On Tour
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.It's a 17-year tour, 150 gigs a year. You just can't afford to stop, it's never-ending. Someone once suggested that I have a T-shirt that said 'The set remains the same', with a set list from 1978 and 1993 on it. It's very good at the moment. I did the Astoria last year for my 2000th gig. I had about 2,500 people; they all piled out for the achievement. The live shows almost keep me alive. It has a cottage- industry feel about it - people do expect you to be standing up beside the bar and to be able to buy you a pint of beer. The bigger the gigs the more it's like driving a juggernaut.
I do an amazing amount of one-nighters, a surprising amount of tearing up and down the motorway and getting back at four in the morning. I've got a roadie who is used to catching guitars and being kicked off the stage - it's handy to have someone to abuse especially if you're not going down very well. If I stopped doing it I probably wouldn't be able to start launching myself off very high things again. I once remember diving off a 12 ft PA column onto my hands and lying on the stage and not feeling anything from the neck down - that was quite frightening. The one gig that does stick out was when I did a huge festival in Canada supporting The Police, and they were selling watermelons at the front of the stage. I got absolutely pelted off with fruit. There was an audience of 70,000 and we only lasted half a number. Someone said, 'I've seen people go down that badly, but not that badly that quickly'.
John Otway performs at the Cockpit Theatre, London NW8 (071-402 5081) Monday 25 Jul as part of the two-week Cockpit Comedy Festival
(Photograph omitted)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments