Colin Geddis (Barry The Blender) Interview

It’s one of the best nights of the year for going out, grabbing a nice cold pint and having a laugh with your mates and this year one of Edinburgh’s most popular pubs is doing it in style. The Three Sisters is having a huge St Patricks Day celebration which will run over three days and they’ve certainly pulled out all the stops. With a line-up of top quality Irish entertainment including The Rubber Bandits and Hardy Bucks it’s no wonder wrist bands are being sold at a breath taking speed. Here at Student Punch we were eager to get caught up in the celebrations and managed to bag a cheeky interview with the one and only Colin Geddis (a.k.a YouTube sensation Barry ‘The Blender’ Henderson) ahead of his show on Wednesday.


You’re going to be a Northern Irish comedian performing to a Scottish crowd in amongst the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. How do you think they’ll differ from a Northern Irish bunch?

In Edinburgh they’re probably more used to watching comedy, you know there’s a lot more comedy going down there. Not a lot of my material is based on Northern Ireland so I imagine it should sort of travel. I don’t do any jokes about specific places in Ireland. I suppose it depends how drunk they are!

You’re most famous for the YouTube hit Barry the Blender, is that what you’re going to be doing in Edinburgh?

No I’m going to be doing stand-up. We’ve never done Barry the Blender as a live show; I think it would be terrible. Basically it’s (The Three Sisters show) going to be Northern Irish comedians; new talent from Northern Ireland. There are a lot of good comedians coming over so it should be pretty funny.

A lot of people will probably know you as Barry the Blender. Does it get annoying being tagged as this one thing?

Yes it’s crazy! Some people actually call me Barry. It might be a good thing though because if people watch the videos and think they’re real it means our comedy has probably worked.

Since there’s going to be a load of different guys on the night, how will you differ from the rest of them?

I think there’s about four or five people doing stand-up on the night so the style will be constantly changing. We’re all good mates anyway, we’ll all be heading over and styles change dramatically between us so it should be a pretty good night.

So can you give us any hints about your jokes?

(Laughs) I’ve never written a joke in my life I don’t think! There are a couple of guys that are doing one-liner jokey jokes whereas a lot of my stuff is more of an angry rant.

You were recently on a BBC show called LOL. Do you think it will have raised your profile as a comedian amongst the UK-wide audience?

Probably not because it was on BBC NI so it probably only got 7 viewers.

What was it about?

It was a sketch show and the idea was to get performing and writing talent on the screen. There were about 10 people writing for it and it was a lot of sketches and stuff. Kind of the same idea as the Limmy Show, do you watch that?

Of course!

He’s a crazy person! Some of it is quite clever then other bits you’re like, this guy is totally nuts!

So what has been the highlight of your career as a comedian so far? Any funny stories?

I don't know if I’ve had any outstanding highlights, as long as people are laughing that's good enough, though I think the funniest thing that has happened to me was in Portrush Playhouse where I was doing a support gig for comedian Tim McGarry.

Basically, I try to avoid paedophile jokes because they are an easy way to get a cheap laugh, although I do have one story that I tell, which is totally true, about a really creepy old man telling me a paedophile joke in the gents toilets in a pub. Basically I was telling this story at the gig, and there was an older lady who got up and went to complain to the management once I was finished onstage. I went down to the foyer and the woman was complaining to a bouncer at the bar. She was screaming about my language then she then took out her phone and was searching for photos of her grand children - she'd had a few gins.

Ah cringe! And finally, what are your plans for the one and only St Patrick’s Day?

Just try and get less drunk than I did last year! I don't remember anything between 3pm on St Patrick's Day and 10am the next day. It was a great day.... so I hear.

Samantha Taylor

Check out the first Barry The Blender Video here!