Friday 29 June 2018
Joining Matt Brown's awesome blog tour for "Aliens Invaded my Talent Show" with a guest post from the man himself. @mattbrownauthor @Usborne
Author Matt (Compton Valance) Brown has put his considerable comic talents into "Aliens Invaded my Talent Show" coming soon from Usborne Publishing.
To celebrate the launch of the book we've handed over the reins of the blog to Matt himself to talk about his comedy influences, and all things alienesque.
Take it away Matt...!
Aliens Invaded My Talent Show! Blog: Comedy Influences
My new book, "Aliens Invaded my Talent Show!" is, I hope, the funniest book you will ever read about aliens invading a talent show. I have spent my whole life obsessing about funny TV shows and reading funny books and comics. To my simplistic brain, there is little in life as thrilling as the sight (and sound) of someone fall about laughing when you tell them a joke.
Comedy double-acts have always been my thing. For as long as I can remember I have loved watching partnerships like Laurel and Hardy, Morecambe and Wise, and Reeves and Mortimer. And, if I’m honest, I think that the aliens in Aliens Invaded My Talent Show!are my attempt to create my own double-act.
When I was growing up, I had two favourite comedy actors, Rik Mayall and Ade Edmundson and I watched everything they were in. And I mean everything; the Young Ones, Filthy Rich & Catflap, Happy Families, the Comic Strip, Bottom as well as a host of cameo appearances, charity performances and movie roles. If they were in it, I wanted to watch it. I loved the way they bickered and squabbled and fought with each other. They were sort of like Tom and Jerry but they made jokes about farting. So, when it came to creating my alien double-act, I looked to Rik and Ade for inspiration and found it in one of their earliest incarnations, the Dangerous Brothers. The way my aliens speak and act with each other is based on Richard and Sir Adrian.
Speaking of the aliens, I named them after one of my all-time favourite jokes. The joke involves the actor, Edward Woodward, who was famous when I was in school. Okay, here is the joke, and it is much funnier if you say it out loud. Go on, try it on someone…
Why does Edward Woodward have so many ‘w’s in his name?
Because otherwise he’d be Edard ooDard.
Why does Edward Woodward have so many ‘d’s in his name?
Because otherwise he’d be Ewar Woowar.
So, my head alien had the name E-Dard Oo-Dard because I LOVE that joke. In fact, in an early draft of the story, the other alien was called E-War Woo-War but it was quite confusing so he became Trevor instead.
In Aliens Invaded My Talent Show, the aliens visit Dreary Inkling Primary School to inspect the children, to see if they are worthy of life. They disguise themselves in “human clothes” and give themselves “human names”.
E-Dard Oo-Dard calls himself Mr Don O’Tenter after he sees a Do Not Enter sign but Trevor becomes known as Mr Watt-Watt-Watt-Watt after a misunderstanding.
This whole misunderstanding was inspired by a brilliant routine by Abbott & Costello called ‘Who’s on First’. Costello is trying to find out the name of the baseball player who plays first base but the name of the player on first base is Who.
About two months after I finished writing the book, this happened in real life. A footballer called Sanchez Watt was sent off for dissent after the referee thought he refused to give his name. Sometimes life is too perfect.
(Watch that Abbot and Costello clip below btw)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sShMA85pv8M&t=87s
"Aliens Invaded my Talent Show" by Matt Brown is out now, published by Usborne Books.
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