´óÏó´«Ã½

Broadcast on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4 Extra on what would have been his 54th birthday, this is the final stand-up show performed by the award-winning comedian and writer Sean Hughes.

London-born Sean was Ireland’s first ever stand-up star and for a time one of the most popular comics in the world. He emerged with the explosion of new late night comedy TV, stand-up shows in an era where comedy was the new rock’n’roll. He hung around with rock stars and they flocked to his shows. U2’s Bono booked a private box for one sold-out show at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. Sean was invited to MC a Greenpeace benefit show in Manchester where he ignored the after-show party to have a drink with local music heroes Inspiral Carpets and their roadie Noel Gallagher.

Sean’s star had a rapid rise and he was the youngest winner of the Perrier Award. As writer and star of Sean’s Show (Ch4) he was always the buccaneer and enjoyed success across all facets of the business. He wrote books, starred in films, West End stage plays and in major primetime TV successes. His mainstream success was cemented by ´óÏó´«Ã½1’s panel show Never Mind The Buzzcocks where he was team captain for over 10 years.

Sean Hughes passed away on October 16th 2017 aged 51 in Whittington Hospital, London after a short illness. To many of today’s comedy stars he was a trailblazer. Jack Dee, Jason Byrne, Bob Mortimer, Ardal O’Hanlon, Vic Reeves and many more attended his funeral.

In February 2016 Sean performed a special ‘best of’ live at The Project Arts Centre in Dublin for RTE Radio 1. Poignantly, he ends the show reading a poem he wrote thirteen years previously about his own death.

Produced by Eoin Sweeney.

First broadcast on RTE Radio 1 in Feb 2016.