Ian Stone promises comedy night with the wow factor
Paul Coates
Comedian Ian Stone will be Looking for the Wow when he comes to Farnham and Bordon in May.
But anyone fearing a melancholy evening will be surprised, for the title of Ian’s tour is misleading!
Asked what happened to his wow, Ian said: “I’ve never lost the wow, I’m just looking for more of it!” Amused by the question, he added: “I’m not joking, but this is going in the show!”
Ian is an Arsenal fan. Do you still get the wow factor from football, I asked him: “Of course I do! It’s just the noise, the occasion. It’s the closest I get to a religious experience.”
Last month Ian travelled to watch his team beat Portsmouth 4-1 in the FA Cup. He said: “I enjoyed going to Fratton Park. I really like the atmosphere, the noise and people being so close. I got the middle finger from a six-year-old all afternoon. I loved it!”
The biggest wow moment for an Arsenal fan came on Friday, May 26, 1989, when the Gunners dramatically ended their 18-year wait to win the First Division.
Long-time leaders Arsenal had been overhauled by Liverpool, but their meeting at Anfield was postponed after the Hillsborough disaster and became a title decider.
Arsenal needed a two-goal victory and Michael Thomas, who made his league debut on loan to Portsmouth, clinched a 2-0 win with a stoppage time strike.
Ian, 62, said: “I was at my friend Tracey’s house. I used to go round hers on Fridays to play cards. I was offered a ticket for the game but I turned it down because I wasn’t sure we’d get the result. I was watching it in the other room while my friends were playing cards, but it was a great night.”
Music is a big part of Ian’s life: “I was completely crazy about The Jam. I loved them and I wrote a book about it. Paul Weller was about the first adult I met who seemed to have his head screwed on. He was 20 and he was as angry as I was. I saw The Jam at The Music Machine in 1978. It was my first indoor gig. They mean a lot to me.
“Paul read my book and he said ‘I forgot how bad it was in the 70s’. I said ‘Can I use that on the cover?’ and he said ‘Yeah’. That was a ‘wow!’ moment.”
Ian promised his audiences a fun evening: “There’s lots of jokes, and some moaning too because I’m a man of a certain age. Art, football, live music that I love, life and death - the big stuff, the stuff that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, that’s what I want to talk about. Come to the show, you will have a good time. I’ve done this before! That’s the wow thing - exactly!”