We Need to Talk About . . . Kevin Bridges

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And that's exactly what happened. He vividly describes the elation, when even an audacious ad lib got a rapturous reception. 'I didn't feel in control,' he writes. 'But I didn't have a clue where it came from, it was instinct almost; the adrenaline and the warmth from the crowd had bailed me out.'

It had been meant as a dig, an archetypal “Made in Scotland” dig, but, after thinking about it, I decided that it was one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received. I could relate to a lot of the stories in this autobiography as Bridges and myself are the same age. I too remember staying up late to catch Eurotrash on Channel 5 ( I think everybody around my age will admit to that! :) ) and chatting for hours on MSN messenger (RIP). The anxiety and feeling like being funny was all you had – without it your friends would obviously drop you right? Because what are you if you’re not funny? – is also all too familiar. Bridges story begins when he was a nervous little boy in nursery and there is a particularly hilarious anecdote involving a wendy house that had me crying with laughter. His reluctance for his mother to leave him continued into primary school and he soon found his escape at home playing various football games with his dad. Going into high school, he was a bright boy but was very much an old head on young shoulders. Over thinking everything was a major problem, even when, at 17 he ventured into a Glasgow comedy club and did his first 5 minute set.

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Kevin Bridges is one of my favourite comedians. His dead-pan deliverance of jokes combined with observations I can relate to have had me crying with laughter. Kevin has previously hosted much-lauded documentaries for BBC One including Kevin Bridges - What's The Story in 2012, followed by Kevin Bridges - What's The Story Referendum Special in 2014. In 2014 Kevin also hosted two BBC One stand-up specials on the Commonwealth Games and the Scottish Referendum.

Fame is known to change people and not always for the better, but in this book, Bridges shows himself to be a humble man with an affection for his family that is obvious when he talks about them. Cleverly taking inspiration from the title of another book (We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver), Bridges not only tells us about his upbringing and journey into stand up comedy, but throws in his views on controversial issues such as benefits and immigration. One of my favourite quotes from his book is “We were the ones dropping bombs on them, so we couldn’t complain when they were looking for a place to stay”. Kevin Bridges speaks to the Gazette – Local Headlines. Lanark Gazette (22 October 2010). Retrieved 20 September 2012. His debut DVD, titled Kevin Bridges: The Story So Far... Live in Glasgow, filmed at Glasgow's SECC, was released on 22 November 2010, [8] and went on to sell over 350,000 copies. [9] The point is that there are people who actually go and do it, and then there are the people at the bar who just tell how they could have done it. Aged just seventeen, Kevin Bridges walked on stage for the first time in a Glasgow comedy club and brought the house down. He only had a five-minute set but in that short time he discovered that he really could earn a living from making people laugh.Experiment before something happens, something that needs to be reacted to in an instant. A glass will smash, a drunk will unleash a barrage of inane shite, a fight will break out, someone will get up to go to the toilet, a phone will ring. A wonderfully dry and deadpan Glaswegian comic . . . one the most exciting talents to have emerged from Scotland since Billy Connolly' Guardian Once bitten, he knew this was his career, and he had to build on it. These subsequent chapters plod a little as he goes from one gig to the next, sometimes facing a challenge, but generally going from strength to strength until – just six years after those first uncertain steps – he's playing the 10,000 seater SECC. It's a phenomenal rise by any measure and where this book ends. Bridges admits early on in the book that he was a horribly anxious and self-aware child; one who was paranoid about everything, but in particular, what others thought of him. We're then taken with him on his journey of overcoming these fears and pushing himself to achieve his dreams.