Sean Hughes

Sean Hughes was born in November 1965 and he died in October 2017. In my youth I saw him do stand-up in comedy clubs in South London many, many times. I still remember daft gags of his like; “I’m not into one-night stands … I can’t take that level of commitment.” and "Isn't it amazing the conversations you overhear in toilets? Last night I heard a woman say: 'I think there's a man in here'."

Those kind of Steve Martin-esq silly jokes seem to come very easily to him but they weren't what he wanted to be associated with. My research informs me that when Hughes was just 13 years old, he saw Richard Pryor Live at The Sunset Strip and knew there and then what he wanted to do with his life was go on stage and be free to tell the truth and say whatever he wanted.

At the age of 19 he left Dublin and came to London to try his luck in comedy clubs such as Jongleurs. In 1990, when Hughes was 24, he went to the Edinburgh Festival with low expectations but to his surprise he won the Perrier award and was offered a TV Series (which resulted in Sean’s Show) and a publishing deal (which resulted in Sean’s Book.) Some might feel that success made a failure of Sean Hughes because although being a TV presenter and radio host earned him fame and fortune, he stopped being thought of as a comedian. At the age of age of 40 Hughes landed the role of “Pat the love rat” in Coronation Street.

When this acting stint came to an end he decided to return to the stage. However, by now Sean Hughes had changed his outlook. “I know my job is to make people laugh” he told one journalist, “but my agenda is to tell the truth not to tell jokes.” When The Right Side of Wrong Live DVD was released in 2007, fans of Sean’s Show and Sean’s Book may well have felt saddened or concerned that the Sean Hughes on stage at The Journal Tyne Theatre in Newcastle was rather different from the 90’s Sean they’d fell in love with. The 41 year old Sean is less romantic, less innocent, less kind and less sensitive. The good news is that he is more honest and he is still funny. Maybe 75% of what Hughes says in this show is about how he’s grown old without growing up...

“I thought when I was 41, I would be married with kids. Well, to be honest I thought I would be married with weekend access.” He claims the reason he’s back on stage for the first time in a decade is partly because stand-up is his first love and partly because his next door neighbours have got a kid whose learning to play the trumpet.

He had reached a level of fame where people didn’t know whether they had seen him on tv or if he was a neighbour that lived 4 doors down from them. He talks of having one night stands with 25 year-old women who don’t seem to care that he’s now dependent on ear and nose clippers, pills, supplements and afternoon naps. He says he refuses to go down on them, it’s not because he’s selfish, he’s just worried his back could go at any minute. For Sean the idea of having a threesome is unappealing as it would mean he had two people he’d have to ignore in the morning.

The show is one hour and 40 minutes long. There is odd material about speed dating women in hijabs – ("Hey great eyes! Hey... great eyes!") and a surprising section about how Disneyland should employ people with Downs to dress up as Mickey Mouse and hug people. Sean talks to an 18 year old in the audience whose name is Mark. When Sean discovers Mark works in a Morrison’s Supermarket and doesn’t have a girlfriend, he hands him a plate of biscuits.

The weirdest routine is about taking ecstasy and going to a Holocaust museum. It’s not an evening of non-stop laughs. Some sections about him needing a drink at 9am are likely to make you feel rather sad but this DVD is worth seeking out as there are flashes of brilliance and moments where he is every bit as impressive and honest as his comedy heroes. Fans like me who feel it's a tragedy he died so young can watch this show and feel some consolation by the fact that his dream came true and he did get to go onstage and feel free enough to say anything he wanted.

Hughes is likely to be remembered for the long running BBC show Never Mind The Buzzcocks. I imagine he would probably like to be remembered for poems he wrote for his book, "Sean's Book" (published by Pavillion). Here's a poem by Hughes I always rather liked called, Death.

Death 

I want to be cremated
I know how boring funerals can be
I want people to gather
meet new people
have a laugh, a dance, meet a loved one.

I want people to have free drink all night.
I want people to patch together, half truths.
I want people to contradict each other
I want them to say 'I didn't know him but cheers'

I want my parents there,
adding more pain to their life.
I want the Guardian to mis-sprint three lines about me
or to be mentioned on the news
Just before the 'parrot who loves Brookside' story.

I want to have my ashes scattered in a bar,
on the floor, mingle with sawdust,
a bar where beautiful trendy people
Will trample over me … again