STACK December 2016 Issue No. 146

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34 DECEMBER 2016
DVD&BD
FEATURE
accompanying album. Aside from
the hilarious (and politically incorrect)
lyrics, the structure of the tracks
is very good. These are melodies
you'll be humming for hours after
you've listened to them. However,
Gervais emits his trademark chuckle when I ask
whether he’s a prolific songwriter.
“I don’t sit at home with a guitar on my lap
all day twiddling – I have the odd idea. These
songs were written over a few years. I wrote a
couple for The Office... I wrote Equality Street
for a Comic Relief sketch on the ten year
anniversary, and then I did a couple of gigs and
wrote a few more. Finally, I wrote some
more specifically for the film. So it
was quite gradual and organic.
“I suppose I’ve written
15 songs over 15 years,
so I certainly wouldn’t
say I’m prolific, but it’s
great fun doing them
and it had to be real,”
he continues. “The joke
isn’t that they are terrible
songs or comedy songs or
badly performed, the joke is
that it’s a middle-aged tampon
rep singing songs that he knows
nothing about. He believes in them, and
that’s what’s funny. He believes he’s helping the
Native Americans; he believes he’s sorting out
the prejudice to the disabled.”
Watching Brent remains an uncomfortable,
even excruciating, experience that still leaves
you shifting awkwardly in your seat. It’s like
the unexplainable calm that preludes a traffic
accident; the inability to reach out and prevent
what is about to happen. Of course, this visual
discomfort is accentuated with the realisation
that there’s a little bit of David Brent in us all.
"If at first you don't
succeed, remove all
evidence you ever tried."
“Put the key of despair into
the lock of apathy. Turn the
knob of mediocrity slowly
and open the gates of
despondency - welcome to a
day in the average office.”
“Eagles may soar high, but
weasels don't get sucked
into jet engines.”
“I know an alcoholic and
it’s no laughing matter –
particularly for his wife.
She’s got alopecia, so not a
happy home life.”
“Who says famine has to be
depressing?”
“You have to be 100%
behind someone, before you
can stab them in the back.”
“Accept that some days you
are the pigeon and some
days you are the statue.”
“There's no 'I' in 'team'. But
then there's no 'I' in 'useless
smug colleague', either. And
there's four in 'platitude-
quoting idiot'. Go figure.”
“The first time you watch David Brent, you
go, ‘Oh my god, what a prat! Thank god I’m not
like that,’” laughs Gervais. “Then you realise,
actually I’ve done that. We’re all a bit like Brent
because what I put into him are the things that
we all care about. We all want to be loved; we
all want to be popular; we all want to think
we’re making a bit of a difference every day.
I just magnified that and made him
desperate for all those things. And
that’s what we see in him. We
see all those things that we
care about.”
As well as his amiability,
Gervais is an intelligent
and engaging man to
interview, and it’s obvious
during our conversation
that he thoroughly enjoyed
returning to the role.
Whether it’s delivering acerbic
asides as host of the Golden
Globes, or his active and erudite
presence on social media, his fast wit is an
indelible talent. Stand-up is his next focus and
something he’s hopeful he’ll bring Down Under
– a location he’s yet to visit.
“I think stand-up is me at my most honest,
which is what you should do,” says Gervais.
“You should always be trying to tell the whole
truth more and more. The older I get I think the
truth is everything. You know what, don’t give
a f-ck what people think about it, or
whether they like the truth, you’ve
just got to f–ing say it.” • David Brent:
Life on the
Road
is out Dec 14
continued
We're all a bit like
Brent because what
I put into him are the
things we all care
about