The funniest standup I’ve ever seen …
Back in 1993 I went to see Michael Redmond and Phil Kay at a comedy club on a boat on the Clyde in Glasgow. I’m not sure which one of them did it to me but I laughed so much I burst a blood vessel and gave myself a black eye.
The funniest sketch I’ve ever seen …
I’m going to have to go with The League of Gentlemen’s “Has anybody got a bottle of orange juice” from their second series.
The funniest person I know …
There’s a standup comic called Ben Norris who is very funny on stage. Off stage, however, when the mood is just right, and just the right amount of booze has been consumed, he is the funniest thing on the planet. The highlight of a number of comedians’ stag weekends, I have seen him hold a room full of drunk, award-winning comedians in the palm of his hand for hours on end. Nobody can touch him.
The funniest thing that shouldn’t be funny …
I was in a restaurant in Boston once with a bunch of English people. For dessert, rather than bring a menu or a trolley they brought a tray of plastic models of the desserts they had available.
The funniest number …
Forty-seven, my age. Always gets a laugh.
The funniest joke I’ve ever heard …
Do yourself a favour and look at Larry Miller’s “five levels of drinking” routine. You won’t regret it.
Ed Byrne is on tour Tuesday 17 September to 29 March; starts Gulbenkian, Canterbury
