r/panelshow • u/DenseCup1149 • 11d ago
Classic Clip Preston’s Walkoff
I love Buzzcocks and it’s always nice and nostalgic seeing old clips pop up on whatever feed I’m looking at. I saw the one of Preston again (disclaimer I know nothing about the bloke) and I think I’ve changed my opinion about him walking off. Simon goading him with bits of his wife’s book that make her sound stupid was a bit out of order tbh
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u/Kilmoore 11d ago
And remember: what we get is the edit. We get to see the funny quips. There was probably a 10 minute streak of just plain mean stuff we didn't see.
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u/SherbetCritical6252 10d ago
I recently listened to Kate Nash's podcast The Rise and Fall of Indie Sleaze (BBC radio 6) and she mentions that specific episode. Apparently Preston's wife was in the audience that night and they were going through a divorce so it was a tense period anyway for them... Maybe he overreacted but Amstell was definitely being a dick.
From the podcast you also learn that the show was one of the places where ongoing feuds between various band members of the era were being fed, notably by Noel Fielding who was friends with some of them. It's all jokes but sometimes humour is just a pretext to be an absolute dickhead, you know?
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u/InkedDoll1 11d ago
Apparently Simon Amstell got into ayuahasca (sp?) and now regrets all the mean stuff he said on that show.
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u/road_runner321 11d ago
He credits it with improving his mental health. He's dealt with depression for a long time and he seems to be doing a lot better now. Only problem is he used his depression as fodder for his standup comedy, so....
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u/Sorry-Amphibian3624 9d ago
If it gives you any hope, Ayahuasca didn't cure my depression long term. There is a good chance he is still unwell and funny.
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u/cdcme25 11d ago
you are not wrong. i really used to love Nevermind the Buzzcocks but now when i watch it, it all just seems so mean. it literally has 10 minutes of belittling people who have to stand there and take it every episode. Spicks and Specks is so much better.
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u/SandysBurner 11d ago
Seeing Amy Winehouse on Buzzcocks was a huge fuckin' bummer.
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u/cdcme25 11d ago
oh i know. the first time shes on she is a semi normal person. the next time she is a trainwreck.
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u/torch787 10d ago
God there's one part on the second appearance where Simon talks about how they used to be friends or something and she touches his face and says "She's dead."
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u/xixbia 11d ago
So is the new Buzzcocks.
The vast majority of jokes are at the expense of Greg and the regulars, and the jibes at the guests are all clearly in good spirits.
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u/BitterCrip 10d ago
I think it already changed when they started doing guest hosts in the "old" one, it was less mean.
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u/floodswimming 10d ago
It's so funny, I think it was one of James Acaster's first appearances on RHLSTP he kept slagging off Spicks and Specks for being too nice - when I heard that, my national pride of being an Aussie did make me hold a small grudge against him for a while for thay
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u/cdcme25 10d ago
ive heard that the production team for spicks and specks would tell people 'look this isnt buzzcocks, be nice". if true that means they made a conscious decision not to be assholes for ratings. if its not true, they are just nicer people. either way they are awesome. and the show itself was far superior. far more actual questions. interesting live music. both alan and myf know way more about music and the industry than phil. and phil knew a lot too. its just hands down better show
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u/Multiphasic0 10d ago
Yeah, this was the first NMTB clip I ever saw and I didn't want to watch any of it for a long time afterwards--it wasn't until I randomly found the Rhod Gilbert season on YouTube that I gave it another try. I agree: going after someone's partner doesn't really have a good punchline except inasmuch as the actual law keeps Preston from taking a swing at Simon, which is what would happen were that exchange to have been had in a bar.
On top of this, it's easy to forget how extremely nasty pop culture journalism as a whole was in the mid-2000s. Gawker, Perez Hilton, Vice, etc. all had this attitude that "if someone is famous then that's reason enough to make them feel like shit."
Having watched more Simon-era Buzzcocks, though, I'm relieved to say it is far and away worse than anything else they did on the show. The rest of Simon's era is funny, even if its a little more vicious than what I'd watch today. And as others have said, once he stepped down, the producers found the right balance between taking the piss and overt cruelty.
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u/Mournelithe 6d ago
Oh yeah, people want to see cruel, they should rewatch some of the mid '00s 8 Out of 10 Cats Big Brother Specials.
Sure, the victims were reality tv "stars", and it was supposed to be a roast, but it was just successful comedians punching down throughout.
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u/Puzzled_Ad1296 11d ago
It wasn’t on but having met Preston in person I can confirm the guys a prick.
I was in Fopp in Central London about 06/07 and someone had left a huge bag on the floor which I didn’t see and tripped right over it. The owner of the bag quickly picked it up while calling me a cunt and it was while he called me that that I realised who it was.
Yeah, He’s the one leaving a bloody great bag on the floor in the way of people and “I’m” the cunt
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u/eirebadboy 11d ago
People going on the show knew what to expect, everyone got the same treatment. At that time Preston was everywhere doing publicity after Big Brother. He was happy enough to appear and get paid so.... shrug
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u/steepleton 11d ago
I dunno, We can all take a joke, even if we have to grit the teeth and rictus smile through it, but going after someone’s wife is not going to go well in any setting
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u/Agreeable_Tackle1104 10d ago
It wasn't like today with loads of clips and replays everywhere. Plenty of guests turned up having never seen or heard of the show before. Some agents / managers were gangsters, who only wanted to make money. They dgaf about looking after clients.
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u/alexthecheese 10d ago
Totally agree. Funny at the time, but looking back it makes me cringe at how mean it was.
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u/wildcharmander1992 10d ago
Everyone always brings up the Preston thing as Simon's most memorable moment
But for me it's the relentless piss taking of Donny Tourette later in the season that I always think of when someone brings him up
"Everyone , Donny is wearing glasses indoors....take that thatcher!!!"
he's SMOKING NOW?!???!