Comedy Cafe

For the first time in what seems like ages, I'm working in my home town tonight and tomorrow. That means I get to wake up in my own bed, bliss!

I'm doing the Comedy Cafe in Rivington Street, somewhere I don't do that often, but I always have fun.

The Cafe has all kinds of great memories for me. Years and years ago, Noel Faulkner (the owner) turned the upstairs into a kinda members club for comics. There was no real policing of entry, if you had the balls to go up there you'd get in.

The first time I went 'upstairs' was after my first paid 10 there. Before that, I'd never dared. Ronni Acona was on the bill too, and she persuaded me to go with her. It was fantastic! Like the Groucho Club's waiting room. I remember Alan Davies turning up, plus tons of other great comics I'd seen when doing my open spots. Suddenly I was in the same space as them.

For a good couple of years it became the place to head to after you'd finished work on a Saturday night, Jo Brand was a regular as was Ricky Grover, and it was in that room that we came up with an idea for a sketch that eventually found it's way on Jo's 'Through the Cakehole' series.

Comics could also hold parties up there. I remember going to one, can't remember whose party or what the occasion was, but everyone was there. I had my camera that night and took this fantastic photo of a very baby-faced Ross Noble talking to Steve Coogan. Both had curly hair and it looked like some kind of father and son reunion thing! One of these days, I'll invest in a scanner so I can upload all these pics.

Upstairs at the Cafe was also the regular venue for filming interviews during the second series of Funny Business (my telly show from years ago). During the first series we'd beg, scrounge or borrow all kinds of places to film - it was very very low budget! - and that became a nightmare. When the show was recommisioned I had a word with Noel and he agreed to let us film up there for free, in exchange for a little credit. Considering the price of location fees in London, this was an incredibly generous offer.

The place was decorated with fake leopard and zebra skin sofas, purple walls, perfect for late night telly. And over the 21 episodes we had the great and the good of comedy in there.

I played table football with Lee Hurst as we discussed his incredible rise to fame on They Think it's All Over. Jimmy Cricket read me a 'letter from his mammy' on one of the couches, I learned that that really is Joe Pasquale's real voice, Jenny LeCoat told me a great story involving a stripper and a can of Coke, the list goes on...

As with all good things, our lives moved on. People got married, had babies, some got successful and got free memberships to Teatro, and some of us embraced sobriety...it was a fabulous few years tho.