THE Sunday National spoke with comedian Shane Todd on the 10 things that changed his life.
1. Buying my first album
I BOUGHT my first ever album in Scotland. I was in Glasgow at the HMV on Sauchiehall Street. This must have been about 1996, somewhere around there anyway.
I’d love to tell you it was something cool but it was Spice by the Spice Girls. I really just fancied the Spice Girls. I needed the booklet that comes with a CD.
I also bought – because going to Scotland was a holiday for us for years – Craig David’s Born To Do It album. So I’ve got a real pop connection to Scotland.
2. Scout trip to M&Ds
SO back in the day, I didn’t know anything about Disneyland so I thought M&Ds was really as good as it gets.
We had to get up at like three or four in the morning to go over to get the ferry and then get on the coach at Stranraer.
It just stands out to me as a great day, it was the summer, there was about 20 of my mates that went over and we just had a class, class time.
3. Trip to Aberdeen
I HADN’T been to Aberdeen before. But I was interviewing Niall McGinn when he played for Aberdeen because he’s from Northern Ireland as well and I was working for the Northern Ireland Football Association.
We would go and interview the players wherever they were and Niall spent years in Aberdeen, he loved it there. We just wanted to ask about his experiences.
We had about 30 minutes in Aberdeen with him, which makes it sound like a terrible action movie. We went to a café by the sea and it was torrential rain, there was a gale, we had lunch and I did the interview with him.
I’d love to find the name of the café that we went to. I have to say I’m looking forward to spending more than 30 minutes in Aberdeen.
4. Collecting stones with my dad
IF we’re talking about all-time memories, there was one day when I went to get stones with my dad for our driveway.
It was like a Saturday afternoon, and we had to drive like 50 miles in the middle of nowhere to go get stones. I was maybe about 12 and there was nothing really remarkable about the day.
But it just stands out for me as a great, great memory. We went for a drive, got the stones, had lunch and came home.
It stands out to my dad as well and we can’t really put our finger on why – but it was an all-time cool day for absolutely no reason.
5. First time at a comedy club
I WENT to the Empire Comedy Club in Belfast, it’s legendary. I was about 16 and snuck in there with a fake ID to see stand-up for the first time.
I’d always been a fan and had an appreciation for it but that was the first time where I thought: “Oh god, what would it be like if I did this”.
I remember as well that the fake ID had my picture, my date of birth but a couple of years beforehand but the mate of mine who did it changed the name on it to Michael Jackson. Still to this day, I don’t know why he did that but it always made me laugh.
6. Starting a podcast
THE first time I did an episode of Tea With Me, it was in a really small studio in my home town in Holywood.
I had no idea where it would go or what would happen with it at all. But I guess it was a huge moment for me to start something that, four years later, has gone on to be pretty big and really helped me cultivate a bigger audience.
I liked the idea of doing a podcast to connect with an audience. I was consistent with it in terms of when I recorded and when I uploaded. It’s a great way to tell stories that might generate material for me.
From there, I found a producer, my friend is the videographer and as soon as we did one episode, we thought, “there’s something in this”.
7. Edinburgh Fringe
I THINK 2012 was my first time there. The first time I went I stayed in an apartment with four friends but, to cut the costs, me and my pal were sleeping in the living room and we got someone else in.
We shared with a 50-year-old magician from New Zealand. We cordoned off half the living room and built a wall with toilet rolls so the magician had the other half.
I slept in the kitchen for a whole month. I’d put the duvet down and, of course, it was in Edinburgh’s Old Town so there were mice everywhere. The idea of doing that now is a no-go.
But when you’re a kid at the Fringe for the first time, you’re just happy to be there.
8. Having kids
I HAVE a four-year-old and a two-year-old. It was a huge moment in my life and it just changed everything.
I think it’s fashionable in stand-up to complain about your kids but I absolutely love it. It’s the only downside of touring, missing my family. But my kids are great, my oldest son kind of knows what I do for a job.
He’s seen podcast clips and stuff so they know what I do to an extent. They have shaped my life so much.
9. Playing my final football match
I’VE retired from Saturday football. I played my last game a few months ago and it’s been a massive part of my life.
I’m as obsessed with football as I am with comedy. I’ve tried to retire a couple of times in the last five years but I just keep going back to it.
I stopped two months ago so the end of last season. You talk about a landmark game, it was against the club I had played with for years and years.
I told my eldest, who came to watch me, that daddy would score a goal for him. I did and turned round to see him thinking “what a moment”.
He had not seen the goal. He was not paying attention at all.
10. Getting married
MY final one is getting married. I wouldn’t say it changed things a lot because we had been going out for a long time.
But it’s one of those things that makes you feel grown-up and that kind of thing. That’s right up there with having my kids.
My wife is amazing when it comes to touring and is so supportive of what I do and is so great with the kids while I’m away.
Shane Todd’s Full House tour will be on in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen on September 5, 6 and 7 – ticket information available at www.tegeurope.com/events/shane-todd/.
