In his early years as a comedian Jimmy was a jobbing comic on the UK Comedy Circuit. Rather than repeat the circuit venue descriptions on every post – here’s a summary of what his day-to-day would have been like.
Open Mic Spots
Being in London was advantageous (for any budding comedian) because there were so many pubs and clubs that had either a small room upstairs or a stage in the corner of the room. Punters were not always welcoming as they would usually have no idea who was going to appear (or how experienced they may be) and this is where comedians had to toughen up and learn how to handle hecklers.
Known as Open Mics this was how you found out whether you liked getting up on a stage, to tell jokes. No one had agents or managers and everyone was hoping that a venue owner / manager would offer them a regular / paid slot. Then they were on their way.
To give you an idea of numbers – sometimes the crowd would barely get into double digits and often a sizeable percentage would be other comedians. They would be hanging around, waiting for their turn and could be counted on to be gleeful when a fellow comic bombed and got booed off.
Nowadays you can just use a site like the Comedy In Your Eyes Open Mic Finder and plan out where you want to try out, get tips on how to prepare and probably even pop along to see how it works.
Back when Jimmy first started in late 1998 (see Tut ‘n’ Shive – here) none of that existed. Back then it was either word of mouth or buy a newspaper and (occasionally) there might be listings on a website. Simpler times!
The newspaper part I’m grateful for as, in the absence of information on their own websites, the UK comedians that eventually made it can all be tracked through adverts and promotional pieces in the press (now held in newspaper archives). Not as much information as I would like…but better than what we will have in 20 years from now as comedians list their tours on their own websites and then the information gets deleted as soon as the gig has happened.
MC / Compere
On organised comedy nights there would often be a compere (sometimes call the MC, Master of Ceremonies) and he / she (but usually a bloke) would be responsible for getting the acts on and off and trying to keep the crowd civil.
I’ve seen small gigs where a (now) big name like Micky Flanagan was the MC. Comedians often took this role because they had the verbal dexterity to banter with the crowd – plus it got them more stage time.
There’s a good 2004 article (here), by veteran comedian Arthur Smith, about the Banana Cabaret (who ran comedy shows at The Bedford Pub in Balham). Jimmy first played there in November 2001 and Arthur says that:
Jimmy Carr told me recently he didn’t rate himself as a compere – he felt it required him to come out of character and he was uncomfortable with this. There is very little mateyness to his act.
In the 2021 Have a Word podcast there was some amusing chat (around the 90 minutes mark) about MC Dave Johns taking too long to bring Jimmy on stage, at his Newcastle venue, the Hyena. See here.
Jimmy’s Early Experiences
When he first started out Jimmy was just performing above pubs and “going on stage after strippers” (his words) so there was no tour name and his very earliest open mic spots were not recorded anywhere.
He was driving up and down the UK, sometimes doing 2-3 venues a night, pestering venues to put him in for spots on open mic nights and hoping to get enough to cover his petrol money.
If it was too far to drive home (or he had a succession of gigs close to each other) then it was a cheap B&B (bed and breakfast) or even sleeping in his car, to save money.
Although London is huge the London Underground (tube) would have made it easier to get to many of the venues. But he also had to drive a lot as he widened his range and started moving out into the shires and then all over England and, each August, up to Edinburgh (Scotland) for The Fringe.
The post for Pubs & Clubs 1998-2001 is a summary list of where he was performing, which is growing as I find more venues and document them (see here). That post also details how Hannah Chambers spotted him, in 1999 (at Aquarium on Tottenham Court Road) and signed him up. A professional comic at last!
The final section, below, details links to all the details of the early gigs, as I write about them. The queries returned are slightly complicated from 2000 onwards as he starts to do more radio and TV work (clutters up the searches a bit).
As a generalisation – up to December 1999 his range (apart from this Plymouth gig) was places like Islington, Hammersmith, Richmond, Ealing, Buckinghamshire and Uxbridge. All places in and around Greater London.
During 2000 he was venturing further afield, to the Isle Of Wight, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Northampton and Edinburgh. Do you think, when he was the support (to Stephen K Amos) at Shenley Leisure Centre (here), that he dared to dream that he would on day be an International Comedian?
Currently those are the only ones that I’ve found documented, so this list will eventually be longer.
By 2001 you can see that his confidence (and popularity) is growing as he’s now getting a lot more press column inches, starting to get photographed on stage and was booked to appear at Festivals such as Leicester and the Edinburgh Fringe (see Rubbernecker – here).
As well as chasing around to places like Northampton, Milton Keynes, various parts of London, Huddersfield, Tunbridge Wells, Halifax, Brighton, Eastbourne, Reading and Dudley he also ventured over to Dublin.
The reason why I’ve grouped these early pub/club gigs as 1998-2001 is that, from 2002, he was mostly a fully-fledged “on tour” comedian (although still doing some of the old venues). Bare Faced Ambition was the name of his first official tour (here) and also his first solo Edinburgh show.
Students & Alcohol
Another place to find fledgling comedians (still) is in venues on University campus sites. Students notoriously don’t have a lot of money but they are your future audience.
In addition to this is any company that sells alcohol is going to be keen on promoting anything that guarantees sales. Which is why comedy events, tours and festivals are often funded by beer / lager companies.
This Hotspots gig in 1999 ticks both those boxes.
Concessionary Rates
If you see mention of “Concessionary rates” these are tickets sold at a discount to senior citizens, students etc. Each venue may have their own variation on who is allowed to pay the reduced ticket price and how big the reduction is.
Prices are sometimes also advertised as being different if you buy “on the door” as opposed to “in advance” and gigs held on a University campus may offer lower prices to NUS (National Union of Students) members.
Venue Promotions
The post A Billboard’s Tale relates to a Jongleurs venue that used Jimmy, Lee Evans and Michael McIntyre’s images / names to promote a new venue – even if they hadn’t played there for many years (see here).
That post then carries on to briefly discuss how I frequently visit websites, thinking details of a gig will be there, only to find they are just name-dropping big comics, to get clicks.
Who Started Out With Jimmy?
What about the other UK comics, from the circuit, that made it big? Here are the names that I’ve spotted, in archived press articles, and what year they appeared at a venue, either sharing a stage with Jimmy or at a venue he frequented but on another night (meaning he probably would have been in the crowd, watching them).
The list is by no means exhaustive. If I added in all of the names that I’ve mentioned in individual gig posts…this would be a VERY long page.
As I find older articles, dates get updated.
There is another page (here) for The Year 1999. It lists everyone that I can confirm were on the circuit with him, plus which comics were on TV / Radio that year. To give you an idea of what the UK scene was like, the year his career took flight.
Note – the other comedians may have started their careers earlier than this, but I only started researching for articles mentioning Jimmy, from 1998. This list will grow as I find more articles and it goes beyond 2001 because Jimmy continued to play some of the venues beyond that arbitrary cut off point (up to 2005).
(Ed) = Edinburgh Fringe and the others are venues such as The Bearcat, Up The Creek, The Banana Cabaret etc. – plus a couple of other Festivals (Kilkenny, Ealing, Leicester etc.).
- Adam Hills – 2001 (Ed)
- Addy Borgh (Addy van der Borgh) – 1999
- Al Murray – 2002
- Alan Davies – 2001 (Ed)
- Alex Horne – 2003 (Ed)
- Alun Cochrane – 1999
- Andrew Maxwell – 2001 (Ed)
- Andy Parsons – 1999
- Andy Zaltzman – 1999
- Ardal O’Hanlon – 2010
- Bill Bailey – 2002
- Boothby Graffoe 1999
- Chris Addison – 2002
- Daniel Kitson – 2001
- Danny Bhoy – 2001
- Dara O’Briain – 2001
- Dave Gorman – 1999
- Dave Spikey – 2003
- David O’Doherty – 1999
- Deirdre O’Kane – 2001
- Dom Irrera – 2001
- Dominic Frisby – 2001 (Ed)
- Dominic Holland – 2003
- Dylan Moran – 2003
- Ed Byrne – 1999
- Emo Philips – 2001 (Ed)
- Fred MacAulay – 2001
- Gary Delaney – 2003
- Gina Yashere – 2002
- Greg Davies – 2004
- Hal Cruttenden – 2002
- Harry Hill – 2003
- Ian Cognito – 2001
- Janey Godley – 1999
- Jeff Ross – 2002
- Jerry Sadowitz – 2001
- Jack Dee – 2005
- Jim Gaffigan – 2003
- Jim Jefferies
- Jim Moir (Vic Reeves) – 2005
- Jim Muir (Reverend Obadiah Steppenwolf 3rd) – 2002
- Jo Brand – 2003
- Joan Rivers – 2005
- John Bishop – 2002
- John Oliver – 2001 (Ed)
- Johnny Vegas – 2001 (Ed)
- Josie Long – 1999
- Justin Moorhouse – 2000
- Lee Evans – 2002
- Lee Mack – 1999
- Louis CK – 2004
- Marcus Brigstocke – 2001
- Michael McIntyre – 2002
- Micky Flanagan – 1999
- Miles Jupp – 2001
- Milton Jones – 2001
- Noel Fielding – 2002
- Omid Djalili – 2001
- Patrice O’Neal – 2001
- Paul Chowdhry – 2001
- Paul Foot 2003
- Peter Kay – 1999
- Rich Hall (Otis Lee Crenshaw) – 1999
- Richard Ayoade – 2001
- Richard Herring – 2003 (Ed)
- Ricky Gervais – 2001 (Ed)
- Rob Brydon – 2003 (Ed)
- Ross Noble – 2001
- Russell Howard – 1999
- Sarah Kendall – 2001 (Ed)
- Sean Lock – 2002
- Shappi Khorsandi – 1999
- Stephen K Amos – 2000
- Stephen Merchant – 2001 (Ed)
- Steve Hughes – 2000
- Stewart Lee – 1999
- Tim Vine – 2002
- Tom Stade – 2002
- Tommy Tiernan – 2001 (Ed)
Chains and Iconic Venues
The UK comedy circuit isn’t JUST about London though. There are comedy club chains that have venues located in major cities. For example:
- Jongleurs
- Ha Bloody Ha
- Just The Tonic
- The Glee Club
- The Comedy Store etc.
And then there are the iconic venues that signal to a comic that they are “on the way”:
- The Comedy Store (Soho, London)
- Up The Creek (Greenwich)
- Frog and Bucket (Manchester)
- Komedia (Brighton)
- Top Secret Comedy Club (London)
Links to Stories About Early Gigs
For an overview of Jimmy’s 1998-2001 gigs – see here, under the Category for Early Gigs (here) and more generally within his Bio. Both of which are being regularly updated.
Where did Jimmy make early appearances?
Clock Inn, Shenley Leisure Centre, Milton Keynes, MK5 6HF
February 2000 saw Jimmy at this little venue with Stephen K Amos – here.
Club Fandango
On Plymouth’s Elliot Street. See here.
Comedy Cellar (The), South Hills Park Centre, Ringmead, Bracknell, RG12 7PA
More of a stately home than a comedy club. See here.
Cosmic Comedy Club, 175-177 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, W6 8
Small pub room that featured a lot of stand-up in the 1990s. See posts here.
Ealing Studios, Ealing Green, W5 5WP
Organised by Ha Bloody Ha. See here.
East Dulwich Tavern (EDT), 1 Lordship Lane, SE22 8EW
6 months after Jimmy appeared at this pub the comedy club moved to a new venue. See here.
Friday Night Comedy Club, 21 South Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 4QU
Possibly around 140 people in this gig – see here and here.
Frog & Bucket Comedy Club, Manchester
Famous for putting Jimmy in a B&B room in a knocking shop. See here.
Gaslight Comedy Club, The Tara Suite, above The Solstice, Northminster Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE1 1YN.
Now demolished venue that Jimmy played back in 2000. See here.
Gilded Balloon, Teviot Row House, Edinburgh
First appearance was in 1999, So You Think You’re Funny? competition. See here.
Grange Tavern (The), Warwick Road, Ealing, W5 3XH
Pub venue that had comedy nights with 4-5 comics on the bill. See here.
Hobgoblin (The), 95 Effra Road, Brixton, SW2 1DF
I could only find the one appearance at this Brixton pub, 2001. See here.
Hotspots Comedy Club, The Academy, Cleveland Road, Uxbridge
Situated within the University of Brunel, appearance in 1999. See here.
Hyena Comedy Club (Hyena Café)
Started by Dave Johns and situated on Leazes Arcade, Newcastle. See here.
Orange Tree Pub (The Room), Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 2NQ
In 1999 Jimmy played this room at least half a dozen times. See here.
Picturedrome, 222 Kettering Road, Northampton, NN1 4BN
Appeared at this pub in 2000. See here.
Trinity Bar and Café (The) / Comedy Trinity Theatre
Located on Church Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 1JP. See here.
Tut ‘n’ Shive, Upper Street, London
Jimmy’s first attempt at being a comedian, 1998. See here.
Unicorn (The), Bois Moor Road, Chesham, Buckinghamshire.
Long since closed – see here.
Up The Creek (Greenwich)
Founded by Malcolm Hardee (see here) in a church hall in 1991. Located at 302 Creek Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 9SW (internal image / directions – here) and with a seated capacity of 275. For Jimmy’s appearances see here.
Up The Creek Too (Croydon)
This venue was at 3 Brighton Road, South Croydon and closed (moved to new premises) in 2006 (here) and the old site has now been redeveloped. Couldn’t find out why it was named like this, who opened it etc. For Jimmy’s appearances, see here.