Variety act of comedy and song

Variety act of comedy and song F orty years ago in Rodway School, John Hegley and his first band were stopped from performing at his school disco. He then became a bus driver, working the Staple Hill to Bedminster Route in 1973. "I don't think Bristol has changed much, though," he muses. "The bus station looks a bit different but the rest stays the same. He has since written several best- selling volumes of poetry, ranging from the surreal through the humorous to the personal and emotional. His most recent role is as poet in residence at John Keats' house in Hampstead, London, and despite the length of his career he is always writing new material. "The thing with poems is that they are very resilient. I've been doing a great deal of writing about John Keats – he went to Rome, so I've been thinking about that, although I don't think he went to Bristol. "There was always a surprise with Steve as well as the Demolition Decorators. " John Hegley appears at The Croft on Wednesday, March 14. Tel 0870 4444400. " His first poetry collection, Visions of the Bone Idol (Poems about Dogs and Glasses) was published to critical acclaim in 1984. Audiences lining up to see him at The Croft have been warned to expect the unexpected. He says: "I got involved with this club night because I know Steve, who is running it, from way back when he was in a band called the Demolition Decorators. They were an adventurous, experimental group and so I should probably try something in that vein. " When I tell him that Club TGV originally appeared in a seedy bohemian corner of London with the motto that "anything goes – as long as it's good" he seemed undeterred. Instead, he tells me it will be the first time anyone will be ready to hear all of his train material. "It should be good, he said. " Lean, suited and bespectacled, the wry wordsmith has thrilled audiences across the UK with his unique and innovative gigs. My part will be experimental but I'm not sure about adventurous. " John's performances typically include the whole range of his talents, with some music, comedy and poetry. "I had written some serious poems when I was younger and so it all seemed to fit together. I'm coming back again in April to do some poetry readings with my sister Angela at Yate Library. "I'm very pleased at the name of this latest night though because to me, TGV means French trains. "I like it when I take something small, like the felt tip in my hand, and will make it into something bigger about what that felt tip can do. "For the audience I think a selection show always provides a bit more and is better than just one act. " Although John was born in London, he sat his A-levels in Mangotsfield when his father retired to Bristol. He will also be at Yate Library with Angela Arnold on Friday, April 20. "There will be some poems, some will be jolly, some melancholy, some about folly, but I don't know if I'll require a brolly. "I also heard someone doing a poem and a spoof version of it. I thought it was really good and so I thought about doing my own version. Variety act of comedy and song Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 01/03/2012