The David Bowie of comedy?

I’d caught Lee Hurst between plastering and sweeping duties at his Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green. An East End boy through and through, there really couldn’t have been anywhere else he could have set it up. But how was he enjoying his return to the world of smaller clubs after his TV and theatre circuit fame of a couple of days gone by?

"Oh I prefer it. If I could knock about on the circuit for ten months in a year and then tour solidly for two I think I’d be quite happy. I mean, I’ve always preferred performing live, so I’d say it’s a pretty even division between doing gigs and running the club.

When you’re doing a show there’s no responsibility. You just get up there, do your show and go home again. But it’s still a good feeling when it all goes really well. But when a night at the club goes well it’s a different feeling altogether. Even though I compere, it’s not just me. It’s a whole lot of people who’ve worked hard to make something good, and when a night goes brilliantly you just feel so good."

So the TV work comes in a poor third then?

"Oh definitely. Lower than that even. It’s a good shop window, but I can take it or leave it now. The higher up you go in television, the closer you get to everything you tried to get away from. You’ll be doing just great one minute, and then someone will stab you in the back. They’ll make the mistake but you take the flack.

The problem with television is that the talent comes and goes but the shit stays. I’ve seen so much talent burned by shit who don’t know what they’re doing, and I just don’t need that any more. I mean, doing a stand up slot on TV can be a nice quick earner, but it’s a lot more profitable doing a video. I might have some spare time in the summer when the club’s all sorted so I might go back and do some. But don’t expect to see me on too soon. I’m one of the few comics who’ve learned how to say no to these people, and they’ve not got used to it yet. And no is such a tremendously powerful word."

So you’ve never fancied getting into all that sit com business then?

"Oooh, I’m steering well clear of sit coms. I think I like the notion of it, but I don’t think I’ve got the skill to write a particularly good one. I mean I could write a shit one quite easily and keep up to the standard, but I don’t want to do that really."

So how’s the club going then? Is business picking up nicely?

"We’ve been open a year and a half now and it’s going pretty well. I think initially people came in on the back of my name, but they’d bring twenty mates along and they’d all get into the feel of the place and become regulars regardless of who’s playing. You still get a bit of the old "Is Lee going to be there, but that’s got down to about 30/70 now. So it’s beginning to pick up now despite my name on the door."

Do you feel more at home on the small club circuit as opposed to the cavernous barns of the theatre shows?

"It’s always nice playing the smaller shows, but you tend to accommodate your show to fit the gig. You tend to get a lot of the younger and much older crowd at the theatre shows — the one’s that don’t feel that they can go to the clubs. So often it’s a different audience as well. It’s just down to simple things really. The bigger the stage the more you can move. And when you’re doing an hour set you don’t want to be hitting them at twenty minute pace or you can start to see them flagging a bit. But every show’s different really, you just play to the mood of the room."

Ah seeing as you’ve brought it up, you’re noted as being one of the best heckler handlers in the business. Is it true that no heckler has ever beaten you?

"That’s true. And they won’t either. When there’s an arsehole in the territory you’ve got to sort ‘em out right away. You can fit the people who shout things out into two categories really — the hecklers and the contributors. You can have a really good laugh out of the contributors, but the hecklers are usually just drunken pigs, and you can’t hear them half the time. I tell any up and coming comics to see it as a war, not a battle. You’ve just got to hit them more than you get hit and you’ll come out of it as the winner."

You seem to be very hands on about every aspect of your career. Is that a rare thing in the business?

"Oh yes. No other comic gets involved as much as I do. I’m like the David Bowie of comedy."

What completely?

"Well, I’ve got the right eye colour. No, what I mean is that I try to have control over every aspect of my career and not get screwed by management. I see lots of comics turned over by management — and some pretty big ones at that. I’ve got a pretty good idea of the number of tickets sold at a lot of these shows, and the comics get zip. You get these management companies billing the performers for their own publicity and things like that, and the poor comic gets next to nothing out of it whilst the management are raking it in."

So do you see yourself as The Outsider of the comedy business?

"Oh totally. I’m the original outsider. There’s so much unnecessary backstabbing and nastiness going on. Mind you, it’s not just the managers that are villains. Some of the comics would tread all over you to get where they’re going as well. It’s like a microcosm of society really. You’ll get your wrong ‘uns, but you’ll get a lot of really good lads too at the other end of things. And then there’s a big chunk in the middle. But I tend to gravitate towards the good ‘uns really. Well you do really don’t you."

So who are the good guys then? Who do you really admire on the circuit right now?

"Well, you’ve got guys like Will Smith - he’s a lovely bloke — and then there’s Ian Moore who’s a really good comic. Great stagecraft. Then I suppose at the top end of things you’ve got your Sean Meo’s, who’s a fantastic performer. One of the best, and then people like Paul Thorn, who I don’t think gets as much attention as he deserves. But it’ll come I’m sure."

So anyway, how’s the plastering going? Is that advisable with your back problems and all?

"Actually it’s good for it. I’ve got to keep it moving — it’s when I stay still that it starts playing up. It leaves me sleep deprived, but unusually that makes me full of energy. So I guess that helps me getting the club sorted out. It’s taking a while, but when it’s done it’s done. Then I’ll probably be off after some other project or another to keep me busy."

Best let you get on with it then matey. Happy plastering.

Lee Hurst owns and performs at the Backyard Comedy Club in East London.

Lee Hurst had opinions on both TV comedy and heckling. Follow the links to see the final results of Comedy Online's Heckle Vote or our heated debate on TV versus stand up comedy.