Comedian Mark Steel has revealed his interesting family background in the latest edition of Kathy Burke's Podcast, where There's A Will, There's a Wake.
He talks about being adopted and finding out who his biological father was, what he'd want played at his funeral and the time he was asked to do a gig when he was at one of his best friend's funerals.
Below is a taste of the interview. Where There’s A Will, There’s A Wake is available wherever you get your podcasts.
ON BEING ADOPTED AND RAISED BY HIS UNCLE :
Mark Steel: [My Aunt Gwen] had said one day, a woman moved in the adjoining flat, about 19 or 20 years old, really upset. She asked her what the matter was and this woman was said, I'm pregnant. I've run away from home. I don't know what to do. Gwen said, well, my brother and his wife, they want to have kids, but they can't have kids. So why don't you just give the baby to them? Back in those days, Kathy, that was how it was done. There's more forms now in buying a fridge.
Kathy Burke: And, I just want to interject, because your mum didn't want to meet you.
Mark Steel: She didn't want to meet me, no. I did think, it's a bit f*cking rude. But I have an immense sympathy for her and, I realised what happened to women at that point, that was awful, awful, awful. But I have no blame for her.
ON FINDING OUT WHO HIS BIOLOGICAL DAD WAS
Mark Steel: Once [my biological mother] said the name of the father, I tried to look him up and it turned out that, to jump a couple of stories, that he was a multi, multi, multi-millionaire who was the world backgammon champion and spent much of his twenties in the Claremont Club with the Aspinals, Rolands and Jim Slater and all the people that were hated by anyone on the left, people who I have probably marched against. On top of all that, one of his closest friends and confidants in the Claremont Club was Lord Lucan.
Kathy Burke: And you did meet him, didn't you?
Mark Steel: I did meet him, yeah. His story is fascinating as well because he was a Sephardic Jew brought up in Egypt, his family fled [Egypt] when he would have been about 18, and he came over to Manchester, uh, went down to London one weekend, met [my biological mother], got pregnant and here we are.
ON WHAT MUSIC HE’D WANT PLAYED AT HIS FUNERAL
Mark Steel: Of all the instruments, the piano is the one that I find most emotive for me. So there's a version of Love Me or Leave Me by Nina Simone. and the piano in it is a magnificent hybrid of classical and jazz. It never ceases to move me. I think going out, definitely to Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine that ends with them screaming, ‘fuck you, I won't do what you tell me’, I want everyone going out of that.
ON BEING ASKED TO PERFORM IN DORSET WHILE AT JEREMY HARDY’S FUNERAL:
Mark Steel: At Jeremy [Hardy]'s funeral, which was in Dorset, we were asked to go out and throw a flower into the grave, as the coffin was going down there. I went up, and I got my flower, and I was just about to throw the flower in, and the vicar came up, and he said, Mr. Steel. I thought, oh, he’s going to say, are you all right? This must be a very bad thing. Very sombre moment for you or something like that, but he goes ‘can I just ask, do you think you'd might be able to do one of your in town shows for this village?’ I'm about to f*cking drop a flower into my best mate’s grave, could have left it a minute!
