Jimmy Carr on Why Sean Lock Was One of a Kind

David McIntosh Jr 0:00 I wanna talk about Sean Lock.

Jimmy Carr 0:01 Oh, yeah. Okay.

David McIntosh Jr 0:02 Uh, the reason I wanna s- speak about Sean Lock is, I guess, going back to kind of the mother comment. Last time you, you were on, you said something really beautiful to me, and we had this beautiful moment. I don't know if you remember it, but it went viral on the internet, and the comment segment was just s- so fucking lovely. And what you said to me was, "People die twice. They die when they die, and the second time is when people stop saying their name."

Jimmy Carr 0:24 Yeah.

David McIntosh Jr 0:24 And you stopped me and you said, "What was your mother's name?" I don't know if you remember that. And it was a beautiful, beautiful moment. And I've been watching a lot of Sean Lock recently and some of the camaraderie that you guys have had on stage. And I just wanna kind of maybe reminisce with you or, you know, bring up the idea that given that every single day that we live this earth is another day passed since he passed away, but then you watch social media or you watch YouTube, and these videos resurface of your friendship with him. And I just wanna know, like, how do you feel when those resurface and you get to see them?

Jimmy Carr 0:56 I really, I really love it. I mean, he gets mentioned a lot. Gigs often comes up at shows, always gets kind of a round of applause, and it feels like a really... I don't know. I feel like he didn't really get his flowers. You know, I feel like when he was alive, I don't think people... I don't think he realized how big he was and how respected he was in the industry and, uh, how loved he was by the public. I think he was, um, a very unique talent. It's because he had that thing where, look, the, the Harry Hill or Vic and Bob, right,

Jimmy Carr 1:26 they've got surreal comedic minds. They kinda look like they would have surreal comedic minds, right? It's, it's kind of slightly wacky. It's great. I mean, I'm a huge fan of those guys. Sean had- has got that flight of fancy, these kind of incredible wacky, crazy, kooky ideas, but he looks like he's come to fit the gas boiler.

David McIntosh Jr 1:47 [laughs]

Jimmy Carr 1:47 So there's an inbuilt bathos in everything he says. It's the sacred and the profane in one, 'cause he's saying this highfalutin kind of great thing, and he's doing it from the perspective... I think Bill Bailey's got a little bit of it too-

David McIntosh Jr 2:00 Mm

Jimmy Carr 2:00 ... 'cause he's kind of, "Oh."

David McIntosh Jr 2:01 Do you remember the first time you met Sean?

Jimmy Carr 2:03 Uh, yeah, first time I met him was in Kilkenny.

David McIntosh Jr 2:06 What was your first impressions?

Jimmy Carr 2:07 Uh, so Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival, and I'd finished my show. I rushed over to see his. I like... I knew him by reputation. I'd probably sort of seen him say like a backstage at club somewhere, but we hadn't met and never spoken. And rushed over to see his show, sort of snuck in the back of the room, and I'd never, I'd never s- seen him live before, and he'd al- he was already on stage. And the first thing I heard him say was, "How do you stop a dog from humping your leg? Pick it up, suck its cock."

David McIntosh Jr 2:36 [laughs]

Jimmy Carr 2:38 And I remember thinking, "Yeah, we're probably gonna be friends."

David McIntosh Jr 2:42 Oh, man. [laughs]

Jimmy Carr 2:45 He was great. He's a really funny, really funny guy, and very much kind of a sort of a father figure. I sort of looked for father figures in life. I don't have a relationship with my father. So that thing of like, you look for people, and they don't necessarily need to be much older than you or even older than you, but you... But guys that you go, "I don't wanna let him down. I w- I want him to think that's good." Remember, like, getting a laugh from Sean was... And we used to sort of talk about it on my producers, uh, Ruth Phillips

Jimmy Carr 3:15 and Rich Cohen. We'd sort of talk about it like, "Oh, Sean laughed at that." If Sean lost it on something that I said, I was like, "Yeah." It's like, it really meant something to me. It really felt like, uh, an affirmation 'cause he didn't laugh easily. It's like he was, he was, uh... He'd sort of sit there and, yeah, hold court. I thought it was amazing. I'm very privileged to have worked with him, I think. Uh, and looking back, see, I was in bits when he died, but looking back, you go, "I was kind of in a double act." We made so much TV

Jimmy Carr 3:45 together. Um, I found it kind of, kind of, you know... It's kind of bittersweet to watch now. But someone put together a reel of me, like, lo- like crying, like, when I actually had to get makeup to come on and, you know, remake me because I laughed so much, and someone's put together, like, sort of those moments, and it's very, very... a lovely thing to have.

David McIntosh Jr 4:05 What do you think he would say about you and the trajectory that you've been on since you've... since he sadly passed? Do you think he'd be proud of you-

Jimmy Carr 4:10 Uh

David McIntosh Jr 4:10 ... given that he is this kind of father figure to you?

Jimmy Carr 4:13 Uh, I know I'm sure he'd be, um, um, I'm sure he'd be incredibly withering and hilarious. That would be... That's his thing. Yeah. I, I think he would be, uh... I don't know. I kind of, uh... I don't know how to answer that really. I, uh, I hope he would think I was funny, and I think the reason we got on was because we had quite similar work ethic in... I don't know if people see that with Sean 'cause he didn't tour in the same way that I tour or... But if he turned up to a TV show, he had prepped. He was ready, and it looked super throwaway. Even like the mascots on 8 Out of 10 Cats, the work, the attention to detail. And I think the thing that he respected about me, I think, was I al- I... Well, if I turn up to work, I'm there to... I know what the job is. I'll do... I know what the work is. I'll do the work.

David McIntosh Jr 5:06 I love that, man.