“There was a time when I was deep into drugs and whoring but I’m all about the jokes now, sir. I’m completely about the jokes!” he tells our man Stuart Clark in the new issue of Hot Press.
He goes on to speak of his admiration for legendary Irish stand-up – well, more sit-down – Dave Allen.
“Man, that guy was a genius,” Reg enthuses. “I didn’t fully understand the references, but I knew absolutely what he meant. Like the main role of the Catholic Church was to prevent fucking. It’s only much, much later that I realised he was saying these things that needed to be said about Ireland on British TV. I know you guys haven’t always got on, but the English did good giving Dave Allen his own series.”
We were also treated to his reflections on Bill Hicks (“If he were still around today there’s a chance Bill Hicks would be making rom-coms with Jennifer Anniston”); his somewhat puritanical upbringing (‘My mother being a staunch Christian was against laughter and music and fun”) and much, much more!