Iain Lee’s Shindiggery Part 3

Some of you may have thought that Iain Lee had disappeared into obscurity after the dizzy heights of Channel 4′s “The 11 ‘Clock Show”, and the nose-bleed-inducing depths of Channel 4′s “R.I.S.E.”

You were kind of right, he is rarely on the telly these days, but he has a 6 nights a week show on LBC radio. Talk radio has allowed Lee to extend the range of his comedy schtick to include and encourage the weirdo’s that the format seems to attract. He has made a success of this, producing some of the funniest talk radio moments in the UK, though bringing this success to a wider audience is hampered by the very format itself (ie. local radio, timeslot, etc.)

So now, like many other comedians, Lee is embarking on his own independent podcast.

This is the third episode and it wears its newness on its sleeve. The first half of the 16 minute podcast is taken up by Lee describing how he has been surprised at the popularity of the first two episodes. It is difficult to believe that Iain is that naive. He is intelligent enough to be aware of the growing importance of podcasting and the independence it brings, and this is going to be what made him do this in the first place, and spending so much time on such self-denial is difficult to swallow.

After getting past this, the second half is much more familiar territory. A mock visit to a football match (one of Iain’s hates) is well thought-out, well produced and amusing. Segueing into a well-chosen piece of audio footage from one of the radio shows funniest callers, Barry from Watford, works well. This highlights how important the interaction with callers and characters is for creating the comedy world that works so well in his radio show, and maybe Lee feels slightly adrift without this in the podcast.

Rounding off the short podcast is an old clip of Iain calling up a talk radio station and basically being one of those weirdo’s. But planned and funny.

Much like the radio show this is an acquired taste, it can too easily be dismissed as a load of nonsense, but listen between the lines and there is some truly good comedy. Shindiggery is at a very early stage, but should be encouraged to see what it can develop into.