Freddie Starr brings his unhinged brand of humour to Dublin this month for a brace of shows at Vicar Street. Although the Liverpool comedian made his name on British TV in the ’80s and ’90s, he is now probably more familiar to Irish audiences through his appearances on The Podge & Rodge Show.
“That’s been fantastic,” enthuses Starr. “The whole team over there at RTÉ are great. I was sent a video of the show and asked whether or not I wanted to do it, and I loved them so much that I said yes. I’ve done the show twice and really enjoyed it both times.”
Although he’s somewhat dropped off the cultural radar in recent times, Starr is still kept very busy with live work.
“I’ll be doing about 150 gigs this year,” he explains. “Then next January I’ll be going back to Las Vegas, and after that I’ll be heading to Australia for a couple of months. I’m as busy now as I was during my heyday. Because I’m not on TV, people assume that I’m not working, but I’m doing loads.”
Whilst he has enjoyed plenty of exposure here on the back of The Podge & Rodge Show, Starr is scathing about the current state of mainstream television in Britain.
“It’s shite over here mate,” he sighs. “Really, really bad. There are so many awful reality shows like Love Island, Celebrity Big Brother and so on. Barry Humphries is back doing Dame Edna now, and they need more of those kinds of shows. There is so much damage being done by these 18-, 19- and 20-year-old guys who run television. They don’t know anything about Tommy Cooper or comedians of that stature. It’s ridiculous.”
Starr says that he has in the past considered moving to Ireland.
“On my road where I grew up in Liverpool, there were a group of Irish kids who I used to knock around with,” he remembers. “They’d come over from Dublin. So when I went to Dublin myself, I don’t know whether it was from this life or a previous life, but something in me said that this was home. But I’ve lived in Spain for 25 years.”
As it happens, Starr isn’t overly impressed with the changes that have occurred in Spain in recent times.
“It used to be alright,” he laments. “But there are too many Brits over there now for my liking. Still, I suppose they only last for about six years, then they’ve got to go back home because they’ve got no money.”
I mention a TV documentary I saw a few years ago, which tracked down Starr in Spain. He came across as being decidedly bitter about his slide from public view in Britain.
“In a way, they really stitched me up,” he suggests. “But the sympathy I got from the British public made up for it. It was done to me on purpose. But if they’re going to broadcast shite about me, what can I do? It was a long time ago, I’m still here and the people didn’t fall for that crap. I mean, I’m earning more money now than I was when I was really famous. There are people who’ve been following me for the last 40 years who’ve now grown up and had kids themselves, and they’re also now coming to see me.
“I’ve never been a performer whose audience has drifted away. I’ve been a performer who’s carried on and played to different generations. I’m very lucky in that respect and I thank God that things happened that way for me. Because if they hadn’t, I’d probably be sat at home now, twiddling me thumbs.”
I have a memory of seeing Starr doing a pretty wild take off of the late Adam Faith when I was a kid.
“He was lovely man,” says Starr, simply. “He was a real good lad and a dear friend of mine. He’s sadly missed.”
I end with the obligatory question about the infamous “Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster” front page headline in The Sun, which, in the years since its publication, seems to have morphed in its cultural standing from a mildly amusing tabloid piece into some kind of Warholian pop-art masterstroke. Has it been a millstone around the comedian’s neck?
“It becomes a millstone when it’s mentioned so often,” he groans. “It was nearly 25 years ago, and if I had a pound for each time I’ve been asked about it… I mean, first and foremost, I’m a vegetarian! It’s the might of the press again. Some lads came around from The Sun and it just developed into this big thing. But I’ve got used to it at this stage, I suppose. Sometimes I just say to people ‘Did I eat the hamster? No. Now fuck off and get a life!’”