The last time comedy songwriter Mitch Benn played the City Varieties it almost ended in total disaster.
“Our car broke down so we had to get a cab which cost us hundreds, but bizarrely I could do it in cash from our merchandise as I hadn’t been to the bank since our last gig,” Mitch recalls.
“We haven’t played the Varieties since the renovations and I’m hoping they have kept the Edwardian music hall feel of it.”
Mitch returns tonight with his multi-talented band The Distractions promising a night of musical mayhem and mirth.
“It’s a two hour show covering all the musical bases which I love and one of things I like about the Distractions is we don’t play our songs the same way twice.
“Off my the top of my head I love Iron Maiden, but even they must get up some mornings and think we’re playing Iron Maiden songs again, so one of things that’s great about my band is we play every kind sort of music.”
The Times once described Mitch as ‘the country’s leading musical satirist’ but in 2009 he broke out of the cult category with his defence of public broadcasting I’m Proud of the BBC. The single went crazy online clocking up a massive 150,000 YouTube views, and shooting up to number 11 on the Official Independent singles chart.
“I wrote it because it was my on my mind, and something that mattered to me, and that got me thinking that I should maybe I should write from the heart more often. There’s a song on the new album called Libraries which is about how cutting them is a particularly mean spirited way to go.
“People often say it must be great for satirical comics when everything is going to crap, but I can only repeat what John Stewart says to the same question, ‘are you out your mind?’
“I’ve got to live the same world as everyone else bringing up my two kids, so no, I don’t like it when everything is going to crap just so it makes easier to write gags.”
Punters had also better come armed with some ideas because one of Mitch’s party pieces is a unique songwriting challenge.
“One of the things we do is wrote a song at half time after I’ve asked the audience for some ideas, and that tends to very topical as obviously I have no idea what they are going to suggest.
“I’ve never yet failed to come up with anything, and every now and again you write something at half time that becomes part of your show. There was one sing a couple of years that got on an album called Size Zero about skinny models that was written in those exact circumstances.
“I know I won’t have a problem getting ideas from the Leeds audience as it is one of my favourite cities. If you asked anyone in the country to name which city was happy and prosperous they wouldn’t say Leeds, but every time I play there I’m struck by the fact it is exactly that so I’m looking to coming back.”
* Tickets are available from Leeds City Varieties on 0113 243 0808.