BEST OF 2016: Comedian Andrew Stanley gives us his Best of 2016 list

Favourite track of the year?
The Biffy Clyro lead single of their new album, that’s got to be my track of the year. It’s always great to get new music from them. The album is Ellipsis, and the track is "Re-arrange," it’s just been on repeat for me.

Biffy Clyro, "Re-arrange"

Favourite album?
For my favourite album, you know what, it was last year, but I’ve been listening to it more and more since they’ve announced they’re breaking up. The Maccabees, Marks To Prove It. I can’t stop listening to it now that I know they’re breaking up. It’s really effected me in a way that I never thought a band breaking up would. Cause it’s like, they’ve never been better than they are right now, and it’s almost over, that's heartbreaking for me.

The Maccabees, "Marks To Prove It"

Favourite gig?
For gigs, it has to be seeing LCD Soundsystem at Electric Picnic. Oh my God, one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to in my life. I’m sure you’re getting a lot of people saying Electric Picnic gigs, but honestly, that one was absolutely incredible. I would say everyone absolutely needs to see them at least once, if you haven’t.

LCD Soundsystem, "Someone Great"

Favourite tv show?
For tv shows, this whole new season of Black Mirror totally blew my mind. It was ridiculous. I don’t think I’ve ever been as impacted by a tv show as I am by that show. The third one, "Shut Up and Dance," that messed me up. God, it was so horrific, at the end with the kid, I’m not gonna ruin it, but my friend and I talked about it for days, just going, “I can’t, I don’t understand reality now.” And the worst of it was, that third one was so bad, as in that it was so horrific to deal with, that I couldn’t even enjoy the fourth one, "San Junipero," which was about hot lesbians. That’s how badly it impacted me. Damn you, Charlie Brooker.

Black Mirror, season 3 trailer

Favourite movie?
Favourite movie, I don’t really go to the movies as much as I should, to be honest. I can tell you the movie I hated most, if that helps! (laughs) I don’t know why that’s the one that I’m really remembering right now, but Doctor Strange, I just hated. It was so hyped up, and it was so annoying. Oh, you know, a movie I did like, was Bryan Cranston in The Infiltrator. Really good, Cranston’s playing an undercover agent in this drug cartel, and he’s just amazing, so that was a really really good movie.

The Infiltrator trailer

Favourite book?
This sure didn’t come out this year, but because I come back to books again and again all the time, I reread all the Lord of the Rings books again this year. It’s a big project, but honestly, I read a lot of fantasy fiction, and there’s another series of books as well called The Wheel of Time, and that’s fourteen books. So after that, Lord of the Rings is just a walk in the park, cause each of those Wheel of Time books has to be about 800 pages.

What's ahead for you in 2017?
2017, aside from seeing the Maccabees’ last gig, which I already have tickets to, in London. I’m so sad, honestly, and I never even thought of myself as that big a Maccabees fan. But, okay, aside from that, I perform at a lot of comedy stages at music festivals. I’m going to Australia for the first few months, doing some festivals over there. Gig wise, it’s shaping up to be a pretty exciting year, I’m also going to Rock Werchter festival in Belgium. They’ve got Foo Fighters, Radiohead, System of a Down, it’s one of the best lineups I’ve ever seen in my life. So I can only assume that’s gonna be a massive let down, that’s gonna suck. (laughs) And you know what, that week’s just gonna be a week of gigs, cause the Maccabees gig is that week as well. So that’s gonna be the greatest week of my life, I think, or the worst week of my life. Depending on how much I build it up in my head. But, other than that, I’m looking forward to all the usual stuff. I’ll be doing all the big festivals around the country, all the comedy stages at the music festivals, so that’s something I always look forward to.