Oldies, but goodies

Ronnie says it is strange that Barry only eats half a slice of toast in the morning. Barry says that the two are about to take a tour of the city on an open top bus, followed by a visit to the botanical gardens.

Barry may be 73 and Ronnie may have been a teenager in the 1960s, but these two veterans aren't on a retirement holiday.

They are comedians Ronnie Golden and Barry Cryer, and they have just finished performing their show, Unplugged, at the Edinburgh Fringe festival's top venue, The Pleasance Courtyard. Now they are just filling in time before playing at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre in Perthshire.

Being as old as most of the performers' grandparents at this world-famous festival did not prevent great reviews and a massive amount of support. This is the fourth year running the double act have taken their show up to the Highlands.

If you have ever spoken to a comedian before you will invariably find they have the utmost respect for their humorous forebearers.

Cryer, Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue stalwart, is very keen on the new wave of funny people despite earlier published comments that copious amounts of swearing in stand-up was boring.

"Every generation is funny," he said. "There are some brilliant people. I am a big fan of the surrealist Ross Noble. We were together this week as we recorded the radio show up here as part of the Fringe. He's superb. It doesn't matter when they were born. Funny is funny."

And the inimitable Cryer should know. He has written for British comedy's top alumni, including The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise, Les Dawson, Russ Abbott and Kenny Everett. His favourite was the latter.

"The only thing that has changed is that there were certain subjects you could never talk about," he said.

"That has loosened up a lot. Really it was not what you talked about, but how you put it. Almost any subject can be joked about, if you joke about it in the right way."

In this show, Cryer and Golden combine old-school acoustic music with jokes. The songs are the same, but the jokes in between differ.

When the show comes to artsdepot next week, Cryer says some of the jokes may be brought over from Edinburgh.

The pair met a few years ago. Cryer says that when he decided he wanted to combine comedy and music, he saw Golden and the answer was staring at him in the face.

Golden, a writer and musician, has lived in Tottenham, in a conservation area near Lordship Lane, for 25 years.

But he can definitely be claimed as a local talent. He used to live in a flat share in Ballord's Lane, Finchley, in the early Seventies, and he grew up in Enfield.

As a teenage guitarist he played for the likes of Tom Jones, Scott Walker and Engelbert Humperdinck, and after a brief period as a cult rock star in America with his band the Fabulous Poodles, he turned to comedy performing stand-up alongside Ben Elton and Alexei Sayle before they hit the big time, and appearing as Buddy Holly in early alternative comedy series, The Young Ones.

Golden now combines comedy with writing film music, theme tunes and playing with his bands the Fabulous Poodles and soul band Ronnie and the Rex.

"Combining jobs keeps me fresh for everything," he explained.

"One day I'll be churning out these angst-ridden blues songs and the next I'm having a laugh with Barry."

For his part, Cryer keeps his material new by getting inspired by everyday life.

"We don't like it to get stuck. We keep our brains open," said the OBE-winner, explaining that he gets material as he is walking about.

"I wrote a song about mobile phones, and how all I do with mine is talk. Everyone else takes pictures, makes films and plays games.

"That would ring a bell with a lot of people. Certainly of my generation. And it would also make younger people laugh at this older man who has never written a text message."

Despite being on the sort of shows which gives its participants licence to let rip, he has never actually been offended by any contestant during recordings of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, the comedy radio panel show, which he has done for 33 years.

He even complains he never gets heckled because people respect him too much.

He wishes he did because he notes that the standard of heckling has improved, remembering one incident at this year's festival when a audience member asked if the comedian was someone from the TV show Faking It, implying that he had only been doing it for a few weeks.

His non-starry attitude is probably what has kept him in the business for so long. And it extends to his home life, where he lives with Terry, his wife of 43 years, in Hatch End.

"It's still got a villagey feel," he said. "We know the vicar and the shopkeeper. If anyone gave me star treatment they would get a rough time from the others. I'm just another local."

* Unplugged is at artsdepot, Nether Street, North Finchley, on September 15, at 8pm. Tickets are £16 (£14 slips). Call the box office on 020 8369 5454.