OUR LATEST ISSUE
Ian Parkin of Four Poofs and a Piano
4 poofs
As Jonathan Ross's Friday night foils - Four Poofs and a Piano - announce that they are putting on some sensible shoes to run a very long way for the
"Gay boys are becoming a fashion accessory for straight men"
So, as well as Jonathan Ross and now the London Marathon, you tour student unions, don't you?
Yes, we’ve got a cult following among students.
Are they rowdy?
It’s like being a pop star. It’s the only time we get screams and cheers and they have steel barriers to stop people getting on stage. I’m sure they’re not there for our benefit but it feels cool.
Do you mingle with those students after?
Yes, we got very drunk and disorderly last time because everyone offers and we’re not ones to refuse a drink.
How many have you actually done?
We were just talking about that. I’ve had about two. They were about twentysomething and I’m forty seven. They were very cute but it was just one-offs. But very nice one-offs.
Don’t those students book you so they can point and laugh at the gays?
I think what Jonathan Ross has done is give straight boys permission to be laddy but very huggy with gay boys. Gay boys are becoming a fashion accessory for straight men. There are a lot of straight men who want to be photographed with us.
Isn’t that because they think of a real live gay as a hop, skip and a jump from a circus freak?
No, it’s to show how cool they are. I don’t care. As long as they’re not beating us up.
So, what’s the difference between Four Poofs and a Piano and Four Wogs and a Harmonica?
We never set out to be banner-waving gay men. We didn’t have a cause. We hoped that by calling ourselves Four Poofs and a Piano, we were saying what we are. They used to refer to us as The Choir on the show and we had to insist that we were called Four Poofs and a Piano. We weren’t very popular with the gay community when we started the show. I think they thought we were there to have the piss taken out of us by Jonathan. But he’s just bitching with us in the same way that we bitch with each other.
So, have you all shagged each other?
Ooh, god no. It would like incest. We’re not attracted, not in a moist manner.
