Entertainment

Arts Q&A: Comedian Darren Matthews on AC/DC, Star Wars and comics

Jenny Lee puts performers and artists on the spot about what really matters to them. This week, comedian Darren Matthews

Armagh native Darren Matthews
Armagh native Darren Matthews Armagh native Darren Matthews

1. When did you think about a career in comedy and what were your first steps into it?

I played drums in bands for years and got bored working with other musicians so not being able to play the guitar this was my only way to go solo and keep being the attention-seeking middle child I never knew I was.

2. Best gigs you've been to?

AC/DC at Download 2010 - the band's stage show was so massive they had to construct a larger main stage than the festival could hold. And Metallica at the SSE, also in 2010, as they hadn't played Belfast since the mid-1980s.

3. Fantasy wedding/birthday party band?

Bonham on drums, Slash on guitar, John Entwistle on bass, Elton John on keys and my mum on vocals as she does a mean Abba at karaoke.

4. The record you would take to a desert island?

Metallica - The Black Album. An iconic rock and any-genre-of-music album. It's 30 years old and still sounds great, so nothing like myself, as I'm 36.

5. And the book you would take to a desert island?

Can I use a comic book instead? The Crow by James O'Barr has got everything. Love, violence and all in very cool black and white.

6. Top three films?

Predator, High Fidelity and The Breakfast Club. The Simple Minds song at the end of the movie was number one the day I was born.

7. Worst film you've seen?

Star Wars: Episode 1. Does that even need explained? Two hours of trade negotiations and one battle at the end.

8. Favourite authors?

Nick Hornby, Terry Pratchett and Mark Millar (comics again).

9. Sports you most enjoy and your top teams?

Football (Man United), Gaelic football (Armagh) and hurling - East Belfast GAA with my mates.

10. Ideal holiday destination?

Vietnam. I spent a month there backpacking and doing gigs and it is one of the most unique and interesting places on the planet. History, landscapes and adventure - the place has it all.

11. Pet hates?

Cats.

12. What's your favourite:

Dinner? Carvery, as I am a culchie.

Dessert? Black Forest gateau.

Drink? Guinness poured well is unbeaten.

13. Who is your best friend and how do you know each other?

It's a tie between Charlie and Bailey, my two dogs I adopted from Almost Home last year. We know each other because I pay the mortgage but they run the house.

14. Is there a God?

No, otherwise Armagh would have more than one All-Ireland and he knows I've been asking for long enough.

Darren Matthews will be performing at The Sunflower Comedy Club in The Sunflower Public House, Belfast on November 28. Tickets on Eventbrite. You can follow him on Instagram at darrenmatthewscomedian.