Yorkshire Comedy

Two consecutive nights of Stand-Up in Halifax this April

SquareChapelHalifax — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:17:18 +0000

First up at Square Chapel this April is internationally-acclaimed comedian Laurence Clark, currently touring his new show, Health Hazard; an off-the-wall look at how Americans view our NHS. Interjected with bizarre encounters and amazing characters, this is comedy at its best. His observations and hidden camera footage show the endearing naivety and ridiculousness of human behaviour by seeing the world through his eyes with humour and warmth. Laurence, who has cerebral palsy, was recently seen in a ground-breaking TV documentary – We Wont Drop the Baby. He has also appeared on BBC2s Having a Laugh.

The laughs keep coming on Friday 13 April when Andrew Lawrence takes to the stage, a comic who has wowed critics and audiences alike. The titles of some of his shows – ‘How To Butcher Your Loved Ones’ and ‘Social Leprosy for Beginnners and Improvers’ gives a clue as to his approach to humour. Well-known for his Radio 4 series ‘What to Do If You’re Not Like Everybody Else’ he has also appeared on TVs Live at the Apollo and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow.

Laurence Clark: Health Hazard is on Thursday 12 April and Andrew Lawrence – The Best Kept Secret in Comedy is Friday 13 April. Both shows start at 8pm and tickets are amazing value at just £11 full price and £9 concessions.

Stand-up and comedy shows galore this Summer at Square Chapel in Halifax

SquareChapelHalifax — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:36:05 +0000

This Summer Square Chapel Centre for the Arts, Halifax has a host of stand-up and comedy shows, in fact so many you may as well set up camp for the whole Summer!

Laurence Clark: Health Hazard! Thursday 12 April @ 8pm. Comedian, presenter, writer and actor Lawrence Clarke embarks on a one-man mission to sell the benefits of free healthcare to America. Join him, as he heads off camera in hand, to find out how Americans view our NHS. Punctuated with bizarre incidents and amazing characters, this is comedy at its best. Click here for more info.

Andrew Lawrence – The Best Kept Secret in Comedy, Friday 13 April @ 8pm Does his name ring a bell? Maybe you’ve heard his Radio 4 series or seen him on ‘Micheal McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow’. Probably you’ve never heard of him at all. How remiss of you. Be part of the secret and join him on his latest UK stand-up tour. Click here to see his page on our website.

Just Good Friends, Sunday 15 April @ 2.30pm & 7.30pm. Felix is secretly in love with his best friend Filomena. But as kind-hearted and generous as she is, Felix does not have a lot going for him; he ain’t no George Clooney! Played out in Chaplin-esque slapstick style with clowning that will make you laugh out loud. If you want to find out more, or book, click here.

The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, Thursday 3 May @ 8pm. Be prepared to laugh your socks off with this comedy duo. Their sketches, which are regular hits on YouTube, include such satires on modern life as ‘The Facebook Song’, ‘Vuvuzela’ and ‘Swine Flu’. With their versions of films, TV and plays from Star Wars to Downton Abbey they have made themselves a cult hit. Read more about this wooly comedy duo.

Coffin Up, Friday 18 May @ 8pm. Set in “Britain’s Healthiest Village,” this fast-paced comedy tells the story of a dastardly undertaker and his quest to make money by whatever means. With mounting bills and a lack of customers, can the undertaker get enough money to keep his business a float in this tale of greed, insanity, theft and morris dancing! Meet the dastardly undertaker and book here.

Can You Dig It? Saturday 26 May @ 7.30pm. A night of comedy songs about growing your own vegetables, starring musical comedians Jo Stephenson and Dan Woods. The critically acclaimed horticultural revue includes the ballad of Derrick The Evil Pigeon, a powerful love song to Alan Titchmarsh, and the world’s first rap battle between a gardener and a slug. No filth (except mud). Find out more about the horticultural comics.

Tickets for all shows are £11 & £9 concessions. To find out more or book go to Squarechapel.co.uk or call 01422 349422

Laugh out Loud in Leeds

James Christopher — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:58:00 +0000

Posting on behalf of Ruth Burke-Kennedy, of Northern Ballet

A new programme of comedy performances gets underway in October at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds newest venue, on Quarry Hill.

Kicking things off is spoof business guru and motivational speaker L Vaughn Spencer – the hilarious, award-winning alter ego of comedian Neil Mullarkey – with his one man show ‘Don’t Be Needy Be Suceedy’.

Ex-Footlights president, Mullarkey has featured widely with Britain’s top improv troup The Comedy Store Players. TV appearances include ‘Have I Got News for You’ and ‘QI’ and Neil is a regular on radio programmes including ‘Just a Minute’, ‘The News Quiz’, ‘Quote…Unquote’ and ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue’.

His orange-suited character L Vaughn Spencer has toured theatres across the UK and Ireland as well as appearing before British, American and international conference audiences across the Northern Hemisphere. ‘Don’t Be Needy Be Suceedy’ won the Award for Best Satire at the Edinburgh Festival in 2003.

Yorkshire’s longest running comedy club, The Last Laugh, will be holding a monthly comedy night at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre. Each month they’ll bring the finest stand up talent from the UK and around the world. Resident compere Toby Foster (Phoenix Nights, Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere) or one of his funny friends will introduce three different comics every month. So grab a drink from the bar and enjoy the best laugh in Leeds.

Hailing from Sheffield the unmissable Everly Pregnant Brothers perform Big Night Out, their unique mix of stand-up comedy and ukulele music with wicked ukulele tunes and cutting lyrics that chronicle the lives of seven Yorkshire men. Beer, pies, smiles and ukes. What else is there?

Two British comedy legends Phil Cool and Richard Digance will also be performing. Comedian and impressionist Phil Cool – the original Mr. Rubber Face who can metamorphose with ease from the Pope to Sylvester Stallone, Tina Turner to Forrest Gump, Jack Nicholson to Bugs Bunny, David Attenborough to a seahorse.

Phil has achieved 5 top selling videos, 4 TV specials, 3 hit series for the BBC, 2 acclaimed series for Independent TV. His 80s television shows has obtained cult status through ‘YouTube’.

Award-winning folk entertainer Richard Digance appeals to all age groups, singing his own songs, telling stories, and adding in his popular poems and legendary audience participation sing-songs for good measure. Join him for a wonderful evening of brilliant self-penned comic songs introduced with panache, style and outrageous humour.

Information about performances and details on how to book can be found at www.northernballet.com/boxoffice or by phoning 0113 220 8008.

For further information, images, interviews or press tickets please contact Ruth Burke-Kennedy, Head of Communications, Northern Ballet ruth.burke-kennedy@northernballet.com 0113 220 8000 www.northernballet.com

Jongleurs Comedy is back in Leeds…

GavMac — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:07:00 +0000

Jongleurs, the world famous comedy brand, has established itself in a new home in Leeds!

Oceana on woodhouse lane, presents Jongleurs weekly in the Venetian Ballroom which offers a fantastic theatrical setting for comedy!

Bringing you the brightest talent in worldwide comedy, we invite you too Eat, Drink, Laugh and Dance your weekend nights away!

For more info on Jongleurs, simply visit the website: www.jongleurs.com

regards

Jongleurs.

Giggle Aid 2011

max — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:06:42 +0000

Do you love comedy? If you do, you may be interested to know that on the 18th December 2011 a comedy benefit night in support of the British Red Cross is being held at the Sheffield United Football Club. Live acts include the hilarious Stewart Francis from Mock the Week, Yorkshire born Anthony J Brown and Alfie Moore, as well as Mundo Jazz and Sully O’Sullivan. Food will be available to buy at the venue and guests will be seated in a cabaret style. This event is a Christmas cracker which you do not want to miss!

For more information on the event, please call Max Newton on 0114 242 7379 or email Max on mnewton@redcross.org.uk. Tickets are £15 (£12 unwaged).

James Christopher / Triangle Man – Free solo Edinburgh Fringe show

James Christopher — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:34:55 +0000

Follow my Edinburgh progress on Twitter @JCbeermat #triangleman

Nice interview about my 2011 solo Fringe show.

http://www.thenewcurrent.com/2011/07/11/12044/

And after unleashing his first character creation at last year’s Festival, the hapless Lib Dem MP Michael Mound, James has upped the ante with his latest alter-ego – Jean… Paul! A Frenchman and a musical act, he detests the lazy British stereotype that musical comedians are charlatans who hide behind their instrument and garner applause for their musical skill rather than their wit.

More information on James’ show can be found at the end of his interview.

How are things going, you all ready for the Fringe?

Posters: approved and sent to the printers. Blurbs and press releases: written and sent to various outlets. Accommodation: my bank balance is similar to that of a small third world country. Show: Writeen, and previewed in Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds, Preston, and my mate Andy Watson’s front room.

The Fringe is several months planning for one month of absolute chaos, but I bloody love it and can’t envisage missing a year for the foreseeable future.

Best five words that describe your show?

If anything, too short.

Tell us a bit about your show, what can we expect?

Triangles. It’s about having more than two options, and the complications of the ‘third option’. My jokes and observations are born from this mind-set. I end by portraying Jean Paul, and new character who is a musical comic with a difference – his instrument is literally a triangle.

In the middle, there’s a true story about the one time in my life when I got stoned, when I made a herb infused spaghetti bolognese. And to top it all off, a Burlesque interlude from Trixie Passion!

How do you write your show, what inspires you?

I write continuously for my regular set. This show, like last year’s, features a brand new character act. It’s a very different and very inspiring discipline to write for a character. Last year’s character was a politician who’d lost his seat, which involved a lot of research. This year, it feels more organic – the character feels much more developed and rich.

What do you think makes the Free Fringe so worthwhile?

£16 is too much for one hour of comedy. And it’s not as if that’s even a full evening’s entertainment. The Free Fringe have venues all over town, you get to see the sights and you get to see well-established acts alongside rising stars. I’m up for the full run, and I never get to see everything I want to see in the Free Fringe brochure.

What would you want your audience to take from the show?

That’s not up to me really! I hope people let me know what they took from the show by tweeting me at #JCBeermat. I’ve tried to make it as funny as possible, I’ve tried to provide variation and something to remember. I hope it stands out from the hours and hours of straight stand-up on The Fringe.

What advice would you give someone bringing a show to the fringe?

I got some great advice last year. Mostly, my crowds were fantastic and I had a brilliant time. But one afternoon, I had a rowdy group of drunks in. They were heckling, not in a hostile way, but because they wanted to be ‘involved’ in the show. My show culminated with a character peice in which I portrayed a fallen Lib Dem MP.

It was quite conceptual and cerebral, and I was concerned it wouldn’t go down well with a gang of lagered up lads. I told the crowd I’d probably not do the character today, and someone said, ‘It’s YOUR show. Do what YOU want to do.’ So I did, and the rowdy lads noticed the change of tone and behaved very well during my character section. So that’s the advice I’d pass on – it’s YOUR show, nobody else’s.

Category: Comedy
Genres: sketch show, stand-up
Group: James Christopher / PBH’s Free Fringe
Venue: Dragonfly
Event Website: www.freefringe.org.uk
Date: 6-27 August
Time: 21:00

YorkshireComedy is going to Edinburgh!

James Christopher — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 07:25:15 +0000

Now in our third year, YorkshireComedy returns to Edinburgh bigger and better than ever – in the 250+ capacity Base venue on Cowgate! I played this venue twice last year in a similar slot (afternoon delight), and both shows had well into three figures. We’re hoping for similar!

The venue is usually a nightclub, but it transforms very effectively into a comedy club. A large stage, great PA and lighting, and row upon row of seating. An upstairs dancefloor converts to upper tier seating and has good views of the stage, for use when the downstairs floor is full. Base is ideally situated for flyering, being on the busy Cowgate, which runs parallel to The Royal Mile, and links The Pleasance with Grassmarket. Plus, it’s right next to the bottom floor tunnel entrance to The Underbelly, which has the dual advantage of being very busy, and providing shelter for flyering when it’s raining!

YorkshireComedy first went up to the Fringe three years ago, in the rather smaller but very pleasant Illicit Still pub. Myself, Dan Bland, Lee Chamberlain and Richard Scully, plus the odd guest. We only called it Yorkshire Comedians because it was the only thing we had in common. So it came as a pleasant surprise when every day, when I asked whilst compering, between a quarter and a third of the crowd were from Yorkshire. I’m not sure this trick would work for every area of the UK, or if it’s a unique trait of Yorkshire pride! A happy accident. We got good numbers, and last year, we were given the slightly larger Dragonfly venue, just off Grassmarket, and Graham Lee joined us in the last week.

This year, Lee Chamberlain is in Thailand, and unable to join us. Richard Scully has moved to Romania with work, but that hasn’t stopped him making the trip back for another stint with the Yorkshire show. Graham Lee also returns.

Aware that we had a huge venue to fill, we set about adding some sparkle to the show. So this year, we are Yorkshire Comedy Cabaret. Burlesque performer Trixie Passion joins us, to perform a Yorkshire seaside themed sketch. Plus, every day we’re joined by a variety of performers, such as hilarious pirate sketch troupe Jollyboat, and the confoundingly comedic magaician David Adlnwick. Our teasingly cheeky poster is based on The Graduate, and complements the movie poster theme of my solo show, James Christopher / Triangle Man, which is based on A Nightmare On Elm Street.

We’ve also got some large sandwich board signs with our poster on, so we’ll be hitting Cowgate, Grassmarket and The Royal Mile for our first show this Saturday.

The Yorkshire Comedy Cabaret is at 15.45 everday except Wednesdays, from Saturday 6 to Saturday 27 August inclusive. Entry is free as part of the PBH Free Fringe, there’s a voluntary colleciton at the end. The show is 1 hr. Base is on Cowgate, venue number 56, Edinburgh EH1 1JW.

Follow my Edinburgh progress on Twitter: @jcbeermat

EY UP!

yorkshirecomedy.com — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:45:40 +0000

Welcome to YorkshireComedy.com, a site written by and for people involved and interested in comedy around the region.

If you’re a comedian looking for gigs or a promoter looking for comedians, have a look in the forums, where you’ll find a bustling community of banter.

This section of the website is to be written by you – so if you’ve got a review, interview, gig diary, opinion or anything else you think we should hear about – post it here. Register to get started.

The York Arts Barge Project presents…

Marcia Mackey — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 09:11:03 +0000

A night of amiable* comedy and psychological intrigue.

The truly unique Steve Day performs his ‘Deafy’s Island Discs’, offering warm and witty insight into the dilemmas of being a deaf man in ahearing world.

The calm and collected Rory Motion invites us to share in his perspective through his inimitable poetry, songs and stories.

“Bush & McCluskey, the finest musical comedy duo this side of the Antipodean. Between them, almost one whole person.”(*amiability not guaranteed).

And… psychological Illusionist Chris Rawlins throws an astounding confounding mixture of magic, suggestion, bluff and showmanship into the mix!

Sunday June 19th, 7.30pm – 10.30pm.
Grand Opera House, York.
Tickets range from £11 – £14 full price and £5.50 – £7.50 concessions (students / children 15+).
Bookings via the Grand Opera House website will incur booking fees.

All About Abbcom

Rich Milner — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:34:45 +0000

Beneath Sheffield’s domed Abbeydale Picturehouse you will find a gig with more than a little character. Since 2007 Gareth Urwin and Simon Gunnell, joined thereafter by Lev Stern, have cultivated a something of a cult following for a comedy club that feels a lot like going to your local. “It kind of has a family feeling to it,” Gareth tells me. “You know the people there. It’s a bit like Cheers. A comedy Cheers.”

Gareth Urwin & Simon Gunnell

I spoke to Gareth and Lev not long after Simon had become a father, so the absence of his comments is due to sleepless nights and nappy changing, not just his being the quieter of the three. To be honest I was pretty lucky Gareth could make it, what with it being his gran’s birthday. Having met at uni in Sheffield the two had known each other for years before they had a pop at comedy.

It started when one of Gareth’s colleagues, noting his knack for a laugh and a joke, asked him if he’d like to join in with an improv night she was involved with at Trippets in the city centre. It went well, so after a couple of months of improv Gareth tried a bit of stand-up. Before long the troupe became Comedy Republik, a regularly packed out night at West Street Live featuring improv, sketches and stand-up. With an untapped talent as a jokesmith, Gunnell then got on board to pen the sketches.

Over the course of a year they put more focus on their stand-up and invited other comedians to perform, such as Pete Smith from Derby who would later join Gareth on his radio chat show on Sheffield Live. But the rest of the troupe were on the ‘thespy’ side of comedy so when they came across Bar Abbey, Urwin and Gunnell decided to make it home to their own purely stand-up gig. Abbcom was born.

It got off to an impressive start, with good audience numbers off the bat and early gigs featuring the likes of Chris Ramsay and Adam Tempest. But this wasn’t down to talent scouting, Gareth explains. “Me and Gunnell weren’t doing the circuit when we first started, we didn’t know who these people were, so we were just booking acts who’d do it for free. We didn’t know if they’d be any good or not, and we got lucky. So it was only after the first two or three months when we started doing more open spots and gongs that we cherry picked people that we liked in the open spot circuit.”

Ramsay would subsequently return to the venue, notably to preview his 2010 Edinburgh show, breaking the mic in the process. During a bit in which he swung the mic with the the cable, the end flew off and into the audience. They needed a new one anyway, but surprising, haphazard moments like that help give Abbcom its character. No one would describe Bar Abbey as plush, but its unpretentious pluck adds to a “kind of underground, chaotic, dirty feel,” suggests Gareth. “That’s what we like about it, that it is raw, and it’s the chaos and the rawness that the audience likes,” he explains. “It’s like comedy clubs used to be,” says Lev.

Obviously there are other factors besides its filthy gorgeousness that have helped Abbcom survive into its fourth year. Its affordability and the fact that the locals don’t have to schlep into town makes comedy accessible to an audience that might not otherwise have bothered but have since become hooked. In no sense is Abbcom competing with the premier league line-ups on offer at Sheffield’s and Yorkshire’s longest running comedy club, The Last Laugh and its littler sister. Like all good new act and new material nights, Abbcom nurtures nascent comedy. The audience knows some will be rubbish, some will be good, and a few might be on the telly some day. It’s a lottery that always pays out, courtesy of a solid headliner.

The fact that Simon has booked so many acts with potential over the years certainly doesn’t hurt, but how do you maintain a standard people will return for while providing much needed stage time for brand new acts? Gareth tells me: “We were lucky at first, getting people who’ve continued to do well in stand-up, but since then we’ve tried to maintain a balance with three acts who we’ve seen and we know and three acts who we don’t know; give them a chance, see how they do. That’s the ethos by which Gunnell books it all.” However it is that Abbcom keeps people coming back, you do tend to see many of the same faces each month.

One face that is always missed is Gareth’s. “The regulars are important to us and that’s what I like as a compère. It’s nice to compère when during the break you get people coming up to you and speaking to you like they know you or they’re a mate. If you get that then you know you’ve done your job as a compère because they feel you’re a mate. And that’s what you get at Abbcom. I feel sorry for the guest compères because it is hard. It shouldn’t be but for some reason it is, because they try and play it like a normal gig. I think that’s the difference. You can’t play it like a normal gig.”

Such is the crowd’s fondness for Gareth and aversion to any visiting not-Gareths that even when the task falls to Lev, a familiar face, he takes to sporting a disguise. “I went on stage with a mask of Gareth’s face on and it was great until I took the mask off.”

In fact, Lev became a very familiar face not long after Abbcom started. “Being as I lived just round the corner, and every month someone dropped out, I ended up having something like a 4 or 5 month residency and then started gigging in other places and stuff. And then I started my own gig up in Hillsborough called ‘Up The Wrong ‘Un’.” Gareth illustrates the idea: “‘What did you do last night mate? Oh, I took my missus ‘Up The Wrong ‘Un’.” Lev suggests that ultimate responsibility for the name lies elsewhere. “I was bandying some ideas around and it was James Christopher’s idea.”

Gareth is surprised. “Was it?”

“Yeah, it was actually his baby that one,” says Lev.

“Up The Wrong ‘Un?” repeats Gareth, unconvinced.

“Up the wrong ‘Un,” Lev nods. “Because James Christopher and I were on Facebook or something and we were throwing ideas back and forth for the night and I think he came up with it and we eventually whittled it down to ‘Up The Wrong ‘Un’ but as I remember it that was down to James.”

“Really? Didn’t know that,” says Gareth, satisfied.

The flyer featured a bottle of Henderson’s Relish standing in a Sheffield street, rebranded with an ‘Up The Wrong ‘Un’ label. Despite a good first night the gig wasn’t the right ‘un for Lev but his knack for promotion and experience gained running a magazine in Beijing were needed by Gareth and Simon. “Me and Si aren’t the most proactive of people and the numbers started to dip after a year or two because we weren’t advertising it very well. We aren’t the most outgoing of people either, whereas Lev would go around meeting people in the local area saying ‘here you are, come to our comedy night, blah blah blah’.”

Lev explains: “Basically what I saw was that you had the Abbeydale Picturehouse, you’ve got Abbcom and you’ve got two really talented guys running it, and it seemed very marketable. So what I did was got a friend of mine to use the Abbeydale Picturehouse to make a logo, a graphic, to brand it and it went from there. We got the flyers printed up and I was very active on Facebook and in the local community. I know lots of people in the immediate area because I used to live just round the corner from them.”

“So ever since Lev’s been on board we’ve had it pretty much busy most nights, because he does all the publicity, all the marketing, that sort of thing. Gunnell books all the acts, and I just pretty much have to turn up and try and remain relatively sober.”

“When you can,” Lev adds.

“Yeah, when I can,” says Gareth with a knowing smile.

Lev, Simon & Gareth with Wes Zaharuk

Before moving on to their side ventures I ask them about their best gig at Abbcom. Gareth offers a favourite moment. At the time of the notoriously rigged Zimbabwean elections he was talking with the crowd about Robert Mugabe. At some point during the banter someone posited the daft idea that Mugabe might be in the building, prompting Gareth to gesture at the doors, stage right, and announce: “Ladies and gentlemen, Robert Mugabe!” Which was precisely the moment that George arrived at Abbcom for the first ever time. George is now a regular, and the only black man in a predominantly white audience. There then ensued a lot of laughter, a little white guilt and one very confused bloke. “He was just stood there, like: ‘err… what’s going on?’ And we couldn’t say ‘well, you know, you’re black’.”

With such a winning formula at Abbcom (funding their first trip to the Edinburgh festival off the back of it) Gareth and Simon tried to replicate the success at different venues very early on. After half a year at Bar Abbey they put on a few nights at a pub in Matlock which were, says Gareth, “fucking awful. Really horrible. Because the locals just turned up at 10 o’clock at night, after their pool game or darts game had finished, and just shouted out of the audience. And the guy who had the toughest time there was Lee Chamberlain who just got harassed by this drunken mob of people. After that we just stopped doing it.”

They then put on a more successful, more professional night at West Street Live, booking the likes of Gary Delaney, Caimh McDonnell, Duncan Oakley and Roger Monkhouse. But new ownership and a more music-minded manager meant the budget was cut and, despite regularly bringing in a good audience, the gig became unsustainable. “That’s a lesson to young people coming up doing comedy nights,” says Gareth. “You need to have the venue behind you. If they’re not behind you there’s no point doing it.”

Shortly after Lev got involved they responded to a phone call from a pub landlord in Coal Aston. “The racist heart of Sheffield,” says Lev. Gareth explains: “He said ‘it’s in my pub so it’s got to be free entry’, so we thought ‘hmm’. And as any comedian will know, or if they don’t know now they will eventually learn, free entry nights do not work. Ever. And we kind of thought, maybe it will, because we were being greedy, and he gave us the budget and we booked a few acts. The first night went not too bad…”

“It was shit apart from Alfie Moore closing,” Lev clarifies. “They hated everyone, including you, apart from Alfie Moore. He stormed it. Second night they hated everyone.” Gareth nods. “Yeah, that was a train wreck. Horrible night. We had a joke competition; what was the difference between someone and something.”

Lev: “Chris Akabusi and a toothbrush or something. I’m not saying what the answer was but it was extremely racist and that got the biggest laugh of the evening. And at that point we all just looked at each other and thought ‘we’re in the wrong place’.”

Gareth: “It was the idea of Chris Akabusi hanging from a tree or something like that. Really racist, and they all pissed themselves laughing. And we thought ‘no’. So we didn’t go back there.”

Their next endeavour was a more pleasant affair entirely, putting on shows for Sheffield University student halls. They ran gigs at four different halls, a different one each week of the month. Some worked a treat, with Chris Ramsay’s and Mike Newall’s visits going particularly well. Some suffered from being free and receiving an apathetic reception by students who weren’t invested it in. Either way the funds dried up and that was that. More recently they tried a gig at a Sheffield community centre which, despite going well, they thought better of when required to spend an hour or two cleaning up afterwards as per a clause in the contract they hadn’t read. “Not doing that again,” Gareth laments.

Almost four years have passed since Abbcom got started and they’re now going slightly further afield to The Venue in Stocksbridge and The Doncaster Little Theatre, with names like Junior Simpson, Isy Suttie, Nick Helm, Mike Newall, Tony Burgess, Steve Day and Gary Delaney comprising very nice line-ups indeed. So that’s two more Abbcom babies to complement Gunnell’s and soon Gareth’s too; he recently announced that he and his wife are expecting. Let’s hope fatherhood doesn’t impinge on his compering duties. If it does whoever guest MCs may wish they were changing shitty nappies.

If you’re yet to pop your Abbcom cherry, it runs on the last Thursday of every month. Check the website for full listings.