70: Andy White

My guest this week is stand up comedian Andy White. We start by talking about his victory on ‘The Weakest Link’ in 2002 and how the prize enabled him to pay for his wedding. Andy tells us about the work he has done for the National Autistic Society and we talk about our apprehension of ‘slightly obscure celebrities’. We learn how he ended up at university - Andy initially went to Aston to study town planning and then moved to Lampeter to study English where he enjoyed rattling tins for Rag and going to London to protest against the BNP. Andy explains why he didn’t mind that Lampeter was in the middle of nowhere and how he threw himself into it, and we talk about the political careers of some of the people who studied there and some of the eccentric figures that populated Lampeter. We find out how Andy got into stand up and how petrified he was when he did his first gig and then found that the microphone wasn’t working. He tells us about the different ways to ‘read’ an audience, and the difference between doing stag and hen nights. Andy tells us what happens on those occasions when a comedian has ‘lost‘ the audience and we learn about the so-called ’11 o’clock rule’. We deconstruct a gig and talk about the concept of ‘counterpoint’. Andy remembers when I used to keep a folder about the charts which I then, surreally, produce 30 years on during the interview. We find out what type of music Andy used to listen to, including REM, and how he will listen to Classic FM when driving to a gig. We learn what was the first record he ever bought. In the final part of the interview Andy talks about the musicians and comedians he has seen on stage, we find out what his dreams were when he was young and how Andy reflects on bad mistakes from the past and why golf club after dinner gigs don’t tend to go well. Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Andy White and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.