Preaching to the converted

By Nick Bond.

Judith Lucy’s book The Lucy Family Alphabet has been on the bestseller list since its release last month. Was she surprised the story of her odd family proved to be such a hit?

Not at all! she laughs. Mind you, this is kind of my approach to life: I go in with low expectations.

Writing it was not an easy process, admits Lucy. The past year has been particularly eventful for her. She wrote the book, went through the break-up of a long-term relationship (Get excited -” I’m available, she quips), and turned 40 in March.

In the late 90s, Lucy could be heard regularly on Fox FM’s Martin Molloy show offering up her barbed commentary on celebrity culture. She even based a stand-up show around her celeb obsession. I suggest that, having read The Lucy Family Alphabet, the current exploits of Britney, Lindsay et al don’t seem too far removed from her own tales of life as a drunken 20-something.

She responds in mock horror. I think you’ll find I always wore underpants.

Among all the bizarre childhood anecdotes, The Lucy Family Alphabet touches on one brief, friendly sojourn Lucy enjoyed with a clique of New York lesbians. Is this as far as she’s strayed from her rampant heterosexuality?

Oh no, I’ve given it a crack a few times, she says. There was one evening where my best friend and I drank five bottles of wine and had a big old pash. When she told friends of ours what had happened, she told them that she found me -˜revolting’. I had the good grace to just say it was an unexpected evening.

Any other lesbian liaisons you’d care to admit?

I can think of at least two other women that I’ve kissed, but then it stops. I like cock, what can I do?

For those who think Judith Lucy is their cup of tea, here’s some good news: a new live show is on the horizon. She’s been open about her past battles with anxiety, which almost hobbled her 2006 show I Failed. The season left her a physical wreck; battling eczema, back problems and a vicious case of vaginitis.

But Lucy has decided to hit the road again. She’s currently busy writing a show with the working title Judith Lucy’s Not Getting Any Younger, which may make its debut at the next Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Next year I’ll be back on the boards, and hopefully without the vaginitis, she promises.

Now there’s something to look forward to.

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The Lucy Family Alphabet by Judith Lucy is available at all good bookshops.