Special K

Noted for his appearances on programmes such as The Stewart Lee Comedy Vehicle and Have I Got News For You, this month sees London stand-up Stephen K. Amos arrive in Dublin for a performance at Vicar Street. What sort of topics will Stephen be discussing in the show?

“I look at different elements of my life that, as a teenager, I really didn’t like,” he explains. “There was a stuff I thought I’d never see the end of. Horrible things happen all of us, but I look back now and I can laugh at them. It’s based on a diary I recently found that I wrote when I was 14. I’m a very different person to who I was then; I was very angry at lots of things. I didn’t want to be with my family and I ran away from home. These were things that were pivotal to my life – or so I assumed.
“Now, with the benefit of hindsight, I feel that a lot of my anger was totally misguided and out of proportion. With maturity and other life experiences, you change as a person. Depending on the person you are, you can hold onto something and get bitter and angry, or you just pick yourself up and start all over again.”
Although his close friends had always known he was gay, Stephen “came out” to the wider public a few years back, and even made a documentary on the subject of homophobia in black Britain. What sort of conclusions did he come to as a result of making the film?
“If you live in a big city, you get a bit spoilt,” considers Stephen. “We forget that there are still people around who have bigoted and outdated views. We should try and educate our young people, because they’re the ones who are going to face the future. Growing up, it was certainly a source of angst to me. But in a weird way, the one good thing was that I could hide that. I had to deal with the fact that I was a young black lad in London , and with all that was going on with race back then, you could hide your sexuality quite easily.
“Of course, it was very uncomfortable. Now, I don’t want to ever look over my shoulder. I want to be as true to myself as possible, because if I’m lying to myself, it’s only going to be me who’s hurt in the long-run. The turning point for me was when someone I knew was killed in a homophobic attack in London, and it was then that I thought, ‘You know what Steve, stand up and be counted. Be a man. Let people know there are other kinds of people out there who might not necessarily live their lives according to your beliefs, but respect your fellow man.’ That was my catalyst.”
Unsurprisingly, Stephen describes his coming out as a tremendously freeing experience.
“It was very liberating,” he enthuses. “I felt I was being more open and honest, which led to a different kind of comedy coming from me. It was more internal, and I was examining my own life. I think audiences can see truth when you’re talking about it. It was about five or six years ago, so it was quite recent. I mean, people in my personal circle have always known everything about me, I’ve always been honest in that way, but in terms of doing stuff onstage – that I hadn’t done. That documentary was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, because it meant exposing myself and exploring an issue that was very important to me, and trying to get it right.”
Late last year, Stephen did his own television comedy show for the BBC, which was a mix of stand-up, sketches and guest performers. It didn’t receive a great critical reception, although the comedian remains philosophical about the experience.
“It was a completely new area for me,” reflects Stephen. “There were sketches and I was playing characters. TV is very different to stand-up comedy and I learned some new stuff, so it was good to do. As for how it was received, you can never be sure with these things. Comedy is pretty emotive – people either love it or hate it. The show was my first TV venture, and I was trying to go back to a Dave Allen type of thing; it was quite gentle and not particularly in-your-face.
“I didn’t realise it was going to be broadcast at 10pm on Friday nights; I thought we would be going out in a pre-watershed slot in midweek. You live and learn.”
Later on in the evening, after our interview, I came across Boris Johnson making a characteristically flustered appearance on Newsnight, where he clumsily attempted to discuss the banking crisis with Jeremy Paxman. Stephen, of course, made an appearance on one of the most famous episodes of Have I Got News For You, where Johnson, as guest presenter, fluffed lines, missed cues and generally had the appearance of a man who’d never even seen a television show, let alone fronted one.
What does Stephen recall of the programme?
“I can’t believe he’s the mayor of London, is how I recall it!” he gasps. “Here was a man who just being a foppish oaf – the whole audience was laughing at him! And now he’s the mayor, it’s extraordinary. It was probably the people of London being really snide and going, ‘Okay, we’re going to stick our fingers up at the administration and put a clown in charge.’ A bit like the Americans voting in Arnie as the governor of California.”
Finally, it has been reported that Stephen is a West Ham supporter. Recently, of course, the Hammers signed perhaps Ireland’s most famous player, Robbie Keane, so perhaps things are finally looking up for the club.
“I doubt it – have you seen their position?” quips Stephen, referring to the club’s standing at the bottom of the Premiership. “My older brother is actually a West Ham fan – this is something I touch on in the show – and by default, he made me a West Ham fan. I didn’t have a mind of my own; my older brother told me who to like, what clothes to wear, what pop stars to follow. Because he was my older brother, I thought he was brilliant, but now I can’t bear football.”
Still, West Ham might just be the right place for Keane.
“Yeah,” muses Stephen, before adding, “If he likes playing in Division One!”

Stephen K. Amos plays Vicar Street on February 17