All posts by Neil

Radio Ga Ga

July 25, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been brilliant with lots of fun things going on. In fact they have flown by so quickly. Although the seasons and timings of things in England do not help with time I find, they just cause confusion. For example July is considered to be the start of the Summer. Even though we have already had the longest day and so the day’s are now getting slowly shorter again.

The children are just breaking up for their long school summer holidays (which I used to love as a kid). At the same time that we are getting ready for the start of the football season, which kicks off in August. All this while the England cricket team are battling the Australian’s for the Ashes in cricket. All the seasons just seem to blend in to one another. I think we could do with may be re-classifying them. To set out new months where the seasons start and finish throughout the year.

I headed off to the Wycombe Swan Theatre the other week to see a new touring music show called Ladies Rock. It is the brainchild of and fronted by Australian singer Nicki Gillis. Who backed by a four piece band and a backing singer takes us through a musical journey of women in music from the sixties right through to the early noughties. Or to put it another way from Connie Francis through to Pink. As she performs these amazing songs from these iconic women pictures of them are projected on to the back of the stage behind her. To add to the sense of occasion.

It is not a tribute show. So it is their interpretation of these ace numbers rather than an impression of these great singers. Nicki has a fantastic voice. Which is required to be able to perform the classic songs that the show contains. The selection of singers and songs covered is like a whose who in the world of female musical super stars. You will know and love all of the hits you will hear.

The band are also top quality and they do compliment the lead singer perfectly. The overall performance has a very relaxed and all inclusive feel to it. If you fancy a great night out reliving many great tunes. I would recommend you keep an eye out for Ladies Rock. When it comes to a venue near you.

I was back at one of my favourite places a few Thursday’s ago. When I went to the BBC Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House to see a recording of the excellent Radio 4 Topical Comedy The Now Show. I arrived a little bit early, so I went and had a cup of tea in the Coffee Shop right opposite the One Show studio. I was pretty pleased when the person serving me asked if I worked for the BBC. I believe they may get a slight discount there. I told the truth and said no. But a little part of me was quite pleased that the bloke behind the counter thought that I could have worked there.

Before I went in to theatre a managed to grab a quick cup of tea with my mate Danny Cox. Who had managed to pop downstairs briefly for a quick catch up before he had to head back to his studio for his next show. It was great to see him and have a good old natter about the world of radio and television.

On the way to BBC New Broadcasting House

The Now Show itself was as ever brilliant. Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are such good comedy writers and performers. Especially when it comes to satire and clever topical gags. Which is why this radio show is such a brilliant vehicle for them. They were of course ably assisted by the regulars Mitch Benn and Jon Holmes. Whose introduction’s diminishing his height are becoming more and more obscure. Coming to see things like this made at the radio theatre is the closest I will ever get. To being able to get a flavour of what it must have been like to see things like The Goon Show being made, I guess.

The Now Show was created by the legendary Bill Dare. Who has had a hand in so many great radio comedy formats over the years. Pick your favourite Radio 4 show and there is a good chance that he was involved in it. I do like the atmosphere during the recordings. A few of the cast have a beer on the go and seem to be enjoying just sharing all the material that they have spent the last couple of days writing and rehearsing.

Some of the funniest parts of this process are during the re-takes at the end. This is mainly due to the cast making fun of the ones who have to re-do stuff. While still it is fair to say remaining professional and getting the job done. As quickly as possible. It is always a good fun night out.

I was once again delighted to be asked to take part in another Quiz Show run through last week. They are always great fun and it is quite exciting when you get to try out new games and formats. That have not yet made it on to our television screens. It meant another visit to the ITV London Studios on the South Bank. I was watching This Morning doing a segment of their show from outside by the Thames the other week. When live on air they saw the Prime Minister go past them on a training fitness run. This annoyed me quite a bit, as I can’t stand people who try to run round that area. Surely they must know that it will be jammed full of people and that they will spend more time walking than running. Can’t they just find a nice field or park somewhere to run around. Anyway sorry, back to the quiz run through.

It took place in a room on the 14th floor, that I am guessing may also be used as the Saturday Night Takeaway production office. As it had lots of great pictures on the walls from the show. Including a brilliant one of Ant & Dec with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. The run through was in front of some executives from ITV. Who will hopefully be interested in making the programme and putting it on the television.

Obviously I can’t give anything away due to the confidentiality agreement that I had to sign. But I think I can say that it was a fun and exciting game to play. And that it is a very clever and completely new concept for a game show. A French television company have already filmed a pilot episode of it. Which we got to see a few little clips of. It looked great. If it does ever make it on to the television. I will then be able to tell you more about my input and the game itself. It is a really good laugh doing these test runs. So hopefully I can squeeze in another one soon.

The great thing about Radio 4 is that it is always on the look out for new comedy programmes by new or established writers. Last week I went along to The Shaw Theatre in London to see two episodes of a brand new radio sitcom called “Shush” being recorded. Set in a library. It is written by and stars two actors that I am sure you will recognise. They are Morwenna Banks and Rebecca Front. They play two librarian’s from very different backgrounds and with very different outlooks on life.

It is very cleverly written with lots of great quick fire jokes. It does get slightly surreal in parts but it is radio and therefore theatre of the mind, so just go along with it and you will enjoy it. The cast is completed by Horrible Histories’ Ben Willmond and velvet voiced actor Michael Fenton Stevens. The writing is brilliant and it is a fun and feel good comedy in a fairly traditional way with a nice modern edge to it. The cast are so talented and performed it brilliantly. Do listen out for it when it airs sometime later this year.

Neil Quigley TV Radio & Live — Neil Quigley TV, Radio & Live

It was great to be back in the Mix 96 Studios for a couple of days the other week. I was there helping to produce a small part of the very successful Mix 96 Summer Tour. It was good to see some old friends and familiar faces, while I was at the Friars Square Studios. I actually felt very at home being sat back in the hot seat there. It was nice to work with Wes Venn and Chris Gilvear for the first time to. The good news is that everything came back to me pretty quickly and it was fantastic to be involved with some live radio again.

I am always looking for new opportunities in this area. I still remember doing my work experience when I was at Aylesbury College for a week at Mix 96. And I also was at the Mix 96 First Birthday Party at Stoke Mandeville Stadium with the now Managing Director of the radio station Max Hailey. I really do enjoy it, when I do get to do a bit from time to time. Great fun.

I have yet again been spending quite a bit of time working at Wembley Stadium recently. I have to say congratulations to Ed Sheeran for playing three sold out shows at the venue the other weekend. The reviews for them were off the scale. As it is pretty much just him and his guitar up there. The fact he keeps the crowd so engaged is a huge tribute to the man’s talents. Two hundred and forty thousand people saw him play those three London gigs. Well done sir!

I have to admit I do not envy the groundsman at the minute. The pitch being covered for concerts does not exactly do it much good. So now it has to be ready and in perfect Wembley condition for Saturday 1st August for the Women’s FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Notts County. And for the day after for the official curtain raiser to the new Premier League Season the Community Shield between Chelsea and Arsenal. I am looking forward to monitoring its progress over the next couple of weeks. It is mazing how quickly they can get in back to top class condition. I am enjoying showing lots of people around our national stadium. It does look great in the sunshine.

Women's FA Cup Final — Women’s FA Cup Final

Had a really fun night at a friend’s fortieth Birthday Party last weekend. It was held at a lovely little venue in Thame. A back room to a pub that I have not been to for about five years. Nice to catch up with a few old school friends and have a good giggle and a bit of a dance. Then the day after I was at a leaving do for a couple I know who are moving to France. So again that was a decent laugh seeing friends that I had not seen for a while. I do like to be busy but it is also good to find time to chill out and relax with people you like.

So just for a laugh I have entered the BBC New Comedy Award for 2015. Which if nothing else seems to me like a good reason to get involved with it. If you look at its title. I had some jokes lying around and the means to record them in my home studio. So in my head it made sense to give it a go. I remember listening to the final of last year’s competition live on the Steve Wright Show on Radio 2.

It came live from The Comedy Store in London and was hosted by the great Patrick Kielty. The comedians in the final were all great and the standard was clearly very high. But at the end of the day you have got to be in it to win it. And you never know funnier things have happened. Last week Mr Kielty favourited a joke of mine on Twitter, which I am hoping might be an omen. Fingers crossed.

This is actually the 99th edition of my blog. So therefore the next one will be the landmark 100th edition. So make sure you do not miss out on that one! Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Having A Laugh

July 11, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been great with lots of fun things going on. They have mostly, as ever it seems nowadays revolved around television and comedy. Which is always fine with me. My holiday now just seems like a distant memory. It is weird how soon you just settle back in to your normal routine and normal life after a nice break away. Luckily the weather here has been pretty good. So that has made the transition from being away in a hot country to being back at home in England a lot easier to deal with.

I was back at the ITV London Studios on the South Bank the other Monday to watch an episode of the new series of Mr & Mrs being filmed there. I am a big fan of the show. As it always makes me laugh and because sometimes you are more likely to find out a lot more about certain celebrities than you would on a chat show. Specially if their partners reveal something that may be they shouldn’t. Which does seem to happen quite a lot, I have noticed. I was delighted to finally get to see Phillip Schofield in person, working his magic in the studio. He is such a hugely talented presenter.

During the whole recording he did not stumble or trip over any words, while reading off the auto cue, the question cards or even just when talking to the contestants. At one point an old lady in the audience dropped her walking stick, while he was talking. He just paused, politely asked if she was all right. Then repeated the line perfectly just as he had the first time around. He is the ultimate professional and so good at what he does. He makes it look so easy and so effortless. And let us not forget that by this point in the day. He had already done two and an half hours of live TV on This Morning and also recorded another episode of Mr & Mrs earlier in the afternoon. The man is a legend.

The celebrities on the show I was watching were Carl Fogarty, Alex Brooker and Vernie Bennett from the band Eternal. I was supporting Carl Fogarty and his wife. As I have met him and interviewed him before and because he is a top bloke. Plus I know he is hugely competitive, so I figured he would be very keen to do well. I obviously can’t tell you what happened. You will have to wait until the show has been on television to find who won and how all the couples got on.

I will say it was very entertaining and you will certainly learn things about all of them. I guarantee that you will not have known before. It was all good fun and it was of course played in very good spirits. And remember that all the couples are playing for money for their respected charities. So we can enjoy watching it, while knowing some worthwhile causes are benefiting from our entertainment.

A couple of Sunday’s ago I went to the Family Fun Day at Windsor Race Course with my friends and their children. Before the day’s racing got started we went and visited the fairground area, so the kids could play on some of the rides and have a bit of fun. Although one of my mate’s, three year old son was actually a lot more interested in the racing itself rather than any of the rides or amusements on offer. I think he may take after his dad a little bit there. I just hope he grows up to be a better gambler.

It was a very enjoyable afternoon not least because I did manage to pick a couple of winners. In fact all of our party had at least one winner each. So we all came away happy. I am looking forward to going back there for the Irish Music Night on Monday 27th July. It is a lovely little course and always a good day or evening out.

The other Wednesday I was back at the Museum of Comedy seeing a couple of top shows. The first one was a preview of the brilliant James Acaster’s new Edinburgh Festival Show, which will also be the same one he will be touring later this year. He has been short listed for the best comedy show at the Fringe for his previous shows in 2012 and 2013. And having seen this year’s offering. I think he has to be in with a shout of achieving that status again this year.

It is very funny, very clever and extremely well put together. He is still at the stage where he is putting the finishing touches to it. So he was still trying out some new bits and playing with some of the material to see if he could get any more out of it at certain parts. He was great. And we are, I reckon going to continue to see more of him on our television screens over the next couple of years.

The Museum of Comedy has a small performance room called the Tommy Cooper Room. Which holds round about sixty people. A lot of comedians use it as a place to do quite low key gigs to try out new jokes or hone material for tours. In front of a fairly small and cosy audience. The second show that I saw I only found out about the day before. It was quite a last minute thing. And I was delighted to be able to get in and see it. In this small room. I got to witness the comedy giant that is Michael McIntyre do an hour’s work in progress gig. He is getting ready for the massive arena tour that he will be doing later in the year.

But there are still jokes that he has written. That he thinks might still be good enough to include in the tour. He has some new stuff he has written that he might want to add in. And also parts of the existing show, that he might like to expand by adding some more funny bits or lines to them. This was the aim of the show that I was watching.

If this was sixty minutes of the material that he was not totally sure about. The actual Arena shows will be amazing. As I do not think I stopped laughing the whole time that he was on stage. He was very honest and upfront about what he was doing. He was not wearing his now trademark very smart suit and bright shirt. In fact he was even wearing his glasses. Which made for a really relaxed and friendly atmosphere in the room.

Apart from that though he was everything you would expect him to be. Firstly very very funny. He just has that instant rapport with the audience. And was giving us, kind of directors notes as he was writing things down and telling us what he was doing and even what he was adding. I found watching this process totally fascinating. Seeing how a true professional does this and how hard he works to make sure everything is perfect and the best it can possibly be. If you have tickets to see his tour, trust me you are in for a brilliant time.

It is clear he is doing pretty well for himself though. I have seen a lot of comedians play at the Museum of Comedy. You normally see them come in the front door on the way in and leave the same way as the audience to get the tube on the way out. Michael McIntyre used the stage door behind the stage to get in and out. And he even had his own chauffeur driven car with blacked out back and side passenger windows waiting outside to take him home.

Another reason I really like him is because he like me is a Tottenham Hotspur fan. So I wish him all the best with the upcoming tour. Although he will not need it. It is going to be hilarious. He is just a machine for coming up with new and very clever day to day observational comedy.

While we are talking about comedy. The Tringe Festival is still on at the moment. With lots of brilliant performers coming down to Hertfordshire to play The Court Theatre in Tring. Most of these gigs will be previews for upcoming Edinburgh Festival or future Tour shows. But they will all be good fun and if you have never been to one of these shows. Do go along. The organisers and audiences are all great. Comedian’s who will be playing before the Tringe ends on Saturday 25th July include Josh Widdicome, Ed Byrne, Arthur Smith, Sara Pascoe and Patrick Kielty.

To find out more about this year’s gigs click the link here Tringe Festival. I made my comedy debut at the Roving Comedy Night at the Tringe three years ago. If you want to see my very first set recorded live at the Black Horse in Tring. You will find it on the videos page on here.

I went to the Pinewood Studios for the first time the other week. Not to appear in a new Star Wars film or to play a spy in a James Bond movie but to a recording of the Sky One programme Duck Quacks Don’t Echo. I have done some filming as part of an experiment for this series but it was not one of the ones used at the show I was at. So I still have not seen what that looks like yet. Lee Mack is the host and he was great, very funny and entertaining. Just as I had expected and hoped he would be. As I am a big fan of his work.

The panel for this episode included John Humphrys and Ed Byrne. Both were very amusing in their own ways. John seems to have an unexpected relationship with and view on animals. While Ed is just funny with his jokes and his observations. It was good fun. And while I was there I learned a few facts that I didn’t know. And also confirmed some that I did.

One thing I did find out through a test that they did in the studio. Is that I have the hearing range of a twenty four year old. Which as someone who has spent a lot of time wearing headphones usually with the volume up quite high. I was pretty surprised about, to be honest. The series should go out sometime in the autumn. So keep an eye out for it and of course for my small cameo appearance in it.

I did manage to get outside and enjoy the weather and enjoy a bit of sunshine last Thursday. Normally around this time of year I am working with the great team at Regatta Radio to bring the Henley Royal Regatta to the airwaves for the race goers and people unable to get to the riverbank to enjoy it. But this year the station has taken a year off.

It is fully expected to return next year and hopefully I will once again be involved with it. I am generally based in the studio, so do not get to see any of the action. But as I was not working this year when I attended Henley. I did for the very first time get to see some of the racing. I met up with some of the Regatta Radio team there.

Firstly for a couple drinks at one of the many bar areas along the side of the course. In doing this I managed to support a local brewery. One who I am shall we say familiar with their work. So I enjoyed a couple of pints of beer supplied by the Rebellion Brewery from Marlow. Then the evening got even better. As we then had a nice boat ride for about two hours up and down the side of the famous Thames rowing course.

So we got to see all the rowing action from the last session of the day from on the river. The sun was out, the sky was blue, Henley looked lovely and we were enjoying a picnic while watching the racing. I have certainly had worse ends to the day. It was really nice to catch up with everyone. I look forward to hopefully working with them again next year. I am so lucky sometimes with the things I get to do and enjoy.

Last Saturday at the ITV Studios in London I had an audition to be a contestant on a brand new ITV Game Show. That is going to be recorded shortly. I do not know if I will be selected to be on the show or not at the moment. Also I can’t say any more about it at this stage. What I can say is that I had a fun afternoon and it was nice meeting some of the producers behind it. I think I might be able to let you know if I do get on the show but even if I do I will not be able to say anything else about it until it has been shown on the television. But I will tell you when it will be on, I promise.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Grand Holiday

June 27, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really good couple of weeks. Mine have been fantastic and included a top week spent on holiday in Gran Canaria. I stayed in Playa Del Ingles with a mate of mine for seven days chilling and relaxing in the brilliant sunshine. That is the Canary Islands trade mark. During their last winter the lowest temperature they had was twenty degrees celsius. The trip it is fair to say, did not get off to the greatest of starts though.

We were waiting outside my friends house for the taxi to take us to the airport at around three thirty in the morning. When I got a phone call from the driver informing me that he was waiting at Luton Airport. And he was wondering where we were. He had misread his instructions and got the journey the wrong way round. Fair play to the Taxi company though. When they realised the mistake. The owner got up raced over to us and still got us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight. But it was a bit more stress than I was hoping for, right at the start of proceedings. Specially at that time in the morning.

Thankfully the rest of the journey went very smoothly, great flight and ride from the airport to the hotel. And by one o’clock that day. We were sitting looking out at the sea having a drink. It was the second time I had been to Gran Canaria. And once again I can have no complaints about the weather. While we were there the average temperature during the day was around twenty eight degrees celsius. Which makes a rather nice change from being here at home in England. So therefore I have returned tanned and relaxed from from my time away.

Playa Del Ingles roughly translates as the English Beach. Now do not get me wrong I do love England. But it is like no beach I have ever been on in Britain. We have lots of great beaches but the weather, sea and atmosphere are never that hot back home. That said the sea there is a little lively at times. It made paddling in the sea quite a challenge with an occasional battle to stay on your feet and in your costume. Depending on if the tide was coming in or not.

Then right next door are the Maspalomas Dunes. Which are amazing. We went for a very long walk through them and it is like being stranded right out in the middle of a desert. If you do ever go there they are definitely worth a visit. But just be aware that they do actually back on to a nudist beach. So you may see some more sights that you actually bargained for.

There are lots of Irish Bars around. You could hardly move for them. But as a Quigley this was fine with me and I always made sure I went to at least one or two of them every night, we were there. All the people we met in the resort were really friendly and helpful. We also found this nice beach bar called Sahara. Which during the afternoon had a guy with a guitar playing and singing a variety of cover songs. He was really good. It was great to sit there listening to him.

Although I think he was Spanish and just kind of learnt the English lyrics to each one. Which did lead to a couple of shall we say interesting pronunciation’s of certain words. Our particular favourite was just one word during his version of Matthew Wilder’s Break My Stride. Each time I hear that song in the future it will remind me of this holiday. “I’ve got to keep on mooing”

This weekend it is the Glastonbury Festival from that world famous farm in Pilton, Somerset. While I was working in Yeovil I was lucky enough to be able to go along and experience this magical event for myself. The first time I went it was for the whole weekend from Thursday to Sunday. It was with Robbie Lane a colleague and friend of mine from the radio station. We had backstage passes and got to pitch our tent in the backstage camp site. This is behind the two main stages the Pyramid Stage and the Other Stage.

There was a bar and cafe there. Plus a special path to get to each of the two big stages. Which meant it was possible to move between them in about ten minutes. Which if you have ever been to the Festival, you know will take normally at least forty minutes. If you are going the public access way there. I had an amazing time and saw so many great performances from lots of different acts and bands including The Waterboys, Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Kaiser Chiefs, Artic Monkeys, Killer’s, Paul Weller, The Who, Shirley Bassey, Iggy Pop, Manic Street Preachers, Arcade Fire and Kasabian to mention but a few. Great times. Even if it did mean sleeping in a tent.

While we were living back stage for the weekend. As you can imagine we rubbed shoulders with quite a lot of celebrity’s who were there. Just to give a little flavour of what it was like. Here are just some of them Will Young, Mark Owen, Stephen Merchant, Kate Moss, Keith Allen, Harry Enfield, Dara O’Briain, Jo Whiley, Marc Ratcliffe, Phil Jupitus and many many more. It was awesome to be there soaking it all in. The site it is held on is huge and there is so much going on. You are always going to miss more than you will ever get to see there. Brilliant fun, though.

The second time I literally just popped along for the Sunday to see Mark Ronson, Neil Diamond, Scouting For Girls and The Verve. I did again have backstage access. So I did make sure I visited the bar area. So I once again got the full VIP Glastonbury experience. I am enjoying this years coverage and watching and listening to as much of it as I can.

I am missing not being there, but not necessarily sleeping in a tent and wading through all that mud. If you have never been and one day get the chance to go. Even if you are not sure if it is your thing or not. Just do it and trust me you will have a great time. I still plan to go to it again at some point in the future.

As ever I have got a busy week coming up with lots of fun things to do. On Monday I am once again back at the London Studios in Waterloo to see the legend that is Phillip Schofield record a new episode of Mr & Mrs. I am looking forward to it. I really like the awkwardness of that show sometimes. It will be interesting to see which couples are on. And also if there are any answers to the questions that can’t possibly be broadcast so have to be re-done to make them television friendly. I have long admired Mr Schofield, since I grew up watching him present children’s TV from the broom cupboard. So I am very excited about seeing him in action live for the first time. It should be lots of fun and a good evening out.

Being a massive fan of live comedy. I do like to get to as many gigs as possible. So I am off back to the Museum of Comedy to see the excellent James Acaster on Wednesday. He is doing a work in progress show in preparation for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Talking of great live comedy this year’s Tringe Festival kicks off tomorrow night with The Roving Comedy Night. Good luck to the latest batch of trainees. You will all be great and will really enjoy the experience to. I am sure you will all make the teacher the lovely Logan Murray very proud.

I still have such fantastic memories of being part of this myself. It is great that you on your first gig get to perform with a professional comic. Which helps so much and really adds to the excitement. To find out more about this year’s Tringe Festival, just click on the link. Tringe Festival

If you remember a couple of weeks ago I did some filming for the new series of the Sky One show hosted by Lee Mack called Duck Quacks Don’t Echo. Well this coming Friday I am going to the Pinewood Studios to see an episode of the programme being recorded. They have a panel of celebrity’s who argue the case for certain myths or beliefs. Before they then show an experiment that they have carried out to try to prove or disprove the theory. And see if that person is right or not.

I have no idea currently who we be on when I am there. But I am a fan of Lee Mack, so I will be happy just seeing him. However the guest list for the first series of the show was pretty impressive, so I am expecting this one to be just the same. You never know it might be the one that features the experiment that I was involved in. Which would be brilliant and very funny.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

General Knowledge

June 13, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good week. I know this is a quicker update than normal but I am off on my Summer holiday in a couple of days. I am having a complete break from everything. So I will not be taking my computer or even my mobile phone with me. And I have to admit I am really looking forward to that experience. I am going to Gran Canaria to basically lie by the pool or on the beach and just to catch a little bit of sun and relax.

I have to confess that I have already looked at the long range weather forecast for where I am staying and I am pleased to say that the predicted temperatures are very acceptable. So as I am disappearing for a bit I thought I would do a brief write up now. Just to keep you in the loop of what is going on.

The other week I went to a production company based just around the corner from Marble Arch to take part in a run through of a brand new daytime quiz show idea. So what happens is the production company comes up with the idea and format of a potential new show. Then they have to pitch it to a television channel. Who they hope will buy the show, put it on television and of course pay them for the privilege.

This run through was being attended by the head of daytime programming for a major UK channel. So as you can imagine the production company felt under quite a bit of pressure to make sure everything was perfect. Unfortunately I can not give you any details about the show. As it is still at the idea stage and has not been made yet. To be involved with the project I had to sign a disclosure form stating that I could not talk about the format and the unique selling point of the quiz to anyone.

What I can say though is that it was great fun. I thought the concept and the influence of the show was very interesting. With lots of decision making and tactics required from the players to try and be successful and to ultimately become the winner. It will be very interesting to see the proper studio version if it does get picked up, as we only did it in a small room in an office block.

It is a general knowledge quiz with a few twists and turns involved. There is still a good chance I could be involved later on again in the shows development. Which will be great if that is the case. The day was made even better for me because while I was waiting in the reception area to be called in. I saw the brilliant comedian Katherine Ryan walk past on her way to the lifts.

I did watch and really enjoyed the Channel 4 Comedy Gala in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. It is great that so many top comedians get together and perform at the O2 Arena for such a great cause. I am very lucky to have already seen many of them perform live and in person at some point in the past. For a lover of comedy it was brilliant viewing for a Sunday evening, to set me up nicely for the week. We are so lucky to have so many great acts at the top of their games in this country at the moment.

Last Tuesday I returned to the London Studios in Waterloo to watch the final episode in the new series of the excellent QI being recorded. There was definitely an end of term feel to the proceedings. Which will possibly mean some extra editing for the production team before the show goes out. Once again the legend that is Stephen Fry was exceptional. He had his husband in the audience watching him do his thing. Once again playing the cheeky and intelligent ring master.

Joining Alan Davies on the panel were Sarah Millican, Noel Fielding and Eddy Kadi. I do like seeing this show live, it is just like watching it at home except they talk for longer, tell more jokes and answer more questions. Then of course it is scaled down for television to meet the specific time requirements of its slot.

I have seen Sarah Millican before, she was as brilliant as ever. Noel Fielding is great to, it is the way his mind works which means he goes off in these incredible and very funny tangents. It was the first time I had seen Eddy Kadi in action and he was fantastic to. Just to prove what a true professional Mr Fry is. At the end of television recordings they have to do what they call pick up’s. Which is basically re-doing bits that did not go well for a number of different reasons, sometimes technical and sometimes human error. But at the end of the QI recording Stephen Fry only had to do one quick piece again. Which he did first time. So that was it and we were all done. I can’t wait for the series to start later on in the year on the BBC.

So I am now looking ahead and forward to my summer holiday. No more worries for a week of two. Just to confirm I will not be taking a bus there and it is also unlikely that The Shadows will spring out of the bushes to help me with songs while I am away. It has been a few years since I have been away I hope I can still remember how to do it.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Beatle Brum

June 6, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been great with lots of fun things going on. Firstly I would like to start by saying commiserations to Wycombe Wanderers after their League Two Play Off defeat by Southend United at Wembley Stadium. I used to see them play regularly as a kid. I have seen them win twice before at the old Wembley Stadium. When they won their two FA Trophy finals there. Back in the days when they were still a non-league team.

My parents and sister went to the big game this year. But as I was away I watched it in a pub up north. It was not so much the fact that they lost but the way they lost which made me feel sorry for them. Southend United equalised with just twenty-one seconds of the game left. And then went on to win on penalties. Which was heartbreaking for the Buckinghamshire side. That said well done to the manager Gareth Ainsworth and his players for a great season. And good luck to them for next year.

I could not go to Wembley as I was up in Liverpool celebrating the end of the Premier League Season and seeing my friend Jeff Nolan for the weekend. I travelled up on the Saturday, so that I was fresh and ready for the show piece occasion of the trip. Which was a visit to Goodison Park to see Everton play my team Spurs on the Sunday. After a nice meal and catch up on the Saturday. We had a fairly early night, so that we would be fully prepared for the game day itself.

There was a big group of us going to the match, so we met in the pub for a few pre game drinks before heading to the ground. It was lovely to catch up with everyone. And as I was the only Tottenham fan in with so many Evertonians. It is fair to say that there was plenty of banter flying about. The match itself was a pretty typical end of season affair. With both team’s minds possibly more on their summer holidays than on the pitch. But Spurs won thanks to a great header from Harry Kane. I was sitting right behind the goal where he scored. So it was nice to be able to witness his final strike of what has been a pretty successful personal domestic season for him.

I think it is the first time that I have seen Spurs win there for quite a while, so that was nice. I did manage to have the traditional pint of Chang at half time with Jeff inside the ground. After the game with visited a couple of the “Everton” pubs right near the ground before heading out in the centre of Liverpool. Once in the City we visited many of our usual and favourite haunts including The Cavern Pub. Where there was of course a guitarist/singer on stage performing Beatles songs.

We ended up in The Tube. Which is a really great eighties bar. That I have easily been visiting for around the last ten years. In fact I sill have a key ring somewhere from the first time I went there. So I basically ended the night dancing very badly to some big disco and classic party hits from the decade that gave us the Rubiks Cube. It was a great day out filled with football, fun and music. A perfect day as far as I am concerned.

Before I left Liverpool I did pay a very quick visit to the banks of the Mersey. The reason being, that while I was there Cunard, the cruise ship company were celebrating their 175th Anniversary by sailing the three biggest ships in their fleet up Liverpool’s most famous river. Led by the Queen Mary Two. Which is an absolute beast of a boat. It is like an actual floating city. It was totally heaving with people as the ships arrived in to view. I managed to get a very quick look at them before I had to dash off and get my train home.

The other week I fulfilled one of my lifetime ambitions and got to see one of the actual Beatles perform a full live show. It was always a dream of mine to see Paul McCartney play live, which I briefly achieved when I saw him perform two songs with Bruce Springsteen during the “Boss’s” encore at a gig in Hyde Park a few years ago. But I always really wanted to see one of his own solo shows. So when I heard that Sir Paul was bringing his “Out There” tour to the United Kingdom. I decided that I just had to see it.

I was thinking of getting tickets to see him in London at the O2 but then I spoke to my mate Jeff Nolan and found out he had a ticket to see him at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham. So I decided that if I could get a ticket I would join him there. I managed to get hold of one, so we decided to make a night of it. We booked a room at the Ibis Budget Hotel. Which to be fair did exactly what it said on the tin. It was cheap and cheerful but it did fulfill our needs. And the staff were really nice and friendly. They even let us order Pizza to our room in the early hours of the morning.

Now because Jeff and I had been getting so excited about the gig, pretty much since we had booked the tickets. We were keeping a close eye on the set list that he was performing on each night of the tour. So even before we arrived at the venue we knew we were going to be in for a real treat with all the big songs from pretty much every single stage of the singers career, likely to feature. As soon as we arrived at the arena the atmosphere was fantastic and you could feel the energy and the anticipation from the people there.

It was the first time I had been there and I was very impressed with the view I had when I took my seat. He had a DJ who came on and did about a twenty minute warm up set on stage. Then before the man of the moment came on. They played in a video with accompanying soundtrack from the man himself charting his whole life and career. Then the lights went out ,the tension built and when they came back on the band was in place and out walked Sir Paul McCartney to launch into an amazing version of Eight Days Of Week. Then followed around three hours of hit after hit performed so perfectly by Paul and his own excellent hand picked band.

He did change his guitars a lot, at one point joking that “the reason that he was changing them so often was that he had so many and wanted to show them off” before pointing out that the one he had just picked up was the actual one he played on the recording of Paper Back Writer before launching straight into that song. The whole show was out of this world but just some of the highlights for me included the pyrotechnics during “Live and Let Die”, the huge sing-a-long that was “Hey Jude”, the stripped down guitar only version of “Yesterday” and a fabulous version of “Band On The Run”

Paul himself is just so chilled, relaxed and at ease on the stage moving effortlessly between playing lead guitar, bass guitar and the keyboards. He sounded great and did not miss a single note all night. Finally for a gentlemen who is now seventy-two years old, he looks great and seemed to have the energy of a teenager. I am so pleased I went. It was a memorable gig and night. Everybody leaving the Barclaycard Arena that night did so with a large smile on their face. Thank you very much Sir Paul McCartney.

I returned to the Museum Of Comedy a couple of weeks ago to see the brilliant Josh Widdicombe perform a work in progress gig in preparation for his new UK Tour which starts in September. It is a lovely little venue, where a lot of very well-known performers do like to try out new material in front of audiences of around fifty people. I sat in the front row, having seen Josh before I did not recall him talking to the audience, so I figured I would be safe and get a great view of him in action.

My genius plan was then slightly ruined when he asked a question, I responded which led to a little light hearted interaction between us and me being the but of a few of his jokes. Which was perfectly fine. I like to give it out so therefore it is only fair and right that I can take it to. And it is only comedy it is just for laughs and not malicious. To be fair when he did refer back to me with another joke later in the show, he was almost apologising as he said it. He was as ever really funny and very clever with his jokes. And in the way he is beginning to knit the show together. So when it goes out on tour it will flow brilliantly ending with a big finish, which will tie up the whole performance.

I always like looking behind the showbiz of a celebrity and the fact that it is not always as glamorous and exciting as people think. Josh arrived at the place by himself, introduced himself on to the stage. Then at the end of the evening I saw him leave by himself. Then nip into the local newsagents to grab a water before heading off to his next gig alone. It is not always rock and roll. If you have got tickets to see his show later this year. You are in for in treat, it is going to be great.

The last act I saw at the Museum of Comedy was Trevor Noah. I have since worked out why he popped in to do a secret set. He was testing jokes and just running his performance through ready for his appearance on the new John Bishop Show. Which I am guessing was filmed that week. And which was on television just last Saturday Night. He was as ever brilliant on that to. Such a funny and clever bloke. In a couple of years time he could well be one of the biggest stars in the world.

I have to confess that I did watch the final of Britain’s Got Talent. If you remember I did actually go and see one of the audition shows being filmed at the Dominion Theatre in London. None of the many acts I witnessed on that day had made it through to the final though. For me the best thing about that show is still Ant & Dec. I think they are brilliant and they are what makes it for me. To be fair I do go along with the opinion that the standard in this year’s final was pretty high and that there were some good and entertaining acts.

Statistically though it would seem that you either need to be a singer, a dancer or a dog to be in with a chance of winning. Personally I wanted the magician to win. I thought his tricks were good, he was amusing and he seemed like a nice bloke. Who had served his showbiz apprenticeship. Plus it would have been the first time a non singing or dancing person or animal had won the title. I didn’t dislike the dog act and thought it was clever and well done. But that is the second time in three years a dog has won the competition. Which surely must make some people who are possibly thinking about auditioning think, why bother, as if there is a talented pet there. You will have no chance.

And for all the people moaning about a stunt double dog being used. It was a dog that had already featured in the semi final appearance, so we had already seen it before and in effect we voted for it as well to get to the final. And it still did the trick with the ladder itself. Lastly on the subject nobody complains when actors do not perform their own stunts in films. The dog of course deserved to win simply because that was the act that had the most votes. One thing is for sure if you are a comedian or an impressionist there is no way you will ever win that competition, it would seem. I notice that they are already looking for people to apply for next year’s show. So we can be totally sure it will be back next Spring. As long as the two Geordie’s are fronting it, I will still be watching it.

I spent another lovely evening at Windsor Races last Monday. I went with my parents as part of my Dad’s birthday celebrations. He is almost getting as bad as me for organising lots of different events. The weather was not very summery with rain and quite strong winds but that did not spoil any of the enjoyment. After doing so well when I was there previously. This time round I only managed to select one winner. But the feeling you get during that one quick moment where your chosen horse crosses the finish line first, is worth the trip alone. Whenever I am cheering a horse home in a tight finish. I always seem to turn in to Julia Roberts in the scene from Pretty Woman, when she is at the Polo. So we are talking lots of screaming and fist pumping.

I do really like horse racing and I would love to own my own race horse one day. Former Radio One DJ Fearne Cotton was there doing a set after the evenings racing had ended. Fair play to her and her audience for braving the weather and having a dance. Much respect to you all there. My mum had quite a successful evening picking a few winners. I am now hoping this does not lead to her developing a big gambling problem. It was a fun night with the family. Which is something you can never have enough of in my opinion.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Neil Quigley Presenter