Simon Munnery - Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast

Don’t Die
Richard quizzes his audience to find how little they have done with their lives, before introducing the comedian’s comedian and avant-garde comedy genius, Simon Munnery. In a frank interview Simon reveals the unwritten truth of Steve Coogan’s 1992 Edinburgh Fringe hospital visit, how Mark Lamarr did the bravest thing ever witnessed on stage, how Simon met his wife as a voice in the darkness during a gig that was spiralling out of control, setting up a restaurant that doesn’t serve food and what it was like to play Malcolm Hardee’s legendary Tunnel Club.
There’s a bit where he looks like he might try to punch Richard to the floor, but instead they settle the battle of the aged Alpha males in the most manly way possible.
Munnery is the comedy god, but who is the strongest? It’s a thrilling podcast in many ways, and some of it maybe better watched than listened to, but luckily you can do both.
See Rich on tour with his best of show - www.richardherring.com/the_bes...
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[@bramblebush3567]

I cannot thank you enough, Richard, for introducing me to Simon via this incredible episode. I feel like it has irreparably changed my brain. This is my favourite interview in all the world and I treasure it. What a beautiful archive of comedy you've created. Sorry for all the earnestness.

[@TheEveningEconomies]

I could listen to munnery all day

[@samp.5111]

this is my favourite episode of any podcast

[@thehowlingterror]

What a naturally funny bloke, and clever with it. Enjoyed watching this.

[@kittyschmeeer]

Absolutely one of the best episodes. I was properly laughing out loud even though watching alone and even clapping at some points! What a brilliant guy. Did Richard even get an emergency question in? I can't remember now. Thank you :) x

[@smacksalad]

Easily one of the best. I've had enough now.

[@threethrushes]

Munnery is probably the brightest mind of his generation.

[@NeoDragoN7676]

Superb. I was crying with laughter at the arm wrestle. You have to have him back on Rich and TRY to get more out of him, Simon must have enough stories for you to have him on every week lol.

[@JasonConlan75]

Absolute class watching Rich try to get a coversation out of Simon ....

[@hotlunch4415]

Munnery shadowing Herring during the programming bit is top drawer. The man (Munnery) is impeccable.

[@MontyCantsin5]

Probably my favourite episode so far. Jerry Sadowitz would be amazing... Could it still happen, Richard?

[@isobelblack7809]

Always fancied having a drink with Simon Munnery and this is the closest I've got so far...best RHLSTP ever thank you.

[@zetetick395]

Simon Munnery: Proper _comedian to the bone!_ very enjoyable.....I wasn't sure at first, but ended up laughing all the way through this! - He's utterly, _genuinely_ unique, it's kinda like 'intellectual / punk-rock comedy' 😹_👍

[@MannyJazzcats]

My very favorite

[@zetetick395]

@@MannyJazzcats Yeah, he's just a total original, comedian AND Human being!.......Just fantastic stuff! - I think the only other _complete_ original comedy mind I can think of (but with an entirely different flavour) would have to be the amazing Johnny Vegas Here's Johnny's RHLSP: 😹_👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnvTh4KcisxshJo

[@doovbaloevera1430]

"If the crowds behind you, you are facing the wrong way"

[@thesouluniversal]

Dutch courage? Either way, best episode ever, please get him back on!

[@MannyJazzcats]

Love him, he's a brilliant stand up if you haven't seen him

[@jimmycampbell78]

Very very good, I actually enjoy it more when a guest slightly unsettles Mr Herring or they allow Richard to sit back and let them get on with the surreal flow of it all; Munnery did both; more a fan of this type of podcast than the cosy chats, or the ones where people abandon the comedy and get on their political soapbox.

[@readventurekids]

That was a lot of fun! I loved the unexpected "physical challenge" towards the end. I'm pretty sure Munnery used it to get the crowd behind Richard after he'd given the host a bit of a rough ride. Anyway, the episode was something a bit different and there were some good anecdotes, especially enjoyed the Mark Lamarr one. Good stuff!

[@EdjKent]

Absolutely wonderful

[@kimrivers6190]

Love this. Brilliant.

[@CoralBrown5]

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE ONE

[@rachek7958]

Love him! Have him on again!

[@dominic9983]

"He was quick stew, like the wind he was, quick stew"

[@1one2two3threetwoone]

He come out Stew

[@gobsmack84]

"The point is, I'm not Mark Lamaar!" This guy is a genius at comedy :D

[@BrokenNoseMedia]

This is glorious

[@chrisofnottingham]

Well, I never knew Simon Munnery was Alan Parker, Urban Warrior. But I do now.

[@alexanderripley4362]

Brilliant!

[@osianmuhammad]

Really good!!!

[@SparkleeMarklee]

Rich's shows just keep on getting better and better. This is one of the best episodes so far. Its about time this show was on the telly!

[@billybobobenner]

Anarchic drunken, tangential brilliance. Cheers.

[@joshuanewland7505]

You should get Mark Lamarr on.

[@Boylieboyle]

Just Lamarr and Munnery tho.

[@alanratboyrichards]

my fave so far - blokes a genius - simon that is :-)

[@zetetick395]

Rich is just happy his hair isn't quite as grey as it could be 😋

[@jimhigham]

One of the most awkward RHLSTP and yet one of the funniest at the same time. Brilliant.

[@zetetick395]

Yeah, Munnery to me, is just utterly, _genuinely_ unique, it's kinda like 'intellectual / punk-rock comedy'

[@TheStevenWhiting]

"You're better than last weeks audience" I finally know where you got it from :) still watching the Fist of Fun DVDS. On series 2 the study recordings.

[@loopyjoe7418]

Actually, Bruce Forsyth used to say it on Play Your Cards Right back in the '80s.

[@TheStevenWhiting]

Yes, that's what Richard tells the audience on a Fist of Fun, I should of added that.

[@ianrutherford878]

You know he films 2 pod casts in one live show with a break, right?A lot of the laughs make more sense when you realise that.And /or I'm a stupid twat.

[@npf3383]

get Kevin Eldon on!

[@zetetick395]

kev! kev! kev!

[@Amethyst_Friend]

What, you mean the actor?

[@robertmorrison2959]

Good stuff

[@Dinckelburg]

I love Steve Runnery

[@joewakeford]

Clicked like before watching. I merely assumed it'll be another belter.

[@gavinmacaulay3704]

I met my wife in Melbourne. I said "What you doin' 'ere?" - huh?

[@jimmycampbell78]

The joke is that instead of it being the first time you met your wife, in the joke you're pretending that you already know her but weren't expecting to meet her in Melbourne. Hope I've explained it well enough- often explaining jokes makes them not funny.

[@slothrr776]

We usually say "I met my wife" to describe the FIRST time you met. The joke upends that social convention by using the word "met" as we would normally use it (i.e. "I met Mr Bowler the butcher in The Red Lion"). So, "I met my wife in Melbourne. I said "What are you doing here?!"" becomes the story of a man meeting in his wife, presumably of many years, in an unusual place, the happenstance of which suggests a highly dysfunctional relationship. Pull back and reveal, innit.

[@gavinmacaulay3704]

Thanks for the replies. Ah Jaysus. Can't believe I needed an explanation.

[@antonyflemming8975]

Hahaha amazing

[@ChorltonOutlaw]

10/10

[@calebgamman]

get richard ayoade.. .plz it is very important to me

[@affalaffaa]

Been stated that Ayoade isn't comfortable in interviews. Richard has asked, according to his (many) replies to this question. I'd love to see him as well, just to hear his normal voice for around an hour if nothing else.

[@JimGardner]

This is just fucking brilliant.

[@vaguemartin]

I love this show but I don't want to pay for it because it makes me feel dirty when I pay for things I love.

[@bwrwbleidlais156]

Simo! Pay attention! North Wales soon? Taaaa x

[@humblescribe8522]

Pretty weird and awkward. I loved The League Against Tedium, but I was slightly taken aback to see someone so obviously pissed on the podcast - I guess that that's the beauty of it - it's unfiltered. Sometimes you get a combative show, like Steve Merchant, sometimes you get a love in, sometimes you get a confession about suicide, sometimes you get a great comedian who's had a few too many...

[@zetetick395]

*Definitely* one of RHLSP's best, for me! 😹_👍 - I SO wish that someone had properly video'd those many long-ago-and-forever-gone nights at the *Cluub Zarathustra* - each one its own unique, anarchic comedy experience! \😓/ And, you'd think. particularly given Si's early background in 1980s computing etc, that *The League Against Tedium* (multi-media comedy thing Munnery did back in the day) would fit just perfectly into some kind of latter-day online experience, with like a surreal TLAT app (or somesuch, idk) The WWW. just seems to me like _such a natural fit_ for Munnery's selfmade pre-net multi-image-interactive comedy format!

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

Still remember Alan Parker getting heckled by two children at Glastonbury Ended up dropping out of character and giving them a fiver to bugger off.

[@simonmaxwellstewart]

I was one of those little scallywags! I can vaguely remember doing the same to the next few acts, expecting them all to pay me off, and getting livid when they didn't. Used to love heckling comedians at the comedy and cabaret tents at Glastonbury. If I met my younger self now I'd want to clip him on the ear but just quietly fume away instead as I'm too liberal to hit a child, even if it's me. Still, I am proud of this lightning quick response during, I think, a Sadowitz set: "Now, pretend this apple is a grenade---" "GRENADEY SMITH!"

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

So you did - Phil Kaye was so 'wired' he seemed to think you were part of his hallucination. Happy days

[@zetetick395]

May I ask what year this was? Was it '92? (my memories of the time are.... modestly squishy)

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

1995 year after the pyramid burned down.

[@zetetick395]

Thanks Sam, hope life is good, out in your little 'country escape' cabin.... ;) I DO remember the fire : Thing with that era Glasto - they've all blended together somewhat... (not that that's so bad a fate) - that's about the time when the travellers had their own parallel 'free festival' just outside the walls, eh?

[@statto74]

Greatest punchline to a story 26:30

[@colmdunne3632]

I feel this should be subtitled 'Simon Munnery: A cry for help'

[@pigknickers2975]

Colm Dunne he's sounding alcoholic here. He wasn't like this before. Don't spose it's much fun having that damaged arm, poor bloke. Met him once, very nervy character

[@MannyJazzcats]

@@pigknickers2975 he's not an alcoholic, I've seen him twice and he wasn't drunk, as a rule alcoholic comedians are usually drunk on stage

[@zetetick395]

_"I've had enough now...."_ > > > 😐 1:05:00 🤣 🤣 Brilliant exit.

[@nastropc]

Rich interviews Rowley Birkin

[@gedrooney9305]

Non dining restaurant. Brilliant

[@JoshuaNeilFletcher]

Sadowicz would be interesting to say the least.

[@EXCELLENTpoo]

Just the right side of drunk...

[@emcyan7434]

Ra-Hell-Esta-Pah! Ra-Hell-Esta-Pah! (Yes, I'm a cool kid) Simply Brilliant! Any chance of getting Joe Wilkinson or Sean Lock or Mark Heap?

[@mrnobodyz]

I thought I couldn’t like him anymore until he mentioned that he broke the leg of a celebrity Arsenal supporter.

[@juleswang1695]

prelude to the comedian wwe

[@TheMJNicholls]

Tommy Cooper meets Dada

[@hanumaniam]

I am genuinely surprised that this ran to over an hour

[@CuntyMcShitballs100]

RE-HELL-ESTA-PAH!

[@philipcurnow7990]

Take it easy Rich!

[@paultowmy1877]

Marvellous - Tommy Cooper lives

[@rubberjonny1557]

I like the bit where he mumbles...

[@chrisbailey2098]

I wish either/or still existed. many years ago comedy actually got a chance

[@_Stroda]

Bbbbut I just got home from work, in Fleet....

[@dougmcdonald300]

Farage in the garage, ha

[@galesito1733]

Bill Nighy has let himself go.

[@justinbowen2509]

In terms of energy this is the exact opposite of the brian blessed episode

[@Jessica-dd8xo]

Get Mark Lamarr on Richard

[@zetetick395]

Yeah, what happened to Lamarr? I'm guessing he's a radio DJ now, in some capacity somewhere.

[@weavehole]

62:00 A vein man

[@Superfantastictop10]

Who's that? Artery-Man's sidekick?

[@MLB9000]

I wish Simon Munnery didn’t keep interrupting himself all through the interview

[@Superfantastictop10]

Drunk!

[@Hebrideanphotography]

whats wrong with simon's right hand?

[@dooovde]

You're the one of eight who pull focus

[@jimmycampbell78]

Left hand- he has nerve damage affecting his left arm apparently.

[@Hebrideanphotography]

Brain Stormer. awww poor guy. i only noticed it when watching this video.

[@tcritt]

Is he pissed or is he always like this?

[@smacksalad]

timcritt Both! And neither!

[@jimmycampbell78]

I got the impression he wasn't as pissed as he was pretending to be - near the end sometimes he was slurring and sometimes as sharp as a knife- I thought his mind was working very clearly and he was winding R.Herring up.

[@joebrokenstrang3711]

I found this really difficult to listen to. Simon's enunciation was so frustrating. Working class Rowley Birkin. I was caught in that place where it was impossible to tell if his interstitial speech was noise & wordless mumbles or he was actually saying words that I couldn't understand. Very slurry, like he'd had a stroke. I'm going to have to try again with this one and make sure I'm somewhere quiet.

[@MannyJazzcats]

He's drunk in this

[@etontrifle]

Pish.

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

I presume he did after going backstage.

[@feasiblesituation8367]

why does RH laugh at the very beginning when nothing is funny? weird. i think hes a deeply insecure man

[@affalaffaa]

To bury deep into your mind. Then he feeds off your reaction. At a guess.

[@feasiblesituation8367]

lol doubt it

[@pigknickers2975]

Yeah I think he is.

[@MontyCantsin5]

He just wants to be on the telly.

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

I think he's a shallowly insecure man.

[@tonymaddison]

this is the first RHLSTP that i've had to turn off....his slurring is tiresome, he's possibly a better storyteller without a drink, but i doubt it.

[@flaneur5560]

Was looking forward to this one but it's crap. He's drunk and boring.

[@MannyJazzcats]

I thought it was a brilliant one

[@nev7650]

Didn’t he used to do a thing called The League Against Tedium?