He was one-third of the Canadian comedy rock band Corky and the Juice Pigs. He has starred in serious stage productions such as 12 Angry Men and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. And in 2006 he won the top Edinburgh Comedy Award gong. Part actor, part musician, part stand-up, but all manic energy, Phil Nichol talks ahead of his Laughter Factory performances in Dubai on Wednesday, December 10, and Thursday, December 11.
The cliché goes that all comedians want to be rock stars, all rock stars want to be comedians, and both rock stars and comedians really want to be footballers. Which are you?
I’m a total rock star – and I wouldn’t be a footballer because I’m Canadian, so I’d be an ice hockey player, which is a much more manly sport. Footballers just stand around looking pained, worrying about their hair.
OK, you’re a rock star first – so you started in music?
No, I started as an actor. I studied acting in Windsor, Ontario. I met a couple of guys and we started a radio show called The Little Bits of Gravel. From that we put together a group which was Corky and the Juice Pigs in 1987, and became professionals almost immediately.
And you’re still doing music – you have a new album, Late Night Electric Watermelon.
I put that out last year. It’s basically all the songs I’ve written since I left Corky and the Juice Pigs in 1997. You can get it on Bandcamp, which is a website all the young ones use. You can stream it for free because I’m giving it away, all the 22 tracks of ridiculous fun and filth.
Speaking of filth, you once claimed to be “too contentious, loud and rude” for television. How are you going to go down in Dubai?
The promoters are always slightly amused and moderately nervous when I’m on, but I’ve played so many times, I know where the boundaries and lines are. I’ve been performing in Dubai for 20 years.
You're known for your wacky concept shows, such as Hiro Worship, where you play a Japanese Rolling Stones obsessed fan, and in Welcome to Crazy Town, you play a jazz beatnik poet. How do you find doing these straight stand-up shows?
Because it’s a short set you just pack it in, it’s simpler, you can just go joke, joke, joke, joke. With concept shows you really have to set up the concept, bring it to a conclusion, have a beginning, middle and end, which is satisfying for a theatre crowd, but people out for a good time get a really good show with The Laughter Factory.
Speaking of theatre, tell us about working with Christian Slater in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
That was great, he’s a wonderful guy, and a real laugh. He lives the dream – life is made for him. He is a Hollywood A-lister, he can’t go anywhere in the world without people recognising him.
And you were in Boy George’s musical, Taboo.
I absolutely adore Boy George, I think he’s one of the true British rock legends. It was amazing to be in the show, it was one of the best six months of my life. He’s such a gentleman, such a nice and generous man. He’s been there and done that and he’s still vital.
So you’re a Canadian in London. Which has the better weather?
It depends on what you want – Canadians love the weather there because they all do snow-based activities. If you like tobogganing, Canada’s got better weather. And if you want to go tobogganing in Dubai, you can – how fantastic.
But you were born Scottish. We have a big Scottish comedian in town the day after your shows – Kevin Bridges.
Fantastic, I’m a big fan. He’s great, he’s earned all the success he’s had, he’s one of the funniest men in the world.
So, if money’s tight, should I go and see him or you?
I would go and see me, because you can always see him on DVD. Or you could buy my album and go and see him, but I think this interview has been set up by the people who would want you to go and see the gig I’m doing. Go to both – that’s what I would do. Just do it. I’m going to learn all his gags and do them at my show, and then people will sit there at his going “we heard this last night from a Canadian guy”. What do you think of me now?
• Phil Nichol performs for The Laughter Factory at Dubai’s Mövenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach on Wednesday December 10 and the Grand Millennium, Tecom, on December 11. Both shows start at 9pm. Tickets cost Dh140 and are available at www.timeouttickets.com
rgarratt@thenational.ae
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16, second leg (first-leg scores in brackets):
PSG (2) v Manchester United (0)
Midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification
Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
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In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
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