Trevor Neal

Interviewed by T.E. Hodden

Trevor Neal is among the many artists and performers who have been reaching out with creative projects during these trying times. Every day he has been posting a new episode of Awkwords, his stay at home word game.

For those of us of a certain age (those of us who can still sing the phone number to the BBC) he is best known as one half of Trev and Simon, whose sketches were a staple of Saturday morning television.

I reached out to Mr Neal to discuss Awkwords, and a few other things…

Simon and I met at Manchester University where we were both Drama students, in the early 1980s. We were cast together in a few student productions and became friends.

As a child I wanted to be either a stunt motorcyclist like Evel Knievel or a rock star. As I grew older and those options became less likely, I developed an interest in writing comedy sketches and acting.

Although the traditional clubs and pub venues existed for “old school” cabaret entertainers, there wasn’t really an established circuit in Manchester in

the early 1980s, for alternative comedy. We joined up with a group of local alternative arts performers and events organisers and put on our own gigs as well. We performed in the street, in night clubs, student venues, local council venues, sixth form colleges and arts venues. Some shows went down well. Others didn’t. We also did a few benefit shows in support of the striking miners in 1984.

Alternative Comedy as it was then known was a relatively new thing. It was a bit like the Punk Rock of comedy, in which some acts, like us, were attempting to present a fresh style of comedy in which the targets of jokes were different to those of the old school stand-ups and entertainers. The older more traditional comics were still performing and appearing on TV, and some were doing material that would generally now be thought of as very offensive. But even then, there was a feeling that this kind of comedy was dying out and it was time for a new approach to reflect the changes in society.

Taking the advice of some more established acts we met at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1984, we moved from Manchester to London, to work on the growing alternative comedy circuit there. After a couple of years, we were doing well and getting plenty of bookings, performing all over London. A BBC producer came to see one of our shows at The Chuckle Club and asked us to audition for a new show that was to replace Saturday Superstore, which became known as Going Live.

There was a very organised and experienced team behind the show, but live comedy was a new feature of the format, so we were all very much making it up as we went along. From the start we had to write and perform a lot of new and untested material, so in that sense it was quite chaotic and what we did was often under rehearsed or not rehearsed at all.

We would have a team meeting on a Monday morning to plan the show. By mid-week we would have an idea of who the guests might be and what features would be included. So Wednesdays and Thursdays were our writing days. Friday we would have a production meeting and some studio time to run through sketches etc. Sometimes everything would change at the last minute. On Saturday mornings, we would often talk through sketches and items

with pop stars and guests in the tea bar or in their dressing rooms, just minutes before we performed them live in the studio. It was often chaotic but fun.

There are too many really to have one favourite but the early Singing Corner “Swing Your Pants!” sketches with pop star guests were really good fun to do and very unpredictable. Simon and I really enjoyed World of the Strange too and I think this was a point where we began to develop as comedy writers as well as performers.

Meeting Paul McCartney and his family backstage in the early days when we felt very new to the world of TV and sharing some laughs. Nearly running out of time in a rehearsal read through with Hollywood movie producer Mel Brooks and having to run to the studio as we were being introduced live. Making stuff up as we went along with funny guests like Jonathan Ross. Encouraging WWF wrestlers to cause more chaos by breaking props and smashing up the set. Learning how TV worked and working alongside some very talented young producers and directors, who helped us to develop our comedy. It was a very happy and exciting time.

Everything there is to know about Strangeness in Space can be found on our website strangenessinspace.com but essentially it was the brainchild of our manager and friend Clare Eden who thought it would be a good idea to bring back together a group of us who were once all together in Manchester as Drama students, including Sophie Aldred and Doon Mackichan. Clare had already produced the podcast drama Minister of Chance and suggested a sci-fi comedy podcast with us all in might be fun to make. Simon and I wrote the scripts and Clare worked hard to crowd fund and promote it. Dave Palser worked tirelessly on producing the audio and creating visual graphics. Clare even turned her own living room into a recording studio and offered her kitchen as green room and coffee bar for us all, including the guest performers. It was an extremely ambitious project with a very low budget but we all worked hard to make the best show we could and I’m very pleased with the result. We were lucky to have some great guest performers and a whole bunch of talented people around us, who were all prepared to work very hard and put in long hours for little or no financial reward.

I think they did know what they were getting in to because we really didn’t have to persuade them very hard or explain what was expected. They both turned up with much enthusiasm and each delivered their own special performance, which helped to take the whole series to a new level. The recording session with Rufus was particularly bonkers and it was great to meet him and mess about doing daft stuff. We had all worked with Alexei before on other projects and he was also very funny to record with and great to chat to before and after the session. He improvised a bit round the script too which was hilarious.

As I said earlier the budget was small but Clare worked hard to crowd fund it and did a great job. We are hugely grateful to all the Mirthlings, as they become known, who funded the show. Crowd funding creates a family feel to a production and also sets up a close relationship with, and a responsibility to, the audience that funded it.

Simon and I are both music fans. We have always shared our musical obsessions with each other and often included them in our comedy. I play guitar a bit and have played in bands throughout the different stages of my life. I currently play with Charlie Don’t Surf who are based in Thanet where I live. We play classic punk, mod, rock and roll and ska covers by bands like The Clash, The Jam, The Stray Cats and The Specials. More recently we have included covers by Joy Division and The Stone Roses too. I post most band stuff on my facebook page but also on twitter @Surf_Charlie artist and illustrator Moose Allain. As circumstances suddenly changed so dramatically for everyone, I decided I would give it a go online, as a home made video production.

It does a take a lot of planning and preparation and sometimes quite a few takes as well. Thankfully I am helped by my youngest son Elliot, who has become a very professional production assistant. While I do the “camera work” & voiceover, Elliot presses buttons and rings bells. It has become a slick little operation.

It was terrifying but ultimately very exciting when

we won… twice. It was Simon’s idea to agree to go on the show. He loves pub quizzes and general knowledge tests. I was less confident but went along for fun. The first time we were on I was too nervous to understand the questions properly and

we went out in the second round. The next time I did better and Simon showed his genius for obscure film knowledge in the final round. We were lucky enough to be invited on to the 1000 th celebration show and we won that too, again thanks to Simon’s 1980s film knowledge . By that time I was less nervous and I even enjoyed it a bit!

Just give it a go. Choose the right platform for your project and use your own best skills and experience. Prepare it as well as you can beforehand. Put the work in on scripts and developing the idea as strong as possible but then just do it. Sometimes ideas don’t really take off until you have made that leap to try it out with an audience. Some things don’t work at all but that’s life. Don’t worry about that and just try something else instead. Don’t expect too much from a project either. Very few ideas and projects take off to become something bigger and even fewer make money or bring fame and fortune. Make sure you are doing it because it’s enjoyable and you really want to do it. It’s more likely to succeed that way in the end.

AwkWords was an idea I had been developing before the lockdown as a book, hopefully to feature

At the moment, I think we’re all just taking things one day at a time. It’s a tough time for anyone involved in arts and entertainment and

we’ve no real idea when or how things will return to normal. Without venues or audiences other than online, it’s impossible to plan projects. AwkWords is keeping me busy for now.

I can be found on facebook as TrevorNeal, Twitter @TrevorNeal and Instagram trevor_neal and of course there is AwkWords on facebook @AwkWords_words on twitter and AwkWords_words on Instagram. My manager Clare Eden can also be contacted at clare@clareden.com

Like everyone, I want to shout out for the NHS through this challenging time. The NHS were there for my daughter when she suffered a traumatic brain injury (now full recovered) so I have first hand experience of what fantastic work goes on in Hospital Critical Care units. All the emergency services deserve a shout out too, including Air Ambulance, Coast Guard and Lifeboats. I’d also like to mention Medicinema which is charity which brings movies and films to NHS patients in hospital. Simon is the manager of the cinema in the Chelsea and Westminster hospital and is doing great work there.

Thank you.

T.E. Hodden trained in engineering and works in a specialized role in the transport industry. He is a life long fan of comic books, science fiction, myths, legends, and history. In the past he has contributed to podcasts, blogs, and anthologies.

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