Mock the Week comedian on his family ties to Belfast ahead of NI shows
English comedian Milton Jones is returning to Belfast and Derry this month to bring his new show 'Ha! Milton' to his Northern Irish fans.
A regular face on Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo, the acclaimed comic has a special tie to Belfast that keeps him coming back tour after tour.
The new show, named after a play on words of the musical Hamilton, will see Milton bring his daft humour to Belfast's Waterfront Hall on September 22 and Derry's Millennium Forum on September 19.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Milton chatted about what fans can expect from the new stand-up show, his fond memories of summers in Northern Ireland and a weird sushi dinner in what used to be his grandmother's house on the Lisburn Road.
Milton said: "The title is Ha! Milton, sort of spoofing the musical but there is actually no mention of the musical.
"It's all about my journey with music and being completely tone-deaf - I have no singing ability at all.
"However, most of it is about my life and how music has affected it.
"But it's all daft jokes - It's just daft joke after daft jokes."
He said that if people know him off the telly they can expect his usual absurd humour and a show filled with ridiculousness and lighthearted fun
"It's not going to change anyone's political opinion," he laughed. "It's just escapism for an hour and a half."
Looking forward to his upcoming NI shows, Milton shared why touring in Belfast is always a special gig for him as his mother was from the city and he regularly visited in his childhood.
"I used to go for holidays on the Lisburn Road and then my grandparents sort of retired to Bangor and then we used to go there," Milton explained.
"It was a different time in Northern Ireland in those days - there was obviously a lot more military around, but we were oblivious to all that.
"We'd have done all the beaches, Crawfordsburn, Helen's Bay and Groomsport."
He continued: "The weirdest thing happened in that my grandmother's house on the Lisburn Road is now bizarrely a sushi restaurant and I I've been for a meal there
"It feels like a weird dream because it's been completely gutted and redone up but it is definitely the same house - I remember where I used to have tea or breakfast and all these people are just eating sushi.
"It's just very odd."
With family still living in the Belfast area and his aunt located in Co Down, Milton said he feels a food connection with the local crowds when he performs
"The audiences are very friendly, quite noisy, but in a friendly way," he said.
"A lot of chat going backwards and forwards so it's definitely one part of the tour we look forward to because it's more social.
"That was always the thing with my mother, I used to remember she would phone people at half 11 at night and no one in England does that, really.
"But she would just phone up people for a chat and my mum's accent faded over the years but occasionally if she got angry, it came out again and all of a sudden, slightly more frightening.
"I feel familiar with the place for sure."
Milton is also excited to explore more of Derry on his tour, having been not as familiar with that corner of Northern Ireland except for previous tour shows.
He said fans can expect his classic one-liners, daft jokes and a night of fun away from reality when he plays Belfast and Derry.
You can find more about tickets for Belfast here and tickets for Derry here
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