Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from News Talks at b.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
In a good morning you were Jack Tame through the
midday on News Talks, he'd b and one of New
Zealand's favorite Irishman's ed Byrne, is back in the country.
Ed is known for his Wow intellectual comedy I think
we can call it intellectual, and his TV appearances on
shows like QI. He even won the celebrity version of
(00:56):
the Chase. He's back on our shores with his Tragedy
plus Time tour and he's with.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Us held a good morning, good morning to you.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
It is great to be getting to you.
Speaker 5 (01:06):
And I want to double cheeck effect because I read
that you perform in New Zealand even more than you
perform in Ireland.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Is that right?
Speaker 6 (01:15):
Oh yeah, that's a that's a fair comment, I would say, yeah,
and I will I will sell more tickets in New
Zealand than I will in Ireland. About New Zealand being
a country with a population roughly the same and why
is that spread across a much larger area, so so
more traveling has to be done, but I don't know
where that is. I feel like when I do go
(01:36):
to New Zealand, people go, well, he's here, we know
how far he's come, so you know, well, while he's here,
let's go and see him. Well, I feel like when
I go to Ireland they kind of go like, oh,
well he's Irish, so you know, i'll bother you him today.
I'll see him, you know in a couple of weeks
if when he when he's you know, when he's on again. No,
(01:57):
this is it. Don't all think people are really cutting
on too that.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
Maybe they just think they're going to be like they're
more likely to bump into you in a supermarket or
something like that. You know there's going to be something
that's you know, it's a bit more commonplace to see you.
Speaker 6 (02:13):
Perhaps, Yes, I think that's it. I think it's definitely
the commonplace aspect is what makes people just not nearly
as excited about my arrival there. I'm not saying that
the entire country of New Zealand goes into apoplexy of
ecstasy every time I step off the plane, but I
think people tend to be slightly more excited and appreciative
(02:34):
of the journey I've made than when I fly to
Ireland for gigs.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
Well, I think it's I think it's something akin to that,
and I you know, speaking on behalf of New Zealander
is perhaps the only thing that gets the more excited than.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
Annied Burned too is the Chase.
Speaker 5 (02:47):
I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but
I mean as popular as the Chases in the UK
and perhaps in Ireland. The Chase is like a social
phenomenon in New Zealand. So it plays right before the
biggest evening news in New Zealand, and so everyone who's
(03:07):
tuning in for the evening news, the last couple of
minutes before the news starts as the final Chase, right
and so there's there's this huge kind of social phenomenon.
And of course we've seen you win the Chase, so
that's yeah. So so just tell us about that experience,
because as like I says, excited as everyone is to
see your show, I really you're going to get more
than a few questions about the Chase.
Speaker 6 (03:29):
You want to know about that? Well, it was actually
my second time appearing on the Chase. Yeah, first time
I did it as a as a you know, these
was it was me. It was me and Eric Bristow
ended up being the two that went through. I can't
even remember who else is on that episode was. I
feel bad because there was two other celebrities, and one
of them was Nadine Daries, who was it was an
(03:53):
MP to be the culture secretary despite not understanding anything
about culture or you know, yes, and she yeah, she
went to take I remember she went to take the
lower arm for the audience booed her, so she took
the middle offer, showing you know, how easily swayed she
(04:15):
was by public opinion, and then having taken the middle
of her you know, was thick, so she got picked up.
I'm no, I'm not a fan of this.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
I'm taking I'm picking that on you.
Speaker 6 (04:30):
Yeah. And then so then it was me and Eric Bristow,
who's no longer with us, but who was It was
a darts player, and I got to admit, was not,
you know, the greatest teammate for the final chase. At
one point he buzzed in on a golf question and
then stood there and I literally stand the next to
going past dude pass. So that even though the money
(04:54):
I took back to the table was at the time
it was actually a record amount. It was something like
one hundred and sixty thousand or something like that, but
we didn't win it, so it means nothing. Yeah, and
then the second time I did it was for us.
We all made it through. It was a guy called
Dr Ranch saying it was like this TV doctor who
was the Reverend Kate Bottley, who was you know, she
(05:15):
does like a she's a reverend, but who does TV
presenting a lot of you know, faith based stuff. And
a reality TV star called Tough who came from a
TV show called Made in Chelsea and me and between us,
yes we managed. It's Ron Pome with the with the
Lions show. So yeah, to light of it. But they do,
I mean I can. I can talk about this all night. Yeah,
(05:36):
you feel like I'm not letting you in. They do.
They don't. They don't cheat. They're not allowed to cheat
with with with TV talent, with TV quiz shows. They
still have to be above board. But what they will
do is they will tailor questions knowing what the interests
are of the people who are you know, who who
the celebrities are, and so you're aware that they're doing
(05:59):
it like that. At one point, the chaser got a
question about and the answer was pearl jab right, what
the Attle grunge band had an album called I think
it was Vitalogy, and of course he knew he was.
He was Sean Wall who went who Went Nirvana. But
(06:19):
you know, if you're even the most cursoryle bit of
research about your contestants would reveal that I am a
massive Pearl Jam fan, you know, like I have worn
worn T shirts in my specials and stuff like that.
So so they do, it's not as great an achievement
as as as you might think. They do just slightly
just stack the questions in the favor.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
I think it's still.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
I think it's still an almighty achievement. Yeah, for what
it's worth, you know, it's a stressle environment and then
and to triumph on the chases certainly an impressive feat.
So so talk to us a little bit about Tragedy
plus Time because the concept behind your show is pretty unique.
Speaker 6 (07:03):
Well, it's it's certainly a departure for me the show
that the term tragedy plus Time is. But it's attributed
to Mark Twain, but it's actually there's no actual evidence
he ever said it. But it's a definition of comedy. Basically,
it's the idea the comedy equals or humor equals tragedy
plus time. The idea that's something that's not funny at
the time can become funny later once enough time has
(07:25):
a lapse. And so I sort of I I try
and examine that through the frame of two different tragedies,
one very minor that happened to me where I had
my car broken into and was joking about it the
following night, and then a much bigger tragedy, which was
the death of my little brother, which was obviously far
(07:48):
more difficult to try and be funny about, you know.
But here we are, and I talk about the sort
of funny things that were said and that happened surrounding
the death, and the funny things he was coming out
with even when he knew he was sick, and stuff
like that. So it it sounds like a downer subject,
(08:08):
it has to be said. But the overall show is
I hope it's fairly uplifting and and certainly it's it
is full of jokes.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
Yeah, I mean, it's quite it's quite a it's quite
a it seems like quite a brave thing to do.
Speaker 6 (08:22):
Well, it's not. It's not entirely groundbreaking. I mean, shows
mixing tragedy with comedy is something that people but has
worked very well for a lot of people that even
look at you know, most sitcoms now or even your
average rom com, there's always gonna be that moment that
hits you in the fields that even you know, God
(08:44):
what Mash Scrubs, Friends, Ted Lasso, all these ones, you know,
where it kind of goes side side by side that
you enjoy it more for the for the for the
dark that goes with the light. You know. So it's
a it's certainly a new thing for me. And it's
it's maybe it's a it's a path less traveled in
stand up compared to you know, scripted comedy, knowever, you
(09:08):
know sitcom and movies and that. But it's it's it's
it's it's not unheard off put it that way.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Is it?
Speaker 5 (09:15):
But it's performing the show and you know, having performed
it a few times now, is it has it been
good for you? Has it been cathartic in a way
or is it is it you know, are there some
kind of downside that you perhaps h hadn't anticipated.
Speaker 6 (09:28):
We've reached that point of the interview where I get
to tick off. It's not your well, it is the
question people ask it is, Yes, it is. I actually
would like to say yes. I find it's very helpful
and very useful. I genuinely there's aspects of them that
I find very rewarding. I love the fact that people
(09:49):
are coming to the show and they didn't know who
my little brother was, and they go away from Joe
knowing who he was. And I like the aspect of
keeping his memory alive. And I like that, you know,
getting some stuff off mea chase. I jo't think overall
it's very healthy what I'm doing. I think breaking over
(10:10):
the cold of a tragic event five six nights a
week is probably not the best thing I could ever
do for my mental health. I do also, you know,
think in terms of, you know, he died owing me money,
and this is my way of climbing some of it back.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
You do you walk when you're in New Zealand? Is
that something that you try and do?
Speaker 6 (10:38):
I try? I do absolutely, and I have done the
last few times I've been out there. When I was
out there. Okay, so here's the thing. When I used
to travel with my wife or girlfriend as she was
before she became my wife. Yeah, we actually I proposed
her in New Zealand. Before we had kids, we would
travel together quite a lot, and so I was able
(10:59):
to like sort of space to tour out a bit
better so that we could then get some hikes in
and stuff like that, and we could always turn everything
into a working holiday. But now because I've got to
go on my own, I kind of feel bad if
I even take a day for myself. It said, hey
that I could have, you know, just done a gig
and and and and because I need to get back
(11:20):
to them, I'm going for a month and I will
be doing as much work as I can. But yes,
I will definitely least get I reckon two hikes in,
probably one on the North Island and one on the South.
I think that's a beam. That's that's a good aim.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
Yeah, that's pretty that's pretty impressive that.
Speaker 5 (11:37):
That, you know, you're kind of able to prioritize that
when you're when you're traveling, you know, it's it's quite
ye able to do that.
Speaker 6 (11:47):
It would just be, I don't know, just be a shame.
It'd be like to go to New Zealand and not
go for a tramp. Yeah, Like I don't know, but
I go to New Orleans and not visiting the jazz barge.
You know what I mean. It's the hiking or tramping,
as you say, is so good there to go all
that way and not get you know, some some miles,
some tracks under your under your boots, yeah, would be,
(12:09):
would be a shape. The only guys there. When I
bring the boots with me, I have to I have
that moment of customs. They got to take them away
and I radiate them and make sure there's no British
soil on them.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Does anyone else say tramp, let's.
Speaker 6 (12:25):
Bring a plague of locust? No, only New Zealand.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
It's a weird it's a weird term anyway.
Speaker 6 (12:31):
Yeah, very odd term to my ears. To my ears,
it sounds like going out and hunting homeless people.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
Hopefully you're not going to be doing any of that
while you're here. But look, we are delighted to have
you back.
Speaker 6 (12:45):
In the country, beautiful jeers.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yeah, it's so good to have you here. Thank you
very much for your time.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Ied Burn.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
He is playing Hastings tonight. He's also visiting Palmerston, North,
christ Church, Queenstowan, Dunedin, Infcago, Hamilton, Todunger, Tom McKey, mccodo
and or Auckland and Wellington. We'll make sure we've got
all the details for us to are up on the
News Talks he'd be website along with everything from our show.
That's just that's the best thing about Saturday mornings. You
don't need to be furiously taking notes, you don't need
(13:12):
to be texting yourself, you don't need to worry about
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our show on the News Talks IDB website, News talk
ZIDB dot co, dot DD, forward slash Jack.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. Listen live
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