Feature: Event - Phil Jupitus - Perfect Ten - Everyman Screen on the Green, Islington - July 9

Published: 08 July 2010
by DAN CARRIER

FOR those disillusioned with the Lib Dems for falling into bed with the toxic Right; for those betrayed by New Labour; for those who believe the goodies on the Left are to blame for not winning the common- sense argument, broadcaster Phill Jupitus may have the answer.

“Essentially people just have to be nicer to one another,” says the BBC presenter, stand-up comic and poet. “I think as a country we have lost that. We used to be a nicer place – more caring. I think that has just disappeared.”

And he speaks as someone who has seen life at the sharp end, and has been politically active. Jupitus worked for five years in a Job Centre – “the showbiz end of the DHSS,” as he puts it – and fears for our country’s future, with talks about slashing benefits to the most needy.

He was also involved with Red Wedge in the 1980s, the artists movement linked with Labour, but says he is utterly disillusioned now.

“Red Wedge did not really work,” Jupitus admits. “It simply ended up being PR for the Labour Party. There was no real way to influence the agenda. It was frustrating. “

Instead, he advocates a different way of making the world a better place.

“It is important to act locally,” Jupitus says.

“Listen to your conscience, get involved in politics, influence your council. You can make a difference that way. 

“On a national level I feel utterly powerless  and I am not one for campaigning – I am no good at it. You just have to watch what happens on your doorstep.” 

He has a nihilistic approach to national politics, feeling at the moment that all is essentially lost. 

“Basically you get the government you deserve and sadly we as a country have just that. People wanted public school boys running the country and they got it.”

Jupitus believes the fault lies not just with the reactionary Right who were itching to get into power, but with New Labour, who failed to change the country for the better despite a walloping majority for  13 years. 

“I was so badly let down by the Labour Party,” he says. “Their lies were just beyond me.”

Tomorrow (Friday) he is due to perform live his popular podcast Perfect Ten, which he puts together with fellow presenter Phil Wilding, to the Screen on The Green in Upper Street, Islington. As well as the comedy aspect, he’ll be DJing too.

Unsurprisingly, the former BBC 6Music DJ presenter has strong views on the future of public broadcasting –  and talks of its vital importance in both Britain for our democratic process, and in ensuring globally balanced news reporting.

Jupitus is distraught about the future of the BBC in general. While he won’t be drawn into criticising the reported huge pay packets at the Beeb, nor the amounts paid to managers, he does know one way of saving a fortune.

“My bugbear is BBC Three,” he says.

“I just do not know one person who watches it.”

But he believes any government attacks – spurred on by the hostile Rupert Murdoch press – towards the BBC need to be strongly resisted.

“I’d pay my licence fee, even if it only covered the radio,” he says, “and I’d pay double for the Today programme.

“The only people who moan about it are those who stand to gain by its demise. Ask yourself this: do we want to reach the situation they have in America? Do we want solely commercial network corporations, with adverts and biased news?”

Jupitus’s gig this week will give him the chance to wax lyrical on a whole host of topics – something that is second nature to him having appeared on shows such as I’m Sorry, I haven’t A Clue, and QI.

“I am a stand-up, so I am used to an audience’s reaction and it is something I can feed off,” he says.

The format of the podcast also helps, he admits.

“It is simple: 10 questions, any subject, and you have to answer all of them in half an hour. They come out in a random manner which means it is about fate and chance. You get good questions, surreal questions, and they are rarely topical – although you do get some on religion and politics, where you can get your views over.”

But what he really enjoys about the show is when the pair’s imaginations find a topic by accident that they both think is hilarious. 

“Something happens by accident,” he says. “You start talking about a topic then it morphs, and  you eventually don’t know how it comes about.” 

An example of this, he says, is an ongoing joke about Bob Hoskins’s sex life.

“We have made it into this odd Cockney thing,” Jupitus chuckles. “A certain image springs to mind, of Bob in The Long Good Friday, getting it on.”

• Perfect Ten will be at Everyman Screen on the Green, Upper Street, Islington, July 9 at 9.30pm.
Visit www.everymancinema.com