DAVE HUGHES – Fully Pumped!
With sharp wit, tales inspired by life and broad Aussie drawl, Hughesy is a household name in Australia. Dave Hughes returns to Darwin with his new show Pumped – I think we can all agree that he’s pretty excited about it! Managing Editor Claire, spoke to Hughesy in the lead up to his visit.
Your latest show is called Pumped. What's it about?
Look, it’s something I like to say every time I go out on stage – ‘I’m pumped!’ That’s what inspired the title but the show pretty much changes every day, depending upon what’s happening in my life. [It’s about] personal stuff; life on the road; having a wife and three small children – the wife’s got a pretty sharp wit so probably something about her cutting me down with it!
You’ve been touring Pumped for a while now, where’s the most interesting place you’ve visited?
This time last year we were in London, America and Canada. I like traveling abroad but I have to speak pretty slowly so everyone can understand me.
Did you take the family?
Yep. So, I’d be out every night doing stand-up and getting my ego stroked, while my wife would be stuck at home with three maniac children – she loved it.
Who do you admire as a comedian, and did they influence you to become one?
Before I started doing comedy – a long time before youtube – I used to head down to the local video store. I liked guys from the US like Sam Kinison, he’s dead now but used to get very angry on stage – that tickled my fancy.
Australia wise, I admired the Working Dog team. They did a lot of stuff for TV back in the 80s.
Can you please explain what a “video” is? Ha ha, only kidding. What's the worst heckle you've ever received?
That was years ago, 15 years ago. I was at the Edinburgh Festival. They used to have these stand up shows at night called Late and Live. It was referred to as a ‘comedy abattoir’, because thousands of comedians had been slayed over the years.
I was pretty naive though. I remember Ross Noble giving me a pep talk before the show. ‘Don’t let it freak you out’, he said. I walked out there and within a minute, about 100 people started chanting “F%#k off Aussie, F%#k off Aussie!”
Oh, that sounds traumatic. What did you do?
It was traumatic, yeah, it was. I told them ‘they disgust me’ and that kind of made them laugh. I abused them back. Then I started to tell a joke about my cat and they didn’t like that.
What do think of Darwin?
It’s an absolutely beautiful part of the world. Shame I’m not coming up in July though. What’s October like up there? It’s quite possibly the worst month of the year to visit – so you’ve timed it well! Ha ha!
See event listing for more info: http://www.offtheleash.net.au/events/view/dave-hughes-–-pumped
WHEN: Sat 31 Oct | 7.30pm
AT: Darwin Entertainment Centre
COST: $45
INFO: yourcentre.com.au
