Comic Paul Campbell has been delighting audiences at the Fringe with The Lost Tapes of Somerfield – an elegy to a Salford supermarket he once truly loved.
He reveals why he’s so delighted to be bringing the work to Edinburgh, how he hopes it may become a tv sitcom and what his mum thinks about his style of comedy.
In an Entertainment Now exclusive he even reveals which Edinburgh supermarket is his current favourite.
Tell us about your show. Why should we go and see it?
It’s a show that looks at my love of my favorite supermarket and how becoming a supermarket fan I feel hugely enhanced my life and helped me through a really lonely time. It also looks at the ‘five stages of supermarket grief’ which are the genuine stages I went through when my favourite branch of Somerfield closed down, which I guess are pretty silly.
I think it is relatable but also fun and if all goes well I think it takes people to the world of a supermarket aisle twenty four years ago which I think in some ways is much nicer than the actual world now.
What is your favourite thing about your show?
Overall I’m happy to have created something that I think expresses my voice as a comedian in a way that is hopefully accessible and hopefully funny. I have spent a bit of time doing club comedy which I feel can be very limiting in terms of the things I’m able to talk about and trying to write material that suited me but worked in clubs became hugely frustrating and I found I was writing about subjects that had little interest for me comedically. Since I’ve started writing a show I’ve worked really hard on trying to develop my voice as a comedian and I’m pleased that I have started to feel more confident to go for laughs about things that are less obvious subjects for comedy such as the till reboot floppy discs.
Do you have a Fringe idol?
I really love Robin Ince. I used to watch his shows years before i started comedy in the mid 2000s when he was mixing book readings with showcasing stand ups who were starting their careers, I’m pretty sure I remember Josie Long appearing in one. I think this really helped my love for the Fringe but also developed my understanding to what can be achieved in a comedy show and I was hugely excited recently when he’s given shout outs to my Somerfield show and the double act I’m in.
What three words best describe your performance style – and why?
Twitchy, unpolished and excitable.
Twitchy – since I started stand up I realised I was quite twitchy on stage and had quite over the top mannerisms fuelled by nervous energy and at times it is impossible for me to stand still and speak at the same time. I think those mannerisms do reflect how I am in real life for example, when I worked in a call centre, one person refused to sit next me because they said my mannerisms made them ‘feel sea sick’.
My performance style is deeply unpolished – I think this is partly because I’m twitchy but also I go off on tangents, slightly stutter and my appearance is unavoidably scruffy, even when I try dressing in a suit. My mum has said she thinks my strength is that my lack of perfection makes people feel better about themselves and their own lives.
Excitable -I generally am hugely excited to be on stage especially when it’s my own show and I think that gives me a burst of energy. Also I find it makes me more confident socially when I’m on stage in that I’m keen to chat to the audience whereas off stage I probably seem less awkward but am also much shyer.
Who are you looking forward to seeing in Edinburgh?
I feel like there’s way too many to mention but if I was just picking one I’d say Joe Tracini whose videos hugely helped me during lockdown and I was hugely excited when I found out he was doing this year’s fringe.
What do you hope to achieve in Edinburgh – what are your hopes and dreams?
I want to create and develop my show in a way which fully realises the vision I had when I decided to do a show about my love of Somerfield and how it helped me grow as a person. After that I’d love to perform my show more and hope I can develop it in a different form. I’m particularly keen to write a script version of it as I have an idea of how it could be a non-nauseating coming of age type sitcom.
What are the biggest obstacles you face as a performer at the Fringe?
Multi tasking has been the big issue for me, particularly anything admin related which has made it tough trying to produce my show. I’m hugely unsuited to this side of comedy and really struggled to keep up with the various applications forms and stick to the many different deadlines that come with producing a show and reply to emails. I found the key to most things it’s a case of applying for things earlier than all of the other comics and being early is really not my strong suit. For example I discovered it was important to commit to buying wall space for posters as soon as it was made available. As it was I took a while to look into it and had to go with whatever was left. While a lot of comics have their posters impressively strewn across walls and railings around the city my image can only be found on ballard covers.
What do you hope the audience will take away after an hour in your company?
I’m hoping they’ll be entertained and uplifted and hopefully find some of themes of my life relatable and maybe, if they haven’t thought about it before, they have a new found understanding of the healing qualities of a great supermarket.
How do you plan to relax and recharge when not on stage?
Well my plan overall is to be relentlessly boring. I feel like my biggest fear is getting too wrapped up in the comedy bubble and going out a lot and stressing about my show etc.. so think that for the most part I’ll try to stay around the flat I’m staying in Leith and probablyread a lot. Also this isn’t something that can be planned exactly but recently I’ve really gotten into cleaning stains off carpets. There were a couple of big coffee stains on my mum’s cream full wool carpet in June and it took me two hours to clear both stains but afterwards I’d felt more relaxed than I had done in ages so if there’s anything spillages I’ll happily spend a while working on them.
What is your idea of a perfect Fringe day?
I’d say if I was going as a non performer it would be going to back to back shows but as a performer –
MORNING/ EARLY AFTERNOON -doing a great show
LUNCH- meeting up with a friend for a caramel latte followed by a walk around Lidl, which is by no means my favourite modern supermarket but my favourite in Edinburgh
MID AFTERNOON- see a show or two
TEA TIME eat something with prawns in
EARLY EVENING going to the flat reading NIGHT me or someone I live with accidentally spills coffee
and I spend the rest of the night cleaning it
Paul Campbell: The Lost Tapes of Somerfield, 13.00, Hoots Potterow, until August 25
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/paul-campbell-the-lost-tapes-of-somerfield
