9:51am Thursday 4th March 2010
Julian Clary says he has done for mincing what Michael Flatley did for Irish dancing, so Lord of the Mince would seem an appropriate title for his current UK tour, which tonight brings him to Finchley’s artsdepot.
Julian loves touring, which is just as well, because he has taken on a tiring schedule. On this tour, one day he will be playing the Pavilion in Worthing, the next week it’s the Burnley Mechanics. But having recently turned 50, there are no signs of him putting his feet up.
I speak to him as he travels up the M11, on his way to play King’s Lynn in Norfolk, a county he says he knows well as his mother grew up in the area.
“It’s all very jolly. It has all been a great joy to do,” he says. “There’s a lot of job satisfaction in turning up somewhere, making people laugh, and then moving on to the next place.
“There’s a lot to be said for it. This is the second leg of this tour, we started in the autumn and I didn’t really want to stop, so I said let’s do some more dates.“ For more than two decades Julian has rarely been off our screens since appearing on Friday Night Live, but Lord of the Mince marks a return to his comic roots, touring smaller venues, and, of course, interacting with the public each time.
“There’s always been a lot of that with me. I’ve always been more interested in what’s going on in the audience than anything that might be scripted.
“There is even a section of the show where I get people on the stage to do a psychic experiment.
“The show is constantly evolving. It’s a sort of tribute show to myself by myself.”
Julian reached his half century last year, somthing he says he is hardly concerned about.
“Fifty’s very liberating,” he says. “You sort of do what you please once you’re 50. I’d recommend it to anyone. You don’t have to live up to people’s expectations.” But did he ever care what people thought?
“Yes, I think so. I think when you’re in your 20s and 30s you’re wanting to please people all the time.
Julian Clary Lord of the Mince is at artsdepot, Nether Street, Finchley, tonight at 8pm. Details: 020 8369 5454, www.artsdepot.co.uk
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