Wil Anderson: How growing up on a dairy farm shaped his comedy

The Australian comedy legend was conditioned to the early starts growing up on the family dairy farm near Heyfield, Victoria.

It's a legacy that served him well as a triple j breakfast radio host but was less useful for the stand-up comedy circuit.

"Most of my work is late night so it would be ideal to sleep in," he said.

"Unfortunately, I'm a life-long early riser.

"If I wake any later than 5am I can't get back to sleep; once you've done milking and breakfast radio that's it."

Anderson would reflect on his youth in his new hour of stand-up comedy, Wilegitimate, which was touring the country now and coming to Albury on Saturday, June 29.

The eldest of three siblings, Anderson, 50, said it was timely to revisit his childhood and his perspectives from his formative years.

"I turned 50 this year and my dad turned 80," Anderson said.

"The idea is to revisit what I was thinking at 20 or 21 when I was starting out in comedy and my dad was the age I am now.

"When you're young and making your identity you view things one way but you might reflect on them in a different way as you get older.

"Because I drew so much of who I was by how different I was to my dad, I had to examine how much did I reasonably represent him and how much did I not (in my early jokes)?"

The host of ABC TV's Gruen, who on this week's show insisted AI would only ever mean "artificial insemination" in his world, said dairy farm kids always had a decent work ethic.

He was 14 or 15 when he started helping out with milking before school and in the summer holidays.

"I didn't mind the milking," he said.

"It was kind of a 'set and forget' job, which meant I could put my headphones on and daydream.

"I never had simpatico for dairy farming whereas my brother did and my dad always did.

"But there are similarities between farming and comedy; you're still feeding something and growing something!"

Anderson said the stand-up comedy scene in Australia had grown monumentally throughout his career and particularly since the global pandemic.

He said there was a lot going on in myriad ways.

"I think everybody made their own choices about what to prioritise during the pandemic," Anderson said.

"There was a period of time where we wondered would it come back; groups of people gathering in an unventilated room for a live show.

"Some people who were doing everything through screens have stuck with that while others craved going back to the live, authentic shows.

"It's part of the reason I'm back on the road; I missed creating something live."

Describing himself as an "easy laugh", Anderson said Australian comedy was in the best position ever.

He said it was completely different to when he started out three decades ago.

"Hannah Gadsby and and Adam Hills are doing great things," he said.

Among others Anderson rated were Mel Buttle, Emma Holland, Gillian Cosgriff, Rhys Nicholson and Guy Montgomery.

Aside from Gruen, Anderson has Question Everything and smash hit podcasts Wilosophy and TOFOP, a Helpmann award winner, six-time MICF People's Choice Award recipient and 2022's Director's Choice at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and Best of the Fest at the Sydney Comedy Festival, respectively.

Anderson got the first gig at The Cube Wodonga, when it launched on Saturday, August 25, 2012.

The Albury show starts at 6.30pm, which will suit the Sunday morning early-risers in the audience and Anderson himself!

For tickets visit alburyentertainmentcentre.com.au or go to the box office in business hours.