He may be known to fans for sending up the vocal styles of such stars as Whitney Houston and Cher, yet even those who regularly follow Craig Hill may be unaware of the Scottish joker’s long-held musical ambitions.
This popular comedian returns to Dundee Rep tonight to deliver a set full of his familiar energy and cheek.
The show’s title, I Always Knew I Had It In Me!, suggests the tone of the double entendres that have also become his stock in trade.
A comedy-circuit veteran – this summer sees the livewire performer’s 23rd consecutive season at Edinburgh Fringe – he has claimed his spot as a figure happy to tease his audience.
As well as poking fun at attendees, out-and-proud Craig is also known for his vim.
The self-styled “kilty pleasure” regularly dances his way on stage in his trademark attire and uses his admirable vocals to roast stars better known in that field.
Ahead of this evening’s set at the Rep, Craig reveals Kylie Minogue and Shirley Bassey have recently appeared in his sights.
“I’ve always wondered why you can’t hear Shirley’s Welsh accent when she sings – but you can when I do it,” he laughs.
“And you’d be surprised how funny Kylie sounds in a broad Australian twang. She goes down a storm.”
While Craig’s singing ability have become an essential part of his comic armoury, in coming months we could well get to hear his own attempts at conquering the charts.
Goth, synth-pop and an Eagles cover band
In his youth, he joined a bewildering variety of groups before finding his way via stand-up.
At school, there was an unlikely Eagles covers band, before Craig explored his short-lived Goth side, inspired by outlandish eighties rockers Alien Sex Fiend.
Then he tried his hand playing synthesizer, before ending up with what the budding muso describes as “soulful pop music”, finding a like-minded musical partner to create with.
“Finally, this was where I always wanted to be,” the stand-up remembers. “That is what I thought I was going to do with my life when I was young. We wrote our own songs, but it didn’t work out.
“I bumped into the same guy at his fiftieth birthday do and we decided to start writing again. I’m really excited about doing something with it, because what’s the harm, you know?”
Not that Craig regrets for one moment the opportunity to make a success of comedy, he points out.
“It was always my passion to sing, but when you’re at drama college you train as an actor and when something comes along, you go with the path that’s working. So I think of comedy as an acting job that lasted.
“You don’t know you can do comedy ‘til you try. I included singing because you should always do something if you think you can do it and it gets a laugh.”
Dundee is ‘a fun city’ insists stand-up
Craig played the same venue last April, but remains keen to return to one of his favourite theatres.
He says: “It’s the way it’s designed; the curve at the front, the steep rake of the audience’s seats is beautiful. It doesn’t feel as big as it is and it may sound w****, but it creates an energy that works for comedy.
“Dundee’s always a riot. There are stories that I tell in London that happened there.”
Craig is especially fond of the time he noticed a guy that went to the toilet three times during his set, so the jester asked the man sat next to him – his brother – to divulge something embarrassing about his target.
“He said, ‘I can’t think of anything – oh, wait, he has a fetish for his wife dressing like a penguin.’ I fell about trying to work out how you’d know that!
“Now this guy has come back to my shows and shouted out, ‘That’s me!” That sums up the imagination and balls of the Dundonian audience.
“When the characters in the audience are so good they make it into your actual stand-up, you know you’ve got a fun city.”
Craig Hill will perform at Dundee Rep on May 26. For more information or to book ticket’s, visit the theatre’s website.
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