Ahead of visiting Salford this July, Brian Conley spoke to Salford Now about leaving EastEnders and getting back onto the stage.
The renowned British comedian will be performing in Salford at The Lowry this month on July 28 with his new show ‘The 3rd Farewell Tour… To Date’. The 62-year-old said he couldn’t wait ‘to get back out there’.
Question: You mentioned leaving EastEnders, do you think it will be better recharging yourself with an audience this time?
Brian answered: “Yeah of course. I’ve finished EastEnders, I was in there for three years and it was my decision to leave but one of the main reasons was I wanted to perform. To go back to it and do what I do best and what I love so much is very exciting. If you’re doing a show and people have paid to see you, it’s very special. I’ve always loved live.”
Question: How is this tour different from the other tours you’ve done before?
Brian joked: “The tour really is a popery of entertainment and of course celebrates my lustrous career in the business we know as show. We pay tribute to the shows I’ve been in, you know in the West End, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Barnum, The Music Man, 9-5, Oliver.
“What I have done is introduce my daughter who’s very good at comedy and does her own stand-up show and also works with an improv team, so yeah I suppose that’s different.”
In the tour Brian will be performing with his daughter Lucy Conley as she ‘rips into’ her dad. Although Lucy has done stand-ups before, this tour is expected to be her biggest gig as an aspiring comedian yet.
Brain commented: “She’s there because she’s talented. She’s not there because she’s my daughter. I would not have her on the show if she was rubbish and it’s a great learning curve for her and a chance for her to get out there. And yes of course they’ve all come to see me and they all want to know what it’s like to work with a legend.
Brian jokingly asked Lucy: “What is it like Luce to be working with a legend?
She replied: “I wouldn’t know to be honest.”
Lucy added: “I feel like growing up people always ask is your dad just as funny on stage as he is at home? And he is, he doesn’t switch off. We’re always laughing so comedy, whether it’s been watching a show or not, it has been a huge thing in our family and in our lives.”
Question: I can imagine getting up on stage and telling jokes when you’re new is quite daunting, how do you feel Lucy?
Lucy replied: “It is terrifying because when you’re acting or singing you know people know to clap at the end, even if you’re rubbish people are genuinely polite. But with comedy, it is a response that you kind of can’t control; it just happens only if you’re good. So it’s really like if they don’t laugh they don’t like you as a person.”
Brian added: “That’s what they call it if you’re doing a gig and it’s not going well they call it dying and it does feel like that.
Lucy chimed: “But then you have the best adrenaline rush of your life (if it goes well). There’s no feeling like it after that.”
Brian continued: “It’s like parachute jumping. Where you’re so fearful and you jump and once you land you’re just on a high. And yes that makes up for it. I’m lucky now my acts have built and built and built to where I can stand there for a considerable amount of time and enjoy it but Lucy has started with a five and now a ten-minute act and you gradually build up on that.
“Always make sure that your first minute is your strongest stuff so that you get that ball rolling. Like starting a car engine with a power handle, sorry I’m showing my age.”
Question: How do you both cope with nerves?
Brian said: “I don’t hang about on the side of the stage. It’s the same in panto, I will come straight out of the dressing room and go straight onto the stage. How do I cope with it? It’s just I know it’s part of it and once I get out there I will be in the moment.
“The worst bit is waiting in the waiting stands and the build-up. When I’d done the West End before what I know in my heart is that I will be terrified for the first five shows and then suddenly when you’re out there it goes into your soul. It really does, you know it like the back of your hand and once you know where the laughs are and where the moments are and when you can take a step back, you know it’s worth it in the end. The rewards are there because there’s something very special about making an audience happy.”
Brian, you’re obviously an established actor and an established comedian, is it different now performing when people expect something from you?
Brian answered: “It makes it a lot easier, people come and see me and they roughly know what to expect from what has happened in my career but you still get nervous and that’s only because you care. You know, those first couple of days in EastEnders were terrifying. But it is a bit easier when they come to see you. With your own show, the lovely thing is you know everyone’s made that effort to see you and that’s a big thing.”
Question: So is this the first time that you two will be in Salford performing?
Brian said: “Well I’ve been there a few times over the course of my lustrous career and this is Lucy’s first time. But like I told her the further North you get the better the crowds. They can be a bit stuffy down South, I just love further up North.”
For tickets for Brian Conley’s ‘The 3rd Farewell Tour… To Date’ at The Lowry click here.
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