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On The Road with Al Thomson 

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September 21, 2021. Lockdown had just ended and I took to the stage for the first time. Not sure what to expect, not sure what I was doing, but what did I have to lose? 

 

It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, I was always the funny one in my friend group, but didn’t think I could transfer that over to a stage.

 

Junkyard was always one of the best places for supporting new acts and I was able to get a 10 minute slot there. I went up with a book of jokes and hoped I would at least get some laughs and it seemed to go quite well.

 

I was going to say I’ve never looked back since, but this would be a lie.

 

I’ve had some rough gigs from then till today and actually gave it up for 6 months and wasn’t sure about coming back at all. 

 

I have a family and they obviously come first. We had just had our youngest daughter and I had to make the choice to sleep at some point, rather than be on stage.

 

I spoke to some friends about it and started to write again after that 6 months and realized I wasn’t quite done with it yet. 

 

Now I can say, I haven’t looked back since.

 

I have managed to get some big gigs with Milton Jones, Des McLean to name a few. 

 

Having taken that slight break has lit a fire and the only way is up. I’m loving every minute of it, but I’ve done it at my own pace.

 

So it’s really a bit of advice for anyone out there doing this. Everyone’s road is different and there’s no rush to get to where you want to be. 

 

Do the gigs. Make mistakes. Enjoy yourself.