Paul Merton | Full Q&A at The Oxford Union
2017 ж. 14 Қар.
277 805 Рет қаралды
SUBSCRIBE for more speakers ► is.gd/OxfordUnion
Oxford Union on Facebook: / theoxfordunion
Oxford Union on Twitter: @OxfordUnion
Website: www.oxford-union.org/
Paul James Martin, known professionally as Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian, radio and television presenter. He is known for his improvisation skill, his humour being rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy.
ABOUT THE OXFORD UNION SOCIETY: The Oxford Union is the world's most prestigious debating society, with an unparalleled reputation for bringing international guests and speakers to Oxford. Since 1823, the Union has been promoting debate and discussion not just in Oxford University, but across the globe.
Paul Merton has been at the top flight of British comedy for more than thirty years now. What comes over in this interview is not how funny he is (we know that) but what an extraordinarily nice and thoughtful man he is. He also knows quite a lot about classical music and did a road show for many years reminding us of the many, now largely forgotten, comedians of the silent movie era. I can't believe some of the unkind and very unfortunate comments below. Paul is one of my comic heroes. Thank you, especially to the interviewer, for giving him the opportunity to speak.
Michael Paul Smith Couldn't put it better ...
I agree. Paul is a really nice guy and very funny.
Yes a nice, very funny Communist.
He's a left-wing fucking wanker!
And so am I...!!!
It's funny how the first minute of this video is almost the most straight up and gag-free Paul has ever been. Just honest about he feels being invited to the address. Always struck me as a very well spoken, thoughful man who like many is constantly overtaken by the need to make a quick gag at the expense of everything else. Served him well in Whose Line and HIGNFY, and as a comedian as well, but like many other comedians, there's a very thoughtful personality underneath.
Such an interesting and straight-forward guy. Love anything he does.
Always superb, always fascinating. Just a great, pure talent. Not a derivative ounce in his work. Just amazing
'Not a derivative ounce in his work.' - I'm not sure he'd agree with you on that. All great comics - and he is one - stand on the shoulders of giants. He'd agree that among them in his case are Max Miller and Tony Hancock.
As entertaining as ever Paul...a true Working Class Hero. It may sound trite but it's true. There's hope for us all who went to a 'normal' state comprehensive.
yep. does perhaps sound trite mate maybe thats the over riding thing there actually ma man take care anywa.. in honesty
What a thoroughly nice bloke!!! It's obvious that comedians at this level need a HUGE amount of ego in order to do what they do, and yet, Mr Merton seems to feel that what he does isn't particularly difficult or unusual. (And it is!) Not to say he is self-effacing, (nor should he be...) but he seems very comfortable with the difference between his persona as a performer and his actual personality. I'm a huge fan of Merton as a performer and have been for years, but this interview/Q&A really drew me to him as a person. Thank you and well done to everyone involved. xx SF
He is a great performer with a brilliant mind Steve but I think in HIGNFY that he does have a comedians ego, in that he,rarely. laughs at other Comedians jokes. I realise he does Deadpan humour but I am certain he will always want to be the funniest Guy in the room..lol
This is a Fair Point and Well Made, yet I still think his PERSONA seems an exaggerated element of an altogether more introspective individual... In my time as a Magazine Interviewer, I always found COMEDIANS more complex as CHARACTERS than say, Actors or Musicians... Comedians often seem much more aware of a DARK SIDE that enables them to both write and perform, often in contrast, even despite, those feelings... There are exceptions... (Eddie Izzard springs to mind, a comedian of notable originality and perhaps even genius, BUT, not a very nice bloke!!! (Just my opinion...) Dylan Moran, (another comedian and actor I greatly admire...) treated the interview process with all the comfort and pleasure of a trip to The Dentist...) I have to say I have some sympathy with this kind of approach. Whereas an ACTOR, or indeed a MUSICIAN, can call upon a script, or indeed a recoqnized skill and/or technique, the (self-scripted...) Comedian basically writes and performs in a vacuum of self... If you're TELLING JOKES, as many do, and successfully, it's a process that can be HONED and DEVELOPED... (Coogan, McIntyre, Brand, Peter Kay and even Brydon do this BRILLIANTLY...) But I'm always more drawn to the more PHILOSOPHICAL of comedians... (Kitson, Phil Kay, Tommy Tiernan, Stewart Lee, Munnery (a TRUE GENIUS!!!) Johhny Vegas, Tim Key, Paul Foot, indeed...) Where it's not NECESSARILY about the JOKE, (that's a given...) but about why that's funny? (Or not!!) Stand Up Comedy (now mostly what MY GENERATION called 'Alternative Comedy' is now MAINSTREAM... (And No Harm That...) I think SARAH MILLICAN is sexy, funny and brilliant!!! (But the LENNY BRUCE'S, the GEORGE CARLIN'S, BILL HICK'S, RICHARD PRIOR'S and MITCHELL HEDBURG'S are never going to come from ''Live At The Apollo''... (Jerry Sadowitz, SURELY ONE OF THE MOST ORIGINAL AND INNOVATIVE STAND UPS EVER, quite deliberately painted himself into a corner where he couldnd't even be arrested...) One might say the same of Daniel Kitson... (Anyone can tell a 'JOKE'... It takes a VERY SPECIAL TALENT to then explain why you shouldn't laugh...) xx SF
I appreciate this is a late reply but nevertheless! I too love Paul Merton as a performer, he's come up with some of the best witticisms ever on HIGNFY. And you;re right, he does keep the deadpan look most of the time these days, but I was just inspired to mention, I rewatched the episode that Bruce Forsyth hosted, and how childishly happy Paul looks throughout, laughing along with the rest of the audience. I remember an episode with Graham Linehan really making Paul laugh as well.
He stabed Angus dyeadon in the back . don't stand by someone in the time of need no make them the but of your jokes that shows how you are as a person .paul Merton is a asshole he doesn't deserve any awards.he had it off of someone's misfortune screw him
@@patrickmclaren4360 Who is Angus dyeadon? Never heard of him.
Paul is a national treasure.
Thoroughly enjoyable interview. Paul never fails to be interesting and thoughtful. Thank you for sharing!
Interesting and thoughtful.......erm......how about funny?😅😊😂😊
A ledgend. Such a nice & funny man. A very good interview; enjoyed every minute.
Love Paul Merton. Great guy.
Had the pleasure of meeting Paul after a show in Salford. An absolute gentleman.
Me too back in 1997 in Swansea. I went around to the stage door and there were half a dozen of us waiting. He came out, had a chat for half an hour with us all, thanked us for coming, shook our hands and apologised that he had to get on the road to his next gig. Very nice guy.
It's only for the last 10 years or so of people (surreptitiously) posting UK panel shows on KZhead that many of us in the USA have had access to them. I had never heard of Paul or Ian before finding HIGNFY? and so I haven't seen their development or had knowledge of their early work, so shows like this are a special treat. Even with just this one episode I can tell the the Oxford Union channel is a rabbit hole that I'll be heading into for the next couple of weeks.
To all the people here complaining about the abundance of left wing comedians, this is no coincidence. The best comedy - and the comedy that lasts timelessly, you'll notice - is rooted in empathy, and inclusiveness. These are 2 of the main things necessary for laughter. As Steve Coogan pointed out, Bernard Manning's main humour was based in intolerance and hate, whereas another northern contemporary of his, Les Dawson's humour was the opposite - it came from a place of love. I guess the question is - which of the two were the funniest and most timeless? Also - empathy and inclusiveness: which of the two ends of the spectrum do you associate these traits with most? Right or left? I hope this clears things up.
Au contraire: Bernard's material certainly cultivated mutual empathy among his audience no worse than the manner in which scathing disdain and nihilism of many "progressive" stand-ups is used to bond with and among the types who enjoy such acts.
The same is also largely true for singers. There are very few openly right wing singers.
@Gareth M "I hope this clears things up". Well, no it doesn't. Comedy can work make energy from kindness and misanthropy. There is little that is kind and empathetic in Stewart Lee's political spiel, for example.
I would go as far to say that that type of comedy (definitely including Stewart Lee) requires that you share his disdain towards the type of people that don't have empathy and that have the worst attributes of humanity. So yes it's a subtler form, but I still think it comes from a "good" place rather than an inherently negative place.
What types of people are we talking about Gareth? the kind of people with views that are " good" as you say or those who simply are conservative or say unpalatable things you don't like? To take comedian Stewart Lee again. Today he wrote a nasty piece today in the Guardian, greeted with hilarity, dressed up as wit, about Toby Young. Could TY for all his shortcomings be honestly described as having the " worst attributes of humanity" No, it is bullying or as Reimer Bard above describes it " scathing disdain" . Paul Merton has a touch of this as well.
Absolutely underrated.....one of the best of the best.
i have a lot of respect for the booking policy for these Oxford Union Q&As, they are very varied, politically and socially. I think it was probably quite different at the union 40 years ago. If these are the future politicians and rulers of the country, it's reassuring to see that they are getting exposure to such a diverse and interesting range of people. Although I'm not sure that 'interesting' is the first word that springs to mind when thinking of Tommy Robinson. Haven't quite plucked up the stomach to watch that Q&A, yet
The fact that you aren't willing to watch something because you disagree with it - despite the fact that the Q&A that you're willing to watch may or may not change your mind - for me is a representation of everything that is wrong with politics today.
Thank you for down loading this as Paul Merton is a delight.
Technically, it was uploaded to a server, from where you the user streamed or downloaded it.
Victoria and Jo are two of my favorite female hosts.
A fantastic talk from a very funny man.
Sniper or a dagger?. Interresting analogy of how Hislop , forensic journalist, and Merton as surreal wordsmith deal with HIGNFY enemies. Thanks for posting.
The Room 101 segment he talks about with Jonny Vegas was remarkable, though it was internet chat rooms he was talking about rather than online games. It seems to have been taken off youtube sadly.
No one mentioned The Masterson Inheritance. One of my all time favorite radio comedies.
That Johnny Vegas episode of Room 101 is incredible.
Paul Merton is a National Treasure.
He is a national tosser.
The British with that national treasure crap.
National treasure 🤣🤣🤣 He's a fucking dinosaur. I was channel hopping the other night and HIGNFY was embarrassing, he never was funny on it, now he's just pathetic. I wonder if he's still bitter that Angus Deayton was far more talented than he'll ever be! National treasure 🤣🤣🤣
@@thesimpletruth846 The simple truth is you don't have a sense of humour.
@@garysmith208 I see what you did there...what a genius you are! Your initial comment made me wanna wretch, you sycophant
One of the nicest entertainers ever for the UK.
Not really kzhead.info/sun/p69rebmGoaWQmZ8/bejne.html
Wonderful.
Is it a dolphin in a bathtub?
No
Great to see the distinguished historic Oxford Union inviting the great minds of our time. I'd love to have been alive to see Edmund Burke's favourite juggler as well.
Why “sort of” in so many sentences from both of them?
Love Paul.. 💕💕
Legend
been fascinated with him since the earley 90"s,i wonder if he ever got around to buying an automatic shoe cleaner?
Tony Hancock's "The Radio Ham" was quite brilliant...Paul Merton's was even better. The best Mickey-Take of Ham Radio that I ever seen and I A HAM! Paul's props were more realistic. I love to watch both. (By the way..I assure that it are raining also not in Tokyo!) Not sure if Paul did a "Blood Donor."
Great orator..alongside so many others such as Stephen fry x
Did he mention when William Hague eviserated him on his own show with the funniest line "Just because I can tell jokes doesn't mean you can do politics" he pulled a silly face as if it wasn't funny while the audience howling with laughter.
The paul merton show was hilarious..
For some reason I'd just always assumed Paul was an alumnus of Oxbridge, he always seemed the type (I say that as a compliment)...
Really? His magnificent grasp of current events would preclude him from that "type". Lofty scholars tend to be ignorant of such matters, for example Ian HIslop who takes great glee in pretending he knows nothing about pop culture. He probably knows more than that, but keeps it secret to enhance the satire.
No his line was always 'I did metalwork at school'!!!!
Paul Merton appeared in the classic sit-com The Young Ones.
The lsd police man was his first joke!? Incredible.
I was hoping someone would have asked has he seen the dolphin lately :P
Ian goes at the politicians; he knows things about them and what they've done.
The director of 'Paul Merton in India' was apparently Heenan Bhatti. Strangely it doesn't feature as a credit on his IMDB page.
I believe the miserable lady contestant on Just a Minute that Paul was referring to is the late and somewhat grumpy in real life, Wendy Richard..
ToniLCD That's exactly what I was thinking. Paul would try to avoid episodes that Wendy Richard was on
It was actually Margot Fontaine.
She isn't listed on the JAM wiki. Is that Margot Fonteyn the dancer?
I have to admit as a child I was scared of clowns. “Send in the Clowns” is more of a threat than a song.
Paul is a wonderful comedian. Such a shame the joke turned sour with Boris #noplatform
Hey students... He's done more than HIGNFU‼️... Jeeper's.
Interesting, but I thought he'd talk more about his time at Arsenal, and his work for Sky. ;)
McJ 2051 That’s Arsene Wenger.
Howard Send 👍
I have to admit it took me a while, but I got there in the end.!! very clever.
And the gambling addiction, he looks well now though lol
the bucket of water is full of lies; the confetti tossed to the audience, the truth! That's what comedy can do.
the wittiest man on the planet - since Groucho no longer with us.
Too many ads folks…every 10 minutes
He liked clowns. As a child, my father took us the the circus at Belle Vue, Manchester. They frightened me! Since then I have alway a bit squeamish when I see them.
You are not alone in finding clowns scary, which is why they are often featured in horror films - Pennywise being an obvious example. It's the same with ventriloquists' puppets. Mind you, I will make exceptions for Sooty and Sweep.
Articulate people are always interesting people.
Some of the time.
He looks like Harry Potter grown up.
What a shame nobody asked Paul about Rex the Runt.
Great and very entertaining interview. However I got rather distracted by the guy with white hair and glasses from around 27.50 - centre - front row, and his desperate attemtpts to stay awake. Bless - know how this can feel !
At work we had an airport vicar, he would be a contestant on game shows. He said he did "Get your cards right", said Bruce F. was a horrible person behind the scenes.
Dolphin in a bafftub!
Re the Wales story. Very few people realize that for a long long tike almost all the good quality LSD in the world was made in Wales. And the british upper class could sure use some.
How was the interviewer, he was rather good.
I agree. Often, when I watch these interviews, the questions are clumsy and the interviewer awkward. This chap seems calm, intelligent and a good listener whose questions are shaped by what Paul says.
He was good for arsenal back in the day
I liked his wife who interviewed George Best and Debbie McGhee
Were question about Angus off limits?
I think Paul has said all he has to say about Angus when he was on the Parkinson show, asked by Michael Parkinson "did you stand him in the back?" and Paul replied "no, we stabbed him in the front" - it was Angus fault, his problem, and the consequences that happened was his fault.
The students would be too young to remember!!
@@johnking5174 Well, the question I'd want to ask is 'Why did you hate him so much?' I mean, we all know he hated him, that's pretty much covered in the Parky interview. But never have I heard him say why. That's what I'm intensely interested in. You don't act like how Paul acted towards Angus unless they did something horrible to you.
@@zufgh Angus Deayton was an upper middle class man. Paul Merton was working class. The two clashed because of their backgrounds. Paul felt Angus was a man who had a very nice schooling, went to New College, Oxford and never really had to fight for anything in life, whereas Paul went to Wimbledon College and only gained a certificate in metalwork. Paul felt Angus as pompous, arrogant upper class twit. Angus felt Paul was common as muck, unfunny who got where he got just by pure nonsense and good luck. That is where the "hate" originates from.
@@johnking5174 I really don't think that accounts for much If indeed any of it. I mean, do you actually know all of this for a fact, or is it mere conjecture? Because all of that is also true of Ian. And Paul's never once displayed such a level of venom towards him throughout the history of the show. Not even when they weren't as close as they our now. And I don't see how Angus thought of Paul as unfunny, seeing as how he laughed pretty much every time Paul opened his mouth. There was an interview that Deayton gave about two years ago now, where he actually says that Paul's been doing his best to rewrite history and pretend they were never friends: www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/feb/03/angus-deayton-affair. But then put that claim up against the statements from Ian and Paul, who both say that Paul never liked him, and it really does raise even more questions. Was Paul pretending to be friends while secretly admitting to Ian that he hated his guts? It's a very bizarre situation between the three.
It's so sad that students are spending time watching television or listening to radio.
9:40 By 'making a joke of a serious thing and a serious thing of a joke' (Seán O'Casey), and particularly referring to the latter, a comedian, or anyone leaning on a bar or mantlepiece, can come across even funnier because they are not stating the 'here comes a joke'; treating the audience as if they are somewhat stupid. That way, by 'making a serious thing of a joke', IF, the listener doesn't get it, it flies over their head but IF they DO, it comes across as twice as funny; hence Paul Merton's appeal. Deadpan has power. A case of, 'You know, I know, you know' - wink, wink.
a lot of people grew up with have i got news, sadly not the politicians.
People they didn't have on but wanted to? Roy Hattersley.
😂🙈
Roy Hattersley did eventually go on HIGNFY. About the tub of lard that they used in his place before, he said he was a bit disappointed by it and had expected them to use a great barrel with stains on it, to which Merton said "Well, you're here now, anyway."
Nice to see you to see you ..fuck..wrong life
Gentleman
Shame they swooped the bucket! they would laughed much more!
Just One Question. WHY????
2 years later and it is still Brexit and Trump...which is why I've not watched HIGNFY for years. There are other stories but the media is so lazy they are just doing two main stories because it's easy and fills the pages.
We want Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) !!
This Oxford Uni audience just don't seem to get it. They (comedians) say the Glasgow Empire is the worst gig, but watching this I'm not so sure...
Paul Merton is a one trick pony.
13:09 ah yes the imperial evidences.
Don't know why Merton said so. I thought they were constitutional monarchical evidences, now that the age of empires was over.
Maybe his education wasn't comprehensive enough.
Ah come on. You immediately knew what he meant.
The Horsemen of the apocalypse are in the New Testament, not the Old.
"It's like watching a football match where...." American football. Micro managed in advance. With occasional outbursts of creativity.
"Imperial evidence"? Empircal Evidence, perhaps.
Pedant
Phil Bates That's just another of telling me I'm right.
Matt Whitby If it is important for you to be right above all else .......
To be right above all else seems good to me. Better than being wrong and living ignorance.
Stephen Saunders Or it could be more than a little pedantic to point out what is clearly an error from a very funny, articulate and intelligent man.
Would be great to see Ben Shapiro giving an address and q and a.
Yamah12a not it would not lol
He'd never submit himself to questioning by Oxford postgrads on film. It'd be the end of his career.
Yeah, watching an idiot like Shapiro trying to be clever in a room of smart people - always entertaining.
Stefan Travis Look up 'Sam Harris at Oxford, questioned by grad student'. That's what would happen to Shapiro x100
It would definitely be interesting to see him take questions from students at the Oxford Union rather than the incoherent screeching of students in various American universities.
Paul Merton is grest
who was he referring to as scowling on Just A Minute?
I am intrigued to know why ‘revol148’ should ever need to be reminded of ( allegedly) obvious facts...
Lets aee sarcasm at its best
Shame that HIGNFY colluded in the Labour Party AS smear. Never saw Paul Merton himself do that but he's a bit tarnished by association.
If anyone ever saw his car crash attempt at resurecting Hancocks sketches you realise how much this guy has ridden his luck all the way to the bank. A half way adequate suporting comedy actor easily put out of his depth. His guest stint as a waiter in One Foot was about as much as he could convincingly manage. I've yet to meet anyone who has spent money on any of vehicles.
I found those enjoyable though not as good as the originals. The unused/newer scripts were great. I enjoyed the Channel 4 series the Paul Merton show too. But his improv on WHOSE LINE was impressive.
@@bletheringfool Improv. The audience has low expectations. Anyone doing it is on a hiding to nothing. Sometimes the cards fall but the audience is accepting of a lower bar than a well crafted act and are also more or less participants in the performance who provide the applause. In addition, with this low bar, who wasn't impressive on WLIIA? I've never seen him better a predecessor. He was poorer than Nick Hancock on 101, second fiddle to Angus Deyton, he even appears put out when a comedian or other entertainer who doesn't rely on repetition, misheard words or hyperbole for humour presents HIGNFY.
@26.00 - for balance, the issue is that there are not enough female / ethnic comediennes of calibre to make this work every week. Diversity is fine until you start dumbing a situation down to make it 'fit' (like Police Force enrolment currently). That doesn't wash and just leads to poor results. Ricky Gervais (Golden Globes 2020) made a recent point on this... "I've cancelled the role call of dead celebrities this year because it is not diverse enough. It's 95% male and white... No! Not on my watch. We may run it next year if more women and black people die."
And the reason I can't watch HIGNFY or Mock the Week these days.
How about a “Good evening, Mr Merton” instead of “Hi”? Disrespectful oiks.
A working class boomer that doesn't come across as a moron in the slightest. Fascinating talk, thanks.
Unlike your snotty remark,
@@gymnosophy Ok moronic boomer.
'Boomer' is a meaningless American word. I ought to mean people born to soldiers returning from the war now it apparently means anyone born up to 1964.
@@FiveLiver It is, everyone knows that. It taught in schools. At least its the English spelling. It has a lot of reliance in UK history, it marks the start of social and industrial decline here. It also highlights the last generation of discrimination, with many of these awful barriers being torn down to the point now where race, gender and ability are no longer a topic (still strong among Boomers sadly). A lot of this is visible in shows like "Til Death Us Do Part". What is interesting is the number of people (presumably old) who get offended by the term, with little understanding of what the term means to the current generation of British people, or indeed the world. It marks an important time in British and worldwide social history, something my progressive generation can be proud of :)
@@tomtalk24 The young blame 'Boomers' as both reactionary AND as those behind today's problems, like woke culture, which is anti-male, anti-family, anti-Christian and anti-white. But the tide is turning and traditional values are returning. Look up Laura Towler she is only 21.
Like all comedians, he's amusing when working and desperately boring otherwise.
Were you expecting a 50 minute stand up comedy show?!
nytoeknee No. I wasn’t expecting any comedy, except perhaps an occasional amusing comment. But I was expecting an intelligent and insightful discussion. Instead we got a turgid litany from an old bore.
He's more interested in telling people how right-on he is.
no choice but to ne pc these days.more ,s the pity.everything should be fair game in comedy.out in the real world it is.
Him funny? Hahahaha your having alaugh.
like a lot, but such a luvvie.
Bollox
SECOND !!!
He is about as funny at woodworm in a crutch
james bolem brilliant
@@hexonatapeloop and you think you are funnier?
@@ceebee4360 that was definitely sarcasm
There is an assumption that everyone hates Trump.... not so.
Yes it is.
Are you an American?
@@Thomas-nc9fz Is it that only Americans like him?
Only Trump likes Trump, but only on Tuesdays.
There is certainly an assumption that British audiences are intelligent enough to see through Trump. I guess that may be misplaced.
Comics like paul say a lot of things that i don't allways agree with, but if its funny its funny, i refuse to be offended by any of it unless its people like Eddy Izzard and Stephen Fry using a platform to have a go at things like the catholic church for example, a comic should not allow his or her hatred for anything to allow that to stop them doing what they are there for, which is to make people laugh, hatred is not funny and its certainly not a topic for humour, it comes across as boring and defeats the object of the task , which is to entertain the public, Bill Hicks fell into that trap in his later years and he was very disappointing and unfunny by doing it
Hahahahah You hate “PC” . You love free speech? Until they skewer YOUR nonsense.
There are right wing comedians. Theres one who gets on radio 4 news quiz. He can be quite biting. Hugo Rifkind is also a regular. Ive heard one or two other not particularly leftie people on there. I dont watch tv so cant comment. Manning was a bore. I cant recall ever finding him amusing. Just rather nasty. I have no idea what Les Dawsons politics were but as another on here has said he was immensely popular. Also clean. Boris johnson thought he was funny. He could be mildly amusing but was too full of himself.
Merton is funny as famine.
Blasted PC for a 'comedian'.
An unfunny guy who got lucky. Without HIGNFY.... he would have just disappeared after the terrible show he had.
He should knock off the Trump bashing. It's becoming a tired refrain and is quite off putting.
@John wayne Other words to describe Herr Trumpf: evil, illiterate, dictatorial, sociopath, narcissist, totally corrupt.
@@hemiolaguy I love British understatement.
When Trump knocks it off, I guess they will
Damn he's boring. Who would have thought it!