Kevin Bridges' boozy bender with Woody Harrelson in Dublin

Virgin Radio

12 Dec 2023, 17:08

U2 frontman Bono, a group of Canadian hippies, and the first move at The World Chess Championship are just some of the peculiar details that came from comedian Kevin Bridges' chance encounter with Hollywood star Woody Harrelson.

As Kevin Bridges career has gone from success to success, over his nearly 20 year career, he has attracted a rather large fanbase that has, in turn, collected a cavalcade of famous names along the way.

Not only has he drawn the high praise of England International Jack Grealish, who recently shared a story on Instagram declaring Bridges the 'funniest guy ever', but has also had stars of the screen, such as Derry Girls' Laura Harland, and Hollywood cool guy Woody Harrelson, attending some of his more recent gigs.

On The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch, Bridges remembered how he was told that Harrelson was in attendance at one of his shows on his 2018 tour in Dublin.

Evans wondered if Bridges was ever informed about a star's arrival at a show , to which Bridges was more than happy confirm: "[I'd] done the show on a Friday night. Promoter then says, 'By the way, just to let you know, tomorrow night, Woody Harrelson is coming.' I was like, 'Wow!'

"My wife had come over for the weekend. My best mate he'd come over. And it was like if I just got another good gig here, this could be a great weekend."

Excited at the prospect of hearing a great yarn, Evans and Bridges both said 'how anybody's whose ever met him [Harrelson] will tell a story about him.'

Bridges then launched into a story, that will no doubt make a routine someday soon, if it hasn't already.

He continued: "So the gig went well. Dublin, the arena there, that feels like a club. even though there is 10,000 people, but right in front of you. It's designed like an old kind of amphitheatre.

"Yeah, so the gig goes good. Woody comes backstage. We ended up having a few beers, we end up going back to the hotel.

"Anyway, I kind of called the night at a professional time, because I had the show the next night. Woody he comes back.

Pretty tame encounter with a celebrity so far, well Bridges was only just getting started, he carried on: "He brings about 20 people, all these stoned Canadian hippies and then we end up going back out.

"Then the next day, Bono is playing in the same venue is me. So Woody is going to that and goes, 'Do you want to come and see U2? I'm mates with Bono.'

"So we go, 'why not?' We've got the day off on the Monday, we're drinking during the day in Dublin, we go to the gig."

Then opportunity knocks once again for Kevin: "And then Woody says, 'do you want to come backstage to meet the band?' And it was me that kind of it called it.

"I said, 'Nah, we are unpresentable.' Like we can't go back and meet Bono and The Edge like this. Maybe we'd get backstage and meet Oasis or a hell raiser in the back. I'd imagined there'd be a lot of casuals like that. I said no."

Bridges had thought that seeing the gig was enough for him and his crew. However, Harrelson wasn't finished with him just yet.

Kevin said: "I woke up the next morning to a video with Bono.

"Woody Harrelson sent me a video of him recording Bono. And Bono's like, 'Hey Kevin, how come you never came back here and you're having a pyjama party or something.

"So a bit strange but it was a cool video to receive."

An incredibly surreal moment for Bridges who had been on a 'two day to three day bender' only to have it all come crashing to a halt with Bono's face.

And the reason for alcoholic odyssey that Bridges was taken on by Harrelson, well it could not be more the opposite of a wild weekend.

Kevin closed his story out with: "Do you know why he was over in Ireland? He was coming over to the UK and Ireland for all that kind of drunken debauchery, but he was actually here to make the false move at the World Chess Championship.

"So after three day mad one, right? He's like, 'Right I'd better head over to London to move a pawn.'"

‘KEVIN BRIDGES: THE OVERDUE CATCH UP’ - AVAILABLE TO OWN DIGITALLY AND ON DVD NOWFOR MORE INFORMATION HEAD TO: KEVINBRIDGES.CO.UK

For more great interviews listen to  The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or  catch up on-demand here.