Many of the tickets sold to Dave Hughes’ shows at Belmont 16s on the 5th, & Nelson Bay Diggers on the 6th have been bought as early Christmas presents. But what does Hughesy want for Christmas? The answer… To get fit. We asked him about his sudden interest in health ahead of his arrival in the Hunter.
“I want a Fitbit for Christmas, but not the ones you have to recharge” Dave tells me.
“I saw one on an ad at the bus stop the other day. It said the battery lasted for 12 months. That’s good for me, cause I always loose those charger things”.
While Hughesy’s has spoken of his decades long sobriety many times, I’ve never seen him as a poster boy for the fitness movement. So I ask, why a Fitbit?
“I was showing a bit of team sprit by posting a photo of myself wearing an old football jumper online. Some of the comments about my flabby arms were really cruel. So it looks like I need to start swinging my arms around a bit, and no chips till Christmas”. He says in that classic Australian whine he’s become known for.
After more than a decade of breakfast radio on Melbourne’s Nova 100 and five years at the desk on Network Ten’s The Project, Hughesy decided it was time to get “back on the road”. Many saw it as a brave decision, but it worked out for the Melbourne based comic who has been touring relentlessly ever since. By the time he hits the Hunter in December he will have performed more than 100 shows all over the country to 60,000 happy punters.
The last time I saw Dave do his standup a lot of the material was about family life and his kids. I wanted to know how they all felt about him using them and their lives as material for his shows.
“They’re aware of it, but maybe not to the extent of how much I actually use”.
Given that, what material does he use at home to make the kids laugh?
“Whatever it takes to get across the line” He says.
“The best thing about entertaining an 18 month old, is that you can use the same material over and over again. They just say, again Dad again”.
You can catch Dave Hughes live at Belmont 16s on the 5th, & Nelson Bay Diggers on the 6th of December.
You can purchase tickets for the shows via Dave’s website.
