Rod Woodward builds on TV success with debut comedy tour

Rod’s hope is the tour will build on the exposure which made him – finally, after 16 years in the business – an overnight success in December when he was invited to perform at the 2014 Royal Variety Performance in front of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Tragically it was the last time his dad, the eminent Welsh sports writer Karl Woodward, was to see him perform.

After a long illness, Karl died on Easter Sunday.

The tour now comes as a tribute in a way: Karl was crucial encouragement to Rod throughout his career.

“My dad got me interested in the business really through his interest in comedy.

“He was a sports writer and football writer on the national newspaper in Wales, and I always imagined I was going to have to get a proper job. But my dad and my grandfather in those early days were great champions of mine.

“In those early days, I was able to get a few gigs here and there, gigs when I was 18 and still wet behind the ears. It was almost like the kinds of places where you could go to fail so that you could learn how to do it.”

And so that encouragement continued right up to the end. Even from his hospital bed, Karl was still encouraging Rod to get out there and gig.

As Rod says, the point is that there are few shortcuts in comedy.

“The more experience you get, the more you get relaxed on stage and the more you find your own identity. It’s almost like a natural progression.”

As he says, going on stage, is like flicking a switch.

“I think my real-life persona is like a diluted version of my stage persona. I think that’s often the way with comics. You exaggerate what you are. Comics are not all split personalities like Tony Hancock or Tommy Cooper, people in real life who are nearly the opposite to what they are on the stage. I am much closer to who I really am. I think I am a bit more stable!”

A lot of Rod’s act draws on his Welsh rural village home of Machen: “I love it there. I wouldn’t swap it for anything. But for the purpose of the act, a little bit of dramatic licence obviously goes a long way.

“But actually they love it back home. It never ceases to amaze me.

“Obviously, you travel as a comedian, and I am forever coming across people who know Machen or who have had a meal in the local pub there. It is far more famous than I ever thought!”

Early in his career, Rod was likened by Peter Kay, who’d been watching him from the wings, to a young Dave Allen – a comment which was very much a compliment in Rod’s eyes.

“Dave Allen was one of the ones that really switched me on to comedy. He was so sophisticated, a real man about town. I loved the way he could be so laid-back and seemingly without energy – and then suddenly he would be firing on all cylinders.”

Rod’s television appearances include The Comedians (SKY), The Rush Hour (BBC Wales), A Bit Off The Fringe ( BBC2 Wales), and Am I Talking To You (BBC).

He has also supported the likes of Paddy McGuinness and Russell Brand on tour.

Tickets cost £18.50.

Call 01403 750220 or visit www.thecapitolhorsham.com.