Life and Laughing_ My Story - Michael McIntyre [114]
Off The Kerb hired an experienced PR girl who got some journalists to see my show in its first week. I got several four-star reviews, and my show subsequently sold out every night. The change was unbelievable.
But the most important gig of the Festival was for Addison Cresswell. I had been with his agency for almost a year and this would be the first time he saw me perform. I spoke to Danny on the day Addison was due to watch me. ‘What if Addison doesn’t like me?’ I asked.
‘That’s OK, you’ll still have me fighting your cause, and Joe. But put it this way, mate … it’s better if he does … a lot better.’
The pressure of the gig suddenly got to me and I struggled. Sometimes when you chat to the audience as much as I was, you end up going down too many blind alleys, the audience lose confidence and the gig never ignites. It was one of those nights. Addison didn’t even stay behind to meet me.
‘I blew it,’ I said to Danny on the phone the following day.
‘Blew what?’ said Danny in his usual relentlessly positive way.
‘Last night’s gig. The Addison gig.’
‘Addison wasn’t at your gig last night. Change of plan. He’s like that, you never quite know where he’s going to be. He says he’s coming tonight, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.’
That night I had the kind of gig I was typically having, lots of banter with the audience, lots of big laughs. Before and after the show, I would hide behind the curtain of the tiny venue as there was no dressing room. When I came out at the end there he was, Addison Cresswell, all on his own, waiting behind. He was puffing on a law-breaking cigar and had a huge grin on his face.
‘You are a revelation,’ he said in his distinctive deep voice, walking over to shake my hand.
I was thrilled and relieved, but I was also tired. I had been struggling in comedy for years, my family were in another country, I was still in massive debt. Surely this was the moment everything changed for me.
‘Are you going to make me famous, Addison?’ I said boldly to Lee Evans’s agent.
‘A couple of years, I’d say,’ he replied.
It would be months.
24
My Edinburgh Festival again ended with the disappointment of not receiving a Perrier nomination, but this time it didn’t matter. After Addison had seen me, he went into overdrive, practically physically pushing TV execs to see my show. The result was that two days after the Festival ended, I was booked by Channel 4 to appear on the first ever Charlotte Church Show.
It was extraordinary. I was picked up from home in a gleaming silver Mercedes and taken to the BBC, where the show was recorded. I was on cloud nine. I kept Kitty updated throughout the day. Here is a selection of my phone calls to her:
‘I’ve got my own dressing room, it’s got my name on the door. I’ve got my own shower and a fridge. There’s also a box of Celebrations, I can’t stop eating them.’
‘A man from Channel 4 just came to my dressing room. I think he’s really powerful. He says he loved my Edinburgh show and can’t wait to work with me in the future.’
‘Shit, darling, I think I left my cufflinks … Oh no, false alarm, I found them … Love you, bye.’
‘I just met Denise Van Outen, she’s also on the show. I told her it was my first time on TV and she was so lovely to me.’
‘We just had a rehearsal. Charlotte Church is gorgeous … No … No, I don’t … I was just saying … Why are you being like that? … Darling … Please … I do not fancy Charlotte Church … She’s in a relationship with a rugby player and I’m married to you, I was just saying that in the flesh … I’m not making things worse … I know we’ve got a baby … calm down … I’m not obsessed with Charlotte Church’s flesh … I’ll call you after the show.’
‘I think it went really well. Everybody said I was really funny. Danny’s over the moon. I’m so happy. I’m just going to have a quick drink and then