Viva Las London

March 28, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been nice and busy, with quite a few fun things going on. I have made no secret of my total appreciation for Ant & Dec. And the great job they do on our televisions. I was watching Saturday Night Takeaway on ITV player a couple of Sunday’s ago and was surprised to see Wembley Stadium featured on the show.

You know how they always use different locations to display the audiences faces for when they randomly select one to play “Win the Ads”. Well they were using the giant screens at the front of the stadium to do this. Now I was working in the Wembley area on that Saturday evening. I did wonder why the central Arch was fully lit and bright red in colour, as I was waiting at the train station to go home. Then obviously when I caught up with the programme the day after, I realised why. If I had known in advance I would have gone there and tried to get myself in the shot. May be that is why nobody told me.

Well I can confirm I did use my surname and my minimal Irish roots to justify going to London to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in style this year. I went to my favourite pub in the capital. Which just so happens to be the Irish Bar in Rupert Street off Leicester Square called Waxy O’Connors. I have long maintained that they serve the best Guinness in London.

And I certainly enjoyed having a few pints of the black stuff in there on this special occasion. It was as you would expect packed full of lots of very happy people, who were dressed mostly in green. There was traditional Irish music being played by a live band. The atmosphere was great, everybody was just there to have a good time, a few drinks and a bit of a sing-song. I really enjoyed it. It was a great way to spend the day.

Waxy O'Connors St Patrick's Day — Waxy O’Connors St Patrick’s Day

While I was in London celebrating I managed to also catch up with a couple of friends, who I used to work with. Including one who just happened to have randomly been up in London for a few days from his home in Cornwall. It just shows you the power of social media. I put on Twitter my plan’s for the day ahead. I then saw that he said he was coming to London, so we exchanged messages. Then a few hours later we were meeting up in a pub for a couple of drinks.

His name is Scott Temple. I used to work with him at Ivel Fm in Somerset. So it was great to see him and have a good catch up. Which did of course include a bit of reminiscing, as well as a more general conversation about radio. He is currently working at Pirate Fm in Redruth. So all things considered the day worked out perfectly. I think I might do a very similar thing next year on March 17th.

I went to see the Book Of Mormon last Wednesday. It was a musical I have been wanting to see for a while and I had heard some brilliant things about it. So I was excited to finally get to see it. I have to confess that prior to going along I did not do any further research on it at all. So I had no idea about the plot, the cast or what to expect at all. It is currently showing at The Prince of Wales Theatre. Which is one I do like and one that it easy to find, as it is right in the middle between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. I had a decent seat near the front of the balcony. Which I settled in to just before curtain up, with absolutely no idea of what to expect.

From the opening number, which was an upbeat real show setting song. That was brilliantly written and cleverly performed, I was transfixed. It does warn on the tickets that it contains explicit language and I would agree it is not for the faint hearted. But you need to remember that it is written by the people behind South Park. So you should already realise that no subject is taboo. And that they will be happy to use the full colourful range of the English language that is available to them. As they confirm beyond no reasonable doubt about ten minutes into the performance.

It is so hard to do a funny musical with songs that are catchy, that contain great lyrics and that make you laugh out loud. But the team behind this production manage that with ease. The cast many of whom have come with the show from Broadway are all brilliant. Aside from the main plot itself. There are so many small sub plots and lots of random and sometimes surreal visual jokes. That you really have to concentrate on what is happening on stage or you might miss something.

It is a totally brilliant show, thoroughly entertaining, extremely funny. And you might find that it can actually start some big serious conversations about life and your views on it. If you are not easily offended, are open minded and fancy a laugh. I would go and see it while you can, as it closes in London fairly soon.

I finally got round to going for a meal at my local Indian Restaurant last week. It has only been open for about ten years. May be I have been somehow subconsciously avoiding the place. As the building it is in used to be a library when I was a young child. So I think the last time I had previously been in there was when I got a book out when I was about five. Anyway the reason I went along really was because my mate Alvin was there doing his Elvis Show.

It was an all in fixed price for a set menu meal with the entertainment included. Firstly I have to say the food was fantastic. A great big selection of starters to share. Followed by a huge selection of main courses to pick from with rice and naan bread included. So for that alone I will be definitely be going back there. The staff were really friendly and helpful to. So it was a nice all round dining experience.

I have seen Alvin perform many times in the eighteen odd years I have known him. In anything from small venues to big West End Theatres and he always puts on a great show. With the same energy and enthusiasm. Which is the mark of a great performer. My mum is a big Elvis Presley fan so he once made an appearance at one of her birthday parties for me. He was brilliant and brought the house down. As ever on this night in the Indian he was great to.

He is a massive fan of the man he portrays and has studied every detail of the performances his idol used to give on stage. And brilliantly recreates them. Alvin is also a very good comedian, so he mixes his great vocal portrayal of the King with lots of jokes and lots of humour. If you know anything about Elvis. You will know that he himself had a great sense of humour. He liked to laugh, be a bit cheeky and have some fun while on stage performing with the audience. Which is something Alvin replicates in his shows. So we had a funny night, enjoying classic songs, effortlessly sung by a mate, who was rocking a very stylish Elvis Presley white jump suit.

My comedy teacher has just released the third version of his book “Get Started In Stand Up Comedy (Make Em Laugh). That man is Logan Murray. As well as being an author on the subject. Logan also runs lots of Stand Up Comedy Courses at various locations throughout the year. I was lucky enough to attend one of his eight week courses in Tring a couple of years ago. When I became part of the brilliant Roving Comedy Night as part of the Tringe Festival. This was when I finally got my first taste of doing some stand up comedy. After thinking about giving a try for about the previous five years. Logan is a hugely experienced comedian and a brilliant teacher.

It was quite intensive in that the sessions were three hours long. But the time flew by as it felt like we were just messing about and having a laugh the whole time. Doing many improv and joke writing exercises. While trying to release our inner child. Then after seven weeks of basically pratting about each of the group had produced five minutes of original material to perform four times in four pubs in Tring on the Roving Comedy Night. Not only is he a great teacher, funny, interesting and engaging. He is so encouraging and is happy to give up his own time for you to go through your routine and to give you some one to one coaching in the lead up to your first big performance.

If you have ever wanted to try stand up comedy. My advice would be just go out there and give it a go. You will never know if you are any good or not until you try. I would recommend having a look a the book first or even better if you can why not do one of the courses. Even if you do not become the next big thing and if the gig at the end of it is the only one you ever do. It would still be worth it for the great experience. And you will still learn things that will help you with your everyday life. Doing the course does give you a great insight into comedy and it will certainly give you a good giggle, which I personally think is very important in life. Make jokes not war.

I did manage a celebrity spot, while I was in London recently. Well I did thanks to a little bit of assistance anyway. It was while me and my sister were walking through the ticket barrier at Marylebone Station. As we were going through I saw a women with blond hair heading towards me. I thought I recognised her. I was convinced I knew her or had at least met her before somewhere. So I gave her a very nice polite smile as she walked past. Then moments later my sister turned to me and said did you see Jo Joyner just then?

Now I have to confess I do not really watch Soap Opera’s. So I did not realise it was the actress who played Tanya Branning in Eastenders. Now as I said she did look familiar, but I have never met her previously. So I now just hope she did not think my smiling at her was too weird. I was only being friendly to someone I thought I already knew.

April is already looking like it is going to be a really fun month. It is of course Easter Weekend next weekend. So that means you can legitimately have chocolate for breakfast right? And who doesn’t enjoy a nice Hot Cross Bun or two? I am going up to Liverpool for the Grand National weekend, which I am looking forward to. It will be absolutely buzzing up there for that event.

Then at the end of the month I have been offered the chance to go along and see an episode of Celebrity Juice being filmed at the Elstree Studios. I am a big fan of the show. It normally gets some very good guests on it. It is crazy enough on television, so I am expecting it to be total carnage in the studio and lots of fun of course.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Celebrity Squares

March 14, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been great with quite a bit going on. I had to go for my annual contact lens check up appointment recently. I have been wearing them since I was fourteen years old. So it is a pretty straightforward process. Which I am very familiar with. Just in case you are not. This is what happens. You arrive wearing the lenses, then they check you can still see perfectly through them. To make sure your prescription is correct.

They then check the fit of them using a giant piece of equipment that would not look out of place in a Bond villain’s lair. Before then getting you to take out the lenses. So they can put a blue dye in your eyes that is so strong, you have to leave the lenses out for at least five hours afterwards. Because it might melt them, sorry I mean stain them. Just in case you care, all was fine. I passed the MOT and have another twelve months contact lens wearing to look forward to.

I was lucky enough to be at Wembley Stadium for this year’s Capital One Cup Final between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. I was there before the game to help take some competition winners around the venue. While we were strolling about. We saw Kris Kamara presenting Goals on Sunday for Sky Sports, wearing a very shiny grey suit. And Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs and The Voice, who was there doing some filming. He was great, very nice, friendly and approachable. He was very happy to chat to everyone and everyone did want to chat to him.

The competition winners were also treated to a question and answer session featuring a former player from each of the teams. These players were Frank Sinclair and Darren Anderton. It was good to see Darren Anderton again. The last time I had met him was in a nightclub in Watford about sixteen years ago. I did then get to stay and see the game itself. Which as a Spurs fan was ultimately a bit disappointing. Without wanting to seem bitter, I thought my team did well. We were a bit unlucky when Christian Eriksen’s free kick hit the bar. And were just beaten by two deflected shots in the end. The atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic. It was still a good day out at the home of football. Despite the result.

I was back at one of my favourite locations, the BBC Radio Theatre the other Wednesday. To see an episode of the Radio 4 Extra comedy Newsjack being recorded. It was the first one that I had been to that featured the show’s new host Nish Kumar. I thought he did a brilliant job with it. They do quite regularly change the front man of the programme. Then the show itself kind of takes on their style and personality. And I have to confess I did like the feel of it with Nish at the helm. There were some really clever topical jokes on the night. Which makes me proud to have written jokes for the show in the past. The show combines the jokes with short sketches.

It always features a high quality cast of established and up and coming comedy performers. At the recording I went to the cast were Lewis Macleod, Jocelyn Jee Esien and Freya Parker. All three of them were excellent, so funny. I am still doing some writing myself for the show. So hopefully I will get some more of my material featured on it before the end of this current series. Although there were no celebrity spots in the BBC Cafe before watching the radio recording. They do currently have a clever little mock up of part of the Eastender’s set in there. Which does look pretty cool. Basically you can sit on a bench, so that it looks like you are in Albert Square itself.

I have now finished John Cleese’s autobiography “So Anyway”. It is a very interesting read. Well written and extremely funny. It was fascinating to learn about his upbringing, school and university years. As well of course how he forged a career in comedy. And ended up being involved with the rest of the team. Who then went on to become Monty Python’s Flying Circus. He doesn’t shy away from the rumoured friction between him and some of his former colleagues. But he never deals with this in a crass or nasty way. And to be fair he himself shoulders some of the blame for it all.

The only slight disappointment for me was that he does not talk about writing and making any of the ace Monty Python films. Nor does he cover writing and filming one of the greatest comedies of all time, Fawlty Towers. And there is no mention of some of his films like Clockwise and A Fish Called Wanda. The way it was left though. I am very much hoping that there is a part two of the book to come. In which he will cover all of these missing subjects. If that is not the plan currently. Please can someone ask Mr Cleese to get writing and make this happen. I need to know what went on here. Although if history has taught us anything. We may have to wait until his next divorce before he produces this book to pay for it.

I am loving the latest series of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. For me they are still the best presenters in the business. And the show has just, the perfect format for a Saturday Night. It has some of the very top people in television working on it. And you can see that from the features and the attention to detail in all aspects of the show.

The floor manager for it is the brilliant Alan Conley, whose CV reads like a who’s, who of all the biggest programmes on the box. The audience are whipped in to a frenzy every week by Andy Collins. You can feel their excitement and enthusiasm bursting through the screen into your living room. Then they top the whole thing off with the always brilliant End Of The Show, Show. Which on the last show was a magic act featuring the two cheeky Geordie’s as glamorous assistant’s. Let us be thankful though that they decided not to put them in leotards.

Last week’s Ant versus Dec featured the boys going head to head to see who was the best at reading the news. While answering questions by filling in the blanks on the Autocue. The segment was hosted and anchored by the excellent Mark Austin from ITV News. He is a truly brilliant newsreader in my opinion. I have been lucky enough to meet him once.

When I was working down at Ivel fm in Yeovil. We had a local lady who was being featured on that evening’s main ITV news programme. So they came down to do some filming of her while she was at the radio station. Mark Austin also came along to so he could interview her himself. He is such a nice man. He came in, said hello to everyone. Then just sat quietly reading the paper. While he was just waiting to do his bit. And at the same time he was very happy to join in and get involved with any office banter that was going on. Proving like with most serious news people. That he has a very good sense of humour. He does not seem to age either. He is like the George Clooney of journalism.

Last Monday afternoon I went to the ITV Studios on London’s South Bank to see an episode of Celebrity Squares being recorded. It featured both the aforementioned Andy Collins and Alan Conley who were both working on this show, carrying out their normal roles brilliantly. It’s hosted by Warwick Davis. Who I actually think is brilliant at it. He is sharp, funny, he moves the show along nicely and gives everybody chance to contribute to it. It is the first time I have ever been to a quiz show recording. And I did really enjoy it. You do really want both of the contestant’s to do well. Plus it is still fun to play along in your head from the comfort of your seat. Obviously I can’t give away anything that happened. So you will have to wait until the series airs next month, to find out how it went. And if someone managed to win the jackpot or not.

On the show I watched. This was the Celebrity Square’s panel. Tim Vine, Ana Matronic, Joe Lycett, Duncan Bannatyne, Sarah Millican, Tess Daily, Joe Wilkinson, Rickie & Melvin and Milton Jones. They were all on good form and as you would expect all the comedians were very good value with their exchanges with Warwick and the contestants. Although as is often the case I predict some of the funniest jokes and moments will not make it on to our television screens. Mainly because of taste and decency issues. Apart from one bit which I do not think will make the edit simply because of one of the celebrity’s flying skills.

I have actually interviewed one of the panel before. A few years ago I had the pleasure of chatting to the lovely Ana Matronic. It was when I was working at Mix 96. Her band the Scissor Sisters were just about to release their latest album. So I got to talk to her about that and her career in general. To hear the interview just click on the link here. http://www.neilquigley.co.uk/interviews/

So it was Comic Relief Night last night. It is always great fun with some amazing and memorable moments featured on the main show. This year it is the event’s thirtieth anniversary. I can’t believe it has been going that long. It actually makes me feel quite old. As I can remember the very first one.

It has now raised around one billion pounds for various charities both within the United Kingdom and abroad. Which is an exceptional achievement. As every event passes there are more and more different sponsored events and television shows made under the Comic Relief banner. To help with the fundraising. Amongst them this year were special versions of The Great British Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing. But the one I watched myself was “Let’s Play Darts”.

I have always liked the sport and at various times in my life have played it quite regularly without ever being any good at it. I do enjoy watching it on TV. So a show that featured darts and comedians was always going to be something to attract my attention. I think it is pretty fair to say some of the celebrities on the show were better at the sport than others. Though pairing them up with professionals made the matches more fun and it most cases slightly more competitive.

I have read Lee Mack’s book. So I do know that at one point in his life he did want to be a darts professional. So he spent a lot of time practising the game as a teenager. So I knew that he would be good. The surprise of the competition for me was Tim Vine. I had no idea he was a serious fan of the sport and a decent player. The two of them are friends and play against each other a lot. Which from what I saw, they must be very close games. Well done to Lee Mack on winning with his partner Martin Adams. I hope they bring it back for the next Comic Relief as I think it was good quality entertainment. While at the same time of course raising money for excellent causes.

I am really looking forward to going to see The Book Of Mormon in London this week. I have heard some brilliant things about it and I am glad that I am finally getting round to watching it. I saw Avenue Q last year which I thoroughly enjoyed. And the songs in that, which are brilliant were written by the same guys, who wrote the songs in this. So therefore I should love it. I will let you know what it was like, next time we speak.

Now with a name like Quigley you have probably already guessed that I do have some Irish roots in my family. This Tuesday it is St Patrick’s Day. I have had some brilliant times on this day over the years. I do remember one year I was out with my mates in London. I had already had a few pints. When a mate of mine who was working for a radio station up north at the time. Gave me a call on my phone and asked me to describe my St Patricks’ Day celebrations. Which I did live from the balcony of the Punch and Judy pub in Covent Garden. I hope I got across in the piece how much fun I was having. While hopefully remaining very professional. I have to confess I am partial to the odd pint of Guiness not least on special occasions. So when you combine all this information. I think there is a good chance I could well be out for a few drinks to celebrate this year. Well it would be rude not to right? Happy St Patrick’s Day for Tuesday.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Showbiz, Fun, Life

February 28, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been nice and busy, with quite a few fun things going on. A few weekend’s ago I had a great catch up with one of my oldest friends from school. We met when we were just four on our first day at Primary School and it is fair to say, we are both a little bit older than that now. So have therefore known each other for many years. I had a really lovely evening having a drink with him, his wife and his son. And also meeting for the first time his eight week old daughter.

It was great to see them all. They live up north so obviously we do not see each other that often. It was nice reminiscing and telling his son about how we were perfect pupils when we were at school. No really we were. Neither of us were ever given a detention or sent to the see the headmaster. So needless to say I wasn’t exactly the edgiest or coolest person at my school.

Talking of which. I have mentioned this before but believe it or not there is another Neil Quigley. Who is a very well respected dance music DJ and Producer. He has recently produced a stripped down remix of the big Madonna hit Vogue. Which appears to be getting quite a bit of attention on the internet. How do I know this you might ask? Well on Twitter I am simply @NeilQuigley and the other Neil Quigley is @djneilquigley.

During the last week or so people on the social networking site have been getting us a little confused. And I have been receiving quite a few compliments on my new take on the Material Girl’s classic song. While I am delighted to take the credit because I have listened to it and it is very good. I think it is probably the right thing to do to point out on here that it is definitely nothing to do with me and not something I have worked on or produced.

I had to go and buy a new suit for something the other day. I always get a bit swept away when I go into a proper suit only shop because the staff are so good in those places. You will be hovering around just looking at a couple of different styles. Then they will spot you and hone in on you from nowhere for the kill. They will instantly pick out two suits that they think will look good on you. Then just by looking at you, they will tell you what size you are and pick the relevant garments off the peg. Before you know it you are trying one of them on. It fits perfectly and looks great. So a few minutes later you are paying for it. While the same member of staff is still trying to sell you a matching shirt and tie set to go with it.

Those guys are amazing. Many years ago on my lunch break. I went into a designer tailors just to look at some nice suits with a view to buying one possibly at a later date. But some thirty minutes later I was sitting back at my desk having just spent around five hundred pounds on an Armani Suit with a shirt and a tie combination included. Wondering how on earth that just had happened. It looked great. But it was a very brief and expensive outing that I was really not expecting.

I have been speaking to an amazing man called Ray Coates recently. He is a singer, who seven years ago was diagnosed with throat cancer. Which left him virtually unable to speak for a year. Happily he is now free of the disease and has been for five years now. He wants to give something back to the people who helped him and in turn hopefully help others in the future.

So he is trying to record an album of original songs. Which he is planning on both writing and recording himself with the help of other singers and musicians. Once completed he hopes the album will raise awareness and much needed funds for 20/20 Voice. Which is a head and neck Cancer Charity. Ray has already released the first single from the proposed album it’s called “The Voice Within”. Which is available from I-Tunes and Amazon now. If you want to find out more about Ray Coates or download the song just click on this link http://www.raycoates.co.uk/

I told you last time we spoke that I was reading John Cleese’s Autobiography “So Anyway”. Well I am nearly three quarters of the way through reading it and it is totally fascinating. Now I thought I knew quite a bit about his past and how his career developed but I was very wrong. I have learned lots of things that I did not know so far. For example he had tickets for every single England game for the 1966 World Cup Finals but after watching the first group match against Uruguay, a goalless draw gave away his final ticket to Bill Oddie. As he could not see the home country making the final. He was wrong and suitably gutted for missing the greatest moment in English football history.

I have said this before but I love Twitter and here is another reason why I do. I follow John Cleese, so I sent him a tweet just telling him how much I was enjoying his book. And he replied with these words. “So anyway…thank you Neil Quigley for your kind remarks”. And if you do not believe me check out the screen shot picture below. It’s not every week you get a mention from a comedy legend.

I was back working at Wembley Stadium the other week. While I was there I actually got to very briefly hold the actual FA Cup that was used between 1911 and 1991. So it was the very trophy that my team Tottenham Hostpur had lifted in 1961, 1981, 1982 and finally in 1991. It was retired and a new one was used between 1992 and 2013. Then Arsenal last year got their hands on a brand new one. The base the cup sits on holds so much history as it has inscribed on it all the teams that have won the competition since it started in 1872 up to Spurs. Who were the last team to receive that version in 1991.

Talking of lifting trophies at Wembley. Tomorrow it is of course the Capital One Cup Final between my team Tottenham and Chelsea. I am very excited and really looking forward to seeing the game. I hope we can win it. I had a great day out in the national stadium for the 1999 League Cup final when I witnessed Spurs beat Leicester City by one goal to nil. The whole day was brilliant fun, before, during and after the game itself. I am very much hoping for more of the same this time round. Also while I was there this week. I caught sight of the great Luis Figo. The former Portuguese footballer was there for the press launch for his bid to become the next FIFA President.

I do like varying my meals and eating lots of different styles of food when I can. There is an Indian Restaurant and Takeaway in the town where I live. Which I have been meaning to try for about the last five years but had never got round to it. Until last Saturday that is. I was working in London and returning home quite late in the evening. So basically I could not be bothered to cook. And I had not had an Indian Meal for ages. So while I was on the train home I found their website, decided what I wanted to eat.

Then when I was about twenty minutes away I called them with my order. Happily timing it perfectly meaning I walked straight from the train station to the takeaway. Where my food was ready to collect instantly. I just ordered a mild chicken curry, some rice and a garlic naan. When I got my meal home I found I had also been given a complimentary bottle of lager and a couple of poppadom’s with a mint dip. Which I thought was a very nice touch. Which was very much appreciated by me. The food was great. I will be taking advantage of this facility more often in the future I think. In fact I am off to experience my first meal in the restaurant next month. As a mate of mine is performing his Elvis Presley Tribute Show there on the 18th March.

Neil Quigley and Elvis Presley hanging out in the 70's #crazydays — Neil Quigley and Elvis Presley hanging out in the 70’s #crazydays

I watched as I do every year the Brit Awards. I have been lucky enough to attend it in the past and it is a great night out. I thought this year’s show was brilliant. It was expertly hosted by Ant & Dec, who have to be the best presenters in the business. I always feel so relaxed watching them in action as I know everything is in safe hands and they are in total control. The Brits is a tough gig. As host you are mainly playing to the people watching on TV but needing also to include and get some reaction from the guests. Who are usually to too busy talking or drinking to really get involved. But the lads pitched it all brilliantly, linked it together faultlessly and kept it moving along nicely. While still putting their stamp on it and making it entertaining. Pure Class. Not as easy as it sounds. In the past many have tried and many have failed. Pleased they are already booked to host again next year.

There were some great performances on the night. The British music scene is in a very good state at the moment I think. Not only are they all hugely talented but they are nice, polite, humble and supportive of their contemporaries. Which I felt made for a very good atmosphere at the event. Well done in particular to Paloma Faith, who I think is amazing. Ed Sheeran, who simply gets up and belts out great songs, just him and his guitar. He has sold out Wembley Stadium for three nights this summer. I thought both of their live performances were sensational. In fact all the acts who played on the night were excellent and put on great shows.

There is one performance I of course have to mention and that is Madonna. She closed the show performing her latest single. I did genuinely gasp when her cape didn’t release and she got pulled back down some stairs. But fair play after falling in a heap. She dusted herself down and continued with the song, including some quite vigorous dance moves. I like her and she has done so much for the music industry. So I felt bad for her when her big appearance did not go quite to plan. Or did it? As that clip of her stumbling has been watched by millions of people all over the world. She is still a great live performer and knows how to put on a show. But the important thing is she was OK.

Finally on the Brits it was nice to see Jimmy Page there presenting one of the awards. He was looking really well, just so cool and relaxed on stage. As I guess you would expect from one of the greatest guitarists of all time. This is a true story. I once went to a fancy dress party at his house. Where I got to meet the great man himself. While I was dressed as Elvis Presley in full Las Vegas white jumpsuit mode. And while Mr Page was dressed as an eighteenth century Lord of the Manor. It was a truly surreal but brilliant night. He was so friendly and nice to talk to. A brilliant bloke who does a lot of unsung charity work.

Elvis Presley's American Eagle White Jumpsuit — Elvis Presley’s American Eagle White Jumpsuit

This week saw the start of the latest series of the brilliant Radio 4 Extra Topical News Comedy Show Newsjack. A programme which I have written jokes for in the past. I will be again be doing a bit of writing for it this time around. There is a new host as Romesh Ranganathan has moved on to be replaced by Nish Kumar. It is on the radio every Thursday night at 10.30pm for the next five weeks.

I am looking forward to going to the BBC Radio Theatre next week to see the latest edition being recorded. It is always a decent night out there. I am really hoping I will be there to witness some of my material being used on the night to. As far as I am concerned there is still something pretty cool about hanging out in the BBC Cafe before you head in to the theatre. You never know who you might bump in to there, so I will be keeping my eyes open to see who I can spot.

On Thursday I went to the Duchess Theatre in Covent Garden to see the fantastic “The Play That Goes Wrong”. A friend of mine told me about it last year, sometime. She said she had heard it was very good and definitely worth seeing. So I had been meaning to see it for ages. Then last week just after I had booked tickets to see it and was looking forward to it. Ant McPartlin no less went to see and he said it was brilliant and he wasn’t wrong. I had some cracking seats right in the middle and five rows front the front. I am so glad I went to see it because it is hilarious. I was laughing from start to finish.

The fun starts as soon as you enter the auditorium. It is so well performed the whole cast are amazing. And it is fair to say it is quite a physical piece to perform in. The title does give you an indication of what to expect but sitting there and seeing it. You can’t believe just how wrong it goes. There are so many laugh out loud moments. It is madness and mayhem half of the time. There is never a dull moment. It is not Shakespeare or the Phantom of The Opera but if you fancy a good old fashioned laugh for a couple of hours. I would go and see this show. The timing required by the actors to make it all work is phenomenal.

I am looking forward to going to see the first episode in the new series of Celebrity Squares being recorded at the London Studios. I wonder which big stars will be in the squares on the night. I have seen Warwick Davis before at Panto Press Nights at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury. He is a really nice bloke. And does a brilliant job hosting the show. I think he is really funny and does have good comedy timing in my opinion. I will tell you what it was like next time we speak.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

TV and Radio Times

February 14, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been great fun and I have managed to get up to some pretty cool stuff. I will tell you all about that in a bit. But first Happy Valentines Day to you. I really hope my postman will not have to take six weeks off work again this year, after giving himself a hernia delivering all my cards last year. To be honest I have never really celebrated it much myself. Surely you should show love and appreciation every day of the year and not just once every three hundred and sixty five days.

That said a lot of my friend’s seem to make an effort, as pretty much all of their first born children arrived in November. You do the maths. One Valentine’s Day does stick in my mind though. It was Saturday 14th February 2009, when I presented my last show in Somerset at Midwest Radio after spending five years broadcasting in the West Country. They did not even send me some roses or give me a box of chocolates. Although to be fair we had been out for my leaving do the night before.

Sarah Parish started the Neil Quigley Fan Club

I few weeks ago I went to see the first episode of a brand new ITV 2 show called Reality Bites being filmed at The London Studios on the South Bank. It is a new comedy panel show based around reality television. It’s hosted by the excellent Stephen Mulhern with team captains Emma Willis and Joel Dommett. They just talk about reality programmes and then play some silly games. Which also sometimes feature current or former reality television stars.

In the show I watched, Emma Willis was joined by Jimmy Bullard and Joe Lycett and on Joel Dommett’s team were Bruno Tonioli and Luisa Zissman (who apparently was on the Apprentice and Celebrity Big Brother but I have to confess I had never heard of her). By the way if you think Bruno is over the top or unpredictable on Strictly Come Dancing you should have been there to witness this. He was great value and very funny but man he has got some energy. He will not sit still and if you are looking for an innuendo, he will give you one.

They had three special guests on the show to help play some of the games. These were White Dee from Benefits Street, Charlotte Crosby from Geordie Shore and Alex Sibley from Big Brother three. It was a great laugh in the studio, everybody was on good form. Stephen Mulhern did an ace job steering the ship. And the three hours we were there during the filming passed by very quickly. I would like to congratulate the producers and the editors, who some how managed to edit it down to a fifty minute programme. Which was then broadcast on ITV 2, two days later.

As ever with these things some of the funniest bits on the night never made it in to the show. In some instances because they were unsuitable for broadcast, even after ten thirty at night and on ITV 2. Let us just say we learnt quite a lot about some of the members of the panel. Much more than we really wanted to know. The warm up man for the show was the brilliant comedian and entertainer Andy Collins. Who as ever did an excellent job. Making sure that the audience were primed and ready from the start and kept focussed and amused during any short breaks in filming. I have been lucky enough to meet him on quite a few occasions in the past. So it was really good to be able to have a very quick chat with him as I was leaving the studio.

I met up with a good friend of mine the other weekend for a few days of reminiscing, catching up and partying. I met him when he was working at Mix 96 in Aylesbury. He joined the station fourteen years ago and was there for around two years. So it is now twelve years ago since he left. As he is from and lives in Liverpool he had not been back to the town for quite a few years. So a few Friday’s ago Jeff Nolan ventured down from up north. And we met up in Aylesbury to have a look round the place and talk about the old times. We were joined for a chat in a coffee shop by another former colleague of ours Richard Carr.

Before the three of us then went to Mix 96 to meet up with Nathan Cooper. And have a look around the studio for old times sake. It was really nice to see everyone and see the station doing so well to. While I was there it was good to have a quick chat with Chris Maskery. Who I have to say has grown the most extraordinary beard since I saw him last, it is huge. Before we left Aylesbury Jeff and I grabbed a bite to eat in a venue that under its previous guise, we had both watched Alexander O’Neill and the Three Degrees perform there.

Neil Quigley in a still from the Mix 96 behind the Scenes Video

Our next stop on our crazy weekend tour was Bicester. Where we had booked in to a small bed and breakfast above a pub to stay for the night. After attending a Birthday Party that evening. The party was being thrown by Stuart Hosking, who was of course famously one of the contestants in Big Brother 2, to celebrate his 50th. Now Jeff and I met Stuart at Mix 96 not long after he left the famous reality show house in 2001. After being a guest on the breakfast show hosted by Chris Blumer and Jeff. The station offered him the chance to present a Sunday morning radio show.

A programme which I ended up producing for a short while. Which is obviously how and where I met him. While working together we did go for the occasional drink after the show. Which was always good fun. I remember one Sunday we managed to get a man from Aylesbury who had been on the previous night’s Blind Date in for a chat. That was interesting to find out first hand exactly what it was like being on a big show like that. If my memory serves me right, I think he also came for a drink after the show with us that day.

Neil Quigley and Jeff Nolan in Liverpool

Anyway we had a few drinks in Bicester before jumping in a taxi and going to the hotel where Stuart’s party was taking place. He had hired out the whole of this very nice hotel just on the outskirts of Oxford. On arrival it was pretty easy to spot the birthday boy as he was dressed in all white and wearing a set of angel wings. So we said our congratulations and had a quick catch up with him, bearing in mind it was probably about eight years since I had seen him last. Whatever he is doing it is working for him as he was looking really well. There was free ale on a self service tap. It would appear Jeff is better at drinking it rather than pouring it as he managed to lose about a pint of it on the floor because he couldn’t turn the nozzle off. I did think about just laying under it Homer Simpson style but I then thought this might look a bit uncouth.

The entertainment was fantastic. There was a magician who was walking around doing some table magic and card tricks. But the main attraction was a band who were called Rockaoke. And yes you have guessed it they are a live brilliant band who play while you sing in a Karaoke style. If you are a big fan of Chris Moyles you might just remember that he did a big tour with this band around the country. We managed to have a chat to one of the band and they have done some pretty cool stuff. They have supported the Foo Fighters and played in the VIP tents of a lot of big festivals. So you can imagine the kind of people who were joining them to perform in those situations. They are so good and can play so many different songs. They so effortlessly move from one song to another. And they do have a singer who will sing backing, harmonies and also just chip in if you need a bit of help to keep the song going, to make you sound much better as well.

Now unfortunately I can’t sing and I am completely tone deaf. Which is a real shame as I would have loved to have got up there and belted out a tune with the band. Jeff Nolan however can sing a bit. So he treated us to a version of the Oasis song Rock N Roll Star with more swagger and attitude than even Liam Gallagher could manage. And while doing nothing for regional stereotyping. He also treated us to some Beatles and a bit of Day Tripper. We were trying to convince Stuart, the band and anyone else that would listen that we should close the night with a version of Let It be. Where we all sing an individual line each, in a kind of Band Aid sort of style. We were over ruled and Stuart and his rugby mates performed Thin Lizzy’s The Boy’s Are Back In Town as the the last song. Which on reflection seems fair and makes sense. It was a great night. The venue was lovely, the guests so friendly and the entertainment top quality. So thanks very much to Stuart Hosking for letting us join in the celebrations and a slightly belated happy 50th birthday to you sir.

The day after the party Jeff and I were up early and back on the road up to Liverpool. We left Bicester with the plan to stop at the next Mcdonalds we saw and have a little bit of breakfast. It would seem this particular fast food establishment is not so popular on the motorways as may be it once was. As the first one we saw was at a Service Station just outside Crewe. So we were virtually at our destination before we managed to get some food. We arrived at Jeff’s house in Liverpool just before eleven and I think we were in the pub for midday. I have said this before I but I do like Liverpool and always feel very at home there. May be that is because my granddad grew up and went to school there.

So needless to say I had a fun afternoon having a few drinks and watching some football before returning to Jeff’s in the early evening to enjoy what was a massive sixteen inch pizza. Which somehow I managed to finish. I think it is reasonable to say I have a decent appetite. The tour ended the following day when I got the train home. Which took slightly longer than I hoped. As it did require a bus replacement service for part of the journey, but that is Sunday travel for you.

On the train journey home from Liverpool I started reading John Cleese’s Autobiography So Anyway. As you would expect from a man so clever and intelligent as him. It is brilliantly written in a very informative and entertaining way. He does go in to quite a bit of detail about his early life, explaining it in such a way that you really get a flavour of what it was like being him at that point in his life. I have only read the first six chapters. He has got a place at Cambridge University but he has not started his course yet. He is working as a Teacher in what was actually his first school as a child. I did work experience when I was eighteen at my Secondary School and that was weird enough. So working full time at his old school must have been properly odd.

I am a huge fan of Fawlty Towers and all the Monty Python films. So I am really looking forward to him talking about them in the book. But he has already mentioned how things he saw or witnessed as a kid, in later life gave him ideas for character traits or comedy situations. It is a really fascinating read and I am looking forward to finishing it. But even after what I have already read, I would recommend it to any comedy fan.

As a Tottenham Hotspur fan I am afraid I can’t not mention last Saturday’s big game. Over the years I have seen us lose to Arsenal on so many occasions and sometimes quite heavily. But when I sat down to watch the North London Derby on television last weekend. I did feel very calm and confident that we would at least get something out of the game. Well done to the whole team, I thought everybody was fantastic and it was a truly great performance. Watching any Spurs game is always a roller coaster of emotions and this one was no different.

I would like to apologise to my neighbours for the shouting and screaming after Harry Kane’s equaliser and then again after his second. A brilliant header that won us the game. I have pretty much only just got my voice back. Great day for my team, I have to admit I was buzzing all week after that victory. Now I hope we can get our first trophy since 2008 by beating Chelsea at Wembley Stadium in the Capital One Cup Final on Sunday 1st March.

I went to see one of the London heat’s of Britain’s Got Talent last Wednesday at the Dominion Theatre. Just as I was arriving at the venue I witnessed Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden making their way through the front doors, with about thirty tabloid photographers trying to get pictures of them as they walked past. Then just before I went inside I saw Stephen Mulhern do a bit of filming with the audience that had gathered for his ITV 2 spin off show More Talent. Then it was time to take my seat ready for the action to begin. The warm up man Ian Royce comes on first to get the crowd going and then Ant & Dec come out to say hello and have a quick chat.

That was pretty much the only time we saw or heard from them all night. Because of course you will know, if you watch the show. They do all their work off stage talking to the acts before and after their performance’s. Next the four judges are then bought out and they to have a chat to the crowd. Now the next bit surprised me a little as the acts, when everything is ready for them. Seem to randomly wander on to the stage without being introduced. So we know nothing about them until they have that chat with the judges before they do their thing. Which does explain the sometimes rather odd applause they get, when they come on stage. As it kind of depends on at which point the audience spot them. I do not want to give anything away but it is fair to say there is the usual mix of good, bad and deluded acts on the show once again this year.

I did see some good acts but if I am honest I don’t think I saw this year’s winner. The banter between the judges is good. And to be fair on the whole they were being very nice, even to the not so good ones. One thing that did amaze me was how loud the buzzers are. When they go off it does make you jump. So no wonder the acts always look confused and pause for a second when one is pressed. It was a fun night out and I am looking forward to seeing the whole series on television later this year. There was a really bad singer on near the end. And I found myself walking straight past her as she was leaving the stage. I just chose to smile and say nothing. Which in that situation, I think was the politest thing to do. Mind you see did not look happy after getting four big no’s.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

My January

January 30, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been pretty busy, with quite a few things going on. A lot of people this month chose to not drink alcohol with quite a few also being sponsored to do so. Therefore enjoying the health benefits themselves of not drinking for thirty-one days and raising money for their chosen charities. I have abstained from alcohol at this time of the year in the past. In fact one year I went two months without having any. And I have to confess I felt great, had loads of energy, was sleeping brilliantly and found I was up earlier in the mornings. So getting more from my days. So it is worth doing if you can. The best I managed this year was two weeks off the booze but there was a big celebration that I was involved in this month, which was part of the reason for that.

A couple of Saturday’s ago my parents reached the landmark of their fortieth Wedding Anniversary. To mark the occasion my mum and dad along with my sister and I had a very enjoyable weekend in London. We had booked in to a nice central hotel in the capital. So we went there first to get ready for our big night out. Here is a tip for you. If you are in London with a group of four or more people. It is actually cheaper to get a black cab to your destination rather than by buying individual underground tickets for the tube. Plus it is quicker and you arrive exactly where you want to.

The plan for the night was to go out for a meal and then see a West End musical. All of which had been booked in advance. And I have to say all excellently organised by my dad. The restaurant he had selected was literally right across the road from the theatre. Where we had a fantastic pre-show meal. The venue was amazing, the food was perfect, the staff were friendly and very efficient, plus the wine was decent to. It all made for a great all round dining experience. And a very fitting way to start the celebrations.

After we had polished off our puddings we made our way across the street to Her Majesty’s Theatre to see The Phantom Of The Opera. It is one of the few shows that I had not seen before. And it was the first time I had visited that particular theatre. I liked the place. As I do all the old fashioned West End venues. I love the feel of them and the way they look. Although to be fair there was not a massive amount of leg room inside the auditorium at this one. We had really good seats and were only four rows from the front.

The show itself was breathtaking,intriguing and captivating in equal measure. The staging, the props and the scenery is spectacular. The whole cast were excellent, making it so entertaining and the time there watching it just fly by so quickly. The story and the way that it is set up right from the beginning is very clever. Not to mention the extremely catchy tunes in the show courtesy of course of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. I always feel on such a high when leaving the theatre after seeing a great show. We then headed back to the hotel to have a drink and a chat before bed. A truly memorable weekend. Massive congratulations to my mum and dad on their forty years together.

I mentioned previously that I was reading John Bishop’s autobiography “How Did All This Happen”. Well I have now finished it and it was a very interesting read. There are some slightly odd things that happened in his life, many of which had already been revealed in interviews and on television shows that he has appeared on. The funniest thing possibly, ironically is that he only started doing comedy to take his mind off his marriage problems and because he could have nights out on his own without getting his friends out. Who were all married and settled down with children.

Then he almost seemingly accidentally got quite good, pretty quickly. And shot up the rungs of the ladder to getting paid to do big gigs. Which he continued to do alongside his very well paid sales job. Until it reached the point where something had to give. So with no guaranteed work. He left his well paid job to try and make it as a full time comedian. Sometimes in life you have just got to throw caution to the wind, bite the bullet and follow your dreams. It certainly worked out well for him. And speaking as someone who also left a pretty well paid job to move in to radio fourteen years ago. When I had nothing at all lined up to do. It does make life a lot more exciting and I have not regretted it for a second since.

I finally got round to watching the latest Lee Mack stand up comedy DVD, that I was given for Christmas, last weekend. I do like him and think he is brilliant on Would I Lie To You. In the last episode of the current series. They had the wonderful June Brown on. She admitted to once going skinny dipping with Letitia Dean. When they were on holiday together in Spain. That revelation came as no surprise to me as I was lucky enough to meet June backstage at T4 On The Beach in Weston-Super-Mare one year. And then during that conversation see told me that she often sun bathes naked in her friends back garden. Quite how this came up while were talking I have no idea, but I don’t think I have watched EastEnders since.

I am also a fan of Lee Mack’s sitcom Not Going Out. There are some very clever and very stupid jokes in equal measure in that show. And I appreciate them all. Anyway his latest live show “Hit The Road Mack” was very funny, and like all the top comics he very much has his own style on stage. I have also read his autobiography. And it is also quite interesting how he ended up in comedy and how his sitcom actually came to be made.

I am still spending time at Wembley Stadium and I narrowly missed bumping in to another comedian there the other week. I was there during the day and then later that evening Chris Ramsey was there doing a corporate gig in one of the function rooms. For a well known chain of restaurants, which he does seem to enjoy using when he is out on tour. I only know all this because I follow him on Twitter. I am not stalking him. Although I did see him live at the Queens Park Arts Centre in Aylesbury a couple of years ago. He was doing a warm up gig for his Edinburgh Festival Show. As part of the excellent Tringe Festival.

It is a nice little venue for comedy and it was a fun night. The show was very funny and I thought he was really good, coming across as being very friendly. Which made for a lovely atmosphere in the room. At that point he was just at the stage where he was starting to do a little bit of television here and there. While now he regularly appears on lots of different panel shows including Celebrity Juice and he was in the sitcom Hebburn, which ran for two series. Now he is just about to start recording a pilot episode of his own brand new television Show. He seems like a top bloke, so I hope that all goes well for him.

I was in central London the other day for a couple of meetings and to do a few bits and pieces. While I was there I did manage two celebrity spots. I walked past the well respected film critic Mark Kermode by New Broadcasting House. Which would make a lot of sense, as he does do quite a bit of work for the BBC. Then a bit later on just off Drury Lane I saw Duncan James from Blue getting out of a cab in front of me. He has done some musical theatre, so as he was in that area I wonder if he is lining up something else along those lines for himself.

I had a spare hour so I thought I would try and inject a bit of culture in to my day. So I went in to the National Portrait Gallery. Which have to confess after five minutes of looking around, I decided it was not for me and left. The exhibits I saw were good but art and photography have never really been my thing. I mean I still can’t even manage to colour within the lines now. If we all liked the same things in life it would be boring I guess.

On the way to BBC New Broadcasting House

I am delighted that my football team Tottenham Hotspur have made it to the Capital One Cup Final at Wembley Stadium against Chelsea on Sunday 1st March. I watched both legs of the semi final and as ever we made it difficult for ourselves and at the same time very exciting. I have said it before and I will say it again with the huge range of different emotions you experience as a Spurs fan during a game supporting them is bad for your health. I did have a very slight conflict of interests in the game with the League One team Sheffield United, as I am a shareholder in the club. This is because about twenty years ago a mate convinced me and another friend to invest a little bit of money in the club. He said they would get to the Premiership and we would make some money.

So we each put in one hundred pounds and bought some shares. And to be fair Sheffield United did make it to the Premiership but we did not make any money. In fact the only reason we still have the shares still is because they are worth so much less than we paid for them currently. That there is no point in cashing them in. Therefore I was very much one hundred percent behind Tottenham as I always am in all games. I am now really looking forward to the final and hoping to be there in the crowd cheering them on to victory.

This weekend I am catching up with a mate of mine for a slightly crazy two part plan. He used to work at Mix 96 in Aylesbury, so is coming back to visit the town on Friday. To have a look round and see a few people he knows.Then in the evening we are off to a birthday party in Oxfordshire. Before heading up to Liverpool on Saturday to go out there and celebrate his birthday. I do always have a great time up there, so it is sure to be fun. But it is a whistle stop one night only outing as I have to be back at a reasonable time on the Sunday. I am thinking may be I should hire a tour bus for the weekend.

I’m off to see the first episode of a brand new ITV2 show being filmed next week. It is a new comedy panel show from the producers of Celebrity Juice hosted by Stephen Mulhern with Emma Willis and Joel Dommett as team captains. They will be joined by celebrities and reality stars to discuss and dissect the latest happenings in all things reality TV. Which is why the show is called Reality Bites. It is always interesting to see new ideas and programmes, to see if they work or not. I will of course know if that is the case or not with this one in a few days time.

I am looking forward to attending one of the London auditions for this year’s Britain’s Got Talent at the Dominion Theatre. As a long time admirer of Ant & Dec I can’t wait to see them live for the first time, well on stage at least. I did see Ant McPartlin in a nightclub in Oxford many years ago. It will be interesting what I think of seeing the acts do their thing in a random order and it does mean I will see all that is on offer not just the stuff deemed good or in some cases bad enough to make it into the edit and on to our screens. I will tell you what the experience was like next time we speak.

Neil Quigley TV Radio & Live — Neil Quigley TV, Radio & Live

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Neil Quigley Presenter