Xmas used to be all about the telly. I guess it still is to some, but now it's January it's all about catching up on the Xmas telly that I missed during the Xmas holidays. I blame the kids and I thank YouTube for the solution.
This year's Xmas special that I missed and have just caught up on is the return of Vic Reeves Big Night Out.
I can only imagine that there are British fortysomethings across the globe who have been trying to find a half hour to squeeze in the return of Vic and Bob while their kids, whacked out on sugar and lack of sleep with school still weeks away, run riot. Well. They're back at school and I've watched it. And I say THANK YOU VIC! AND THANK YOU BOB! It was great.
I have a memory of being around 16 and a group of us piling back to the Trainor brother's attic room in Kings Heath to watch the first ever episode of Vic Reeves Big Night Out. We huddled round the Tv and watched as Vic Reeves pranced on in a white suit singing 'I'm a Believer'. He was accompanied by Bob Mortimer, holding a stuffed Alsatian, dressed as Isambard Kingdom Brunel. We watched. And we didn't get it.
But it started to sink in... The catch phrases, the characters, the anarchy and the absurdity. It was genius.
I went to the Digbeth Academy to watch the live show. At one point, Vic threw a half eaten pie, a Reeves and Mortimer meat product, from the stage. My friend Stu ran down like an excited little terrier and put it in his pocket. He took it home and lovingly wrapped it in silver foil then placed it in the freezer. I believe that over 25 years later, that meat pie is still there.
The photo is of me, with the T-shirt from that 1990 tour. I'd like to think that Stu has still got his and is tempted to tuck into his meat pie while watching the new slightly greyer, slightly plumper version of the show.
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