Do you have a particular style of humor that you like?
”Raymond Devos, for me, remains the greatest. I like the absurd. I like the word. I would be able to argue about that. Sometimes I have a feint in mind and I tell myself, if I do it, it’s going to be the boxon. But I do it anyway. So I’d rather argue and pretend like an idiot than not do it. And this is where I disagree with Desproges, whom I admire. Said to him: ‘I’d rather shut my mouth and look like an idiot than open it and leave no doubt about it.’ I prefer to open it and look like an idiot. Sometimes I do shitty feints and I know I’m going to hurt, but I do them anyway… It’s life to feint all the time. Not to betray, but I like not being where I need to be. Where I’m not expected.”
You are renowned for not being outspoken…, for your outspokenness.
”I don’t realize, because for me, it’s just talking. We only have one life, so we’re not going to bother wasting our time, thinking about what I should say or what I shouldn’t say… Life is a joke and football even more so. I have no professional ambition, other than that of the moment. To just do my job well. This World Cup in Qatar, for example, was shit! (he wrote a book called Qatar, the filthy cup, Editor’s note.) An insult to the primary values of football. To the statutes of Fifa: tolerance.”
Me, I’d rather open it and look like an idiot than the other way around.”
What makes you want to go on stage and tell this story?
”If I had written down all the stupid things that people said to me…, that would indeed do it! I would see this in the theater or at the cinema, I would piss with laughter! It’s not pretension, but I have extraordinary feints behind the scenes (smiles)! I would like it, because I love the stage and I play as a drummer in a music group (see opposite). It comes from there, I always liked finding this exchange with people. In a stadium, you give and you receive. And there, when you play, it’s the same. Giving and receiving is the history of the world.”
In football, on the other hand, you hate “comedians”.
”Yes, the simulators, these actors on the ground. I hate them. We make a ranking of the scorers, why don’t we make a ranking of the cheaters? I’ve been fighting for fifteen years, even if video assistance has a reason to exist today, sometimes, for these cheaters. I dream of it so that it can shut their big mouths. But every time, it doesn’t work. I hate them, because it insults the sport, your club, your coat of arms, your opponents and the public. This may be the start of a war! The Balkan War was born in a football stadium. I’m exaggerating the line, but it’s really messing with the referee. And that can create general fights.”
Anthony Kavanagh was at the Rochefort Laughter Festival for the 4th time: “Immediately after my show, I had a triple on tap”
In concert with Freddy Tougaux
”For me, the best of all comedians is Freddy Tougaux, assures Fred Waseige who will give a concert this Saturday evening at the Rochefort Festival with his group The Clark Gable’s Pop Rock Cover. With a repertoire ranging from the Stones to the Beatles via Kravitz, Depeche Mode, Rage Against The Machine, or the Beastie Boys and in which the ex-comedian from Grand Cactus will be present. “He will not only liven up the evening, he will also sing and play drums, continues the one who also supports the Lucia’s Cup 2024 on the weekend of June 1 (for the benefit of little Lucia who died at 9 months of Leigh syndrome). In particular, we will play his hit ‘À va d’aller’ in a rock’n’roll version. He came to rehearse at my house. I discovered it when I was president of the jury at Caval’Rires de Herve, organized by Kiki (Martin Charlier, Editor’s note).” His passion for music comes from his older brother who attended the Conservatory in Brussels. “When I was 13, I also asked Saint-Nicolas for a drum and my parents bought me a drum set. They always regretted it (smile)!” The following ? He came across “friends who are crazy about music”. “I’ve never been good at it, but every time it does. And today we have a very festive repertoire. We do weddings, funerals, communions, birthdays and therefore also festivals!”
