Dave stands up for laughs

COMEDIAN Dave Hughes will entertain fans in Melbourne’s southeast suburbs next week as part of a regional standup comedy tour starting in Pakenham.
The bornandbred country boy from Warrnambool entered the world of comedy at the age of 22 after dropping out of an accounting course in 1993.
“I didn’t want to be an accountant. I only did it because my friends were,” he said.
Dave Hughes is now a wellknown celebrity, appearing on numerous comedy shows, notably ABC’s The Glass House, as well as the Holden commercials and on Triple M and Nova 100.
He still takes time out to do standup.
“I had an inkling I could be funny,” he said.
Hughes first started out playing at small venues around Perth.
“I’ve done many, many dodgy gigs. I started out at a small pool hall,” he said.
“I was a member of a band actually, I held a tambourine. In between songs I would tell jokes. They hated me. One guy actually wanted me dead.”
Hughes’ commitments now keep him very busy.
“There’s a lot of time in a day, as long as I get enough sleep,” he said.
Every Tuesday fortnight he flew up to Sydney to record The Glass House, which was a long day.
“During the week I don’t do many gigs, but on the weekend I tend to get out and about quite a bit,” he said.
Hughes’s latest standup show takes him to regional locations.
His first stop on the tour is at the Cardinia Cultural Centre in Pakenham on Friday, 10 February.
He then will play at Warragul, Albury, South Morang and Warrnambool.
Hughes said he was looking forward to coming back to Pakenham after performing at the Cardinia Cultural Centre a couple of years ago.
“It’s by popular demand and hopefully it goes well,” he said.
Despite belief he is following in Peter Hellier’s footsteps, who performed here last year, Hughes assures he was here first.
The popular question, of when he plans to marry longtime girlfriend Holly, was carefully avoided.
He said at a recent show, 50 people from the audience had yelled the question out at him.
“Holly was on the internet the other day. She already had the ring picked out,” he joked.
“It’s been too hyped up now. She’s expecting it. Maybe I’ll ask her when I’m sitting on the toilet or something.”
Hughes said despite people giving him a hard time about doing the Holden commercials, he didn’t feel he was selling out.
“It was either me or Ricky Ponting. Who cares?” he laughed.
“When everyone hates me, then I’ll retire to some island.”
The show starts at 7.30pm and tickets cost $34. For bookings phone 1300 887 624.