The Mixtape: David Walliams

Life is a series of laughs for English comedian and author David Walliams - even if his musical career ended at learning the recorder.

"I can't sing, I can't dance, I can't play an instrument. I'm multi-talentless, I wish I could make music, because it's one of those wonderful things, isn't it?" he said.

Walliams came to fame alongside Matt Lucas with the edgy BBC comedy series Little Britain, and Come Fly With Me, and later was a judge on the television talent show Britain's Got Talent.

He's also a hugely successful children's author, having spent more weeks in the children's charts than any other author - including Roald Dahl.

This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.

His musical education began and ended at the recorder, he tells RNZ's Music 101.

'We had to learn the recorder when we were in primary school, probably about five, and I genuinely, genuinely, 100 percent thought it was learning to use a tape recorder.

"Because when we had assemblies at school, it was one boy's job to press play on the tape recorder for the hymn music that we were singing along to.

"And I was so jealous of him that he got to press a button that I was very excited to learn the recorder, and very disappointed when I was handed this wind instrument."

He might not be able to sit down at parties and peel off a song, but famous friend Elton John did dazzle guests at Walliams' 50th, he said.

"I didn't want to ask him, because I thought, well, you can't, you know, it's embarrassing.

"So, he just said, 'I'll play three songs'. And he played 'Tiny Dancer', 'Your Song' and 'Rocket Man', and he added my mum's name, Kathleen, into 'Your Song.' And so it was, it was really really, really special. It was so hushed; everyone was so in awe.

"It was a pretty magic moment, and one that I wasn't expecting. And best of all, I didn't have to pay him a penny."

Australian comedian Barry Humphries, who also became a good friend, was a childhood comedy inspiration, Walliams said.

"It was one of those lightning-striking moments when I saw him as a teenager on stage in the West End, and this show called 'Back with a Vengeance'."

Watching Humphries' character Dame Edna was the moment when Walliams felt the call of showbiz, he said.

"I just didn't feel like I'd be a stand-up comedian. And at the time, stand-up comedians were a bit cool, came on in jeans and T shirt and talked about subjects I knew nothing about.

"But to create the comedy character and to play the kind of games he did with the audience, where he'd say something nice, but it would have a sting in the tail, like some larger lady gets up out of the audience and he goes about her dress 'lovely material darling, I'm surprised you could get so much of it', really, really, outrageously funny."

After Walliams own comedy career took off, he and Humphries became good friends.

"I remember the first time I met him, me and Matt were having breakfast with him, and someone said, 'I've got some freshly-squeezed orange juice'. He said, 'have you got any orange juice, which is just slightly past its best?' We were like crying with laughter - comedy flowed through him like water.

"I was glad that I got to splash around in that river for a little bit with him."

After working in comediy for 30 years, it's clear that Walliams' early career choice paid off. However, he's always on the look-out for new challenges, he said.

"I feel very lucky to have had a few stages to my career, and then I'm always looking. 'Okay, what's the next chapter? What's the next thing that I can apply my meagre talents to?"

Characters from Little Britain, the show for which Walliams is best known, will feature in his live performances here. The programme has attracted some retrospective criticism, but Walliams seems relaxed about that.

"There's a sort of big debate goes on in the media, and people make a big noise on social media, but at the end of the day, ordinary people just love it, because they can see what it is, which is just a show designed to make them laugh.

"So, if you take comedy really literally, then you're going to find fault with it, but if you understand that it's playful and that is designed just to make you laugh, make you happy, then you'll enjoy it."

David Walliams played:

• Louis Armstrong - 'We Have All the Time in the World'
• Herb Alpert - 'This Guy's in Love With You'
• Passengers & Pavorotti - 'Miss Sarajevo'
• Ella Fitzgerald - 'I've Got You Under My Skin'
• The Smiths - 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'

David Walliams is coming to New Zealand later this month with two shows: An Audience with David Walliams for Grown-Ups and The David Walliams Book Show for both the kids and the grandparents.