Irish funnyman Neil Delamere is getting ready to return to Belfast to take on the SSE Arena once again after his sold-out gig earlier this year.
Bringing his new show 'Delamerium' to Northern Ireland on February 17, 2023, The Blame Game legend says fans can expect a "completely individual" show full of slagging and good laughs.
The Co Offaly comedian told Belfast Live about working in Northern Ireland, the bursting comedy scene and 'who is to blame' for his favourite moment on the iconic BBC panel show.
Read more: Comedian Neil Delamere coming to the SSE Arena with new 'Delamerium' show
Speaking about heading back to the SSE, Neil said: "I can't wait to be back in the SSE - the last time I did it, it was kind of one of the first times you do a punchline and you just wait for it to go all the way around like an amphitheatre or something.
"It's a really weird feeling but I'm looking forward to that again and oddly, it's a better gig than it should be in some ways. It should be echoy and stuff bouncing off walls here, there and everywhere - it feels strangely intimate."
"What we will do is hopefully figure out how many people went last time and then sell two more tickets just so I can say its record-breaking versus the last one," he laughed
Those attending can expect to hear all the weird and wonderful stories from Neil's life over the past while, including a wild experience with fellow comedian Tim McGarry.
"We went to The Champion's League final and the crowd was teargassed. So we will certainly be talking about that at some point - I was trying to explain to the French police that trying to teargas a man who has grown up in the 70s in Belfast might not necessarily have the effect that you would think it would have," Neil joked.
"I think the whole Covid thing did make us grow grateful for being on the road again you know."
Neil's name has been cemented into the Northern Irish comedy scene through him time on The Blame Game. And with everyone and their mother having a favourite moment of their own from the show, Neil revealed the one that sticks out in his mind.
He said: "The one that is my most favourite moment is Gerry Kelly who was a guest host and had to step in because Tim couldn't do it and Gerry Kelly, who is an institution in Belfast and surrounds, was saying something when the producer was saying something in his ear.
"There was just a moment where he was just looking away like this [with his hand to his earpiece] and it just went on a little too long and we absolutely ripped the bit out of him.
"Because he is so skilled and so well respected, he can lean into it - he doesn't get offended because he knows. Rather than him getting upset, he started to laugh that we were taking the piss out of him."
Apart from his arena show next year, Neil has been busy on a number of other projects including Celebrity Mastermind, which was filmed in Belfast, and his own podcast with his friend Dave Moore called 'Why Would You Tell Me That?'
As the comedy scene in Northern Ireland continues to build from strength to strength, Neil believes this shift in the industry is "brilliant" for all the new talent trying to break through.
"Years ago, if you were a comedian and you wanted to get people to come see you, there were certain gatekeepers," he explained. "You had to find someone in radio or TV in a suit who would say they liked it or didn't and even if you were there for a period of time, they might decide it only gets a short run.
"Now in Belfast go direct to market which is brilliant - there are loads of people who have found an audience online and it's this democratisation of content such as podcasts and sketches which is great because they can find their own audience and no one can complain.
"It means you get more diverse voices and there's no one saying that the public deserves to know about one person and not the next - I think it is absolutely brilliant."
Neil Delamere's' Delamerium' comes to the SSE Arena Belfast on February 17 2023. For tickets, see here.
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