Pappy's: All Business

The credit crunch has hit Pappy’s hard. They’ve lost one member, they’ve shed the “Fun Club” part of their name and even their mysterious benefactor Pappy, the Charlie to the Fun Club’s Angels in previous years, has disappeared. Tom from Pappy’s doesn’t seem too fussed about the last part. “What happened to Pappy? Yeah, he died,” he says nonchalantly.

The new, stripped-down Pappy’s are now hitting the road with their new show, Pappy’s: All Business. The theme this time is money and the guys will be pitching business ideas to the audience in the hope of raising cash. Have they hit the jackpot yet? “No. The problem is that we’re not very good at business. So we have things like the singing dog we invented and plans to float on the stock market that involve buying gravy.”

Pappy’s are different from many sketch troupes in that their shows always have a central theme. From various challenges issued by the late Pappy to an attempt to set the world record for most sketches in an hour, there’s always a central idea to hold each Pappy’s show together. “It’s a neat way of not being very good at writing,” explains Tom. ”When you sit there with a blank page it’s like ‘no idea’, but once we have an concept it’s like we have a reason for the mucking around and stupid stuff.”

The formula took them from their first performance at Edinburgh’s Free Festival to being if.comedy award winners in a mere 12 months. Their reputation has been growing ever since, even if the size of the group is shrinking. The fourth member, Brendan Dodds, parted company last year, something Tom describes as a tough but necessary decision. “It wasn’t a very balanced dynamic. It was a tough decision but we haven’t looked back. Also, it was Pappy’s dying wish.”

The downsizing seems to have worked, with All Business picking up plenty of five-star reviews at the Fringe. Tom is excited about finally getting to take the show on the road. “The tour for us is the highlight is the year. You spend ages getting the show ready for Edinburgh but the real fun is when you take it on the road. When you’re with your mates it’s like a day trip.”

Pappy’s will be appealing for your investment at The Stand in Glasgow and Edinburgh next. Please note that the value of your singing dog may go down as well as up.