Even if you don’t know Joe Lycett by name, you will have undoubtedly seen him on TV or heard him on the radio at some point in the last few years. Starting his career as a comedian in 2009, within a year he had won the Chortle Student Comedian of the Year and scooped runner-up in the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year. From there, he performed his debut stand-up show, Some Lycett Hot at the Edinburgh Festival in 2012, and has since gone on to perform a UK-wide tour, If Joe Lycett Then You Should Have Put a Ring On It. On top of this, he has also appeared regularly on TV panel shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, Celebrity Juice and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, not to mention his guest appearances on Radio 1, Radio 4 and even Radio 5 Live. Clearly Joe Lycett is going places.
Scene editors Rachel Seymour and Milo Boyd managed to find a moment of Joe Lycett’s time when he wasn’t busy being on the TV, radio or stage to ask him a few questions:
Are you good at handling hecklers?
I am very good at MAN-handling hecklers. I don’t put them down with words but instead prefer to crack their necks with a swift and precise motion. I’ve only been heckled once and they never heckled again.
Was there a moment that made you realise you could/wanted to be a stand-up?
I think it was when I was about 5 skipping around Paris singing ‘Je me lave me cheveux don le toilette’ (translation: ‘I wash my hair in the toilet’)
Do you feel pressure to be funny when you’re not on stage?
No, I feel more pressure to eat respectfully and not be violent towards children. I fail at both these things.
What form does your writing process take?
Most of my writing takes the form of a small and beautiful swan. The rest is in the English language written in pen on a piece of paper.
Could you be coaxed into doing a Russell Brand and swapping comedy for spiritual enlightenment or politics?
No but I suppose could be coaxed into doing Russell Brand.
Do you agree with Dave Cohen’s contention that “comedy is the new rock ‘n’ roll”?
If that is true then my show is seriously lacking a guitarist, drummer and ludicrous hair cut. Well, I suppose I have the hair cut.
If you hadn’t been a comedian, what direction do you think your career would have gone in?
I was destined to become a quilt-designer and that will still happen.
Do you think you’ll ever run out of Lycett-based puns for the titles of your shows (Some Lycett Hot, If Joe Lycett Then You Should Have Put a Ring On It)? If so, what will you do?
I will inevitably run out of puns, probably in the year 2025, at which point I will fulfill my destiny to become a quilt-designer.
What’s been the strangest thing you’ve ever been asked in an interview? How did you respond?
‘Where were you on the night of the murder?’ I responded: ‘You’ll never find the body or the weapon you pig.’
How did your ‘always a pleasure’ pictures begin? Why do you think people like them?
I went for lunch with Susan Calman and she suggested we take a photo of ourselves looking glum for twitter. It took off from there really. I think people like them because it’s interesting to see what people look like when they let themselves go and aren’t trying to look happy and gorgeous.
Who is your favourite person to follow on Twitter? Why?
I love @rhysjamesy and @adamhess1 – both consistently brilliant in 140 characters. In person they are both tedious and ugly.
What is one surprising fact about you that most people don’t know?
I trained Jessica Ennis. Also I am a liar.
In your opinion, why did the chicken cross the road?
Because I was holding the chicken and had just robbed a farm.
Joe Lycett is performing at York Picturehouse on Monday February 10th at 7pm. Tickets are available here.