At A time when most of us are still sound asleep, Des Clarke is already up and planning for the day ahead.
The Glaswegian rises at 4.30 a.m. on the dot, five days a week, to present the breakfast show on radio station Capital FM.
That routine would be tiring by itself – but Des is also a popular stand-up comedian – and will often have played a show the night before.
But a lack of sleep will never deter Des from pursuing his first love, something that he’s been doing since the age of 19.
“I’ll never turn down a comedy gig,” he says.
“I’ve just got to try to be sensible.
‘‘As long as I can get a couple of hours sleep I’ll be fine – the adrenaline will get me through.
“I love doing the breakfast show. It was through doing comedy that I got my first DJ job.
‘‘A producer saw me and said afterwards, ‘You’ve got the ability to talk nonsense and ad-lib - do you fancy trying radio?’.”
The job does have its benefits. Des was recently part of the relay team that carried the Olympic Torch through Glasgow city centre – in George Square, no less.
“I was handed the torch by James McAvoy, who was before me in the relay.
‘‘It was a surreal moment. I thought to myself, ‘I’m standing wearing a white tracksuit in the middle of Glasgow, carrying a flaming bit of metal – this is just like my teenage years!”
The 31-year-old will be performing his brand new show ‘Final Destination’ at Grangemouth Town Hall on Sunday, July 22, as part of the third annual Funny in Falkirk festival.
He says it will give him the chance to try out some new material before his annual residency at the Edinburgh Fringe.
“Basically, the audience will tell me what works and what doesn’t,’’ he said. ‘‘So there’s no pressure, Grangemouth.
“The show is about journeys. I can’t drive, so I take a lot of public transport and you always meet some characters along the way.
“What I love about Glasgow is that you get patter from people all the time.
‘‘If you step off a plane at the airport you’ll get patter in the shops, in the taxi, right up to your front door.”
Comments