The Archive
2003
Beginners luck
I was encouraged to try stand-up by Colin, landlord of the Bunch of Grapes, home to Mark Olver’s weekly open-mic night.
I booked my first five-minute spot for my birthday weekend in January 2003.
On the bill were the excitable anarchist Eric Mutch, Wil Hodgson—who went on to win the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe Best Newcomer Award—and Russell Howard! I barely remember my performance, but I’ll never forget the relief, adrenaline and achievement I felt afterwards.
In April that year, i entered a BBC new act competition, held at The Cavern in Bath. Id done three or four gigs by then and met one performer who was about to perform for the first time was Jon Richardson. He looked sick with nerves but I gave him some reassuring words of encouragement. I didn't get through to the Semi Finals but Jon did along with Rhod Gilbert, who went on to win the title.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was performing with the future stars of British Comedy.
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High Fives
I was encouraged to try stand-up by Colin, landlord of the Bunch of Grapes in Bristol. The famous Bristol boozer was home to a weekly open-mic gig run by Bristol's comedy king-pin, Mark Olver.
I booked my first five-minute spot and a few nerve-racking weeks later found myself performing on a bill with an excitable anarchist called Eric Mutch, an ex-wrestler with a pink mohican named Wil Hodgson—(They went on to win the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe Best Newcomer Award) —and a comedian that many of the audience were there to see called Russell Howard! I barely remember my performance, but I’ll never forget the relief, adrenaline and achievement I felt afterwards.
In the months that followed, I performed several more times, finding myself drawn deeper into a creative sub culture that was open to everyone and fuelled by the approval of strangers
BBC New Talent Competition
In April that year, I entered a BBC competition for new acts, held at The Cavern in Bath. Id done three or four gigs by then and met one performer who was about to perform for the first time his name was Jon Richardson!. He looked sick with nerves and ready to run out of the door but I gave him some reassuring words of encouragement, along the lines of "You'll love it" Jon went on to win the heat, I was a joint runner up. Rhod Gilbert won the title that year, I think he won just about every title going.
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Of course, nobody knew at the time that we were performing alongside some of the future stars of British comedy. It was a flourishing era, and the South West certainly seemed to be a nursery of talent.
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So You Think You're Funny
I also entered the other major new-act competition, Channel 4’s So You Think You’re Funny? It has a rich history, with past winners including Peter Kay and Lee Mack, and runners-up such as Sarah Millican. I won the South West heat and, in August that year, travelled to Edinburgh to perform in the semi-finals at the Gilded Balloon.
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I didn’t make the final. The overall winner was Tom Wrigglesworth, but I’d had a taste of performing at one of the Fringe’s most famous venues. I hadn’t fully appreciated the kudos that came with being a semi-finalist, either. In the weeks that followed, I found myself getting more bookings.
In the autumn of 2003, with a child on the way, my wife and I upped sticks and moved to Torquay, lured by the sunshine, penny arcades and rockpools.