Peter Kay has announced that he would play a monthly residency at the O2 stadium in London, beginning on 16 December and ending on 18 November 2023.
It follows the announcement this week of his first UK tour in 12 years, which lacked London dates.
Since canceling his 2017 tour due to “unforeseen family issues,” Kay has been out of the public eye.
The 49-year-old Boltonian said that he couldn’t believe the initial tour announcement – which was made during the commercial break of the first episode of the new season of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! on Sunday – had made headlines.
He remarked, “I should only be in the news if I’m dead, not when I’m on tour.”
He expressed gratitude and claimed he was “overwhelmed” by the response.
Myself and Prince
Kay will be the first comedian to receive his residency at the 20,000-person capacity O2 in Greenwich. There, he will perform once per month for nearly a year.
“That’s just me and Prince who have done it, and look what happened to him,” said Kay, referring to the 2016 death of the American musician.
In 2007, Prince performed a record 21 consecutive concerts at the same venue.
“Michael Jackson, he was another, he was meant to do 50 nights,” Kay said of the singer who passed away in 2009 before the start of his This Is It residency. “I’ve seen his shows,” he joked.
The Phoenix Nights star informed Ball that he had already performed many low-key warm-up events before the tour and that more were forthcoming.
“No matter who you are, they won’t laugh if you’re not humorous,” he remarked. “I overanalyze everything… Nevertheless, things have been going nicely.
“People keep referring to them as secret gigs, but they are not secret. First-come, first-served applies.”
Ticket prices start at £35 [not including booking costs] for the upcoming UK and Ireland arena concerts, which begin on 2 December at Manchester’s AO Arena – the same price as during his 2010 tour.
“You have to meet them halfway, it’s a tough economy, and that’s why people need a good chuckle,” he remarked.
“I believe it was featured on the news because, for once, it was something positive and not tragic.
“I thought it was a beautiful gesture, similar to when pandas would appear at the end of Newsround with John Craven.”
The dates will mark Kay’s first live tour since 2010 when he broke the Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing stand-up tour of all time by performing for over 1.2 million people.
In recent years, the artist has kept a low profile. In August 2021, he returned to the stage for two special charity shows to raise funds for Laura Nuttall, a 20-year-old diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer known as glioblastoma multiforme.
In 2018, he also made an unexpected cameo at a charity screening of his television series Car Share.
Kay was seen lugging a rolled-up carpet into a house while announcing to nearby supporters that he will return to stand-up comedy next month in a surprising advertisement released on Sunday.
The advertisement closed with fans inquiring if Kay had finally purchased a bungalow for his mother, a reference to the comedian’s previous Mum Wants A Bungalow tour. Kay responded that he had and explained that his mother desired a new carpet for the room.
Tickets for his tour go on sale on Saturday, November 12 at 10:00 a.m. GMT, with priority tickets going on sale on Thursday via two mobile phone providers.
