 Single is called A Promise, that's his first song on of course his new label, his new record label so well done to David and that's well the first of many on the new label obviously. Now Colin Murphy, comedian and TV presenter we know him well from the TV and so all too well he's been like a permanent fixture on the TV for well forever and he's also a writer and an actor and it's not just about the TV shows because we know him from like the Blizzard of Odd and the panel and then there's films believe it or not films like Divorcing Jack and The Most Fertile Man, decent films so you know this is a man not to be underestimated anyhow best known I suppose for The Blame Game because he's a regular panelist on The Blame Game that's the it's a topical news comedy show and that's been on since 2005 and Colin's been in it since then or the whole way through. Now his last tour he's back to stand up again his last tour was called a colonization it was a sell-out but he's back on the road this is his biggest tour an extensive tour around Ireland and it's called Watch Him a Colin great title and Colin joins us now on Zoom we're streaming as well hopefully fingers crossed that he doesn't freeze on us as he was there. Hi guys, he's gone again, he's gone again, hold on. How are you? Fingers crossed, yeah. Well as you have your freeze we'll try and resurrect it on forward. We're not going to be beat. How's things? Good, yeah, yeah, really good. You know, we're out and about, we're moving around the world again it's fantastic. This is an extensive tour, you have every weekend taken up now until July. How's the plan? Yeah, it's mostly up north and then a few down south and just add more and add an incork and hopefully go away soon and maybe Dublin and the autumn but yeah, it's pretty full-on, pretty full-on since beginning of February. So what do you touch on on this tour? Is just everything in anything or is there? Exactly, there was hiatus for her two years so yeah it's not about anything there's a tiny bit about that, the thing we shouldn't talk about except we're sick to the back teeth of it but it can't be ignored and it's had knock-on effects on all our lives and my family life, my parents and that kind of thing so it's you know we've all experienced it in different ways so there is a bit of that and then the rest of it is just a load of nonsense that's gone on, that's basically it. Topical nonsense? Not topical nonsense, no just stuff that's happened to me and in the world and yeah I suppose it was a bit of topical thing but... A lot of personal nonsense then? A lot of personal nonsense and a wee bit of felt and a bit of language sure you know that's the usual. Yeah yeah all good people you know as I mentioned in the intro people know you well from the telly and do I I mean is there when you meet people do they you know do they go oh I'm gonna have to be careful here because this man this man's gonna tear me up if I just say as much as one word wrong he's gonna you know he's gonna have me for dinner so do people are people weary off you when when they meet you? They most of the time they think they know me because I went to school with them or I'm a friend of their dad's and it's only when they've got about three four pints in them then they know exactly who I am. Oh right yeah. But the rest of the time they're not really sure they go are you that but never and then they think they know me from somewhere else and you can see it in their eyes when it dawns on them who they go oh him oh and yeah it's people's memories come back when they're drunk it's the opposite of what other people think. Do you have to change the show much as you go around like is there a different show in Belfast to the one that you do down in Cork or is it just you know teeny tweaks? Just teeny bits references cultural things that sort of stuff you know TV shows that maybe aren't as popular maybe down in Cork because they are up here or absolutely politicians and things you know you only talk about people that they're going to understand and know that's the only real thing everything else is basically the same. The blame game has been some jog or not hasn't it? I know. But what is it about why why did it why has it why has it gone on so long why has it been such a success and why has it straddled all the you know kind of intergenerational and changes in TV and all the rest of it and it's gone through them all. It's the thing that amazes us that it's that we're still able to get new material considering how cyclical Northern Ireland's politics and news is you could we could actually if we want to do news stories from 15 years ago and just they're the same people they're the same things but somehow we have to try and find a new way to talk about it make it interesting or funny or and we get as frustrated as every single other person watching the news and we get as fed up with all those people and so we have to find another way to have a go at them make fun of them you know that's the hardest bit about it is it not that they play the type all the time and that in a sort of a way what it's depressing isn't it well it is but you know it also makes it a bit easier to poke fun with them yeah yeah yeah but it's it's the same thing over and over again and it just gets on your wick you uh yeah you don't want to especially certain people you don't want to turn them into cuddly characters put it that way yeah because they're not they're quite dangerous manipulative people that you know you can't be doing that so you have to remember that all the time yeah and try and get a good dig in and like really let go sometimes but uh yeah it's because the reason more people watch it now than ever is big especially in the north and that would include sort of run the border areas as well is that it's people talking about the world that they know you know and especially england just seems to you know for all the dairy girls and all this sort of stuff it doesn't really care about us and we're only ever brought on the tv to be a cliche or to be a you know to be the dairy ones that run around getting drunk and things and albeit how brilliant that is to show it just you know it's not real or you know but it's an entirely different sort of a show as well you know exactly it's it's uh so when we're on talking about real things they're not sicking because they don't know they don't know anything they don't know any of the they're not taught about it in school they don't do any of it in history they're only being taught sorry this is uh i've uh nieces and nephews who are being taught about the good friday agreement this year in school in in a very poor school in oxford yes and uh it's on the curriculum this year so i think the i don't know how they're going to fit in the previous 800 years uh is that going to be a monday afternoon maybe and then they'll on tuesday they'll do the good friday agreement maybe that'll that's the way to work it yeah yeah the 800 years and passing and then the good friday agreement at length it's hard hard to believe right now that there's a whole generation now that you know we're into where the troubles uh weren't around no troubles that didn't have any experience of them and have to be taught about them in school i know it's it's good isn't it yeah it is good then let me continue yes uh what's this about art you've been an artist uh oh yeah and uh just just before i try to poke some fun at it i mean an artist uh you know uh must be of summer now because you've i'm just reading here you've had your work exhibited at the royal academy in london the royal head bernie an academy in dublin and the royal ulster academy in belfast wherever there's a royal in the title we could find your art oh i'm held for a royal uh i'm just hoping um one of them is actually going to buy it and then uh i'll be made that's that's the main thing and what's sort of art what's sort of art uh a paint and it's um figurative stuff easy if anybody wants to look at it it's on instagram i've got a wee account and it's uh called color murphy art just look on there okay and uh i sort of keep it separate from the tv comedy stuff and it's uh for another thing to do but uh yeah i started back i went to art school years ago like when i was a student and then didn't do anything for years and then probably just before actually the whole thing happened uh so in about 2015 i started painting again and then of course lockdown happened that was brilliant so i was just painting away in my little tiny studio that i built in the bottom of the garden and uh kept doing and putting stuff into shows and so i'm in royal high burning again this year i've got two in this year i'm going on the short list for the royal academy in london so i have to go over a couple of weeks and drop some work over there and that's yeah and that's how that's how it works you you apply and they look at your work and if they figure it's good enough then they'll they'll hang it up yeah you apply online with a digital image and then if they want to see it they do a short list so they whittle down the 5000 people down to 400 and then they actually show 300 so that's the way it works so if i buy a Colin Murphy now i'm gonna be rich in 10 years time uh yeah absolutely you froze there Colin you froze there yeah right i won't be i won't be back to that back to the show tonight uh it's uh it's a great title for the the the tour and uh you know you're you're well into it now with the dates uh yeah i mean i'm in actually tonight i mean in that are kenny yes i'm raining which is brilliant room and that's at eight o'clock tonight there's tickets still available on the door and then stroband tomorrow night i know you've listened to ship yeah absolutely yeah the alley theater okay yeah and uh another great room so i'm in there tomorrow night as well there's a few tickets on the door for that as well fantastic okay well listen uh enjoy the two dates and i'm sure you always always get a good response in both places and uh and the rest of the tour as well Colin yeah thanks a lot thanks i'll hopefully we'll chat again oh good right talk take care