Beyond the first impression: Alistair McGowan talks ahead of Shrewsbury show

The impressionist who became a prime time TV star went to number one on the classical album charts.

And he’s on the road with a new show that combines his talents as master impressionist and comedian with his skills as a classical pianist.

Fans can join McGowan for a unique mix of classical music and classic comedy, as he talks and plays his way through snatches of classical gems from Philip Glass to Chopin, from Grieg to Debussy to Bill Evans.

His show, which reaches Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn tomorrow, will feature plenty of beautiful music – not to mention the occasional mistake – and more than a sprinkling of his trademark celebrity impressions.

Remarkably, McGowan came to piano later in life – as a kid, he only studied for two years, before giving up after Grade 2, aged nine.

“It took a huge amount of practice,” he says of his return to the medium.

“I suffered with sore thumbs and wrists and ‘pedaler’s knee’ along the way. Ice packs were used.

“But I couldn’t ever have done it without the excellent teaching of Anthony Hewitt.

“I also had a wonderful producer in Chris Hazell who made me work harder than I thought I could at obeying every composers’ markings.”

Releasing an album hadn’t initially been on his agenda. “It was a dream come true but, as my agent said to me, ‘a dream I didn’t know I had’,” he says.

“I was terrified it would be totally laughed at but – although there was some comment about the pieces not being very difficult (that was the whole point, in fact), I think I got away with it.”

McGowan has to be sensible with his time, so that he can combine his twin passions of comedy and the piano. That, however, is no hardship. The long hours of practice that are required are joyous.

“I love practising,” he says. “It very rarely feels like a chore. I do find starting a piece always makes me feel like I know nothing – my sight-reading is awful and it takes me weeks to get a piece down, notes-wise alone.

“I do watch much less television as a result, however, which could affect the day job in time but I don’t miss it and, as you get older, I think it is even more important to do what makes you happy. Playing the piano does that for me every day.”

He has a number of favourite pianists and there are others who are particularly challenging for him.

“Anything by Debussy is an incredible challenge for me but I love the wash of sound. It sounds like you can do with his pieces what you will but obeying his precise markings always yields the best effect. Similarly, following John Field’s pedalling creates much better effects than doing your own. I struggle with most German music…Erik Satie’s music is just so beautiful to play - and not always as simple as it sounds - but he also had an incredible life and left us some Milligan-esque writing as well as his innovative music.”

The comic was famously coupled with fellow impressionist Ronni Ancona, though they reportedly split because of his obsession with football. He decided not to start a family because he’s not a fan of children. He briefly considered doing so after his father died, but decided against it.

Though he had his own show, The Big Impression, and has featured in countless stage and TV shows, he admits he’ll be nervous when he plays the piano for a live audience.

“I know I’m going to be extremely nervous, but whenever I’m in the middle of the music, I can always comfort myself knowing I’ve got that good Dr Michael Mosley or Dad’s Army impression coming up.

“A quick whisky before I go on stage? God, no. These days I’m all about sniffing the little bag of lavender I carry around with me.”

The show won’t just be music – there’ll also be plenty of impressions featuring everyone from politicians to actors. He developed that skill back at university when he was thrown together with a host of accents from up and down the country and became fixated on nailing the nuances between different voices.

Not all celebrities were fans of his impressions. “Generally, people think of it as a mark of success that they’ve made it enough to be impersonated and take it with good grace.

“We heard rumours that Posh and Becks hated our impressions of them, and Antony Worrall Thompson was apparently upset about our homoerotic parody of him and Oz Clarke fawning over food and wine.”