Obviously a shock to hear about the death of Rik Mayall. At this time it's still a mystery as to what actually killed him. Maybe it was some sort of degenerative disease that had its genesis in that quad bike accident he had some years ago? He was at death's door then, apparently ... 

In any case he was still a comparatively young man which of course made his death very sad. It was also shocking, since he was such an intense and lively performer. It was as if everything he did was infused with 10 000 volts of electricity. Because of that freakish presence he absolutely dominated every scene he was ever in.

Not only was he the most compelling part of any production, he was almost always the funniest. That was no mean feat. Such overbearing energy could actually get in the way of making comedy work. This is because it is so highly structured, and needs real focus and clarity to extract the biggest and best laugh from every punchline. Mayall had that in spades, too. 

This was obvious from all his work in iconic TV shows like The Young Ones and Blackadder. But you got a much stronger sense of his comic talent close up. 

I only saw him do stand up live once. It was back in about 1986 or '87 when he was in Perth. I'm actually sitting across the road from the venue he performed at right now. (I'm writing this in the Dome Cafe in Leederville.)

He did a double bill with Ben Elton. The latter was smart and affable, of course. But there was something a bit condescending about his presence. He clearly saw himself as a superior intellect whose role was to improve us morally with his satirical routines. 

Elton's great strength was in his writing. But his delivery was weak. Rather than being a heightened version of himself on stage, or totally inhabiting an invented comic persona, he seemed to be wearing a somewhat unconvincing mask that was designed to charm us en masse so he could "sugar the pill" of right-on social commentary he felt we all so desperately needed. 

Mayall, on the other hand, was a less pretentious but more accomplished and memorable performer. He wasn't trying to make us better people. He was just there to make us laugh like drains the whole time he was on stage. And he certainly achieved that aim. 

I can still vividly recall his electric presence on stage, the almost frightening intensity of his voice and those wild eyes bulging with rage. He put an insane amount of energy into everything he did which made his act utterly hilarious and also quite exhausting to watch.

That gung ho, balls out quality that he had makes his death a bit less sad, in my opinion. He clearly put everything he had into his art, and gave countless people huge enjoyment. Mayall certainly made very good use of his time on Earth, even though it was cut short.

It's a well established fact that many stand up and character comedians are addicted to drugs and booze. And the list of famous comics who died from overdoses is very long. Sure, they're by no means the only people who struggle with addiction, but they do seem to be over-represented as a group. And while many of them do actually die as a result of these struggles, a lot of them seem to keep on keeping on quite happily with some chemical assistance! 

This tendency has fascinated me since I started doing comedy back in Melbourne in the early 1990s. Being a total square who only drank a bit of red wine occasionally and didn't indulge in any other drugs, I was certainly in a very small minority.

Culture plays a part

It astonished me how much drug use there was amongst my peers. Dope in particular was a big part of the whole scene. Harder drugs were used on occasion. From time to time you'd hear about how some bloke or other had become hooked on smack, or, hearteningly, had actually managed to kick that particular habit.

I think part of the reason so many are into drugs in comedy is to do with culture. To make jokes about society, you have to be on the outside looking in. Thumbing your nose at normality becomes a running state. You get much material from staying off the straight and narrow. It's easy to see how drugs can easily become part of that process.

This abnormal, or rather anti-normal lifestyle, becomes a kind of norm in itself. Sharing a joint with your fellow comedians is much like having knock off drinks at the local pub, a common ritual for many who work nine to five.

Psychological issues 

Then there's the fact that comedians, like other creative artists, are flawed people with more issues than most. They are often deeply angry and depressed. These dark inner processes are what fuels their humor. Being so sensitive they find it hard to stay on an even keel and end up self-medicating.

The thrill of performance

And I think there's one element that often gets missed. That's the addictive nature of performing comedy itself. It really is an exhilarating experience. Daring to get up in front of a whole bunch of people and win them over with your presence, delivery and material is an extremely risky thing to attempt. When it works it's a real high, no doubt about it. Each laugh you get gives you a jolt of endorphins. And if you have an exceptionally good gig, well, you're walking on air for hours ... 

The kind of person who is drawn to it is often a special kind of adrenaline junkie. He gets hooked on getting laughs! But he can't be doing it every night. So he has to press those buttons in the brain in some other way when he can't get his performance "fix". Hence the use of chemical replacements.

What do you think? Any other reasons so many comics have drug and alcohol issues? 

I pretty much stopped doing live comedy over ten years ago for various reasons. One of these was because I discovered the internet, specifically blogging, as a great way to express myself. 

The blogosphere

I actually preferred it to doing standup because as I got older I really wanted to express opinions; I wanted to be taken seriously, Goddamnit!

Well, not all the time, of course. I still wanted to amuse people occasionally. But I didn't want to be restricted by the relentless requirement that I get a laugh every ten seconds or so for twenty minutes or more. Also, blogging was a lot less nerve-racking than performing live. In any case I figured I could amass heaps of material in written posts that I could eventually put into stand up routines if and when I got back into it. 

Twitter

Aside from a couple of one-offs in the mid noughties I did zero live comedy. As a result of blogging in about 2010 I got into Twitter. I loved using it because it was so focused. It's just fantastic for following a specific interest and connecting with people who share it. 

Still maintaining a keen interest in comedy, with a long term view to performing again, I built this site and started a Twitter account for it. What I discovered was that the social network was just teeming with comedians. 

Sure, no matter what your interest or profession is, you'll find countless tweeps who are into it. But it does seem that comics are over-represented as profession.

Performing for laughs is a rare thing to do, after all. It's certainly more unusual than being being a dentist. The world is full of decaying teeth, so there'll always be plenty of dentists to fulfil that need. But how many of them are there on Twitter? Quite a few without a doubt but I'm willing to bet there are more comics -- or at least proportionally more.

Twitter's appeal

Clearly there are aspects of Twitter that make it very attractive to people who get paid to make people laugh, or aspire to. 

The length of tweets is a big factor. Some people find this frustratingly short. But those 140 characters are perfect for one liners. And you can judge which of those you've sent are deemed funniest by your followers by counting the number of LOLs and LMAOs in mentions as well as retweets and favorites. You can also do this by posting videos of your routines. 

YouTube

Speaking of videos, YouTube is also chockas with funny buggers. In fact I think a lot of them just perform for the camera as opposed to live audiences, and build substantial followings that way.

Actually, it's like a whole new medium for comedic performance. I doubt it will ever usurp the traditional one, however. Standing before scores of people in a venue and making them laugh out loud is a huge thrill, and hard to beat. It's also more fun for the audience. Laughing is pleasurable of course, but there's also the sense of togetherness that live comedy fans experience.

Tumblr 

The sense of belonging you get from social media can be substantial, however. Not only do users seek that with others who share their interests and passions, they also like to be amongst people who are similar demographically. That's one of the reasons comedians -- who tend to be youngish inner city types -- are also heavily into Tumblr.

Still, it seems that Twitter is the preferred option for comics. As well as the benefits mentioned above, it's also a hub for booking agents and venue owners. And they're so easy to find. If you build a decent following and some buzz on the site, you can get noticed by these gatekeepers and score live gigs, thereby lifting your profile on the circuit more quickly than you would have otherwise.