Richard Dangerous, Lord Flashheart, Alan B’stard, Drop Dead Fred, Richie Richard, Kevin Turvey, Rick from the Young Ones… this legendary clown has created so many iconic, scene-stealing characters that he is destined to be discovered by new generations of comedy fans for years to come, and that is a truly great thing.

A great many of his co-stars over the years have described him as a force of nature. It’s an overused expression – but when it is said independently by the likes of Ben Elton, Greg Davies, Stephen Fry, Adrian Edmondson and a whole host of respected critics then it begins to carry some serious weight.

Ironically, it is actually one of his roles that ended up on the cutting room floor that always reminds me of exactly what this clown bought to a production. It’s hard to criticise a movie that made £975million and sparked one of the most successful franchises in film history but I will always feel that Harry Potter would have been better with Rik’s portrayal of ‘Peeves’ left in. Described as a snarky poltergeist who derives joy from disaster and mischievous acts, this role was pretty much written for the man and he would certainly have stolen every scene… in fact, perhaps that was the problem?

TV and film aside, Rik Mayall’s prowess as a stand-up performer should not be forgotten. It is tragic that none of his live solo routines seem to be available on any video format – yes, I even checked VHS – and YouTube only offers up short, albeit brilliant clips. Like this one….

So when I came across a dodgy recording from 1990 (I say dodgy because at one point the bloke recording it starts chatting to his mates and at another you can hear the music from the bar next door!) I wasn’t sure if i’d be able to do anything with it. Would this legendary clown’s true brilliance still be apparent whilst fighting against incredibly poor audio quality and complete lack of visuals?

In truth it was almost as if Rik had foreseen just such a situation. He performs the first 5 minutes of his set off stage, relying totally on his voice and what his tone can imply. It takes a couple of seconds for him to get the crowd’s complete attention and then less than 30 seconds to have them all in fits of laughter, firstly by announcing his genius and then calling them all bastards.

When the self-proclaimed ‘locomotive of lust‘ actually appears on stage he already owns the room, Skegness’s Festival Pavilion is his playpen and he can do no wrong. There are incredibly few actual jokes on display, and I’m not sure we’re even counting the one about why the pervert crossed the street (because his cock was stuck in the chicken). The brilliance is in the stage craft, the build-up and the delivery. At one point he is trying to tell Ade Edmondson’s favourite joke, there are at least 15 minutes of build up – including the classic exchange “knock knock”, “who’s there?”, “Ade Edmondson”, “Ade Edmonson who?”, “That’s showbiz” – and I don’t remember there even being a joke at the end. I just remember laughing and thoroughly enjoying the ride.

My favourite moment came about half way through the set. Our clown waited for the room to settle, switched tones to serious/dead-pan and said “Thanks, it’s actually been tough for me recently, you see my girlfriend died about two weeks ago” which was met with an eruption of laughter. His audience knew that he would switch the gag later but in isolation that moment speaks volumes. Rik didn’t write jokes, he just delivered. He truly was an instrument of comedy.

In the second half we get to meet one of his old characters, Kevin Turvey, and after a solid monologue things take a turn towards the more alternative. The laughter stops but the room is on tenterhooks and hanging off every word. It’s nonsense, but in this clown’s hands it’s a sermon. He ends on a high by performing the song “I’m Evil” and somehow you can actually hear the standing ovation. For a clown who is so visual in their performance it’s hard to believe that you can fully appreciate his work from cassette recording taken, slightly illegally, from Row Z… but I promise you, it’s well worth a listen.

Once again we are writing about yet another incredibly talented clown that was taken from us far too soon. His great friend and long-time partner-in-crime Adrian Edmondson once used these four lines from a Blockheads song to sum up his pal…

“I could be the catalyst that sparks the revolution,
I could be an inmate in a long-term institution,
I could dream to wide extremes, I could do or die,
I could yawn and be withdrawn and watch the world go by,
What a waste“

In the end everyone was right, he truly was a force of nature. Legend.

Clown Stars: * * * * *

@Festival Pavilion, Skegness