Comedy Reviews

"The guy was an idiot, he was just really rude. The whole point of people staying in hotels and B&Bs is they’ve travelled to get there. You don’t just say ‘I’m just off to stay at the hotel down the road, dear,’ do you?

Adam Bloom is not a happy man. He’s just arrived at the Adelphi pub in Preston fuming at the rude treatment he was given by the staff of the local Bed & Breakfast it took him ages to find.

"The guy was an idiot, he was just really rude. The whole point of people staying in hotels and B&Bs is they’ve travelled to get there. You don’t just say ‘I’m just off to stay at the hotel down the road, dear,’ do you? Hotel staff should be welcoming or you won’t stay there."

Oh dear, the first question was going to be about Bloom’s first impressions of Preston, but it seems wise to move on.

It’s not easy to interview comedians. There’s the old legend that they’re all tragic figures, miserable clowns crying behind their beaming faces.

So it’s rather disconcerting to feel comfortable in the presence of a calm, forthcoming Adam Bloom. He is not loath to reveal his opinions on subjects ranging from his childhood to his comic motivations.

What critics and advocates are agreed on about Bloom is the effective simplicity of his style. He refuses to fall into the trap of relying on smut for laughs.

"Some people go on stage and talk about sex which is fine if you like that sort of thing. I talk about life, because life is inherently funny, I just get ideas about stuff and work them into jokes. It doesn’t matter where you tell it, a funny joke will get laughs anywhere."

Having sold out Sydney Opera House and played the Edinburgh festival four years running, Bloom is used to warm welcomes.

"I’m proud, but not in a pretentious way, to say I’ve never got a bad reception anywhere. Edinburgh is great - I love playing to comedy-literate audiences - but the best audience was in Amsterdam. These people were working out gags in a second language and they loved it. It just shows that life is comical everywhere."

But he hasn’t succeeded everywhere. Flirtations with television have been like the proverbial curate’s egg - good in parts, less memorable in others. The Young Person’s Guide to Becoming a Rock Star was a high point, work Bloom describes as "introducing to acting talents I didn’t know I had." His own Comedy Lab show on Channel 4 provided an opportunity to break through, but when he’s not in control, he is less comfortable. Never Mind the Buzzcocks was one such experience, when a struggling Bloom looked out of his depth amidst the banter between regulars Phill Jupitus, Sean Hughes and Mark Lamarr.

"I felt like a little kid in the playground trying to play football with the big boys. You think if you can give them a good pass and impress them, you might get the ball back. But instead of that, they just carried on playing, as it were."

Bloom knew at 10 he would be a comedian - "I just had the right frame of mind" - and he sees comedy in everything, from street performers - "yeah, like we should give you money for literally doing nothing, very impressive" - to life on the road. Adam Bloom is a thoroughly amiable man and an excellent comedian. Just don’t mention the B&B.