Al Murray: “I drink an awful lot of zero alcohol beer on stage”

What do you drink when you’re on the road?
I drink an awful lot of zero alcohol beer because that’s what we use on stage. So in the last 30 years, I’ve watched the whole thing develop and change and get better. Kaliber was the alcohol-free beer when I first started 30 years ago. It had a really tart, fruity taste and it wasn’t very nice. They’ve got so much better since then. I think Guinness Zero is a revelation – it’s incredible. And I do drink it when I’m out. Sometimes I alternate it with the real stuff so I don’t get too whammed.

Do your fans ever send you their home brew to try?
Because my stage persona is The Pub Landlord, I get given a lot of pints. It’s not a bad life! I get beers left at the stage door to drink with the show, but I can’t drink an 8% beer before performing. Last year we did our own beer – Guv Island – with Mad Squirrel Brewery in Hemel Hempstead – it’s a very delicious pale ale.

What’s for dinner on tour?
I’ll eat a proper big lunch, then manage with a sandwich or banana before the show. My tour manager is a massive foodie so he’s super organised and makes sure we book places in advance. If it were up to me, we’d just go to the chippy all the time. We recently went to Dishoom in Birmingham after a show at around 11pm. The food there is excellent, but I can’t be eating that late. You end up waking in the middle of the night and farting like you invented it.

Any other favourite places to stop off on tour?
In Birmingham, there’s an excellent sashimi place called Sushi Passion that we used to go to a lot. There was also a guy who used to have a unit in a market with only six stools who’d make the sushi in front of you, but I think he went with the pandemic.

I once stood for election in Thanet, on the Kent coast, as The Pub Landlord. We have friends who live in Broadstairs so I’m often back there, playing cricket on the sand and having fantastic meals at Kebbells, a seafood restaurant.

Do you miss cooking when you’re on the road?
Yes! I love to cook and I’ll always try and make sure I do it when I’m home. I’m doing a great big toad in the hole for friends later this week. I’m a bit gadgety and I have a Big Green Egg in the garden. I’ve not smoked any meat yet but I’d like to. I love to slow-cook lamb literally all day, then make sandwiches and ragù with it. You also can’t beat cooking a whole chicken over charcoal. There’s nothing like it.

You’ve got three books out this year. How do you find the time to juggle writing with your tour and podcast hosting?
I’m instinctively really lazy and that’s why I have to work hard. If I stop, I’ll stop forever. If I’m not busy, I succumb to navel gazing and bone idleness. I have three books out this year. I’ve written comedy books before but the history books are a new thing. And it’s hard. Ever since I promoted my last book, Arnhem Black Tuesday, people have been coming out of the woodwork with fresh inputs and connections to the people I was writing about. And it’s so frustrating as I can’t edit it now! The problem with books is you have to finish them but really they’re never finished.

Do you get any time to read for pleasure?
I’ll read one novel a year as a palate cleanser. Other than that I’ll always read about World War II or other periods in history. I get plenty of time to read for pleasure. We spend a lot of time in cars on tour, so I read all those non-fiction books on my Kindle.

What’s your biggest pub ick in 2025? Anything that’d make you walk out? 
Karaoke is for karaoke bars, not for pubs. I like listening to music deliberately, so unless it’s a jukebox and someone’s actually choosing the music, pub music is a big no.

Book tickets for the Guv Island UK & Ireland tour (ends May 2025) on The Pub Landlord website. Read more interviews with famous faces from the world of food.