THE host of hit US TV show Storage Hunters, Sean Kelly, is joined by two of his co-stars in Barrow next month. He told KARL STEEL what we can expect

WE have already heard from American comedian Sean Kelly once this year, when he toured his one-man show to venues across the country this summer.

He has fond memories of his trip to Millom, and is looking forward to a return to Cumbria joined by two of his friends.

The host of the hit US TV show Storage Hunters is joined for an autumn run of dates by co-stars Tarrell “T-Money” Wright and Cameron “Green Mile” Rowe.

Sean is known for his somewhat indecipherable auction chant, T-Money takes on a role as a scheming tactical bidder, and Green Mile is the larger-than-life security guard keeping them all in check. Few people, however, know that they're all time-honoured stand-up comedians.

"T-Money and Cameron are way more experienced than people would ever expect," says Sean.

"I met them both 19 years ago at a comedy club - T-Money's brother is also a famous comedian in the States too.

"Once I started doing auctions, I brought T-Money out to show him how it's done and he enjoyed it, and when the TV show came around I had to get him involved.

"After the first season had been on air, suddenly we had 800 or 900 people turning up, so we needed more security, and Cameron got involved for season two.


"But comedy is where all of us came from, and for us to be touring the UK together is a dream come true."

Sean expects that a lot of people have been a little confused by what they might see as Storage Hunters Live - it's a comedy show featuring three established names who happen to have found wider, international fame through the show.

The appearance at The Forum, in Barrow, on Friday October 6 will see the three of them each perform their stand-up sets, though there is a nod to Storage Hunters with a charity auction to wrap up the evening.

"It's so strange when you're walking around a town before the show and there are people coming up to us taking selfies," says Sean.

"They obviously know me from Storage Hunters, but you tell them what you're doing and you can see them thinking, 'wait, he's doing comedy now?' - they don't know that we've all done these huge comedy festivals all over the States.

"We don't even talk about Storage Hunters in our acts, and I think that maybe that surprises a few people."

Sean only made his first visit to the UK in 2014, while the other two have never performed outside North America. It will be a unique experience for them, and most likely the only chance we'll get to see all three touring together.

Sean continues: "This year has been great, and I've done 66 shows in the last three months - some were great, and some just didn't go as I'd have liked. If the audience is right, then there's times that you'd think I was the funniest person alive!

"But they've mostly been good shows, and I really enjoyed the one in Millom - the thing I remember is that it was a great audience.

"The run of shows just by myself where building up to the Fringe, trying out material.

"So this latest show will be me doing the best of my Edinburgh material, and the best bits of my show in the States and combine them into a tight 30 minutes.

"It's been an amazing experience touring the UK, and I've probably now been to more places here than most Brits. We also filmed 56 episodes of the show all over the UK too, so I've been everywhere. You start to find out what people are like in these places.

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"I think I probably identify more with the people in the north - when I was a kid, I grew up living in a caravan and we were quite a poor family, so I come from that more working class, blue collar background - people seem to identify with that a little more than in London.

"The places I've found the most fascinating are the Roman cities like York, Durham and Bath - you know, that's the quaint England that we Americans think of. That's not to say places like Scunthorpe and Hull haven't been interesting too.

"I've started researching everywhere in advance now and doing my homework, so we like to arrive early and get into town and find out what it's about. I'm sure in Barrow I'll have a list of things to check out."

Partly to appease those that will inevitably turn up expecting a live version of Storage Hunters, but mostly to raise funds for Help For Heroes - Sean himself has served a tour of Iraq with the US army - the stage show inevitably ends in an auction.

Audience members are encouraged to bring along any 'old tat' and see what it fetches, and, as you would expect, there has been a real mixed bag so far.


"Of course we've had a few inappropriate objects, even some genuine antiques, and some people have brought in things that they didn't even want to get rid of - one guy brought his dad's Rolex! He gave it to me to auction and then bought it back for several hundred pounds.

"It's something different for a stand-up show, but just from the 16 shows I did in the summer we raised £5,400.

"We like to get out in the lobby and sign things and take selfies with people after the show - it's great to interact with people, and I enjoy meeting the fans too."

Sean seems to be revelling in his new-found life as a touring comic, but as with everything in his varied and wide-reaching career, he's got no plans to be pigeonholed as such.

After this autumn tour concludes, it's onto the next project - it could be some time before he's back in the capacity of a stand-up.

He explains: "The main reason I'm doing this is that I had nothing really scheduled for this year, and I was offered this opportunity to do some live shows.

"It's been an amazing experience, but I don't see myself doing tour after tour - that's not to say I'll never do it again, but there are lots of other things I want to do.

"I've got a few TV shows that I'm working on, and there's a true-life crime series that's being looked at by a few networks right now. I think I want to do things that will reach a lot of people.

"The other thing I'd like to do is motivational speaking for young people. I lived on my own from the age of 16, and I've got lots of stories that I would like to share with people and hopefully inspire them.

"Comedy will always be with me for the rest of my life, but there are so many things I want to do that I don't know when I'll get the chance to do this again."

Sean Kelly and the Stars of Storage Hunters appear at The Forum, in Barrow, on Friday October 6. Tickets are available from the venue's box office.