CityLife

Countdown to CityLife Comedian of the Year Final

PAST WINNER: Bishop

COMPETITIONS are emotional experiences. On Sunday Deansgate Locks will fill up to the sound of handbags whirring above heads like the blades on a helicopter as the competitors in the Channel M City Life Comedian of the Year final square up to each other in the dressing room of the Comedy Store.

Ok, so fisticuffs are unlikely, but nerves will be jangling as the eight finalists and one wildcard voted for by viewers of the CityLife website prep themselves for the contest ahead.

It’s the competition’s 19th year and though open only to North West acts, it’s not just some obscure regional competition.

Regular judge Agraman would often comment that the day after the final, comedy industry people would call him from London to inquire who had won this year.

As John Bishop, who won in 2001, acquiesces, “I didn’t realise how important it was within the industry, more people know about it than you would imagine. So anyone who does win it has something they can use.”

Pre-eminence

The pre-eminence of the competition is at least in part due to the quality of the acts that have taken first, and second, place for that matter.

Caroline Aherne won the inaugural final back in 1990, all three writers of Phoenix Nights - Peter Kay (1996), Dave Spikey (1991) and Neil Fitzmaurice (1997) were once victors plus Perrier nominee and star of The Thick of It Chris Addison won in 1995.

In more recent years Jason Manford took the tiara in 1999, Phoenix Nights’ Justin Moorhouse in 2000 and Ideal’s Seymour Mace in 2003.

The runners up list is equally as impressive with Spikey beating Dave Gorman into second place and the then unknown Kay pushing the mighty comedic talent that is Johnny Vegas into the runner up position.

In Moorhouse’s year a very early Alan Carr performance was seen in the final too.

Opportunity

For Bishop it’s an experience he’s not forgotten. “It gives people the opportunity to say to someone give us a chance, after that, it’s down to you. It’s taken me a long time to go full time and even now it still gets mentioned to me.

"So I think had I been in a position to be a full time comedian straight afterwards it probably would have been an even bigger boost.”

Bishop went professional, leaving a highly paid job in the pharmaceutical industry no less, two years ago and the self-employed life is going very well.

When he won in 2001 he was the hot favourite, already in his thirties with life experience behind him - it showed in his set.

Though he had only been going a few months he had the ability to weave funnies from everything around him as well as tell carefully crafted anecdotes about his life post separation from his wife (they since got back together but thankfully those funnies weren’t just the result of an angsty home life).

Over the past seven years, his circuit appearances led to solo shows in Manchester and his native Liverpool that in turn led to a nationwide tour which he will follow up with a second next year.

Edinburgh Fringe

Plus he’s performed a show at the Edinburgh Fringe four times now; “I’m pulling an audience in on the back of doing it on successive years, which I’ve never done before.

"People always recommend that you do that but you’ve got to have the time to be able to commit and I haven’t had it before but I have now and it’s working.”

He’s been spied on the telly a fair amount of late too, particularly in Ireland.

“I’m doing more and more in Ireland, which is great, it’s brilliant, not something I ever thought would happen but it’s great. It’s like Liverpool, but bigger,” he jokes.

In fact CityLife caught up with him last week as he was waiting to appear on RTE’s long running The Late Late Show in Dublin, “I’ll be on a show as a guest with Michael Parkinson, so when you’re on a show and Michael Parkinson’s the other guest, that can’t be bad can it?” He laughs.

This year Phil Buckley, Ben Davis, Rachel Fairburn, Eddie Hoo, Mick McGrath, Mick Sergeant, Rod Shepherd and Gareth Urwin will be competing for the coveted title.

Who knows which of these performers will be appearing on a chat show in the years to come where the former chat show host Jonathan Ross is the other guest while you recall their early performance in a distant competition final.

The Channel M CityLife Comedian of the Year Final is at the Comedy Store on Sunday, October 26. £10 - £27.