Paul and Mark articel in Bent

[Laurenandë]

Debbie, seriously, how many times have you asked me where I work and I've replied: city newsagent. :p

We have about ten copies at the newsagency near the bus station (for obsessive Brisbane people, people). Not likely to run out. Suburban newsagencies will also have it but not nearly as many copies, and they often get bought up quickly. And it won't go back to distributors for another three weeks, so don't hurry or anything.

Becks - not in the first photo, they look greeny/brown. Methinks.

Nick - I agree. *pokes freaky freaky photo away*

[majordag]

Okay here are some better scans of the pictures

thanks for trying Munchkin

Click on pictures for the HUGE versions


















And about to start typing article...

[hellokitty]

*sniff* no working

[majordag]

Originally Posted by hellokitty

*sniff* no working

yeah I stuffed the links....work now though

[hellokitty]

fankies! purdy...

[debbie]

Originally Posted by Laurenandë

Debbie, seriously, how many times have you asked me where I work and I've replied: city newsagent. :p

We have about ten copies at the newsagency near the bus station (for obsessive Brisbane people, people).

Nick - I agree. *pokes freaky freaky photo away*

and how many times have I told you I'm retarded

I should know by now but I think I have a mental block where it comes to asking where people work.. either that or it's my one sure way to start a conversation

[unfrufru]

I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[majordag]

Originally Posted by unfrufru

I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you knew what?


oh and almost finished typing article....its hard to type when you fingers are blue from the cold

[unfrufru]

that he's a fudgepacker ROFL


my friend spent yesterday trying to convince me that paul was bi-sexual, hmmmm a thought to ponder long and hard over me thinks he he he

[hellokitty]

just because he appears in a gay mens magazine doesn't prove anything

:p

[crasyMonkey]

seriously loving the frills.... (yea i do mean it)

im so happy that i found a place that gives me my daily paul fix, and runs down my uni internet credit at the same time *smiles contently*

:dancingm:

[majordag]

In GUD maybe we trust...

Bent Magazine - 21/7/03

Contemporary social status has suffered in its general absence these days. Out political institutions are so entrenched that sharp-witted satirical songs are off the main stages, all but extinct except for the occasional episode of "The Simpsons'. In this mundane world of safe entertainment options, along with musicians Mick Moriarty (guitarist from The GadFlys) and keyboardist Cameron Bruce, Paul McDermott has put together a hilarous and electrifying show. 'GUD' is so Politically INcorrect that the smallest hint of anything PC is silenced faster than a single lesbian mother looking for child support benefits at a National Country Party Conference.

When Paul first walked into the Bent offices, he did so very quietly, carrying a suit bag and a backpack. Dressed in a floral print long-sleeved shirt under a old blue wollen jumper with red piping and a pair of baggy jeans, he didn't resemble the sartorially splendid star of television's 'Good News Week' or the doppelganger of Jack Nicholson in the stage show, 'The Witches of Eastwick'. He looked more like your average Sydneysider on his way to the corner shop to pick up a litre of milk. He politely shook everyone's hand and then made a few hesitant remarks about the impending photo shoot. Would this suit be all right? Did we want him to do anything in particular. The last question whispered with more than a little trepidation. (We get that a lot when people come into our office.)

Not since 'The Doug Anthony All Stars' (Paul's hard-core Cabaret trio of the 80s and 90s) and the golden days of Tom Lehrer have we heard songs like those in the current 'Gud' lineup. Taking its name from the sickeninly saccharine egotism on display at a recent Grammy Awards ("I'd like to thank Mah Gud for all his guidance and lerv"), 'Gud' in its new incarnation has come to save us from the big issues; the resurgence of hipsters on women who shouldn't wear them, (that's 99.8% of the population, source GUD statistics) and a general humanitarian mantra for the modern developed world - "Fuck the poor!" Audience reaction at the show is interesting in itself. There are looks of embarrassment, bewilderment and downright confusion as people try to work out whether it's safe to laugh withhout being included in a libel suit. The "Fuck the Poor" lyric is as Paul says himself, "What I'm about politically. If you listen to the lyrics, you'll know how I feel. The poor do get fucked. It's what politics is about now."

While the delivery and subtle-as-dogs-balls social commentary certainly summons a few of Doug's demons for those where once disciples, Paul's enthusiasm for 'Gud' as a new entity is evident. "It's a new outfit. All the material is new. We did a first outing at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. That one was more about family stuff. THis one is more about business. The show we did at Sydney Uni (introducing 'Gud' in March 2002) was a disaster though." Here Liz sighs with the sadness of a long time fan not used to disappointment, "I never thought that I'd ever hear you booed off stage!" "Well, you have to occassionally bring yourself to a halt to get something new" Paul explains. "Mick and Cameron hadn't done the show before. It was new to them. I'm perhaps not the world's best communicator and they didn't know what to expect. It was so bad that before the last song, Cameron just bolted off the keyboard right off the stage. I think though that they were essentially a kind of stupid audience. They were mostly first year students. The sex stuff went over their heads. We sang about Ivan Milat. They didn't get it. The song was done in a contemporary Aussie Bush ballad style. If Chopper Read and other well known criminals could be glorified in that way, why not Ivan Milat?"

Also a big part of the fateful 'Gud' debut was some songs about September 11, jokes that only months after the event probably didn't win too many hearts. Tom points out that Joan Rivers was successfully telling jokes about the Twin Towers shortly after their fall as well, something that sets Paul off. "Well, in Melbourne some people were laughing on one side of the stage and on the other side some people were crying. It's not something you expect at a comedy show." Similar to Andew Denton's comments in Bent a couple of issues ago, Paul highlights the link between the two extremes of audience reaction, that which he summaries as "the old idea that comedy is just tragedy over time."

Raised as a good Catholic boy in our Nation's Capital, Paul's vocals are captivating when used for both evil (in his own songs) and good (as in covers such as "Throw your arms aroung me"). Has he ever had a lesson? "No, I just picked it up. I always used to sing, in the back of buses primarily, in Canberra. Of course, being at Mass was an incredibly freeing time because it was the only place where you could really crank out a tune." So, when will we hear a funny song about George Pell

"Well, we're doing one now sort of. There were a lot of songs in the catalogue that are a little too heavy. We make a lot of jokes about alter boys of course."

With the memories of "Fuck the Poor" (which includes lyrics such as "Feed the children...to priests") still fresh in our minds, the idea of anything being 'too heavy' for 'Gud' seems a little unlikely. Paul smiles as we get to the point. "Yeah, I'm actually amazed that it gets the reaction that it does. People just sit there and they're just horrified. I mean let's face it, it's been happening for so long. But we don't feel that this show is going overboard at all. Now, taking risks...(he camps it up here), that would be interesting. No, the first time we did that song, Cameron said, 'No, we can't do that. It's too confronting.' But I said no, no let's try it and see. Well, the first time, no one clapped. They just sat there.

The interview is interrupted here with Paul changing his clothes and getting into his 'Gud' suit. We're a captured audience of two and we couldn't possibly look away. (Something we surely owe to the thousands of young men, women and others who have lusted over him during his years on Oz TV). Despite Liz's warnings about hidden Bent cameras, Paul carries on. "I don't think any of us should be embarrassed about this. With the 'Allstars' I never used to wash my shirts" he laughs. "No, with the 'Allstars' I never washed them and I used to have shirts that would fall apart and I'd have to use safety pins to hold them together. It wasn't a fashion statement. It was like...if you can see them, you can smell them. The stories of people coming into our dressing room are legend. They'd come in and leave feeling incredibly nauseous. The other aspect of course is that the putrid sweat would rot the fabric and we used to have buttons falling off all the time, and I could never wash them." Frustrated as he realises the 'Gud' shirt is now missing a button, Paul launches into full prima donna mode.

"THINGS JUST AREN'T MADE THE WAY THEY USED TO BE. DAMN! AND SOMEBODY HAS DONE SOMETHING TO MY CUMMERBUND!"

After fiddling and finally adjusting his bright red stage prop (yes, it actually was a cummerbund, what were you thinking you sick bastard...?), Paul walks over for the shoot. Mugging for the camera, he keeps talking about life after the 'Allstars' and their demise. After the break-up, which Paul attributes mockingly to the others "stealing all my work", he talks about having a break. "I went to England then and took some time off. I worked there for a while, did some one-off shows and then after about a year I came back to Australia." Taking a year or so before starting as host of Good News Week (then on the ABC), Paul talks about returning to a real passion, his painting. Would we have seen any of his work? "No. I did some backdrops for the previous shows but you wouldn't see any of that stuff. I work with acrylics mostly. I'd like to work in oils but that's quite a skill that I don't have just now. I like drawing and working with enamels too."

Having attended Art School in Canberra in the 80s, Paul's talents have most recently surfaced in the form of children's stories. Inspired by the likes of the Brothers Grimm, his first book, The Scree, was released in 2001 and is dark but often macabrely funny. With a twinlle in his eye he informs us of this interst. "I like the reality stuff. YOU KNOW THAT IN CINDERALLA HER WICKED STEPSISTERS ACTUALLY CUT OFF HER HEEL AND ANOTHER SISTER CUT OFF HER TOES WHICH WAS WHY SHEE WORE GLASS SLIPPERS SO THE BLOOD COULD CLOT AND WOULDN'T RUN OUT. Those stories were quite violent. Certainly with faiy tales they were tied deeply into pagan myths and beliefs. These super-human beings were created like freaks of nature which I think have their place in progressive story telling. This has been around for eons."

Shoot finished and lube removed (we had smeared his face with lubricant). Paul chats easily about work acquaintances. Highlights include TV appearances with Tasmanian author Margaret Scott on Good News Week, Radio with Angela Catterns (when she hosted Drive on Triple J in the mid 90s), and of course his own time co-hosting the breakfast show on Triple J with Mikey Robins and The Sandman. Requiring him to face the morning after the night before on more than one occassion, it seems to be an experience he enjoyed, but may not put himself through again in a hurry.

Still drawing, painting and writing as well as singing, Paul is also working on a new project. "I'm also doing a short film now too, a film of the Scree. I'd like to get that into the are house theatre for kids." Would he want to return to the U.K. and work or live there again? "No. I'll work there but wouldn't live there again. The food's too bad", he says cheekily. Although passionate and happy to talk about his work, in more casual conversation Paul seems shy in the way that so many performers do when off stage. Clearly very private about his personal like, we got the impression that we wouldn't get 'Paul's Personal Sex Tips' from this interview. He may talk about other people doing it but he wouldn't talk about his own experiences. Not that he's a prude. When his face was covered in lubricant for a particular photograph we wanted, he muttered something about being 'done up like a cunt.' We were tempted to put a condom on his head but he demurred. Still, it was good to know that even Paul McDermott has limites. Or so he claims.

'Gud will soon be playing in a theatre near you before going to Edinburgh as a part of the Fringe Festival. Hallowed by thy name.


[edited bit] these captions were next to the photos

IN THE BEGINNING.....

The Doug Anthony Allstars can generally be held responsible for Paul McDermott's (res) erection, and ascension into the Australia and International comedy scene. As well as Paul, performers Tim Ferguson and Richard Fidler toured OZ and the world with their dirty ditties about sex, violence, bestiality, necrophilia and dead celebrities. Since their demise in 1995, the boys have done their seperate ways, with Fidler now Editorial Manager of Comedy at the ABC, while Ferguson left comedy all together so as to work on "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush" and "World's Wackiest something-or-others". Here are some choice moments from their time as the holy trinity:

*Armed with the ability to spot a lazy journalist at 10 paces, the Allstars managed to convince a Major British paper that their namesake was the famous Australian Prime Minister who was assassinated in the late 70s. Similarly, in the early 90's they told a prominent Sydney paper that they would be starring in Batman 2 with Jack Nicholson. As a testimony to the integrity of both publications, these stories were printed without question.

*Allstar's audiences were lead out into the streets by the boys as part of the performance. Legend has it a common practice was to ask one person to hall a cab, and when successful the rest of the crowd would circle also trying to get in.

*As part of "The Money or The Gun" on ABC TV, the boys covered "Stairway to Heaven" with Barry Crocker. In one of their last concerts in Sydney he popped up again, something the Allstars treasured. As they told the audience on the night, "You are in the same room as Barry Crocker - nothing can ever change that, no one can ever take that away from you."

[Beckslee]

Originally Posted by Spoofy

With the memories of "Fuck the Poor" (which includes lyrics such as "Feed the children...to priests") still fresh in our minds, the idea of anything being 'too heavy' for 'Gud' seems a little unlikely.

well someone has their songs a little mixed up

[hellokitty]

thanking you!

[Rock Angel]

I bought the mag at lunch

The man who sold it to me took waaaaaaaaaay too long to find the price tag cleary stuck in the usual top space. I think he liked the pic *g*

Though for a second i also thought he wasn't going to sell it to me because i wasn't a gay man so.... *shrugs*