8227/21146
I thought June was going to be a quiet month, but it was another double podcast with the same person record today as I drove out to St Neots to meet alternative comedy legend and the most influential comedian that you've probably never seen, John Dowie.
There are a lot of great writers and comedians out there who never get the credit or plaudits they deserve, but John's philosophy of comedy and art is very much that you do it for its own sake and if it affects anyone then it's done its job. John started was doing something like alternative comedy pretty much before anyone else and gave it up (he wouldn't go into why this was) just before it turned into the big sprawling money-minded business that it is now. He is beautifully angry and misanthropic when it comes to idiocy and rudeness, but makes you appreciate the beauty of the world and the occasional human spirit.
If RHLSTP has any purpose (and just like John it's a pretty freewheeling enterprise) then it is maybe a useful resource cataloguing the history of comedy over the last few decades. Comedy is an art form that has little relevance beyond the moment that it happens in and generally exists to be forgotten in the grand scheme of things (though in the moment it is powerful and meaningful and at its best that moment will burn in the soul of those who witnessed it until they are dead and the fire ie extinguished), so it's a useless purpose. But in the short term I am delighted that it celebrates the greats in comedy, both well-known and not so well-known.
Comedian Dave Cohen, fan and friend of John came along to provide some perspective and it was a very pleasant couple of hours in the company these men and Bollings who had come along to record it. John's flat has some great memorabilia from his career - his stage show, Dogman (not the same as the comic book) and the EP from Factory Records that features New Order and John, as well as artefacts from the artists that inspired him: Spike Milligan, CS Lewis, George Harrison and more.
There were some great stories about Victoria Wood, Spike, Ken Campbell and more and we had enough stuff to make a regular episode of RHLSTP and a Book Club too.
Though humble and self-derogatory, John was clearly chuffed to be on the podcast and sweetly gratified when I told him how much I loved his writing. As mysterious as his step away from stand-up was, he's not a comedian who would have coped with fame. He was a big drinker in his day and was convinced he would be dead if he'd had success in the 90s. I feel the same about my own career. Had Lee and Herring enjoyed the success of something like Little Britain, it would have been to the detriment of us both and I am not sure I'd have survived proper fame. It was important to Stew to get back on TV and have his talent acknowledged, but whilst I might have thought I wanted that at the time, I am glad that I've had 25 years of doing the stuff I want to, without too much of a spotlight on me.
John's relative anonymity allowed him to cycle randomly round Europe having adventures and misadventures and getting infuriated by hoteliers and mountains and his own humanity.
He did not seem too infuriated by me, so it was an honour to meet this man without whom the world would not have been the same. That's true of all of us, of course.
We'll have a John Dowie RHLSTP week at the start of July. Don't miss it.
On weeks like this where I talk to three remarkable people I do feel very lucky to be doing this podcast. Three of the absolute best this week.
First guests announced for the Edinburgh run of RHLSTP. On 7th August I'll be talking to Rhys Darby, Dan Schreiber and Buttons aka The Cryptid Factor.
Tickets here. 
