Grand Form - P&M Remix (Punch and Mighty Feat TAKE-T)

First video for a while. Punch and Might's P&M Remix of 'Grand Form' featuring TAKE-T (incorporating Crooklyn Dodgers' 'Crooklyn') to some lovely honeymoon snaps from Kansai, Ryukyu and beyond (i.e. Kyoto, Kinosaki, Naha, Motobu, Ishigaki, Taketomijima, Osaka, Koyasan)...

Every 14 Days...(30)

Through no clever intention on my part, I have recently read three biographies by comedians. However, to call these autobiographies might be a little confusing. What follows is a selection of works by British men of the funny, but either written by or from the perspective of an alter ego. Much as Stewart lee will refer to the ‘character Stewart Lee,’ here we see a collection of comedians showing their schizophrenic sides. Comedia schizophrenia, as it were.

Me:Moir (Vic Reeves/Jim Moir)

To start, we see beloved funny man Vic Reeves writing on the childhood upbringing of James Moir, or ‘Rod’ (his middle name) as he was known to his family. That’s a confusing start.

Here, the fictional Mr. Reeves describes the first eighteen-or-so years of his life from his first days in Yorkshire, to County, to eventually moving down to London to start his journey to adulthood. Accompanied by his own doodles throughout, there are elements of Reeves' trademark eccentric humour throughout, though it's difficult to say if these were early seeds or embellishment by his adult self.

This is a steady effort, but nothing too sensational. Focusing more on his youth, this doesn't go into the origins of his 'Big Night Out' and starting in comedy, making this very much a book about James 'Rod' Moir than Vic Reeves. Though, the fact that this comes with the addendum 'Volume One' this may be to come.

Days to read: 13

Days per book: 14.7

My Perfect Cousin (Kevin Eldon)

Here, ‘The Actor’ Kevin Eldon writes a true biography…about someone who doesn’t exist. One of Eldon’s best-known works as a stand-up and performer is as his poet alter ego, Paul Hamilton. Seen as part of Cluub Zarathustra, Eldon has gone on to feature him in much of his stand-up work, and on the Radio 4 – hahaha – comedy ‘Poets’ Tree’.

Eldon writes as a version of himself, the cousin of fictional poet Hamilton, writing a biography on his ‘perfect’ family member as he was commissioned to write a book but simply had no idea what to write about. The book is a collection of extracts from interviews with Hamilton himself and various people in his life, cobbled together by Eldon’s storytelling.

Much like ‘I, Partridge’ before it, this is a book to give extra depth to a comedy character, writing a full biography on the made-up. Hamilton, as the character has always been is pompous about himself and the life he has lead. Things are made to be much grander or dark than the complete normality featured when taken from his perspective. What adds the comedy here is the perspective of others: His parents, on-off girlfriend, former work colleagues, The League Against Tedium, all paint the picture of a sad little man. A poet with only a handful of poems ever written; a man with a string meaningless odd jobs, whose life has been paid for by his parents and wealthy girlfriend.  

Being that it’s fictional, there is no sense of ‘having learnt’ a lot about the character, as maybe I’d never thought about Hamilton in such a way. What this certainly is is entertaining, and so leaves plenty of room for poetic license.

Days to read: 12

Days per book: 14.7

Becoming Johnny Vegas (Johnny Vegas/Mike Pennington)

Much like 'Me:Moir', 'Becoming Johnny Vegas' is the story of the early years that formed Mike Pennington's transformation from that of new-born baby to internationally-known stand-up of different name.

From a random collection of memories of his working-class upbringing in St. Helens, Pennington made the decision at a young age to join a seminary and train to become a priest. However, instead of taking him down the straight and narrow, his short time there led to the first 'seeds of Johnny' being sewn.

A prodigal son, he soon became a failed art student, spending days between his Argos job, art college and time in the pub. But it was these days as a trainee potter and barman that began to mould his comedy career, eventually arriving on stage while studying in London. On arriving back in St. Helens, the act was developed and Johnny Vegas was born, with Edinburgh awaiting.

This does not focus on the successes and life after fame, but specifically looks into the moments that shaped his on-stage persona. As expected from his act, this isn't always a pleasant ride, with numerous tales of revulsion.

Written from the perspective of numerous voices, one of which is Vegas; one Pennington, this is an essay on the multi-personality disorder that is stand-up comedy.

Days to read: 20

Days per Book: 14.7

Rashomon and Other Stories (Akutagawa Ryunosuke)

How did this get in there?! Well, I had no new books on me and I was approaching a five-day weekend away, so I grabbed whatever. But, this maybe something a little more appropriate than it initially seems.

Something I've read a number of times before, 'Rashomon and Other Stories' is a short collection of Akutagawa's works, featuring his most famous 'Rashomon' and 'In A Grove'.

With the differing stories of the three main protagonists of 'In A Grove', this could be interpreted as a tenuous link to the art of stand-up comedy that I am making right now. With stand-up a form where different people express their differing opinions on everyday life, 'In A Grove' shows how we all see things differently.

Anyway, enough wankery...

Days to read: 7

Days per book: 14.7

Are you Dave Gorman? (Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace)

Speaking of multiple personality disorder, here's one man's search for fifty-four versions of himself. Well, two men's search. Enjoying the BBC TV series that covered the same journey, I first read the story of Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace's quest for well over a decade ago. But, with Christmas looming, not having any new books at my disposal and not being allowed to buy myself anything, plus thinking this would be a nice addition to my schizophrenic comedians angle, I decided to read once more.

Switching between the alter-egos - and indeed alter-persons - of Gorman and Wallace, it tells the story of a drunken bet gone too far with too much time and credit card limit at their disposal, as they travel Europe, the US and the Middle East to meet Gorman's namesake: fifty-four, to be exact.

This was a silly bit of fun, but what's depressing reading this so many years later is just how this would not happen in this day and age of fast Internet access and social media. What was months of searching through telephone directories, random e-mails and a little bit of luck, would now be a simple search on any social media platform, finding as many as possible the world over. This shows that creativity and invention are no longer really required in 2016, with the end result more important than the journey. But it's the journey that provides the story.

It's now five years that I've been doing this pointless exercise. Blimey!

Days to read: 17

Days per book: 14.7