Comedian Slim on his Guide to Life: "I know how to navigate myself in this industry, that's why I've been in it for so long"

It's not often that people sit down and look back on their entire life for the purpose of bringing about laughter, but that's exactly what comedian Slim has done for his latest venture for BBC Radio 4.

His new six-part series, Slim's Guide to Life, is just another string to his impressive career bow, having been the first Black British comedian to sell out the London Palladium with a solo show and now widely celebrated as the Godfather of the Black British comedy scene.

Having performed to audiences all around the globe, Slim now reflects on his life and career in his trademark comedic way, telling stories about being a teenage father to working as a London bus driver. Chatting to Radio Times for Pass the Mic, he admits that he's "happy and excited with anticipation to see it all come together, to see the final result".

He remarks: "It's a nice experience because you're evaluating your life. I think we do it as humans every 10 years anyway. Every 10 years from 30, you look back on the decade before and think, 'How have I done? Have I advanced? Am I any further? My dreams, have they come true?' So, it was nice to go back, especially the early years."

But how has it been penning a script based all around your life for a brand new radio audience? As Slim explains below, it's been a cathartic experience and is also an opportunity to expand his fanbase further in an industry that he has grown confident in navigating over his years of experience.

How did you go about crafting Slim's Guide to Life – what was the writing process like?

I had material that was written anyway but I had to go and write for the first few decades, as I realised I didn't really have any material. All my material's after 20 years old so that was nice revisiting that, sitting down and writing that on top of stuff I already had. I enjoyed happily sitting down and doing the project.

Was it cathartic to revisit those early years of your life?

Absolutely. We're adults now... I had a happy childhood so it was nice to go back and revisit. Your memory jogs with certain events that you'd totally forgotten about and then when you're sitting down and thinking about it, it's like, 'Oh yeah!' I enjoyed doing it.

How was it working with a script editor for this radio project?

I'd sit down and write down the material, then we'd go over it and just trim the fat. It was nice because me being a stand-up comic, I work on stages. I haven't got as much restrictions as radio has. We had to tailor it and trim the fat but it was good.

I can imagine it's a different mindset to the improv and stand-up routines you're used to delivering. Was it more of a stationary environment doing it for radio?

Well, we actually filmed in front of a live audience so it's not canned laughter. We done that at Up the Creek Comedy Club. Doing it in front of an audience was different for me. I had to read out my script and because it's for radio, there's certain visual aspects that, when I'm on stage, you would see if you were watching me live. Now you're listening on the radio, I've got to make sure that everything translates over to the airwaves. On the whole, it wasn't too much of a problem. It was different for me but it was no problem.

You're celebrated as the Godfather of Black British comedy – how did you go about crafting the series to be both insightful about your career and funny?

My life's always had these little funny moments from young. There's a lot of stuff that – although people know who I am – they wouldn't know about me, especially my younger years. For me, it was a great experience just going back and evaluating that 50 years of my life. A lot of people don't really do that – that's auditing half a century. It was exciting to do and I feel like the people out there, the listeners, will enjoy the final production.

There's likely to be a different fanbase for radio, with some listeners maybe not aware of your work till now. How does that feel to possibly have a new legion of fans?

Absolutely love that, it'll keep me in business longer. If you can keep getting new fans along the way, you'll usually stay in business longer, so I welcome all the fans and the people who love my kind of comedy.

Across your remarkable 20-year career, you've seen a lot of trends and people coming and going. How do you think the comedy industry has evolved over the years, in terms of representation and Black British talent specifically?

Now we've got social media and the internet, that is the way that most of the young comics are coming through, rather than finding a little pub with a little comedy night going on upstairs. That used to be the original way. Now, people are posting up their own stuff and coming through that way.

Comedy has evolved. We've got more social media influencers coming through and making a career in comedy. I do believe that we've evolved, definitely, in the last 10 years. For the better? Yeah, I'd say so. At the end of the day, there's people that might not be able to make it out to a theatre or a venue but they can stay at home and have a laugh.

I do believe that the comedy scene has changed a lot – there's also a lot of comics that, after Covid, didn't come back. It's always changing, no industry stays the same and it evolves in some kind of way. As an older or more mature comic, I just try and move with the times and not be left behind.

Social media lowers the barrier to entry in the industry, which is a good thing – do you think that is a major positive in terms of the range of stories and comics we're seeing in the scene at the moment?

Absolutely! Everybody's got a different sense of humour – what one person thinks is funny, another doesn't. So what you do need is an array of comics who can cater to everybody's needs. You may have the quirky comic, the dark humour comic.

Do you think there's still more that needs to be done to nurture diverse talent in British comedy or is it somewhere you've seen vast improvements?

There are improvements, I don't want to bang on like we've not seen any form of Black people on TV – but there's still gatekeepers to this industry, definitely. I don't know how the TV industry works out who they choose to work on, uplift and promote. At the end of the day, I don't overthink that. The comics I've seen that overthink it, they upset themselves and now you're at work with a bad energy. I might as well work a 9-5, this was supposed to be a love that they paid for!

I know the pitfalls and I know how to navigate myself in this industry, that's why I've been in it for so long. There could be better representation, especially on national TV but look, people are now using social media, YouTube and stuff like that. They're kind of skipping the middle man as it is now and making their money. I think the industry is losing out really or they come way after the person's already established.

You were the first Black British comedian to sell out the London Palladium with a solo show – how do you reflect on that time in your life and that achievement now?

It was a major achievement but it's on to the next one, you're only as good as your last show. I savoured the moment, I really did, but then I just moved on. Obviously, people who have known me and watched me rise, for them to see me at such a grand venue – it's a very well-known historical building. People can watch me grow from a little place in Brockley to a big, world renowned venue in the West End.

I think the pride, that's what I felt a lot from people. I do feel the pride and the love from my fans. For me, it was a chance to go upmarket a bit and just to show that a venue like the Palladium, I deserve to be in there. I knew that I was going to bring a top-tier show to a top-tier venue with top-tier people in it and it was a great night. It will be unforgettable but what's the next big one I've got? On to the next one!

What are you hoping that people get from Slim's Guide to Life?

That deep down, I'm just a normal, regular guy that's grown up like everybody else and has made it good for himself. Same struggle as everybody else, single parent household, siblings that you fight with, friends – it's just my life. I'm hoping they'll get a lot of laughs out of it but that they'll be able to resonate with a lot of stuff that is in there as well.

Slim's Guide to Life premieres on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 18 February at 11pm.

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