Darren Walsh
Darren Walsh hates people who use low frequency guitars. He's bassist.
Darren Walsh turned up drunk to a party dressed as an OXO cube. He was the laughing stock.
Darren Walsh had a dream last night that he was drowning in vodka. It was an Absolut nightmare.
There are literally hundreds and hundreds of other daft gags like these in Darren's Joke book but he's at his funniest and most inventive when he's onstage. Watch this clip and then read our interview with the UK Pun Champion ...
Le Document (LD) Is Peterborough a nice place to come from? Are there any places there you'd recommend people visit?
Darren Walsh (DW) No. It's the kind of place that people only go through on the train. In the Lonely Planet guide to England, under Peterborough it says "The cathedral is the only thing worth visiting, only just" then under accommodation goes on to say "If you find yourself stuck here...". I sometimes do phone-ins on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and bill myself as "Peterborough's most successful comedian". I was joking, but I think there's a chance it's true.
LD What is your take on this statement "show me a child who was happy at school and I'll show you a liar, a cheat or a bully" Were you happy at school?
DW Wow I've never heard that, but I think there is some truth in it. No I didn't like (secondary) school. I failed at everything. And look at me now.
LD When you look in the mirror what do you like about your appearance? Would you change anything or are you happy with your lot?
DW Normally my head is cut off because nobody hangs mirrors up high enough. So I would change the mirror, not my appearance.
LD Are there plans for more books? What are you currently working on?
DW Yes! I'm working on a new book called "Hoo-larious". In fact, I've enough jokes for 2 more books, but it takes so long compiling them from my joke database. At the time of writing, I have 4801 jokes. What I'm doing though is verifying that every joke is original, by searching for them on twitter. It's surprising which jokes have and haven't already been done!
LD Do you have a favourite comedy venue?
DW I honestly cannot say I do. To perform in, I guess the Phoenix pub in oxford circus as that has a big projector screen. But anywhere that has a good sound system, stage lights and chairs all facing the same direction is good. This is not how last night's gig was set up...
LD Who are your heroes?
DW I never really got into watching stand-up believe it or not. My heroes were all sketch comedy actors. Spike Milligan, Monty Python etc... I loved Big Train and The Fast Show and more recently Limmy. If I were to choose someone, I'd have to say John Cleese.
LD What's the punchline to your fave joke?
DW "Because he had a good sense of puma"
LD Have you ever met a famous person and been starstruck?
DW Yeah I got a bit giddy at meeting Kevin Eldon. I once threw my pants at David Hasselhoff, but I wasn't star struck. He was pants-struck.
LD Do puns appeal more to men or women? And young rather than old?
DW I'm a numbers guy, so I shall share my YouTube Analytics:
Female 39.5%
Male 60.5%
13–17 years 0.9%
18–24 years 43.9%
25–34 years 46.7%
35–44 years 7.6%
45–54 years 0.9%
55–64 years 0%
So there you have it: Mostly blokes in their late 20s-early30s
LD Do you get nervous before a performance?
DW Yes sometimes. The best gigs are ones where you have little bit of nervous energy.
LD Who is your favourite member of the Beatles?
DW Paul. Saying that, I think post-Beatles, Lennon has a more impressive legacy, but whilst they were together defo Paul.
LD What do you have in your pockets?
DW A face mask. That's it. It's not "keys, wallet, phone" anymore is it? it's "keys, wallet, phone, face mask"
LD What's your earliest memory?
DW Putting my coat on in the lounge. I wish I could say something like laughing at my first joke, but it's really boring.
