The first time I gigged at the Comedy Store, I think it was 1999, and I was playing in Rich Hall’s band. We played a monthly residency and had exciting, famous guests.

When I started doing my own trial spots there, a couple of years later, it was a bit scary, but Rich gave me a great pep talk and I’ll share it with you, free of charge: “Just remember this. Everybody dies.”

You’re welcome!

Anyway, just want to say thanks to The Comedy Store for having me on their line-ups. Always a compliment to be on the bill with amazing people, some of whom inspired me to be a comedian in the first place, and all of whom inspire me to be a better comedian.

To all the comedians, thanks for accepting me as one of the tribe, or being polite enough to keep your feelings about musical comedy to yourself around me.

I love our job, I love our culture and our little community.

Thanks to Don, for giving us a place to show off and getting all those audiences to show up for us (for 40 years!). And thanks to Simon, Simon, Sylvie, Sebastian, Graham, Riz and Paul for making it feel like home.

And thanks again to Rich Hall for taking the pressure off and staying away from my first gig. “I’m not a big fan of public executions.” Literally a quote.

Happy 40th, Comedy Store!

Hi Coventry pals! Come and see my show, Gig Economy, at 6pm tonight!

At Catch Twenty Two, 25A Hertford St, Coventry CV1 1LF.

Pay in advance, or pay when you get there, or pay afterwards when you’ve decided how much you think it’s worth! The options are limitless!

Honoured to be part of the Coventry Comedy Festival!

https://www.cusu.org/ents/event/2936/

The white guys are at it again, referring to what’s happened to Danny Baker as him being “burned” or being a victim of some kind of lynching. I find the lynching rhetoric about as insensitive (you know, given history) as the failure to comprehend why black people might still, after all these hours, be upset and angry at Danny Baker’s “monkey” tweet (yes – even in spite of an apology!)

Nobody rounded up a posse and called for Danny Baker to be put to death. He’s just working through the consequences of his actions. One of the consequences is people are saying negative things about him on the internet (generously peppered with “he can’t be racist, I met him once and he didn’t kill any people of colour”-type comments). The other consequence is he got fired. These things are not: a public flogging, a lynching or a burning at the stake.

Literally a white hot take