Alternative comedy pioneer's first gig in 14 years

Alternative comedy pioneer John Dowie is to perform his first live show in 14 years.

The comic was performing satirical songs with humorous monologues before the alternative comedy boom of the late 1970s, and is probably most famous for writing the stage play Jesus – My Boy, which enjoyed a West End run with Tom Conti in the starring role.

However, he has remained quiet in recent years. In 2005 he collaborated with Phill Jupitus and Neil Innes on a musical comedy CD for children, Dogman, after which he concluded his professional CV by saying: 'All showbusiness aspirations have been met and [I] pack it all in.'

In 2012 an archive CD entitled An Arc of Hives was released, with sleeve notes by Stewart Lee and Dave Cohen, but Dowie was not active in its promotion. (Review).

However, he is now working on a 'memoir in progress' called The Cycling Snail: Recalling My Comedy Life While Riding My Bike. And he will be reading extracts from the book at a gig called Music Was My First Love, run by Cohen, at London's Poetry Cafe on May 19

Cohen said: 'I can't tell you how excited I am to be doing a show with John. Mutual friends I've told have asked, "How the fuck did you manage that?"

'In the sleeve notes for John's recent CD I wrote that the last time I'd seen him perform was 2002, and the last time he'd performed before that was 1991, so by maths alone he was due another show.

'In related news, I have a brand new show myself, but everyone's too excited about John performing to have noticed that.'

It is thought Dowie's last performance was at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe, when he was in a two-hander with Neil Innes.

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Published: 10 Mar 2016