front of audiences.

And unlike writing a book or recording a song which you can capture like a dead butterfly, a live show is a living, breathing thing. It’s a beast!

Or a wee beastie, as they say up here….while munching on a deep-fried mars bar.

Sorry, that’s a bit Scottish-ist.

But I know what I’m doing now.

It’s taken a while, but the show is now in place.

It looks like this.

It has an elegant structure – 5 act play interspersed with four songs, a quintuple whopper with cheese of a show…

In the meantime, I have found myself in certain UK tabloids…

So no turning back now.

So if you are in the Edinburgh vicinity, come along…

Here is the ticket link

Book a ticket now!

Or, if you know someone going to the Fringe, tell them about it.

Or why not jump on a plane, train, or automobile and come along…

The show is a trip down memory lane – a time machine back to the 90s. A period piece if you like…

It’s also a tale of friendship – a kind of road trip/buddy movie

And a coming-of-age story about pursuing your dreams and what happens when reality gets in the way.

Spinal Tap meets High Fidelity via Billy Liar.

Or at least trying to be.

There may be jokes. There may be some cobbled-together musings, some quarter-baked theories and definitely some old Pointy Bird songs. Or ‘timeless classics’ as I like to call them, re-purposed for the comedy market and not before time.

Wish me luck. And if it does go tits up, then at least I have material for the next book (How I failed to make it at Edinburgh Fringe etc.).

But ultimately, you get to a certain age and whatever happens, happens. It’s about having an adventure—a project to distract you.

Fun!

And my expectations are low. Superstardom is the bare minimum. But if I leave Edinburgh thinking I’d like to do that again next year, I will deem this a success.

Right, got to go. I have 10,000 flyers to hand out…

Andy

Book a ticket now!


**STOP PRESS**

I am 5 shows in…this festival is bonkers but brilliant….people are turning up to the shows and laughing, even at the serious songs! Were they not serious?

And a dude from the Scotsman said….

‘Ramshackle catnip’

I think my work is done.

Hope to see you in Edinburgh if you make it. Or tell anyone you know in the area to come along…

 

Book a Ticket!


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