Balance October 2017 - 27
T H E B I G I N T E RV I E W
I ALWAYS THOUGHT I
COULD DO ANYTHING.
I DON'T KNOW WHY I
THOUGHT THAT. YOU PICK
IT UP FROM YOUR PARENTS
it's not a success. In the long run, I felt that
good was rewarded.'
It's well-documented that Ricky dabbled with
music at university with band Seona Dancing
before becoming an entertainment manager at the
University of London Union (ULU).
But how, exactly, did success and stardom come
about? As we discover, Ricky is proof positive
that you can forge your own path. Unlike most
comedians, he didn't slog on the circuit for 10
years before catching a break. After university, he
worked for ULU, and shares a story about chiding
US rockers Pearl Jam for having too many people at
an after-show party in 1992, when the band were on
their way to global fame.
'Can you imagine what a boring little jobsworth I
came across as? A little f**king ents manager telling
Pearl Jam they're going over the fire limit.'
GROOMING: EMMA LEON, USING KIEHLS AND BUMBLE & BUMBLE. STYLING: FIONA DOWNIE
RICKY WEARS: JUMPER AND JEANS TED BAKER, BOOTS GRENSON
SUDDEN FAME
keep their organs in a jar! Sorry! My bad! I wasn't
clear enough in my 140 f*cking characters! You
have caught me out again, Twitter - I forgot to
mention to not skin people alive and wear them as
a coat!' As we say, he's on form.
PROUD MAN
BETTER
THAN EVER
Hot on the heels of
his 2016 film David
Brent: Life on the
Road, Ricky's first
world tour in seven
years, Humanity, is
going down a storm
'I always thought I could do anything,' reveals Ricky,
as he contemplates how his childhood infused his
attitudes today. 'I don't know why I thought that.
You pick it up from your parents. My mum was
never jealous of the Queen; they never slagged
anyone off; you pay your way. I always hold dearly
the little adage: ability is a poor man's wealth.
'Working for something was always important.
It was instilled in me. I got my first job before I
went to college - it was a gardening labouring job.
I felt proud coming home, because I was doing a
job. I knew my family would be proud of that.
'I've always known that success has to come
from hard work. If you haven't worked for it,
October 2017 BA LA N CE
He then moved to fledging radio station Xfm,
after helping them get their licence. As a thank-you,
they gave him a job as head of speech - and his own
late-night show, which he quit within a week. The
Xfm move would prove his 'golden ticket' moment.
'This was a big leap,' marvels Ricky. 'I was a
37-year-old ents manager putting on discos and
Abba tribute bands. It was like Willy Wonka.'
He would then appear on other Xfm shows to
read out events listings: 'I was so lazy that I couldn't
be bothered to type stuff out and so I went on the
radio shows myself.'
Soon, he was developing something of a following:
'I'd make them laugh. Just because I was too lazy to
write. And Xfm started getting emails asking who
I was. And that's where it started. From there, I got
a phone call from Channel 4, because they thought
I was a comedian. I went along and did that.' And
'that' was The 11 O'Clock Show, the vehicle that
catapulted him to cult comedy star.
'Just think of this: when I took over The 11 O'Clock
Show, some people said I shouldn't do it because I
couldn't take over from Ali G. Imagine if I'd not done
it "because I couldn't take over from Ali G". That is
Britain in a nutshell: "Don't bother; it won't happen
27
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance October 2017
Balance October 2017 - 1
Balance October 2017 - 2
Balance October 2017 - 3
Balance October 2017 - 4
Balance October 2017 - 5
Balance October 2017 - 6
Balance October 2017 - 7
Balance October 2017 - 8
Balance October 2017 - 9
Balance October 2017 - 10
Balance October 2017 - 11
Balance October 2017 - 12
Balance October 2017 - 13
Balance October 2017 - 14
Balance October 2017 - 15
Balance October 2017 - 16
Balance October 2017 - 17
Balance October 2017 - 18
Balance October 2017 - 19
Balance October 2017 - 20
Balance October 2017 - 21
Balance October 2017 - 22
Balance October 2017 - 23
Balance October 2017 - 24
Balance October 2017 - 25
Balance October 2017 - 26
Balance October 2017 - 27
Balance October 2017 - 28
Balance October 2017 - 29
Balance October 2017 - 29
Balance October 2017 - 30
Balance October 2017 - 31
Balance October 2017 - 32
Balance October 2017 - 33
Balance October 2017 - 35
Balance October 2017 - 34
Balance October 2017 - 37
Balance October 2017 - 35
Balance October 2017 - 36
Balance October 2017 - 37
Balance October 2017 - 38
Balance October 2017 - 39
Balance October 2017 - 40
Balance October 2017 - 41
Balance October 2017 - 42
Balance October 2017 - 43
Balance October 2017 - 44
Balance October 2017 - 45
Balance October 2017 - 46
Balance October 2017 - 47
Balance October 2017 - 48
Balance October 2017 - 49
Balance October 2017 - 50
Balance October 2017 - 51
Balance October 2017 - 52
Balance October 2017 - 53
Balance October 2017 - 54
Balance October 2017 - 55
Balance October 2017 - 56
Balance October 2017 - 57
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Balance October 2017 - 60
Balance October 2017 - 61
Balance October 2017 - 62
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Balance October 2017 - 65
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Balance October 2017 - 67
Balance October 2017 - 68
Balance October 2017 - 69
Balance October 2017 - 70
Balance October 2017 - 71
Balance October 2017 - 72
Balance October 2017 - 73
Balance October 2017 - 74
Balance October 2017 - 75
Balance October 2017 - 76
Balance October 2017 - 77
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