March 22, 2025 • 14 mins
Ben Elton’s career began in Britain's alternative comedy scene in the 1980s - and over the last 44 years, he's since built a name for himself.
He's become a recognisable name in the world of stand-up comedy and he's also written many notable works, including The Young Ones and Blackadder.
He also created musicals We Will Rock You and The Beautiful Game with Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Ahead of his Authentic Stupidity tour coming to New Zealand, he explained why he felt compelled to return to stand-up comedy
"Stand-up is the only area of my work as a comic artist which is entirely subjective. The new youth phrase is 'to stand in your truth'...and I'm standing in my truth."
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks AB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Ben Alton's career began in Britain's alternative comedy scene in
the nineteen eighties. Across the last forty four odd years,
he's established himself as a legend of the global comedy scene.
Not just a stand up comedian, he was a writer
on The Young Ones and Black Edder. He also created
musicals We Will Rock You in the Beautiful Game with
Andrew Lloyd Webber. Ben is heading to our Shawls next
(00:33):
month for his Authentic Stupidity tour, but he's popped over
for a surprise early visit and is with me here
in the studio. Ben Alton, good.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Morning, good morning, indeed.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
So lovely to have you in the studio. You had
a little bit of a break from stand up. You
came back to it in twenty nineteen after about fifteen years,
and you've done a couple of tours since then. What
is it about stand up that brings you back to
it time.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
And time again?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
As a writer? I mean I've made my entire life
writing comedy, various jewelry and musical sitcoms. The theater, plays novels,
many novels, sixteen novels, but stand up is the only
area of my works as a comic artist. For what
it's worth, that's what I am, I guess, which is
entirely subjective. It's where I get to turn. You know
what the new youth phrases to stand in your truth.
(01:24):
That's what I say, stand in your truth and share
what you know, which is I think modern talk for
in my opinion. But I'm standing in my truth and
that's what I do as a stand up because I
think good comedy is about sort of exploring your own bewilderment,
your own your own fears, your own delights. And that's
what I've been doing for forty five years. But I'm
doing it from a perspective of some venerability now. I
(01:47):
mean that's in a way why I think stand Up's
got more more invigorating for me than it ever was
when I was a young man. Because when I was
a young comic, as with all young people, I'm very
sure of myself. I knew what I thought, I laid
down the law. Young people, that's their job, it's their
job to be the change, to be vigorously forthright about
everything they feel and believe. And I was, and I
use that as part of my comedy. And now forty
(02:08):
five years later, I'm sort of two generations since I
was personally the change, and you know, my bewilderment has
been growing ever since. And so that's what I lean
into these days, my ongoing bewilderment, and it makes for
great stand up And yeah, I've just found I'm more
committed to the art of stand up comedy than I
ever was, even when I was in my kind of
(02:29):
vaguely hip pomp back in the eighties.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
I think we're all a bit bewildered these days, you
know what I mean. I'm not sure it's a generational issue.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Well, I think young people are finding, you know, and
a very difficult world to negotiat. It's things changed very quickly.
I mean, I you know, I had a tour on
My Life. I joke on my last tour where I said,
you know, this is the first tour I've done where
where I'm no longer as clever as my telephone. And now,
of course we've got artificial intelligence, which is a terrifying reality.
Bob Dylan famously said, man has invented his doom, and
(03:02):
I think with artificial intelligence, they're not even lying about it.
They're saying, yeah, yeah, it's going to put every one
out of work, and it's going to replace people, and
people are going to have to think of something else
to do, which I imagine will be riot because you know,
people aren't going to like the fact that they've been
replaced by machinery for the behest of a few tax
avoiding billionaires. But you know, I think it makes a
(03:22):
good comedy because how stupid are we to allow ourselves
to have this technology foisted upon us by people who
clearly have no thought for the social consequences. They are
only concerned with the short term profit. I mean, look,
the iPhone was released. I mean, if the iPhone had
been a drug, which effectively it is because none of
us can keep our eyes off them, you know, it
would have been subjected to years of government tests and
(03:45):
you know, for what are the social and physical and
health repercussions. But no, they've just unleashed it and lar
and behold. Now, children don't have a childhood. So I'm
soundly very serious. But yes, there's a lot to be
bewildered about. But I think the comics job, if he
or she is a good comic, is to find the
humanity in that and to share it. And that's what
I love about being a stand up you said, why
(04:05):
still do it? Well, Quite apart from the artistic inspiration,
it gives me to share my humanity and with other
people and get them to share a shared laugh when
it's a real laugh, not a laugh which is laughing
at people, but a laugh which is laughing with people
and at yourself. That's a beautiful thing and it reminds
us all that we have so much more in common
than the divides us. And I think actually comedy is
(04:29):
beautiful in that respect, and I find it invigorating and
uplifting to be a comic and to share my thoughts
with the audience and to find them their laughter saying Hey,
I know what you mean. I get that. I feel
that too.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
You love that the live performance and you don't just
do stand up. I mean over the years you have
performed in Russian musicals and all sorts of things. Is
there something about a live crowd that.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
There's just unquestionably And I think people are feeling that
more and more themselves as we disappear into our phones,
and people are experiencing so much art via a very
small letterbox screen. Not that your younger listeners will remember
what a letterbox look like, but it was sort of
the shape of an iPhone, but it was a hole
and you put communication directly through it. The fact is,
(05:13):
I think the fact that now people will go and
see gigs in stadiums. I used to be a bit
not sneery because I don't sneer at anybody's pleasures, But
I always think, why would anyone want to see a
band in a stadium or a comic in an arena?
But I think what it is actually because I don't
think creatively a comic can ever work in a ten
thousand seater, But I think what And I certainly don't play.
I'm probably sure I couldn't feel one, but i'd certainly
(05:35):
play human sized venues because I'm in it for the
experience I get as a comedian. But I'm not knocking
it because I think when people stand in a crowd
of ten thousand people, they're sharing a mutual love. They're saying, Hey,
we're a community, we're not alone in our rooms. We
actually all love this. We're all celebrating it together. So
there's something to be said for those massive gig experiences,
but they wouldn't do for me. I wouldn't fancy it.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
No, No, I think you're absolutely right that whole just
knowing that everybody in the room is experiencing the same thing,
but maybe in slightly different ways, and you're all those communals.
You're having this communal experience.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Unfortunately enough of them. No people feel then it's so great,
I must tell everyone and record it and put it
on my phone. And that, of course, is when we
get into an absurdity loop. And I love the fact
that clubs and gigs are beginning to say no phones.
You know, I'd never ask the audience to lot their
phones up because I'm not important enough for that. But
I do. I would absolutely lacerate anyone who started recording
(06:29):
or looking into their phone in my gig. No do
that outside. This is where humanity the rubber. You had
to listen and share your imagination or you look at
your phone. You don't do both.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Imagine sending on a stage and performing to ten thousand phones.
I mean, you just feel like saying to people go
home and watch it. Then on someone else's script. You know,
don't like it.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
It is a strange thing. I was doing a chat about,
you know, an echo of people throwing super paintings, you know,
And actually I think just upoil have got a lot
of point, although I'm not necessarily sure that's the best protest,
but actually, you know, people that consume great art now
by trying to photograph it, just just buy the post
(07:06):
in the gift shop. Look at the thing I went to.
My wife and I were lucky enough to go to
the Louver in Paris and there's just this massive crowd
of outstretched arms with iPhones. It is crazy. But look,
we're both sounded like grumpy old gifts. And I want
to get off that now because I'm not a grumpy
old get. I'm a passionate old get. I'm still in
the game.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And you're not necessary. You don't appear to be the
kind of business comedian who's always like, well in my day,
you know, you don't go back there. I like the
fact you're open about the bewilderment. But actually a lot
of people have seen this is a very cross generation hit,
this show. Yes, it comes back to me saying I
think we're all bewildered. I think we can all kind
of relate.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
A lot of young people have come, and to my
great pleasure, I've got some amazing reviews this time. That's
I think because I'm now sort of old and no
longer a threat. I'm not hip or you know, finally
I can sort of be forgiven for whatever it was.
I did be authentic. I've always been authentic, and I
you know, look, I'm celebrating the fact that this tour
(08:05):
has gone very well. I've extended it. I did the
London West End season and here adding dates in New Zealand.
It's lovely at sixty five to have a hit a
hit show. I mean, the last one was hit, but
this one seems to be even touching, even more funny
bones and that's and yeah, a lot of people are
bringing their kids, and that is nice. I mean, mainly,
my demographic skews forty five plus. Of course it does.
(08:25):
I'm sixty five, and I get lots of really old people.
And I do a big, long set about euthanasia and
voluntary assisted die, which is frankly touching a near a
few knuckles. It's definitely, but you know, I've always I've
stood in my truth, and I believe strongly in it.
And I and so I find my comedy where my
passion lies. And I believe very strongly that we need
(08:45):
an adult attitude to end of life care and indeed
even death. But let's not get into that now, but
I do some very funny stuff about it.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Have you always been passionate?
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Yeah, I've always I've always been, you know, thrilled to
be alive. I love being a part of a community,
and that's why I love live theater and I love comedy.
You know, I'm a sort of old welfare state social democrat.
I'm not as lefty as you know, the right wing
always said I was, and I'm certainly not as right
wing as zelots on the left want, just because I
you know, I believe in mainstream democracy, you know, but
(09:19):
I do believe in community, and I think comedy is
like almost the best art form for community values. I
think we're all better off if we see ourselves as
part of a community. This modern idea, it started with
Thatcher and Reagan that what the world needs is is individuals.
We need to enrich individuals and somehow their success will
trickle down and they will enliven economies, and it's come
into politics now, so we have self styled strong men
(09:41):
like Trump saying only I can fix it. It's insane. The
only good things that ever came about came about through
communities organizing together and not looking to the king or
the tech bro to sort us out. And I'm sadly
it seems to be a return to toxic males again,
which we thought we'd sort of begun to see the
end of. But yeah, I'm as passionate as I ever was.
(10:05):
I love to go on and I crowded bus and
be a part of people and look around and find
some funny and share it with an audience.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
This is a little bit random, but I did learn
something about you, something new about you, And I was
doing a bit of research for this interview, and it
is that you wrote a song for the Wickles I did.
I mean, is there anything you haven't done?
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Well, there's a lot of things I haven't done, you know,
there's a great country song. There's a whole lot of
things that I've never done. But I haven't never had
too much fun, and I have a lot of fun.
And that was beautiful, right, A film for them too? Oh, well,
the script and we never got it over the line.
It was great fun. I worked with them for a while.
I knew them because when my kids were young, I
slept him. I slept them in. I got good tickets
and got them to sit in the yellow car. I
don't mind, I'll you know, I don't mind having a
(10:45):
bit of a bit of celebrity privilege of it means
you can get your kids into the big red car. Yeah,
they sent me. We wrote some songs together for this
script that never happened. Was good. Actually, it was years
before Barbie, and it was about kind of cartoon figures
going out into the real world and discovering that it's
not as much fun as their own magic world. An
opportunity there. Yeah, I know it's a shame. I think
(11:07):
it would have been great. But anyway, we really got
on and they sent me this tune. I didn't write
the tune, obviously, I wish I could. But yeah, I've
written a song called Wiggletown and it was on an
ARIA Award winning album. So yeah, I got I've got
a gold disc for the Young One single. But yeah,
I wrote a wiggle song and I'm very proud of it.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I don't want to spoil too much here about the show,
but I did read somewhere that part of the show
mentions films and how films now are stupid. And look,
I'm a film reviewer, having for many decades. I'd love
to get your take on the modern day film.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Well, you know, I just point out about the fact
that we appear to be leaning into stupidity, you know,
I mean, it's almost as if the problems of the
world are so intractable and so vast that we're taking
comfort in just being stupid. We're being stupid in politics,
imagining that complex issues can be fixed just because some
idiot like Boris Johnson says I'll get it done. Will
He didn't get it done, surprise, surprise, surprise. He left
(12:01):
the mess for other people to pick up on. And
the same goes in culture. Look, I'm you know, I'm again,
I'm not a grumpy old man. But there's no doubt
about it that, you know, the biggest hit of the
early seventies was The Godfather. I'm talking about a popular
smash hit, and that was a complex moral tale involving
real I mean, you know, whatever you might think about it,
and you know, in these days we're just basically remaking cartoons,
(12:21):
and look, I have fun with that. I'm not I'm
part of the problem. I'm not the solution. I'm consuming it.
I like that last Batman movie. I've got a lot
to say about Barbie. I do have a word or
two to say on that on stage, because I do
not believe it was a significant satirical critique of the
position of women in twenty first century. I think it
was the opposite. But let's not get into the nitty gritty. Yeah,
(12:43):
I think at the moment Hollywood is spending far much
too much time looking at IP what they call intellectual property. Oh,
what was popular once? Let's do it again with a
vaguely adult edge. I think, you know, filmmakers are at
their best when they try and produce new stuff rather
than just sort of basically endlessly feed on the dying
carcass of a culture from the last century.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Now, before we finished, we must acknowledge you're going to
turn sixty six during your tour here on the last Yeah,
on the last night, will you be celebrating in christ Church?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Have you thought about, mate, I'm going to It'll be
in midnight, so I'll be sixty five. When I'm on stage,
my wife's coming over. We booked a beautiful holiday. We're
going to have a lovely time in the southern on
Suthern Island. I cannot wait. I've been on the road
a long time. This time she's been with me. Some
of the time. She'd been my wag, her words, not mine,
and she's yes, she's taken over the duties of rinsing
(13:35):
out my underpants and many a hotel basin. Because no
matter how successful you are, when you're doing one night
stands and moving on every day, getting your laundry done
is as big a challenge for me as it is
for you. I can assure you, and I think Madonna
would be the same. It's you know the road, but
reminds you of your own humanity. You still somehow I
got to find a way to get to the launderette. Yeah,
(13:56):
we're going to finish the tour together and have a
beautiful holiday in New Zealand. We can't wait.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Ben Elton has been an absolute delight. Thank you so
much for coming in my pleasure and Ben, we'll be
back in New zeal for his Authentic Stupidity tour next month.
He's added a bunch of new cities to the tour.
For more information, head to Benalton dot live or livenation
dot co dot nz.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks at B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talks AB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Ben Alton's career began in Britain's alternative comedy scene in
the nineteen eighties. Across the last forty four odd years,
he's established himself as a legend of the global comedy scene.
Not just a stand up comedian, he was a writer
on The Young Ones and Black Edder. He also created
musicals We Will Rock You in the Beautiful Game with
Andrew Lloyd Webber. Ben is heading to our Shawls next
(00:33):
month for his Authentic Stupidity tour, but he's popped over
for a surprise early visit and is with me here
in the studio. Ben Alton, good.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Morning, good morning, indeed.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
So lovely to have you in the studio. You had
a little bit of a break from stand up. You
came back to it in twenty nineteen after about fifteen years,
and you've done a couple of tours since then. What
is it about stand up that brings you back to
it time.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
And time again?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
As a writer? I mean I've made my entire life
writing comedy, various jewelry and musical sitcoms. The theater, plays novels,
many novels, sixteen novels, but stand up is the only
area of my works as a comic artist. For what
it's worth, that's what I am, I guess, which is
entirely subjective. It's where I get to turn. You know
what the new youth phrases to stand in your truth.
(01:24):
That's what I say, stand in your truth and share
what you know, which is I think modern talk for
in my opinion. But I'm standing in my truth and
that's what I do as a stand up because I
think good comedy is about sort of exploring your own bewilderment,
your own your own fears, your own delights. And that's
what I've been doing for forty five years. But I'm
doing it from a perspective of some venerability now. I
(01:47):
mean that's in a way why I think stand Up's
got more more invigorating for me than it ever was
when I was a young man. Because when I was
a young comic, as with all young people, I'm very
sure of myself. I knew what I thought, I laid
down the law. Young people, that's their job, it's their
job to be the change, to be vigorously forthright about
everything they feel and believe. And I was, and I
use that as part of my comedy. And now forty
(02:08):
five years later, I'm sort of two generations since I
was personally the change, and you know, my bewilderment has
been growing ever since. And so that's what I lean
into these days, my ongoing bewilderment, and it makes for
great stand up And yeah, I've just found I'm more
committed to the art of stand up comedy than I
ever was, even when I was in my kind of
(02:29):
vaguely hip pomp back in the eighties.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
I think we're all a bit bewildered these days, you
know what I mean. I'm not sure it's a generational issue.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Well, I think young people are finding, you know, and
a very difficult world to negotiat. It's things changed very quickly.
I mean, I you know, I had a tour on
My Life. I joke on my last tour where I said,
you know, this is the first tour I've done where
where I'm no longer as clever as my telephone. And now,
of course we've got artificial intelligence, which is a terrifying reality.
Bob Dylan famously said, man has invented his doom, and
(03:02):
I think with artificial intelligence, they're not even lying about it.
They're saying, yeah, yeah, it's going to put every one
out of work, and it's going to replace people, and
people are going to have to think of something else
to do, which I imagine will be riot because you know,
people aren't going to like the fact that they've been
replaced by machinery for the behest of a few tax
avoiding billionaires. But you know, I think it makes a
(03:22):
good comedy because how stupid are we to allow ourselves
to have this technology foisted upon us by people who
clearly have no thought for the social consequences. They are
only concerned with the short term profit. I mean, look,
the iPhone was released. I mean, if the iPhone had
been a drug, which effectively it is because none of
us can keep our eyes off them, you know, it
would have been subjected to years of government tests and
(03:45):
you know, for what are the social and physical and
health repercussions. But no, they've just unleashed it and lar
and behold. Now, children don't have a childhood. So I'm
soundly very serious. But yes, there's a lot to be
bewildered about. But I think the comics job, if he
or she is a good comic, is to find the
humanity in that and to share it. And that's what
I love about being a stand up you said, why
(04:05):
still do it? Well, Quite apart from the artistic inspiration,
it gives me to share my humanity and with other
people and get them to share a shared laugh when
it's a real laugh, not a laugh which is laughing
at people, but a laugh which is laughing with people
and at yourself. That's a beautiful thing and it reminds
us all that we have so much more in common
than the divides us. And I think actually comedy is
(04:29):
beautiful in that respect, and I find it invigorating and
uplifting to be a comic and to share my thoughts
with the audience and to find them their laughter saying Hey,
I know what you mean. I get that. I feel
that too.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
You love that the live performance and you don't just
do stand up. I mean over the years you have
performed in Russian musicals and all sorts of things. Is
there something about a live crowd that.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
There's just unquestionably And I think people are feeling that
more and more themselves as we disappear into our phones,
and people are experiencing so much art via a very
small letterbox screen. Not that your younger listeners will remember
what a letterbox look like, but it was sort of
the shape of an iPhone, but it was a hole
and you put communication directly through it. The fact is,
(05:13):
I think the fact that now people will go and
see gigs in stadiums. I used to be a bit
not sneery because I don't sneer at anybody's pleasures, But
I always think, why would anyone want to see a
band in a stadium or a comic in an arena?
But I think what it is actually because I don't
think creatively a comic can ever work in a ten
thousand seater, But I think what And I certainly don't play.
I'm probably sure I couldn't feel one, but i'd certainly
(05:35):
play human sized venues because I'm in it for the
experience I get as a comedian. But I'm not knocking
it because I think when people stand in a crowd
of ten thousand people, they're sharing a mutual love. They're saying, Hey,
we're a community, we're not alone in our rooms. We
actually all love this. We're all celebrating it together. So
there's something to be said for those massive gig experiences,
but they wouldn't do for me. I wouldn't fancy it.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
No, No, I think you're absolutely right that whole just
knowing that everybody in the room is experiencing the same thing,
but maybe in slightly different ways, and you're all those communals.
You're having this communal experience.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Unfortunately enough of them. No people feel then it's so great,
I must tell everyone and record it and put it
on my phone. And that, of course, is when we
get into an absurdity loop. And I love the fact
that clubs and gigs are beginning to say no phones.
You know, I'd never ask the audience to lot their
phones up because I'm not important enough for that. But
I do. I would absolutely lacerate anyone who started recording
(06:29):
or looking into their phone in my gig. No do
that outside. This is where humanity the rubber. You had
to listen and share your imagination or you look at
your phone. You don't do both.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Imagine sending on a stage and performing to ten thousand phones.
I mean, you just feel like saying to people go
home and watch it. Then on someone else's script. You know,
don't like it.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
It is a strange thing. I was doing a chat about,
you know, an echo of people throwing super paintings, you know,
And actually I think just upoil have got a lot
of point, although I'm not necessarily sure that's the best protest,
but actually, you know, people that consume great art now
by trying to photograph it, just just buy the post
(07:06):
in the gift shop. Look at the thing I went to.
My wife and I were lucky enough to go to
the Louver in Paris and there's just this massive crowd
of outstretched arms with iPhones. It is crazy. But look,
we're both sounded like grumpy old gifts. And I want
to get off that now because I'm not a grumpy
old get. I'm a passionate old get. I'm still in
the game.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And you're not necessary. You don't appear to be the
kind of business comedian who's always like, well in my day,
you know, you don't go back there. I like the
fact you're open about the bewilderment. But actually a lot
of people have seen this is a very cross generation hit,
this show. Yes, it comes back to me saying I
think we're all bewildered. I think we can all kind
of relate.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
A lot of young people have come, and to my
great pleasure, I've got some amazing reviews this time. That's
I think because I'm now sort of old and no
longer a threat. I'm not hip or you know, finally
I can sort of be forgiven for whatever it was.
I did be authentic. I've always been authentic, and I
you know, look, I'm celebrating the fact that this tour
(08:05):
has gone very well. I've extended it. I did the
London West End season and here adding dates in New Zealand.
It's lovely at sixty five to have a hit a
hit show. I mean, the last one was hit, but
this one seems to be even touching, even more funny
bones and that's and yeah, a lot of people are
bringing their kids, and that is nice. I mean, mainly,
my demographic skews forty five plus. Of course it does.
(08:25):
I'm sixty five, and I get lots of really old people.
And I do a big, long set about euthanasia and
voluntary assisted die, which is frankly touching a near a
few knuckles. It's definitely, but you know, I've always I've
stood in my truth, and I believe strongly in it.
And I and so I find my comedy where my
passion lies. And I believe very strongly that we need
(08:45):
an adult attitude to end of life care and indeed
even death. But let's not get into that now, but
I do some very funny stuff about it.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Have you always been passionate?
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Yeah, I've always I've always been, you know, thrilled to
be alive. I love being a part of a community,
and that's why I love live theater and I love comedy.
You know, I'm a sort of old welfare state social democrat.
I'm not as lefty as you know, the right wing
always said I was, and I'm certainly not as right
wing as zelots on the left want, just because I
you know, I believe in mainstream democracy, you know, but
(09:19):
I do believe in community, and I think comedy is
like almost the best art form for community values. I
think we're all better off if we see ourselves as
part of a community. This modern idea, it started with
Thatcher and Reagan that what the world needs is is individuals.
We need to enrich individuals and somehow their success will
trickle down and they will enliven economies, and it's come
into politics now, so we have self styled strong men
(09:41):
like Trump saying only I can fix it. It's insane. The
only good things that ever came about came about through
communities organizing together and not looking to the king or
the tech bro to sort us out. And I'm sadly
it seems to be a return to toxic males again,
which we thought we'd sort of begun to see the
end of. But yeah, I'm as passionate as I ever was.
(10:05):
I love to go on and I crowded bus and
be a part of people and look around and find
some funny and share it with an audience.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
This is a little bit random, but I did learn
something about you, something new about you, And I was
doing a bit of research for this interview, and it
is that you wrote a song for the Wickles I did.
I mean, is there anything you haven't done?
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Well, there's a lot of things I haven't done, you know,
there's a great country song. There's a whole lot of
things that I've never done. But I haven't never had
too much fun, and I have a lot of fun.
And that was beautiful, right, A film for them too? Oh, well,
the script and we never got it over the line.
It was great fun. I worked with them for a while.
I knew them because when my kids were young, I
slept him. I slept them in. I got good tickets
and got them to sit in the yellow car. I
don't mind, I'll you know, I don't mind having a
(10:45):
bit of a bit of celebrity privilege of it means
you can get your kids into the big red car. Yeah,
they sent me. We wrote some songs together for this
script that never happened. Was good. Actually, it was years
before Barbie, and it was about kind of cartoon figures
going out into the real world and discovering that it's
not as much fun as their own magic world. An
opportunity there. Yeah, I know it's a shame. I think
(11:07):
it would have been great. But anyway, we really got
on and they sent me this tune. I didn't write
the tune, obviously, I wish I could. But yeah, I've
written a song called Wiggletown and it was on an
ARIA Award winning album. So yeah, I got I've got
a gold disc for the Young One single. But yeah,
I wrote a wiggle song and I'm very proud of it.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I don't want to spoil too much here about the show,
but I did read somewhere that part of the show
mentions films and how films now are stupid. And look,
I'm a film reviewer, having for many decades. I'd love
to get your take on the modern day film.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Well, you know, I just point out about the fact
that we appear to be leaning into stupidity, you know,
I mean, it's almost as if the problems of the
world are so intractable and so vast that we're taking
comfort in just being stupid. We're being stupid in politics,
imagining that complex issues can be fixed just because some
idiot like Boris Johnson says I'll get it done. Will
He didn't get it done, surprise, surprise, surprise. He left
(12:01):
the mess for other people to pick up on. And
the same goes in culture. Look, I'm you know, I'm again,
I'm not a grumpy old man. But there's no doubt
about it that, you know, the biggest hit of the
early seventies was The Godfather. I'm talking about a popular
smash hit, and that was a complex moral tale involving
real I mean, you know, whatever you might think about it,
and you know, in these days we're just basically remaking cartoons,
(12:21):
and look, I have fun with that. I'm not I'm
part of the problem. I'm not the solution. I'm consuming it.
I like that last Batman movie. I've got a lot
to say about Barbie. I do have a word or
two to say on that on stage, because I do
not believe it was a significant satirical critique of the
position of women in twenty first century. I think it
was the opposite. But let's not get into the nitty gritty. Yeah,
(12:43):
I think at the moment Hollywood is spending far much
too much time looking at IP what they call intellectual property. Oh,
what was popular once? Let's do it again with a
vaguely adult edge. I think, you know, filmmakers are at
their best when they try and produce new stuff rather
than just sort of basically endlessly feed on the dying
carcass of a culture from the last century.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Now, before we finished, we must acknowledge you're going to
turn sixty six during your tour here on the last Yeah,
on the last night, will you be celebrating in christ Church?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Have you thought about, mate, I'm going to It'll be
in midnight, so I'll be sixty five. When I'm on stage,
my wife's coming over. We booked a beautiful holiday. We're
going to have a lovely time in the southern on
Suthern Island. I cannot wait. I've been on the road
a long time. This time she's been with me. Some
of the time. She'd been my wag, her words, not mine,
and she's yes, she's taken over the duties of rinsing
(13:35):
out my underpants and many a hotel basin. Because no
matter how successful you are, when you're doing one night
stands and moving on every day, getting your laundry done
is as big a challenge for me as it is
for you. I can assure you, and I think Madonna
would be the same. It's you know the road, but
reminds you of your own humanity. You still somehow I
got to find a way to get to the launderette. Yeah,
(13:56):
we're going to finish the tour together and have a
beautiful holiday in New Zealand. We can't wait.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Ben Elton has been an absolute delight. Thank you so
much for coming in my pleasure and Ben, we'll be
back in New zeal for his Authentic Stupidity tour next month.
He's added a bunch of new cities to the tour.
For more information, head to Benalton dot live or livenation
dot co dot nz.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks at B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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