Pappy's last stand

Have you always been funny, then? 

I think we knew that when we started hanging out together as mates it was fun. When we first met we just liked making each other laugh and playing jokes on each other. I think that was where what we do stems from: how much fun it is to be in a gang. I think it was that, more than us feeling like we were funny individuals or class clowns. 

Ben looked funny when he was young, mind you, but that's because he was born with full sized adult ears. He's really grown into them. 

Why did you lose the Fun Club, and where did the name Pappy originally come from?

Pappy was a silly name that made us laugh when we were starting out. We liked to imagine him as a mysterious benefactor but more often than not people would think that we were a children’s act and bring their kids along.  That never went down well!

How do you think the sketch comedy scene has changed since you started – and what do you think the future looks like? 

It's hard to say really. There were already loads of great sketch acts when we started out: Klang, Colin and Fegus, Fat Tongue were all in full flow, so it was already a healthy scene.  It's more to do with how the sketch scene is perceived. Every few years people like to say it's back in fashion, then it'll be out again. But there are always great sketch acts knocking around. 

What other sketch groups would you recommend? 

Sheeps, Gimp Fight, Oyster Eyes, Lady Garden, to name just a few.  There are loads! 

Who are your idols? 

We love the Marx brothers, and we love anything by Harry Hill or Reeves and Mortimer. Basically anyone who is very smart at being very silly. 

You've been going for a while now, how has your style changed and developed? 

Yeah it's funny really, sometimes you start to panic and think, “We've been going too long” – and then we look around at the people who are still going that we really admire and think, “Actually, we've only just started”. This will be our sixth Edinburgh show, which isn't actually that long a time at all. People like Munnery,  Vic and Bob, Stewart Lee; they just get funnier and funnier the more they do it.  We were interviewed by Arthur Smith the other day and he was saying how young and new we were. It put things into perspective! 

Where do your ideas come from?

They are always really small silly ideas that then grow and grow until they become something else. A few years ago we passed a Quaker church and Tom started singing about a scary Quaker and lo and behold, he became the villian in that years show. They always just pop out of nowhere normally. Whenever we're sat down scratching our heads and trying to come up with something it doesn't arrive. It's the silly little things that become important. 

A few of your recent sketches are inspired by—and use—modern technology. Are you technophiles or technophobes? 

Well, I'm a bit of a technophile, and hooked on Twitter (@pappystweet),  Ben prefers playing computer games to doing work and Tom is a bit technologically retarded. It's that unhappy combination that leads to many squabbles and mickey-taking. Maybe that's why it often crops up in our shows. 

In a recent preview, The Guardian said of Pappy’s: “The trio have yet to find the perfect TV vehicle to suit their talents… “  

The perfect vehicle for us is a cross between Vic Reeves Big Night Out, Fantasy Football League, Fist Of Fun and the American TV show Mr Show – oh, and Python of course. So that'd be nice, if someone could sort that out. 

What does live comedy offer that TV and film can’t and, similarly, what do podcasts offer that the others don’t?

Well, podcasts are the medium we work in most when we're not performing live so it's worth talking about that more. We've got two: Pappy's Bangers and Mash and Flatshare SlamDown. Podcasts are great for comedy because by their very nature they are DIY. Anyone can podcast, in the same way that anyone can get out there and start performing comedy. You don’t need to go through any production companies or budgets. Also because they are free and your audience have to download them to listen to them there is a kind of intimacy between the listener and the podcaster. People respond and interact. They seem to feel a real part of it.

Is this your last Fringe? If so, why? And if not, why not? And if wait and see then, can you tell us what it all hangs on?

This is going to be our Last Show Ever. Unless we do another one, and then we'll have to retrospectively change the name of this show...