Carl Marsh
You’ve got a new show on the 25th of January 2020 at the New Theatre, an (ever-so) slight change from your previous outing (Mike played one of the Ugly Sisters in Pantomime) there?
Mike Doyle
Yeah, the show on the 25th of January is called ‘Mike Doyle Rock with Laughter’, we’ve changed the show up over the years now, and I get a chance to play my Fender Strat. When I first had an interest in show business, all I wanted to do was play (the) guitar, and I wasn’t interested in school, was interested in girls, wasn’t interested in nothing but just (to) play the guitar. And that guitar just lived in my bedroom, (sometimes) in my bed, I loved my guitar. And so I’ve kind of had that passion for the guitar all my life. I’m a rock’ n’ roller at heart you know, and in the show, we do a lot of crappy old 70s music, but we purposely choose the rubbish that the people remember, we chuck a few good ‘ens in there so we can rock out.
Carl Marsh
Is it mainly the 70s music that has inspired you musically?
Mike Doyle
I’ll tell you what it is, I think, with this idea of the rocking with laughter show is that the clues in the title, isn’t it. So I just thought to myself, the audience’s that I get right, are generally an older crowd. Still, as the years have gone by, I mean I’m 60 coming up my next birthday, and I’m, you know, I’m looking at that crowd, and I’m thinking, ‘well crikey they’re not the Frank Sinatra’s or that anymore’. They’re like the 70s children aren’t they, so they remember things like Superstition by Stevie Wonder which is in the show, and you know we’re even going as far as doing Chuck Berry and My Ding-A-Ling. So it’s a good crack. I’ve got a fantastic five-piece band, an outstanding sound designer and sound people that come in and do it. My son Tom, he does the lighting design for my show. So we bring in a great big lighting rig. And you know, it’s a chance for me to get away from the cruise ship thing that I do and stick on a pair of jeans and a shirt hanging out of my trousers which is nice.
Carl Marsh
Besides the band, have you got anybody else on the bill during this tour?
Mike Doyle
Yes, Stephanie Webber. We’re bringing Stephanie back as a little first half support artist as it were. But she’s just incredible you know, she is. So Steph is doing that, so it’s nice to have Stephanie Weber back in the show as she does a little 25 minutes pre-show and then I’m on for an hour and a half.
Carl Marsh
By just spending a bit of time with you already Mike, you have this natural ability to want to warm to you, and the stories you’re telling me are mesmerising! So the stories in your show must be very personal to you?
Mike Doyle
I’m a storyteller, that’s what I do. I’ll tell stories about my parents, and I always remember in school that one of the boys had overhead their dad saying that their mother was a robot. So, I then said this to my mother about another mother being called a robot. But of course, my mother’s ever-so comedic, so my father would go, “Love, cup of tea.” My mother would come into the room and make this sound (Mike makes this high pitched comedic robotic sound!) [Laughter]. And then she goes away. Then my dad says, “Love, there’s no sugar in the tea,” (makes the same high pitched robotic noise!) [Laughter]. And this is before we had remote controls, remember, and he would say, “Love, turn the telly over,” (makes a high pitched, then low pitched, then high pitched robotic noise) [lots of Laughter]. And I was able to go to school and say that my mother’s a robot as well!
