This is the BBC. The my castaway this week Is the comedian Jimmy Carr, his default approach to life is swim. Against the tide in an era of relentlessly Observational comedy he tells tightly crafted jokes with proper punchlines at a time when who decent trainers of standard fashion issue, he favours the spoke several row tailoring and as the modern media increasingly preoccupies itself toeing around the sensibilities of society. He positively revels.

in the inappropriate, with his gigs punctuated, not just by audience laughter but sharp intakes of breath to his work ethic extraordinary around two hundred and fifty live gigs a year plus a lot of tv comedy came into his life ass, Catholicism exited, the Son of irish immigrants. He was brought up in Berkshire going on to study at Cambridge, but by his mid twenties, he'd expedients something of an early mid life crisis suing in his mind, hitting job shell and giving up on religion too. He is clearly a thinker but says There is no lesson to be learned from my shows. No takeaway aha moment. I'm trying to release endorphins by making people laugh. Not sending any message and I'm not running for office, so welcome Jimmy commenting stand up, no ferment, but what's wrong, you look. That's alright introduction! I don't

like I need to be have just paper, songs and I'll go. That's everything right. You ve been doing stand up for fifteen years now. You're tourists have names like beer, faced ambition, charm, offensive, gag reflex, repeat offenders, and yet you gonna call. I think you say there's no message to me. The message seems to be free. Speech is important. I dont think getting something. I've got quite dark sense of humour like their age. You jokes: will there be seen as being a taboo turn to some? You find your audience, so they come to the aid of the show. You know, I'm not shouting. These jokes through people's letter boxes ever come to see the shuttle they literally buying into you know when the taken out of context and report paper. Then there's a big media storm and you can't go all right. The burden of everyone in that room laughed because it was so there's something of the consent she'll activity, your gig, it's like we're all here. We all know what we're here for yes of use. only on never defend a joke, because it's a joke, it's not a statement.

It bug you then, when, as as does happen, I mean relatively often that that the press will take something that you have said as a gig and go to the group of people at whom it includes those people might be an PTSD. Those people might be people involved in rate crisis centre and say what do you think of what Jimmy Car set? Does that buggy? When that happens? Not not so much if you believe in free speech, if you think I got the right to say that when they ve got the right before it's just because they're offended doesn't make them right, part of reason, debate. No one should be making drawing a line and saying well, that's: okay, and that isn't: okay, it should be reasoned debate and if they are upset by it, so be it because no one remembers the jokes. the thing about offensive. Is people talk about why it's an offensive joke or I was offended by that nigga or the people that come see? My show aren't offended because they don't remember why I said no one ever remembers what you said. I remember how you make them feel and at the end of two, as they feel quite joyful and Gideon they beat as he accomplished when they laugh the laugh at all the jokes. It is that thing of being you that

if the dealer and the drug ideal in is already on them. It's releasing the endorphin, that's already in there and that's and laughter such a social thing. It's part of who we are. It predates languages, it's an amazing to gift, and so who is your sounding board for the material or the audience? I constantly have a file on my phone. I'm constantly I'll, be halfway through dinner, going right, of course, just write down. I've had a half an idea of something, and is that thing have I never edit when I'm trying to be creative, always right, never refused the muse, as the line is that you you just if you think anything might be funny, write it down. Let's hear your first one, then what what are we going to hear Kenya West stronger? It's just so positive. I don't think there's any other gift in life as good as having a positive disposition being a happy person, and it hasn't always been that way, but I'm a very happy person. I don't know what he's talking about.

If the time can you must, but he's just gonna wonderfully outback excited That's a long. I've been them all yeah, the major You put him up.

was Kanye West and stronger. Let's go back Jimmy Carter. Song has never been introduced in that voice. Before would you like me to do it that was Kanye, west and strong? I mean it wouldn't be, who I am. I am the summer of twenty twelve you'll. Remember, of course you would embroiled in a big tax scandal. This was front page stuff. Even the the Prime Minister, David Cameron, made a statement on it and you taken part in this tax avoidance scheme. It wasn't illegal, but by many people's estimation it was immoral. You didn't make a joke out of at the time which was interesting to me. You apologized you apologized quickly and succinctly. You said you were apologizing for your your lack of judgment in getting involved in it. yeah. No, that's exactly what I said if the Prime Minister of the country that you live in breaks off from the G twenty summit in Mexico he's in a meeting with a ninety most important people in the world and he comes out and makes a press statement about your tax affairs that is going to need dealing with right now, you are a man

doubtless has a team. I mean you know: you'll have a manager, I guess you have an agent's office. You may be have somebody who deals with your publicity when I read the statement at the time it sounded like you'd written it or wrote the statement and I think you've got like you didn't get advice from anyone. I got advice from friends, but I mean most of the advice. Was you just keep quiet? This will go away in a couple of days, but as soon as the Prime Minister comments on something like that, you gotta get out in front of it and also you need to own it. Sometimes when footballers are involved in these things, what kind of go, what he probably didn't know what was going on and he got a vice at any anymore MA's buying that line with. May I think people thought he, but we knew it was doing yes goes there,

but he's the guy who passes comment. Who is articulate- and I said I said in the statement you know if someone comes to you and says: look you want to pay less taxes, totally legal. You can do this thing and if it ever comes up, you just have to pay them. You can yeah find great in the end you make good you, you have to go back and say right I'll pay. Every penny of tax. I have wrote. What did you learn about yourself from that? I think the greatest thing it taught me was when you have a friend in trouble call. That was the big lesson. If you have a friend in there in the paper or they're having a problem with something and you don't know what to say or someone's just died or someone's been diagnosed with something called them, but quite a lot of people call again and again and every day for a couple of weeks, just to check in you, alright, UK you do you do them with that when you're in the middle of that law. Oh, could this be a career ender? Could this be something where

was involved in a thing and now he's not on tv anymore. Now he doesn't sell tickets anymore. You anticipated my next question, which was you know. You are somebody who who has worked incredibly hard to get to where you are. You seem to enjoy your work. Very. Very much was that the worst thing that could have happened, that that would have ended career? And I guess I mean with something like that? That's what that's the worst case scenario. So many you know even worst case scenario. I've had a pretty good run, I mean in you know in showbiz terms, when you arrive it's very exciting because fame as a as a comic. I think it's all about trajectory it, like it it's. How famous are you now compared to where you were last year than I've been at the same level? For probably twelve years now I am very lucky to have a long, sustained career in showbiz, so it's going to disappear at some point. Some music Jimmy Carr tell me about the second one. What are we going to hear either stone roses? I am the resurrection because

because that's the album that came out when I was sort of leaving school in a friend's got cars. We could borrow a parent's car, you could drive round and be free and that's the soundtrack to those years. The that to me reminds me of getting through school and the freedom of kind of light rail of that now and we kind of felt like many grownups, the the stone roses,

and I am the resurrection I feel very self. Conscious know. When I'm back announcing these pieces of music Jimmy Carr, I feel he really lovely you were born in nineteen. into to the middle son of three boys born to Nora and Jim Carr. How much humor was there in the home growing up? My mom was incredibly fun. Was she I mean really genuinely a very funny person and not in the way that I am funny with jokes. I mean just funny bones: can you give me a flavour of her? I think it's fair to say she swore a lot like a sailor, unlike the stock phrases of light, if you ever paid her a compliment, if you have Sarah, you look while she kinda like a whore, a christening. Ok, I offer you a nice and she was just like you. We gonna lit up a room. She was her larger than life irish lady to a beautiful voice and and really shoes extraordinary. Obviously it's your mom and you think she special, but lots of my friends were friends with my mom

Quite apart from me, I remember coming home from university and my friends who have Jordan, Jost B round having tea with Mama, go on what you did was just hanging around. Did you have charisma yeah like a like a ton of charisma and they were from which Europeans did you go back there much? I go back there now and unto you and I go back to Ireland a lot and play a lot of gigs over there. I'm quite proud of our I've got an irish passport and you know when I was growing up. I was very aware of being in an immigrant family, though so late, seventies and the bombings. The time of the bombings in London was a written really clearly Remember an instant of someone so saying something racist to my mom, a unease agent. with some IRA bombing or something- and someone said something very negative to my moments of feeling like. Are we not like everyone else? I met? On the one hand, that's you know a negative thing. On the other hand, it makes you feel very special and a catholic family.

Where was Catholicism and in the family, men were you very mum, was very religious would go on a Sunday, but not every Sunday, but it was around and- and I believed in the magic, but I believed, were you: were you an intense little boy yeah? I think so. I think I was little but yeah it's an odd thing. You can't really change people's perceptions of who you are and am aware of how I come across now on how I appear right. It's it's weird when I look back at my childhood and you know that that song, representing kind of leaving school school was not easy for me. I couldn't read until I was about to return eleven with any level of ability. I mean I just I just

and I was so fearful of getting up in front of the class and reading something out. I think the perception would be always very easy for him and the quick thing in an interview and even in intros how he went to Cambridge Hugo, yet the struggle to get there, though, and tell me that your next piece of music are going to hear your third. This is Paul Simon, the obvious child, and I used to go to the Slough record center. Every Monday, with my mum and will buy records together, was on the farm road in slough. You could see the Mars factory from there and the whole world smell of chocolate. When I was growing up, we would go and buy records and then we'd take them home and we would play them and dance around the living room. And it was a real kind of ritual of kind of going right. What we can again, I really really remember in our house game- is somehow an and we Even now, when I dance there's a real family dance, we have a weird little groove, shuffle thing that my mom used to do the Annette backs exactly how I dance now you must make

it's kind tearful to fix, but it's the same move. I don't remember dancing around the living room to this and being Happy Sundays cities, Miranda. That was Simon and the obvious trouble the obvious question caught you, the class so the cliche goes that it all begins in school with comedians and that they win people round by making jokes in class. Were you that little boy- and I don't think so? I think if my school friends were listening to this,

I don't think they would think. Oh, he was much funnier than everyone else. You said to me a moment ago I was ten or eleven before I could read a book properly and most people would say well, you know I was a dyslexic kid. You notably did not say that I've been diagnosed as having Dyslexia, but I sort of think you get to choose your narrative in life. You get to pick what you say and how you say it and you can define yourself by things. You can be the kid who, I have Dyslexia or you can be the kid that went to Cambridge, but you can also be books. You can be, which is a rather remarkable base of your tail, which is the kid who had Dyslexia, who got flings added while it was ridiculous to go bye bye. About my edibles already a bullet. My mother would be so proud, but we're kind of working This thing I mean, as you say, you knew I said in the introduction. It's my law and you said there will you know people say my life centers, so easy, no brought up in Berkshire went to Cambridge where there's nothing about it. That seems easy to me. If you were somebody who couldn't read a book until they were ten,

I suppose it makes you sort of think early on. I can sort of do stuff, I think, saw the great gift. Was I moved schools when I was sixteen and I think you become a prisoner of the past as a teenager? It's very difficult to kind of rewrite the book, go well. I'm going to study hard now senior citizens untypical after it s totally arises It was another new boy in my class. I think we we both come from social schools that as good and we both candidates around when we could do really well. Here I met with two teachers that absolutely saw it. There was a guy called Mr Clinic ICO Mister file that went. Oh, you guys are really bright. You could do incredibly well and we went know what we think and off they went. then you'd find appointed Cambridge you. It was interesting that thing of myself believe it often does come from someone else going. You gonna be fine. Just do this, but such a pivotal thank as has more music to my car. It's time for you. Fourth, I was obsessed by music when I was a college and evil.

guitar and you sang in a band. We all have that kind of stuff and a really poor law records and the pixies were a band. That kind of carried me through, and I always thought that was just an incredible group emit this song. It's quite hard to it's where Kurt Cobain got the refer, smells like teen spirit and it for me. It just kind of reminds me of All my kind of college is

seize and you mass and again I'm guessing. I said that wrong. No, I mean that's what I say that was the pixies new magazine will be all the better at that level. There s an see, studied political science at Cambridge Warning. I did yeah social political sites. It was a bit like doing a general knowledge quizzes degree. What are you strongest memories? A few student days, I'm guessing Polly, not the studying, yeah, unlimited. Ok, I think we could have done a lot for better had worked. Little bit harder in the last year, but I mean you can busy right. So what were you busy doing because you were not having sex? No, not having sex with Gina or drinking fairly heavily year later, sex very late to say very later, will be twenty six. He lost her virginity anti six. I ain't ivy as this is not. How do I mean I read the analysis and thank you very much for that. I really appreciate and everything to do here and now as later. I quite like talking about that

I sort of think when I really remember being a teenager and thinking this, I'm not normal. I'm weird, I think, maybe the religion playing into it and not meeting the right person, not meeting the inner butter. You say you don't know what that was that that's. That seems odd to me. I think I was a little bit kind of repressed. You took your religion at it's word and now I don't think so. I think I would have been fine a slightly late developer. I think, with reading as well and am ok it's quite nice to talk about it on the radio because you sort feel like while some one will be listening or sixteen. Yes, hang on. What's happening, it's it's fine Sina! When was the beginning of the Dotes over Catholicism, it was probably at college. It started. I remember my friend Henry and I talking a lot about Darwin and then you get very interested in that, and so I think on that amazing. That's the the story of life and then you're with people that studying natural science at Cambridge to you or you go to a couple of lectures and you you sort of hear about it and you go on thus extraordinary and then that a little bit of doubt creeps in the final.

Girl was thinking about what everyone doesn't believe in most gods and just taking it one further, but thinking what? If I am right about this God, all the others are wrong, and that struck me as an incredibly arrogant viewpoint. So if I am right about this one, all these other guys are idiot. but it happened recently. It wasn't like in one conversation I was like. Yes, I went. Oh it's it is. The scales have fallen from my eyes in reverse, maybe this cows around and when it went there was a real sense of loss. He isn't gonna talk to priests,

He hadn't told her. I never just never told my mother never taught her mother. I think it would have broken her heart. I died. I couldn't have. The fact that it went just before she died was really cause that, and I really felt like when she'd left. It was all bats when I needed it. That's when it would have been really nice to think oh she's out there somewhere and no, and it made me want to work harder and kind of put more into life, because this is it and what you to you, then, when she died at twenty sixth, MS and some around, then you I mean I still find myself now doing things thinking all she'd like this. You I mean even being here today on Desert Island discs, she'd love that tell me about your next piece of music Jimmy Carr. What are we going to hear.

it's death cab for cutie. I will follow you into the dark. For me, it's kind of a an atheist him and you know I do miss the Singh Church, seven yeah when you lose your religion, you kind of look like all the best songs for hundreds of years, all about God when they're all about love now. But this to me feels like it's a it's kind of a nice thing to be an atheist. I think, because you become a humanist and you sort of think more webs of you know. Humans are incredible and you've got this one life and it's we're so privileged to be alive, and it's not going to last forever. You know, try and enjoy it, spend it with nice people and when it's over this scene, It's a beautiful sentiment, love of mine someday, you will die, but I'll be close behind the follow you into the dark,

the blinding or tunnels to gates why just our hands clasped so tight waiting for the others, if Heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied death cab for cutie. I will follow you into the dark and Jimmy Carter, and I'm so interested in so much of what you just told me and I'm very interested in this idea that you, you abandon the life and it's a life that the alot of people you'd worked hard enough to get there. You know, you got your degree, I'm sure in the Gilbert Shell was a big deal. I'm sure it's really pretty well rewarded job, I'm very keen on on quotes and as one I really like. The good is the enemy of the best and I had a really good life, but it didn't feel like it was all that I could be so the courage to take

all up the courage to say. I put my religion to one side. I'm gonna pursue this thing. That, by anybody's estimation, is a long saw. It seems like looking back now a terrifying decision to leave my job at the time of that. What I'm so miserable here I just want to get out, but you yourself have described as a sort of early mid life crisis. It's interesting. I like talking about being sad. I was sad at that stage yeah because I think the term depression is really it's overused, because people talk about being depressed when actually they're, sad, if it's circumstantial, you're, sad and there's much more stigma to being sad than being depressed, but being depressed is a real thing to chemical imbalance, the people that got her cut, it's always dismissed as August cheer up mate. I didn't suffer with with depression. I was lucky. I was just sad and if you are just sad, you can kind of you

do something about it. Can you tell me what was making he said? I was gonna board of my life, it's so simplistic on one level that I was sad and then I thought I know all cheer me up. Jokes. I want to believe that is the issue. It's almost a mean I went and did loads of therapy. I wasn't interested him why I was interested in what we do now. The fundamental question with all the therapy I did was what you want, and that strikes me as the most important question in life is: what do you want finding out how to get? It is comparatively easy, so you re programmed yourself to give you. So if I am programming myself a success nor even for success. Looking back now because of the way things have gone, a looks like I left my job to be on tv, presenting game shows Marcie company. But you know I left my job to go. One. I'm gonna go to calmly clubs and hang out, and success came very early, but success

interesting that success doesn't look like people think it looks. How does it look more success for me was the comedy store in Leicester Square and I was doing a twenty minute show and I got paid two hundred quit and then there were three shows that weekend and you could double it with a banana cabaret and Balam. I went right, fine, I'm absolutely fine and I'm making money off. My wits, I mean, quite literally, I just thought: well, it's it's actually fun. Everything else is gravy. Did you ever see suffered nerves or self doubt yeah, but most of the great line pressure is a privilege if you're dry heaving by the side of the tonight show sat down.

With four and a half minutes to make it in America units in Asia come on. Have you done that yeah? How did it go amazing to be clear? There's a dry heat. You were at the site the stage down one hundred percent yet, but you can easily lie to yourself and just go. Ok, I was really excited about that. Gig, remember how you couldn't eat for eight hours and you got sick. A lot of excited me it's time for more music. Jimmy Carr. Tell me about this balance. Sebastian. The boy with the arab strap is the song that best sums up. My Edinburgh experiences and I start doing comedy in London on the circuit I may not I heard about this thing called the Edinburgh Festival out was vaguely where university people going to Edinburgh in the summer and thinking, but it's not sunny go to France what doing me what you doing and weaponry ignorant, or that I may be added, listen to enough radio for growing up, but suddenly then discovered

and we're going up there for the first time in doing these new act, competitions and going all. This is oh, but like a paradise like an absolute paradise, I'm kind of out of it now, but those years would just incredible and this song it was just always around, and for me It really summed up the the balance.

Sebastian and the boy with the Arab strap up Jimmy Carr where's, the line that you will not cross. What would you not tell a joke, but I don't think there is a line. I think anything is fair game for comedy and anything yeah pretty pretty much yeah. I mean there's things in very specific locales that you cannot joke about, but everything else is kind of fine and it's how you do it it's about the intent. Is there a hypocrisy in that? Do you think you know if you think I'm in front of Liverpool Fan, so I won't tell we can imagine what the certain areas that would ever made. Incidentally, if it is a very interesting, as you mentioned, that the act as you ve absolutely hit the nail on the head, I would say the one thing that you could never joke, Mew K is, is Hillsboro. It's a tragedy. That's touched people in a very specific Why, and I cannot imagine anyone coming up with a joke about that if he were to go to Aberfan or if you were to go to

some blame? Those communities would have been touched equally by hung? Renders tragedies in you know among p, well that will close and well known to them. Why would those be different? I haven't sort of analyzed it in any great detail, but it does strike me that it's a very in a most things, heal with time to a degree and that hasn't you can joke about religion, and I do often- and you can joke about death- you can joke about murders and you can joke about disasters and, if comedy has any purpose other than the the obvious social it's remote. Tickling is what laughter is you know you're building a social group, but if, as he put it, you know, does help people cope with stuff and you know make it okay, let's have another piece of music. Tell me what we're going to hear not to have to kill us. Let's have that when you were young, it's a song that just really reminds me of being on the road. It was kind of my walk on music full of years. The opening eight bars of this is great. To walk on stage to Prosser was in the car

I was in a traveling up and down the motorway, and the lyric of it just seems to be about looking back when you were young and when you've ended up, and would you be happy with that, and I think I'm I'm. You know sound smug, but I'm really pleased the turn that I took to to do this with my life seems to be working: okay, yeah so heightened a way boy this baby, you for you, blame my german Watson,

when you are young, the killers Jimmy Car, I read that sir, you match your girlfriend. You been with handling for sixteen years. You met while you were additional. I was looking for a tv show propulsion very early on in my career. Ok and she was in charge. She was one of the one of the producers they shot and I read that afterwards he said to you, regions that you couldn't possibly work on the show, because you had found Caroline to attractive, and that would be to distract I'm I'm not a romantic die by now. What does she think of you? She literally rogue notes. So what you told us you so she wrote out, so we have the note of what you wrote. You said I was. I was a one note. Comedian are worthy eyes of a sex. Offender is what she wrote. She actually wrote that we still got it. She did not know. I knew and I met her and just thought this is just a just felt like it fell perfect. I did you went around them. I too, I think she only came out with me because

his or her boss, I now know she was reading my emails to her out loud to the office and going shall I go out with this girl and her boss went well as a free meal. I mean you know, you're, not making a fortune. Hereby a dinner seems nice enough. Does she come and watch your stand up ever she used to come? awful lot early on and do a lot of notes and it shouldn't come as much now. But then it's you know it's it's partly to do work with where I am in the cycle of the tour. So if I'm doing a new tour, she might come along and saucy. One of the preview shows- and you know what about that mobile she's always got kind of interesting notes and ideas on structure. Are you somebody who

and to always be working or do you think, is there an endgame when you say you know, when I've saved up enough money and I've I've bought the autumn going to stop know, I would. I would very much like to die with my boots with you. Yeah I've got no intention of stopping the Tommy Cooper. You want to be there even gonna, be onstage, and even a hundred percent candid here to think. If I wanted to stop and play golf, then I should have been a golfer. This is what I love doing. I love this life. You spoke of yourself at twenty five. Twenty six, that pivotal moment in your life

when everything was fine, but you didn't love it. You weren't present in it. You weren't, engaged in it and you seem somebody who is viscerally presence in their life. No, the first ten years. It was almost thinking about it like it was a football career and thinking look. I've got a little window here. I felt like so old. When I got into her, I felt like twenty six was so old, because people start when they're at college and I felt like I've got catch up. I never wanted to look back and think I didn't really work hard enough. I didn't really give that a go if it was going to fail I'd, I didn't mind as long as I put everything into it: how on earth are you going to cope on this island? No people to entertain and auditorium your girlfriend. The thing about being a stand up. Comic? Is it's training for Desert Island? I think I did thirty two countries last year and most of them you know travelling on my own, going there doing gigs you spend a lot of time on your own. You have to get good with your own company. I think it'd be alright. I mean in a than a week, obviously same as everyone else on this one.

But tell me about your eighth disc, Jimmy Carr. What are we going to hear? I think this is maybe the best pop record ever it's partly about having friends over and this being on and feeling like. Oh this, like a dance floor filler and I do my little dance, like my mom's dance and bounce around the kitchen having fun with friends, is partly about that and it's partly it's a love song and it's the kind of love that I've experienced. I think I've been very lucky that it's been fun. It's a really upbeat, love song and most love songs, especially on the show, are quite melancholic, there's a lot of ache and I'm not a big fan of the eight I'm a big fan of the fun joyous party. So this is your fiance, crazy in love.

Then something even more, and then you go to three times that the planet thing, but mainly to explain them applied by the no no no no

Well, that was beyond say, featuring Jeezy and crazy in love. You can sit down at any current suit. We give you some reading materials, you get the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare right. I mean on yeah, okay, the the other Bible. I really don't I mean we could start the fire. Could we could it it's yours? You may do what you will with it and you get to take one other one other book yeah one of the book. It's a very difficult question this, because if you take it at face value, it's not about your favorite book, because my favorite book I read so how frustrating would it be to get to the desert? Island and Hugo? Has one book brilliant thou pass a day and then Arbor this light. It would be Raymond Carver's. What we talk about we talk about. Love was favorite book, but wow. I don't think I would take that because I know it and it's great, but it's I read it. I would take the Oxford dictionary of quotations. Okay, that's yours. You're allowed a luxury too

a luxury. Now. This makes life more enjoyable, more bearable. It's got to be something that isn't too useful. I've got a strange relationship with coffee. I love coffee. I start drinking coffee very early in life. I used to get given a bottle of quite sweet coffee in my cart when he used to go for an afternoon rest, it's terrible parenting, but you know it was the seventies. It was a different era and there I would take a coffee machine. You may have that if you had to choose just one of these disks to save which one would it be, I think it would be the death cab for cutie. I will follow you into the dark. It's yours, become. Thank you very much for letting us hear your desert island discs company. We luck

The The the you you've been listening to a download from the BBC. we'll find more information on the radio four website, BBC Dot, CO, DOT, Uk Slash, radio, four,

This? Is the BBC.