Pappy's Fun Club

Our first show is tonight

2009-08-05T12:32:00.003+01:00

Last night we had our tech run (Matthew talks about it on his blog) for our Edinburgh Festival show, Pappy's Fun Club's World Record Attempt: 200 Sketches in an Hour, which went pretty well. We arrived a little early and so had to wait for the show before us, Four Poofs and A Piano, to finish their preparations. Sitting at the back of the room, we watched as their director talked the crew through the final few cues. Honestly, this is a genuine quote from him:

"Ok so when you say, "Do you take it up the arse?" HOUSE LIGHTS UP!"

We can't wait to see their full show. It's just disappointing that we appear to have so much crossover in material.

Our Twitter Posts In Full

2009-06-08T22:39:00.003+01:00

We took part in the Twitter Comedy show tonight (June 8th 2009). Here are all our posts in full. Enjoy!

Before we begin, let’s do our pre-gig ritual. We all get round in a circle and chant “AT LEAST WE’RE NOT GIGGING IN NOTTINGHAM.”

Our pre-gig ritual only changes if we’re playing in Nottingham, when we gather in a circle and chant, “WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE.”

Br: Hey everyone, I'm Brendan

Tom: I'm Tom

Ben: I'm Ben

Mat: and I'm Matthew. Together we are Pappy's Fun Club!

Br: I don't like my abbreviation. "Br". It makes me sound cold.

Tom: I'm cold.

Mat: You should put some clothes on. Anyway this is us: [twitpic]

NSFW

Nice Subject For Wanks!

That's not what it means Tom. Anyway, on with the show!

Performing sketch comedy on Twitter isn't easy. We're normally quite visual.

We're not going to be able to do the sketch where we all play curries, Korma Comedian.

And the sketch about the Cosmetic Surgeon who used to be in a biker gang, Harley Street Davidson, is no good.

We even wrote a sketch about Twitter. Unfortunately the cast is too big. It's got 140 characters in it.

Tom’s got a new game. Singing the song Thriller but replacing the word thriller with rhyming words. #alt-thriller

♫ ♪ Cos it’s VANILLA! VANILLA night. #alt-thriller

♫ ♪ Cos it’s CHINCHILLA! CHINCHILLA night. #alt-thriller

♫ ♪ George Forman GRILLER! #alt-thriller

♫ ♪ Cos it’s MANILLA! En-vel-ope! . #alt-thriller

Everytime we do a text-based online gig we give out presents.

Ben: Last time I got Tom a paint set.

Tom: And I've put it to use. Matthew, I've painted you a picture!

Mat: Oh. That's disappointing.

Tom: Don't worry. It's a picture of you being disappointed on receiving a picture of you. [twitpic]

Br: That's great. I'm a bit jealous, actually.

Tom: Well Brendan, I've painted you being jealous of Matthew being disappointed by a picture of himself. [twitpic]

Ben: What have you painted for me?

Tom: This. [twitpic]

♫ ♪ Sienna MILLER! #alt-thriller

♫ ♪ GrooveJet by SPILLER. #alt-thriller

We're pitching for a horror movie. It's called "Things That Are Only Scary For A Short Amount Of Time".

Here are a few scene ideas! You'll shriek but then instantly recover.

Thinking you've seen the ghost of a headless monk in your room when actually it's a dressing gown on a hook #scarymoment

Thinking you've lost your phone when actually you're talking on it. #scarymoment

Overhearing a parent telling off a child with the same name as you. #scarymoment

Wow. That was scary... but only momentarily. I did half a shit. Let's do something more upbeat!

♫ ♪ Heinz Sandwich FILLER. #alt-thriller

♫ ♪ Ben STILLER! #alt-thriller

This is the future of comedy. Not having to leave Pappy Towers to do a gig.

In fact, today was our big spring clean. Ben cleaned a big spring.

To help speed things up we get to choose music to play whilst we’re doing our chores.

Chariots of Fire theme tune slowed down ‘chore time’ to a near halt. It’s very difficult to buff brass in slow motion.

Br: I took the bins out and washed up on ‘Chores 2’ my new Nintendo DS game. Finished the level just as the boys were done cleaning.

Ben: The toaster was so dirty I decided to take it into the bath with me for a clean.

Spent the afternoon trying to resuscitate Ben.

♫ ♪ Damon Albarn’s sideproject band, GORILLAz. #alt-thriller #notstrong

♫ ♪ Seal’s best single KILLER. #alt-thriller #kissfromarose? #tcgig

Br: I logged onto Second Life today. Alarmed to find that in his virtual world my avatar is spending too much time on the computer.

Br: Must spend more time online to ensure he has a more rounded existence.

Almost time to go. Just time for our final song.

RT @TerryWitter There's not going to be a final song. I'm shutting this Twitter gig down.

Who are you, @TerryWitter?

RT @TerryWitter I'm Terry Witter, the inventor of Twitter. I'm here with my friends Frank Acebook, Mike Yspace and Stephen Fry.

Why are you shutting us down, @TerryWitter?

RT @TerryWitter Twitter isn't about jokes. It's about boring minutae. You're making Twitter too entertaining.

RT @TerryWitter It's not about comedy. It's about telling people you've had a cup of tea. Or you've bought some cheese.

We're about to finish with a song.

RT @TerryWitter Not if me and my friends get there first. My song is here.

RT @TerryWitter and the lyrics are here.

I guess we've been defeated. Goodnight everybody!

Lyrics to Terry Witter's Song

2009-06-08T21:29:00.004+01:00

MIKE YSPACE
My Name is Mike Yspace. I’ve got a place for friends to meet.
And if you do not like those friends you can always press delete.

FRANK ACEBOOK
Myspace is for shitty bands. Facebook’s better yet.
You can get tracked down by someone you wanted to forget.

STEPHEN FRY
I’m Stephen Fry, I’m in a lift and everyone must know.

TERRY WITTER
That’s what Twitter’s all about. Not a comedy show.

MIKE YSPACE
So take that, Twitter Comedy. You’re far too entertaining.

FRANK ACEBOOK
I’d rather read what you had for lunch or the fact that it’s stopped raining.

ALL
That’s what Twitter is for. Let’s have comedy no more!

Hear the song here.

Fringe Advert Revealed!

2009-04-27T18:26:00.003+01:00

Yes! Now all we need to do is write another 197 sketches!

PFC on Tour 32: Save the Wales 2

2009-04-23T15:10:00.003+01:00

Saturday night was spent in Llandeilo at the superb Cawdor hotel. If you're looking for a place to stay in and around the Llandeilo area- and, let's face it- who doesn't find themselves in that situation at least twice a year- you should really check it out. By checking in.

On Sunday Ben, Brendan and Matthew drove into Cardiff (Tom was on family duties in Wolverhampton) in anticipation of our gig at Dempsey's pub. This had been moved fom our usual Cardiffian venue, the Hawaiian, which had sadly closed down since we were there last year. This is a real shame as any venue that served both the performers and the audience a free chinese buffet before the show certainly gets our vote. Admittedly, that vote is often a very bloated and sluggish one, but it gets our vote nonetheless. The show is organised by Dan Mitchell who is a very funny comic.

On the way to the venue we spotted a gang of youths in the car ahead of ours threatening anyone who overtook them by pulling a gun and pouinting it at the overtaking driver. Although we suspected it was probably a replica, this was still prickish behaviour of the very highest order. Luckily, Brendy snapped into action and called the police, giving the make and register and generally being a model citizen. We received a call later saying that the car's owner had been contacted- he was the grandfather of the gun-waving pricks- and that the kids, who were about to begin a holiday, had been taken down to the station for a caution. Once again, Pappy's Fun had Club saved Wales! You are very welcome.

NB. We forgot to write up Canterbury's gig so we'll rectify that in the form of a 140 character Twitter style summary:

Played Canterbury our old uni. Nostalgic and shambolic. The audience was small and overexcited. A girl gave us a Watchmen poster beforehand.

A sports based poll

2009-04-23T00:01:00.000+01:00

To celebrate the new show here's a poll to vote on.

Which Pappy's member would you most like as your partner in a three legged race?

poll by twiigs.com

New Edinburgh Show Publicity Photo and Show Title Revealed!

2009-04-22T11:32:00.004+01:00

We can not only reveal this photo, taken by the fantastic Idil Sukan, but also that the title of our new show will be Pappy's Fun Club's World Record Attempt: 200 sketches in an hour.

Fresh from Channel 4 and a critically acclaimed tour of Great Britain and Ireland, "the funniest sketch troupe on the Fringe" (Scotsman, Aug 08) return to take Edinburgh, and the record books, by storm.

In 2007 they were nominated for the If.comedy award. In 2008 they won Chortle Best Sketch Act, performed in Australia and had their own shows on Channel 4 and Radio 4. In 2009 they attempt the impossible.

200 sketches. 60 minutes. 1 World Record. Heroic attempt, or spectacular folly? Whether they succeed or fail, it's "the perfect way to spend an hour" (EdFest magazine, Aug 08).

"impossible to resist ... you really should see this" Metro, Aug 08
"Turbo-charged ... great jokes" Guardian, Aug 08

PFC on Tour 31: Save the Wales pt 1

2009-04-21T14:33:00.012+01:00

Pappy's Fun Club are not just a sketch team they are a team of superheroes. This weekend we not only stopped a gunman and released a pensioner from a car that had flipped over, we also wowed a member of top boyband 5ive! You're welcome, Wales.

On Thursday we gigged at the Brecknock-Knock in Brecon. The audience took a little while to warm to our antics but eventually ended up enjoying themselves. Not least when Matthew punched Tom in the penis. But that's another story. Here's us outside the venue.
Driving home down a tiny darkened country lane, we were forced to stop by a car parked in the middle of the road. The car had stopped because, as we soon saw, the car ahead of it had hit a tree, rolled and was currently on its side with the entire front torn off. Unfortunately, as the car had flipped onto its side, the driver's door was flat against the pavement with the driver trapped inside. He was conscious and, miraculously appeared to be unhurt, but was imprisoned inside his vehicle. Springing into action Tom and Ben- along with two guys with a jacks and a sledgehammer- smashed in the front windscreen of the car and freed the driver. He turned out to be a man in his 70s called Mike. Brendan fetched a sleeping bag, to keep this fellow warm, whilst Matthew and Tom chatted to this understandably confused old fellow. When he revealed that he lived in Kingston-on-Thames, Tom chipped in that he was from just down the road in Streatham. The man looked at him for a moment then looked away. He clearly didn't give a toss.

Undeterred, Ben called the emergency services and we waited with Mike (for that was his name) until they arrived. The anxiety all the way through was that the car might explode- especially given that Mike insisted on smoking constantly as he waited for his ambulance. The logic being that he'd cheated death once already that night he may as well take another chance. He'd clearly never seen Final Destination. Once the firemen, ambulance and police arrived we were free to go back to our car. Although, as there was a firengine, ambulance and police car blocking our way, we weren't free to continue the drive back to our hotel. Thus, we ended up chatting to one of the blokes who'd helped us save Mike's life (yes, you read correctly, we saved a man's life). Matthew made an observation that he'd never seen such large moths as the ones that had fluttered around the headlights of our parked car and was ridiculed for being so dull whilst in the thick of a life-and-death scenario. Ben, on the other hand, returned to the wreckage of the car to take a picture and was told off by the police as if he were a child. This is the best picture we could get. Rubbish isn't it?

Two days later we gigged again for the very funny Henry Widdicombe (who runs Brecknock-knock) at his gig in Hay-on-Wye. The audience were fantastic and it stands a good chance of being the best show of the tour. Congrats Hay-on-Wye! To add further joy to an already joyous occassion, Matthew recognised former boy band member Jason "J" Brown from 5ive in the audience. After an interval google image/Wikipedia search that confirmed our suspicions Tom decided to reference J's presence in the audience during our Jesse Shaman sketch. Ben even managed to sing a few bars of Keep on Movin' as he left the stage. Luckily this didn't offend the man himself who was kind enough to agree to pose for a photo with us after the show. Here now is the moment when 4 became 5ive. Look how well he and Ben are getting on! Here's us with the no-less exciting Henry. And, as always, here is us outside the venue. Note the arrow is pointing away from the entrance to the venue. Perhaps they'd seen us before?

Details of our Cardiff gig and the gunman to follow. But for now, just keep on moving!

PFC 30: Leeds us not into York station

2009-04-14T15:53:00.011+01:00

We spent last weekend in Leeds and York. The Leeds show was remarkable largely because the first half played to near silence. We genuinely thought they hated us but, as the promoter told us afterward, literally everyone who plays there has a quiet first half and a rocking second. "It's as if we bus out the audience at the interval and replace them with a better one", was his, totally accurate, description.
We stayed with Brendy's brother Trevor who is remarkable in his own way for having one of the smiliest faces in the world. It's impossible to imagine him looking miserable. Thanks to Trevor for his hospitality. And his wireless internet. Trevor is just behind Brendy. We've slightly blurred out his face to avoid any readers suffering from over-exposure to happiness.

We spent the day in York with our friend Paul. Here he is celebrating finding a 2 for £1 offer on boot polish. He's a fan of shiny shoes. He's not a racist minstrel.Paul had been at the Leeds show but we'd persuaded him to come to the York show not only so that he could document such moments as Tom's pre gig ritual... ...but also so he could see us play a gig that had a bit more momentum. We're glad he did as York was a great show. In fact a woman in a wheelchair who'd been in the front row (take that Jim Davidson, we allow wheelchair bound ladies into our shows!) came up to us afterwards and told us that she'd laughed so much she'd pissed herself. We took this to be a turn of phrase ustil the lady she was with turned to her and said, "What did you tell them that for?"In other news, last Tuesday (7-Apr-09) Tom appeared on the CBBC channel’s Ed and Oucho show, reprising his most celebrated Pappy role: Julius Caesar.

The second part can be found here.

Also, here is a lovely article about our friends at Answer Me This Podcast. Click on the quote to read it.

“IT HAS been hailed by iTunes as the podcast of the year, just been nominated for radio’s equivalent of the Oscars (the Sonys) and features award-winning comics like Josie Long and Pappy’s Fun Club.”

Pappy's got a brand new blog

2009-04-13T00:01:00.000+01:00

The Pappy's Fun Club blog has finally left the auspices of Matthew Crosby's Readable Podcast (thanks Matthew) and struck out on our own. Thanks for making the leap with us. Here's a picture of Tom and Matthew with Richard Sandling as a reward. It was taken backstage at Brighton's Komedia on March 26th (a rare non-tour show for Pappy's) and, if blown up and framed, would make a fantastic centrepiece for your living room, bathroom or kitchen-cum-dining area.
All of the previous PFC on Tour entries can still be found by clicking here. Also, here's a write-up of the bizarre tour date we had in Colchester.

Also, many thanks to this fellow, who enjoyed our TV show. Cheers.

Pappy's Fun Club are here!

2009-04-08T19:02:00.000+01:00

This is the new home of Pappy's Fun Club on blogger. Of course there's nothing here now but why not check out our website or Matthew's blog (where Pappy's are staying til they get on their feet).

Check back again soon. But in the meantime, how about this...

We recently went on TalkSport radio. The station's agenda was clear: we talk about sport, we're not for ladies. This was evidenced by the 'double gents' toilet facilities modelled here by Matthew.

PFC on Tour 29: Colchester Minute

2009-04-03T23:40:00.000+01:00

As we are genuinely lovely fellows we agreed to use our show at the Colchester Arts Centre last night to support Autism Anglia's Stand Up For Autism initiative. All this really meant was meeting the campaigners, having a few photos and letting them make a collection after the gig. They offered us a chance to meet up with them in Nandos (normally an offer we wouldn't refuse) but we had a show to set up so ended up meeting them in the Arts Centre itself (a gorgeous converted church).

Here we are with them before the show. Yes, you're right, the pink t-shirts do make it look like they're on a ladies only birthday weekend hen party type thing. Of course they were totally lovely and even took our usual photo of us outside the venue. Worryingly, they'd equipped every table with a small stressball style replica phone with the number of their charity on it; the sort of small but weighty object that would make a perfect projectile should the show break bad. Luckily the makeshift missiles weren't used and the show went off almost without incident. Yes, once again you're right, we did say 'almost'.

There must be something about ladies in groups of 4 or more wearing matching pink clothing that makes them behave like their watching the Chippendales. Despite being there on business they sat in the front row and, throughout the show, cheered, whooped and screamed. As we came out to take our fianl bow, one them even shouted, "STRIP!!" This all made for a lively, if unusual show. We hope they made enough money from their collection and weren't too disappointed that we didn't replicate this picture. In other photographic news: Tom found a unique way to stem his head-sweats. Whilst Brendy took this artsy picture of Ben without realising that Matthew was blocking (and blogging) the shot and nerding it all up for him. BTW Matthew is wearing a baseball cap to make himself look younger. He's not ill or anything.