Mike Bubbins’ new stand up show ‘Retrosexual Male’ will be at the Assembly George Square 4 for the month of August.

1 Tell us about your Fringe show

My show is called Mike Bubbins: Retrosexual Male, and it’s on at the Assembly Rooms, Venue 17, at 6.30pm, August 2nd to the 27th.

Its about being a fish out of water, I suppose. I have a very healthy interest (my wife calls it a worrying obsession) with the 1970s. I love everything about the1970s; the music, the cars, the fashion, the TV, the moustaches, the lot really. Obviously not including the widespread sexism and racism.

So I love ALMOST everything about the 1970s. But the show is about today, the world we’re in right now. If it was about the 1970s I’d alienate everyone under 40. I’m not about to do that. I want to alienate everyone, regardless of age. If you’re younger the show will entertain and inform. If you’re older it will entertain and bathe you in nostalgia. Either way, it will make you laugh. I suppose I’m looking at things now and asking ‘Where’s the progress?’ Are you going to tell me a Ford Focus is better than a Ford Cortina? Is reality TV better than Starsky and Hutch? Is a lemon sorbet better than pink or blue favoured Angel Delight? Is an iPhone better than a payphone? Okay, the last example wasn’t a brilliant one. But you get the idea. And when it stop being okay for a man to be a man? To be well groomed, with a twinkle in his eye, and smelling richly of pine forests? Get real.

2 Best thing about the Fringe?

The best thing about the Fringe for me is the chance to spend quality time with a lot of my friends, to see their shows, laugh, drink, and generally enjoy myself. It’s also a chance to take a punt on seeing the shows of people I might not have heard of, which s always a good thing. (Code: You haven’t heard of me, but come and see my show)

3 Worst thing about the Fringe?

The worst thing about the Fringe is the bubble. People desperate to get their shows reviewed, then walking around beside themselves when the know they’re going to have reviewers in, then panicking afterwards that they’re going to get a bad review. It’s easy to forget, because you’re surrounded by comics, comedy agents, reviewers, etc. that the world will keep on spinning regardless of whether the Highland Gazette gave you one star and thinks you’ve committed career suicide. (If the Highland Gazette is a real publication no offence was meant. Please give me a nice review)

4 How many years have you been coming to the Fringe?

I’ve been coming to Edinburgh since 1986, because we have family and friends in North Berwick (I swam in the outside pool there. It was anything but fun), but I first came to the Fringe in 2008 when I got to the semi-finals of So You Think You’re Funny.

It was all bit weird, because the heat was, I think, my fourth gig, but I stayed up for a  few days afterwards as a punter, and really enjoyed it. I came again in 2009, but my wife gave birth to our little boy, now not so little, in the November of that year, and our daughter arrived in August 2012, so this is my first time back since 2009. 

5 Favourite Fringe venue?

I’d have to say that The Assembly Rooms is my favourite Fringe venue. 

6 Best Fringe memory?

My best Fringe memory was in 2009. I was in a venue called the GRV which was being run that year by a promoter with a very laid back attitude to promotion in general, and flyering and putting up posters, in particular.

On a rainy Tuesday in the second week my prime 1.40pm slot was quieter than usual. And it had been VERY quiet. One punter. One. I couldn’t take his money. It wouldn’t be right. I told them to refund his money and I’d meet him in the bar for a drink and share some anecdotes, free of charge. When I’d got downstairs, he’d left. 

7 Best heckle?

My best heckle happened about six months at a Glee Club. Some bright spark clocked my moustache and started yelling out ‘Oi! Ron Paul! Ron Paul!’ after about the sixth time I asked if he meant Ron Jeremy the porn star. He replied ‘Oh s**t. Yes. Sorry, that’s him’ So I essentially had to heckle myself.

8 Craziest on stage experience? 

I used to compere a regular monthly night in the Welsh valleys, and one Christmas one of the regulars gave me a hand-knitted willy warmer, in the middle of the gig. Obviously a lot of time and effort had gone into it, but it was ambitiously large. I didn’t want to appear ungrateful, so I wore it, and only it, on stage to bring on the last act. He walked up to the microphone, shook my hand, deadpan, and didn’t even reference it. Lovely.

9 How do you wind down after a show?

If I can get back to my wife and the kids, I always do so, which means I’ve usual got to drive for an hour or two after a show, to get home. When I get home my body is a weird mix of caffeine, fatigue and adrenaline. I usually for myself a nice glass of Scotch and watch an episode of The Rockford Files in my bar. (I built a bar in my house, and it is the absolute business)

10 What do you love about Scotland?

As mentioned, i’ve been going to Scotland since I was a kid. I love the people, they’re funny and love a mickey take. The pubs are amazing, I love scotch, so it’s a bit of a treat to find places that have unusual malts and blends.

11 What do you like about Edinburgh?

I love rugby, so I come up to Murrayfield to watch the Wales games. Last time I came up for the match I ended up getting the last train back to North Berwick, and getting the whole carriage to sing Elvis songs with me. (What’s that? Was I a finalist in the European Elvis Championships? Why, yes I was. Thanks for asking). Lastly, I have’t got to see too much of the countryside, aside from playing some spectacular golf courses, but the architecture in Edinburgh is breathtaking. I honestly think it’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

12 Favourite Scottish food/drink?

My favourite Scottish drink is a nice malt, not too old, 12 years should be perfect, with a splash of water. I can tell you what my favourite Scottish food isn’t, haggis, neeps and tatties. Terrible stuff, although maybe I should go somewhere that does it properly. I like a nice piece of Aberdeen Angus beef. Perfect. You know where you are with a steak. Unless you’re a vegetarian, I think if you eat out and don’t have the steak, when that’s an option, there is something fundamentally wrong with you as a person. I don’t think Burt Reynolds is having the Halibut. Always ask yourself ‘What would Burt Reynolds do?’ And that works in any scenario.

13 Sum up your show in three words

Retro. Sexual. Funny.

Mike Bubbins’s new stand up show ‘Retrosexual Male’ will be at the Assembly George Square 4 for the month of August for tickets go to www.edfringe.com