Comedian Frank Skinner says seeing legendary guitarist was "a fabulous meditative experience"

There's something about comedy and heavy metal. From Bill Hicks touring with Tool to Sam Kinison getting sampled by Anthrax on I'm The Man all the way up to out-and-out metal loving comedians like Brian Posehn, Bill Bailey and Andrew O'Neill - who even wrote the book The History Of Heavy Metal based on their stand-up routine - loud guitars have a way of winning over comedians.

Now you can apparently add Frank Skinner to that list. In an appearance on UK chat show The Jonathan Ross Show, the Birmingham comedian spoke about how he had been exploring the genre with his son Buzz Cody, aged 11.

"In the last year we've been to see KISS, Slipknot, Metallica..." he reveals.

Host Jonathan Ross appears horrified about the idea of a child seeing Iowa's masked maniacs, but Frank is quick to assure him - "I think 11's alright to see Slipknot," he quips.

In an April episode of his podcast, he also detailed how going to see Slash helped him realise the theraputic benefits of metal gigs.

"He did a solo last night, Slash, I am not kidding you it is the greatest guitar solo I've ever heard," he explains. "It lasted about three weeks - I don't mean in a bad way - I just swam in it. All the things about being sacked from the radio show, getting old, impending death, presenting the BRITs, that thing on my foot, that barmaid in Wigan in '98... none of it mattered. I felt like I'd been cleansed by this solo. And then it went on even further. It was a beautiful experience, I came out of it feeling refreshed."

In that same episode, he also shares an anecdote about upsetting guitarist Eric Clapton during a TV interview when he was caught humming Layla coming out of a bathroom.

Listen to the full episode below.

Skinner hosted a long-running radio show on Absolute Radio until May 2024. He has a West End residency starting on August 5th at London's Gielgud Theatre, ahead of a UK tour for 30 Years Of Dirt.

For the full list of tour dates, check out his official website.