Tag Archives: Chris Ramsey

Under My Skin

October 17, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been busy with lots going on. I do spend a lot of time in and around London. Which with my tea drinking addiction means I visit a lot of Coffee Shops. To keep myself topped up or sometimes just to kill some time before meetings. I went in to one of these establishments at Waterloo Station recently.

It was the chain where they ask you your name and then write it on the cup, supposedly to make it easier to collect your drink when it is ready. It always seems a bit of a waste of time though when you order tea. As they generally do this straight away and then hand it directly to you anyway. I was pretty sure when he asked my name I said Neil but I can only presume he did not believe this and actually thought I was a character from The Matrix. As when I received my cardboard container of tea it said “Neo” on the side.

I was back at the Elstree Studios the other Friday to see another edition of Celebrity Juice being recorded. It has since been shown on television. It was the one that featured Ben Hanlin, Sara Cox, Rylan and Judge Rinder. It was totally hilarious. And if you thought some of the stuff that went out on air was too rude. You should have seen some of things that did not make the final edit. It was a bit of a crazy evening and it is fair to say that a couple of the regulars really got in to the spirit of things. At one point Holly was threatening to try something that she believed she could definitely do. But was actually so dangerous the stage manager had to step in and stop her.

Judge Rinder looked pretty confused through pretty much all of it. If you saw it on TV you will know. He read out two of Lemon’s Law’s on the show. There was a third one that they got him to read out in the studio, which almost caused me to hurt myself laughing but which can very much not be repeated.

It was as ever a good fun evening. I was sitting right at the very front in the middle. I was that close I could have almost reached out and touched Keith Lemon. It was brilliant to see Sara Cox in person. I have liked her on the radio for years now and I think she sounds excellent on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show. When she stands in for Chris Evans. Rylan seems like a very nice bloke, who is up for a laugh and doesn’t take himself to seriously. And I will never tire of seeing Holly Willoughby in action in a TV studio.

Last time we spoke I said it would be good to see Andy Collins again. Well I did not have long to wait, as he was doing the warm up duties for the evening. He was on top form. And kept the whole audience pretty much on the edge of over excitement all night. If you saw it, you might have noticed a lot of the crowd were standing up and cheering. They were so hyped up. It is such a wild and crazy show but so entertaining. And such a good laugh.

I was working behind the scenes at the NFL American Football Game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets at Wembley Stadium a few Sunday’s ago. It is always a huge spectacle, when they come to town. From the pre game gatherings in Regents Street in London the day before to the big fan park that appears outside the ground on match day. The whole thing just builds and builds right up to kick off.

My role was to assist VIP guests to get to where they needed to be. This included showing one of the Miami Dolphin’s Vice Presidents to their Box. Taking the coaching teams to and from the vantage points that they were watching the game from. And directing the New York Jets players back to their team bus. I also got to witness Laura White sing the National Anthem before the start. She has an amazing voice and always does a splendid job. I did also manage to spot the force of nature that is David Hasselhof pitch side, enjoying the game.

I quite like watching American Football but I can’t claim to completely understand how it works. But it does seem very tactical. I did not have a team that I supported. But this may now have changed as I discovered that I have a namesake playing for the New York Jets. Ryan Quigley wears number four and is the Punter. So therefore I am now adopting them as my NFL team. Well at least until he either leaves the club or retires from the sport. So as I said I had to help show the players back to the team bus after the match. They were all so polite, nice and a pleasure to work with.

To put this in English Football terms that would have been like me talking to all the Tottenham Hotspur squad. Which would have been amazing and highlights how cool this was, to be that close to these superstars. If you think our footballers get paid a lot of money have a look at what some of the big NFL stars get paid. As ever it was a terrific experience working at this event. I am hoping I may also be involved in some way in the other two matches that will be taking place at Wembley Stadium in the next month or so.

It has been another brilliant series of the Radio 4 Extra topical news show Newsjack. The last episode of the current run was on Thursday night. I have really enjoyed writing jokes for it once again. Several of my jokes have made it in to the scripts and been performed in front of the live audience during its recording. But unfortunately none of them have quite made the edit and made it on to the show this time round.

It will next return to our radio’s for a new series in the new year. Congratulations to all the writers who had their material included. Having experienced it in the past it is a nice feeling and gives you a nice warm glow. When you get something on it. The cast and producers have done a wonderful job and I have really enjoyed listening to each programme.

It is no secret that I am a massive comedy fan. A couple of years ago now I got to see the Geordie Chris Ramsey perform at the Queen’s Park Art Centre in Aylesbury. As part of the Tringe Festival. It was just at the time when he had filmed the sitcom Hebburn. But it had not been on television. So I guess you could say it was just before his career really took off. It was basically a warm up gig for his Edinburgh Festival Show about rolling the dice and the concept of chance. It was proper laugh out loud funny.

There is actually some video footage of me reviewing this show somewhere. In it I am pretty sure I said something along the lines of “with his slight Geordie lilt, it is just like having a lovely chat with a mate” it all felt very warm and inclusive. He is returning to the Queen’s Park Art Centre next year on Friday 4th March. With his latest show “All Growed Up”. I would recommend going to see it if you can. You will not be disappointed.

I had a brilliant evening at the London Palladium seeing Sinatra recently. Firstly I have to say it is just such a great and iconic theatre to be inside. Just being there gives me a buzz. The show features a twenty-four piece orchestra and a massive troop of dancers plus video footage of Frank Sinatra himself. Who appears singing all the songs and telling you little snippets about his life. So you get a brief behind the scenes history of his career in his own words. And a great selection of his best known songs. In effect performed on stage by him. It is all very cleverly done and nicely put together.

During the interval I got talking to the man sitting next to me. It turned out that he was a huge Sinatra fan. And that he had actually been at the Palladium watching when “Ol Blue Eyes” made his first appearance on stage there in 1950. It was a brilliant show, which has now sadly finished in London.

I saw one of the last West End performances of it. To make the evening a bit more authentic the person I was with suggested we should drink Whiskey during it. I am not even really a fan of the drink at all, but I went with it and oddly it did feel right and add to the occasion a little.

I was very sad to hear of the death of Jim Diamond. A lovely man and amazing singer. I had the pleasure of interviewing him once when he came in to my radio show at Ivel fm in Somerset. A total professional and very easy person to talk to. I do remember having a slight argument with him about his best song. I was saying it was “I should Have Known Better” and he was adamant it was “I won’t Let You Down” which he released when he was the lead singer with the band PHD. On reflection he was the best man to judge it, so I am happy to accept his suggestion as the correct one.

Then on the day things got even better. When he got out his guitar and was joined on the saxophone by the legendary Snake Davis. He performed a couple of live acoustic songs. His voice was out of this world and it honestly made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was an big honour to see him and Snake play in that small room with just me sat in there with them, listening intently. RIP Jim.

It was also the first time I met the brilliant Snake Davis, a sublimely talented musician and also one of the nicest blokes you could wish to meet. He was in the M-People. He has toured with Simply Red, played at several Prince’s Trust concerts and with the Eurythmics. And my favourite Snake fact is….. it was him that recorded the famous Sax solo on Take That’s “A Million Love Songs”

My chosen couple on Strictly Come Dancing this year nearly fell at the first hurdle as Jamelia and Tristan found themselves in the bottom two on the first vote off moment. Happily they survived and Iwan Thomas with his partner Ola Jordan became the first couple to leave. I am still sticking with them as my favourites. Even though I have to say other partnerships are looking much better notably Jay McGuinness and Aliona Villani. Their Pulp Fiction inspired Jive was ridiculous for week three of the competition.

Anthony Ogogo and his partner Oti were the next two to go. I always get drawn in to this show. I love it and know absolutely nothing about dancing. I only lasted just one session when I tried Salsa lessons, many years ago now. Once again Zoe Ball and the team are doing an amazing job on It Takes Two. The nightly spin off show. Where you get all the behind the scenes gossip and can just enjoy the wonderful relationships developing between the celebrities and their professional dance partners. I am still hoping to find time to go and see one of the live Saturday shows his series. Fingers crossed.

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