Lee Mack - Mack The Life

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE BOOK

Have you ever wondered where comedians come from? Why is it that one person is a funny bloke down the pub while another actually makes a living by standing up in front of an audience telling jokes? And where does all that material come from? Well, young Lee McKillop used to wonder that too.

Growing up in his parents pub, small and wiry in a world of bigger and chunkier specimens, Lee quickly learned that cracking jokes was a way to get attention. After a somewhat random series of jobs, which included being Red Rums stableboy and a bingo-hall barman, it was as a Great Yarmouth holiday camp entertainer that he had his first crack at telling jokes on stage. It got him some laughs, the sack and a punch in the face.*

Now, as Lee Mack, hes one of our best loved and most successful comedians, both as a live stand-up and on television. In Mack the Life, Lee tells the story of how he got there and gives extraordinary insight into what really makes comics tick. Hilarious and brilliant, its the kind of book which reminds you why you learned to read in the first place.

*Nearly.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BAFTA-award-winning Lee Mack is one of the UKs most recognizable and celebrated comedians. He writes and stars in his own multi-award-winning sitcom Not Going Out, is a team captain on Would I Lie to You?, and frequently appears on Have I Got News for You, Live at the Apollo and QI. He has performed many stand-up tours across the country, and has released two stand-up DVDs, Lee Mack Live and Lee Mack Going Out.

Lee lives in London with his wife, Tara, and their three children.

MACK THE LIFE

LEE MACK

For Tara, Arlo, Louie and Millie x

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Doug Young, Madeline Toy and everyone at Transworld, and to Rob Aslett, Alice Russell, Lucy Plosker and everyone at Avalon. Oh yeah, and to Granddad Joe as well, who, for some inexplicable reason, didnt get a mention in the book, even though he was always the head honcho. And finally, thanks to the person who invented Tunnocks Caramel Wafers.

The visits to the psychiatrist in this book are genuine. Some scenes have been edited for the sake of brevity, but other than that are taken directly from recordings of the actual conversations. Having said that, the rest of this book is totally fabricated.*

*Joke.

PSYCHIATRISTS OFFICE

CHAPTER ONE

My great-grandfather was a transvestite

WHEN I READ other peoples autobiographies I am often a little disappointed at the start. Do we really need to have three chapters on their parents, or in some cases grandparents? The first hundred pages always seem to be about how their granddad, a South American immigrant, was smuggled aboard a cargo ship to Britain to escape certain execution at home for his strong political beliefs, and Im always left with a sense of this is all fine, but when are you going to get to the really weighty stuff, like the time you got hammered with Kerry Katona?

But Im also very aware that to some a persons roots are interesting because it may give clues as to how you ended up doing what you do, which, lets face it, is probably what most people are waiting to find out at the start of an autobiography. So lets get that out of the way, and then I can tell you about the time I got hammered with Kerry Katona, who Ive never actually met.

First things first, I dont really come from a showbiz family. I say really because my great-grandfather, who I never knew, was a variety hall comedian by the name of Billy Mac. Youll notice the lack of k at the end of his name, which his son, my Granddad Jack, was not happy about when I failed to do the same . In fact when my mum sent him my first publicity photo he immediately Tippexed the k off Mack to show me how much better it looked without it, and sent it straight back. I immediately wrote back saying Thanks Granddad Jac (sic).