Life’s not always been full of laughs for comedian Phil Nichol, for a start he was born in Britain’s number 2 crap town, banned by Born Again Christian parents from wearing jeans until 17 and once had a terrifying encounter with wild dogs whilst searching for a Nazi –themed-socialist-folk-music bar in a dark field outside Bangkok. And don’t even ask about ‘Trough Man’… Taking in Canterbury, Aberdeen, Brighton, Newcastle, Cumbernauld, Toronto, Oslo, Stockholm, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Bulgaria, Amsterdam, Berlin, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Uluru, Darwin, Rio, Jamaica, South Africa, New Zealand, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Koh Tao.

On this episode we cover:

His character on stage

Stewart Lee

His current comedy tour

Canterbury, Aberdeen, Brighton

His best UK audiences

Being a contentious left-leaning person

Brighton’s Komedia and open-mindedness

Newcastle, Aberdeen and being Scottish and Canadian

How Cumbernauld is a bit crap

Trying to persuade Channel 4 to tear the whole of Cumbernauld down

How gentrification missed Cumbernauld

The house his cabinet maker Dad built

How not being able to afford a roof is a great incentive to work harder

The secret door his Dad built

The Canadian’s recruitment of skilled workers

Moving to Toronto

Being the short kid with baggy clothes and a stutter

His devout born again Christian parents

His show ‘Your Wrong’ and how childhood bullying informed his humour

Mass emigration from Scotland to Canada

How a strong currency can make you feel rich

Being embraced by the UK comedy scene

How comedy has taken off worldwide – eastern Europe South East Asia, Oslo, Stockholm, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona…regular comedy shows.

How Bulgaria is a bit grey

How London is one of the most beautiful cities in the world

Monkey nuts at the Comedy Café in Amsterdam

Crazy nights at Gay Pride in Amsterdam

Trough Man and Son of Trough Man (don’t even ASK if you’re in any way queasy)

The Eagle and the Cock Ring

The red light district and Dam Square

Lisa’s visit to the Kit Kat Club in Berlin

(the conversation descends quickly around here!)

London’s Torture Garden

Thrash metal Thai bands singing Ozzy Osbourne

Getting chased by wild dogs whilst searching for a Nazi –themed-socialist-folk-music bar in the dark night in the countryside outside Bangkok

Searching for the dwarf-run Hobbit House bar in Manila (Philippines) after reading Lord of the Rings

Little Guys – another dwarf run bar on the bay in Manila

Getting married in Australia

His father in law who went walkabout and settled in Wonboyn National Park

The post World War One baby boom in Australian

Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Uluru, Darwin, the Kakadu National Park rain forest, the Arnhem Land, hungry alligators and crocodiles, Aboriginal guides, Bill Bryson’s Down Under and what can kill you in Australia

Being chased by large spiders, or killed by rattlesnakes and Chihuahuas

Interviewing Bebel Gilberto in Rio, Brazil

Running the Reggae Marathon in Negril, Jamaica

Ten comedians in The Zimbali Honeymoon Lodge at the Durban Comedy Festival

Having tea with his personal butler, wild monkeys and springbok

Feeling lucky that his comedy has taken him around the world

His tour – a month in New Zealand at the Auckland Comedy Festival, Australia, South east Asian – Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Osaka, Nara, the temples and Shinto Temples.

Building his confidence to be in comedy

Born Again Christian’s banning denim

Being raised in ‘The Brethren Assembly’ and evil buttons

How travel broadens the mind

Canadian women and their pass-the-parcel clothing

Going off the grid for 8 weeks in Koh Tao Thailand – diving, boxing and riding a scooter

How ambient rock from My Morning Jacket helped him move on