THREE THINGS WITH JOEL CREASEY: ‘I’VE BUILT ALMOST EVERY LEGO FLOWER KIT KNOWN TO MAN’
It’s that most wonderful time of year – Eurovision is back. The annual song contest gets under way on Tuesday 7 May, when the South Australian duo Electric Fields will compete against 14 other countries in the first semi-final. The comedian Joel Creasey and the music buff Myf Warhurst will be in Malmö, Sweden to host the SBS coverage.
For Creasey, hosting Eurovision is a happily different kind of gig. When he’s at home in Australia, the Perth-raised talent spends a lot of time doing evening standup shows. To avoid the temptations of a post-show drink, he’s learned to go straight home – and get stuck into some Lego. Here, Creasey tells us about his “obsession” with those plastic toy bricks and shares the other daily ritual he swears by.
What I’d save from my house in a fire
My current obsession is adult Lego. Hear me out.
I’ve been doing it each night with my partner, Jack, after I get home from a show to chill me out. Comics, and most performers for that matter, can fall down a tricky path of drinking after a show, night after night, to “take the edge off”, which I’ve been guilty of in the past. It’s completely understandable – we perform in licensed venues, the drinks are normally free, friends come on different nights and want to have a drink after: there are so many factors at play.
But with my workload at the moment, and given the fact I’m no longer the 20-year-old machine I once was, I’ve tried to get home immediately after my shows. Not only does it keep me away from booze, it’s also one of the rare moments I get to catch up with Jack. So, as a result, I’ve become addicted and have built almost every adult “Lego flower kit” known to man. The number of arguments (and the occasional laugh) Jack and I have had building these has been so much fun and seeing them burnt to pieces in a house fire would not only be incredibly toxic for the environment, but probably our relationship too.
My most useful object
I am a member of the ice bath cult. I’m so ice bath-besotted I even invested in a commercial ice maker so the local servo don’t see me buying three bags of ice each day and think I’m constantly throwing a party.
The health benefits I’ve seen from a daily ice bath over the last year have been incredible. I suffer from pretty severe arthritis – very fun for a 33-year-old! – and scoliosis. These baths really ease the pain.
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I didn’t know about the added beauty benefits until I started ice bathing daily, but I’ve also never had more compliments on my skin! Honestly, I don’t want to go full Pete Evans but if you commit to the ice bath, you’ll love it.
The item I most regret losing
Probably my AirPods. They slipped down the seat in a taxi after the Logies one year and I was so hungover and running so late for my flight that I didn’t have time to disassemble the seat. It was a very long and painful flight back to Melbourne that day.
Other than that, my girlfriend in grade 9, Kelly, stole my Nokia 3315 phone cover and didn’t give it back. I dumped her a day later.
SBS’s Eurovision coverage kicks off with the first semi-final on 8 May at 5am AEST. The grand final airs on 12 May at 7.30pm AEST.