Richardson appeared as one of the schoolboys in Alan Bennett's Forty Years On. This work led to him getting an agent and performing in TV plays as an extra. He then attended the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. It was here in the second year he became reacquainted with Nigel Planer, who had worked at Richardson's parents' summer camp. The pair shared an interest in rock music, and wanted to mix music with a comedy show; in Richardson's words "we felt we'd like to try something like what Frank Zappa was doing on records, which was being funny but using music as well.". Around this time Richardson and Planer were heavily influenced by U.S. comedians Sal's Meat Market, an early duo of John Ratzenberger and Ray Hassett, as well as the group Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias.