::WWW.FISTOFFUN.NET:: A Celebration Of Mediocrity. Richard Herring & Stewart Lee Archive.

"Live At The Cochrane" was Rich & Stew's first (& sadly - also last) video release.
Riding the wave of popularity from the first series of the television version of "Fist Of Fun", the duo took to the road to take their "unique brand of cerebral juvenilia" to the masses.

Starting the tour at the 1995 Edinburgh Festival, they continued through to the end of the year, and on the 3rd of September BBC cameras were sent to film them in action.

A brief synopsis of the show follows:

Rich & Stew enter the stage to rapturous applause; "Yeah yeah, there's no need to be sarcastic..."
Stew begins by vocalising his dissatisfaction with the microphones they've been given for this show, normally they have really discreet radio mics, but they've broken - only to be replaced with these huge ugly ones that make you look like Captain Scarlet.

Predictably, Rich likes them for that same reason and points out that David Baddiel used a microphone similar to this when he performed at Wembley Arena with Rob Newman. Seems he's already wound Stew up, not least because Lee & Herring are already suffering lazy journalistic comparisons to the early 90s double act, and now Rich is publicly delighted to be sharing a similar microphone to one of them.

A bit of banter and an explanation of the Fist Of Fun format for the uninitiated leads into a few fictional announcements for the audience, before Rich recounts the events of the last week, but unfortunately mistakes a week in his life with the computer game super mario brothers. Some Somerset-baiting from Stew is brought on by Rich's witlessness. After hearing about Stewart's weekend of alcohol & drug-fueled debauchery, Rich counters by branding Stewart, and anyone else who takes drugs, as "a twat".

A variant on the contrived differences routine that would later appear in series two, show six leads nicely into the show's first natural break, as Peter takes the stage with some lifestyle ideas.

Simple summer fries is first on the menu, followed by Pork Slush Puppies, before Peter decides to try some dog food...
Next up, here's a brilliant way to start the day......BEER!
This gets a large cheer, taking Peter somewhat by surprise; "I didn't know there was anyone sadder than me".
For dessert, why not try making some Balham Rock? Just get a packet of Extra Strong Mints, write "BALHAM" on each of them & stick them all back together!

"Peter's Guide To Balham" round things off before Lee & Herring reclaim the stage.

The next topic Stew wants to talk about is the topic of sex, and there's no reason we can't talk about the subject in a mature & civilised way. Apart from one, Richard Herring. He even saw a bare lady once, but hasn't had a serious relationship for three years.......for some reason. Stew finds this interesting, when you consider that a mayfly, a small, unpleasant fly, can find a mate in it's tiny lifetime of three hours and yet Rich still hasn't had a girlfriend in 3 years. Rich counters by explaining that he is, of course, more choosy than a fly - before eventually admitting his indiscretion with a fly one new years. "And it's quite good, actually" says Rich, "Because a gnat's chuff is - quite literally - as tight as a gnat's chuff."

Time now for hobby correspondent Simon Quinlank, who takes a confused Cochrane audience through his "Proving That Simon Quinlank Is The King Of All Hobbies Hobby". This involves photocopying Quinlank's face & making a mask of it before forcing a petrified Jarvis Cocker-a-like out of the audience & onto the stage to assist him. You can view this hobby in the fist of fun book - here.

As the demented hobbyist leaves the stage, Rich & Stew return to talk about the books they've been reading. They are accounts of former hostages John McCarthy & Brian Keenan, "Some Other Rainbow" & "An Evil Cradling" respectively.
Between them, the duo demonstrate how the same situation can be told from two very different perspectives as they read extracts of McCarthy & Keenan's books about their hostage situation.

The Gall-Ery is up next, floating in from the sky, and bringing forth such wonders as;
the last page of the book that Dave Moore's ex-girlfriend is currently reading
a picture of Michael Aspel with a duck on his lap
a collage of Rich & Stew's showbiz enemy Patrick Marber juggling the severed heads of Rich & Stew
a photo of a woman & a dog found within a book bought from a second hand store.

The last part of the gallery is presented solo by Stewart, and is a postcard detailing a dog & two kittens playing piano. Stew spends far longer than is strictly necessary deconstructing the image to great effect. You can hear an MP3 of his theories by clicking here.

As Rich & Peter return to the stage, Lee & Herring turn to the final subject of the evening, religion, This gives way to the pantomime-reminiscent "Jesus Behind You" sketch, which first appeared on the radio incarnation of "Fist Of Fun", featuring Jesus running around in the background, mocking Stewart and behaving childishly (Rich: "He's showing you his pants! Jesus is showing you his pants!") while Stew denounces his existence. Coincidentally enough, every time Stew turns round - Jesus isn't there. Written off as Richard's imagination. As it goes, Jesus was just hiding.

Finally spotted by Stew, 'Jesus' comes clean & admits that he wasn't the real Jesus after all, but is in fact Simon Quinlank performing his "helping Jesus to be omnipresent" hobby, remember - if you see more than one Jesus in any one place, it's just one of his helpers helping him out through a busy
period.
Stew is quick to point out that he's simply confused Jesus of Nazareth with Father Christmas, but Quinlank doesn't like this and counters with his "Telling a celebrity you think they are really good and asking for their autograph when in reality you think they are rubbish, and when they give you their autograph you rip up their autograph in front of their astonished minor television celebrity faces."
Fairly self-explanatory really, and Rich & Stew fall for it.

This brings the show to a close, and as Kevin Eldon & Peter Baynham are brought back for the final bows, the credits begin to roll.

YOU CAN VIEW THE SHOW ONLINE AT STEWART LEE's WEBSITE