This year's Comic's Comic award winners have been announced. They are comedy awards voted for by members of the comedy industry.
The results are as follows.
Best Comic
Mark Simmons
‘’Wow, thank you so much, this is very unexpected and I’m so so chuffed. Comedians are my favourite people so to be voted for by them is incredible.
Being up there alongside the amazing previous winners, many of which, I’ve looked up to since starting comedy, makes me very happy. I bloody love stand-up.’’
Best MC
Cerys Nelmes
"It’s about fucking time! Seriously though, I love MC’ing and making the night playable for all the fantastic comedians I work with! Long may I deliver!"
Best Independent Promotor
Stephen Grant
"Absolutely made up to have won this award and honoured to be recognised like this - breathtaking when you consider how good everyone else is out there. Personally, last year has been the toughest of my life, as professionally I felt shattered, spending large parts of it wondering if I had the tools to build something from scratch anywhere near as good as what was lost.
No exaggeration to say the only reason I could do this was the people I work with - especially Lucy MacDonald, who is thoroughly deserving of this award also, and critically the incredible support of the industry itself, who have made The Forge something really quite spectacular indeed. So in many ways, you were all voting for yourselves, you egotisitcal tossers."
Outstanding Achievement to UK Comedy
Pete Grahame : Downstairs at the King’s Head
Wow – what a surprise and honour to have been awarded this accolade – especially as it comes from colleagues in the business. I have never liked comedians, and barely tolerate them for the three hours I see them at my gigs, so, more fool them.
Huw Thomas and I started occasional comedy gigs Downstairs at the King’s Head in Oct 1981 and built to regular performances from around 1983, so this is sort of our 40th year. The intention was to create a room that nurtured and encouraged the new, the odd and the mad in a welcoming environment. With the exception of my perma-misery, the club still has the same ethos and we are particularly proud that our Thursday Try Out nights (since 1986) have been the bridge to paid work for many professional performers.
Joe Bor is currently finalising a film documenting the club’s history, hopefully premiering in February at The Leicester Comedy Festival. That is where you’ll be able to hear the disgusting truth about me from acts. In the meantime, I will keep the trophy until is taken off me – just after the premiere.
The awards were started in 2013 by John Moloney as an alternative to various other prizes that he felt did not recognise professional comedians who work the circuit year in, year out.
Andy White from the Jesterlarf Comedy Club who’s run the admin for the awards for six years decided he’d done his Community Service Time and stepped down this year “Word went out that a new person was needed to keep this worthy and prestigious award running and as you’d expect the email Inbox and phone voicemail was empty but grassroots circuit stalwart and mighty fine Yorkshireman Jack Gleadow offered his services to run it this year which is worthy of a hat tip and hopefully a few extra gig bookings for him or a pint or two at the annual Comedians Christmas Party in a few weeks which is when the awards will be presented"…Jack said “These awards are great as they recognise the achievements of acts and promotors that are often forgotten for their hard work week in week out entertaining audiences up and down the country on the UK’s Comedy Circuit and it’s nice that a spotlight can be shown on them"
Here’s the list of previous winners:
Best Comic:
2013 Mick Ferry...2014 Gavin Webster...2015 Zoe Lyons...2016 Jeff Innocent...2017 Ian Stone...2018 Andy Askins…2019 The Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue…2020 Scott Bennett…2021 (3 way tie) Jo Caulfield, Ninia Benjamin, Mark Nelson
Best MC:
2014 Roger Monkhouse...2015 Dan Nightingale…2016 Danny McLoughlin...2017 Laura Lexx...2018 Mandy Knight…2019 Sally Ann Hayward…2020 Lou Conran…2021 Paul Smith
Independent Promoter:
2016 Rob Riley : Comedy In A Van...2017 Blair Brothers : Hot Water...2018 Rob Riley : Comedy In A Van…2019 Jim Howarth : Comedy Hotspot…2020 Brett Vincent : Get Comedy…2021 (2 way tie) Andy White : Jesterlarf Comedy and Peter Vincent : Independent Booker
Outstanding Achievement Award:
2105 John Moloney...2016 Noel Faulkner...2017 Steve Gribbin...2018 Otiz Cannelloni…2019 Jeremy Hardy & Ian Cognito (posthumous)…2020 Comedy Support Act Benevolent Fund…2021 Sean Lock (posthumous)
