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From Live At The Apollo 2010

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John Bishop performed stand-up comedy for the first time in October 2000, and the following year made it to the final of all the major new act competitions, including So You Think You're Funny, the Daily Telegraph Open Mic Awards, the BBC New Comedy Awards and the City Life North West Comedian of The Year Award, which he won.

In 2002, he was named best newcomer by BBC Radio Merseyside, and in 2004 he won the North West Comedy Award for best stand-up. And in 2009, he was nominated for the Ediburgh Comedy Award

His material is drawn from his life's experiences, from fatherhood to cycling around the world, to playing semi- professional football, to working as a nightclub doorman.

Original Review:

If much of the art of stand-up is recreating the feeling of chatting in the pub with your pals, this likeable Scouser has it sussed.

The other component, of course, is the material. And with Bishop, who deals in stories rather than crisp gags, the quality depends very much on the topics in hand.

Some of his set is based on generally topical or observational material, and this is when he’s at his weakest, coming up with little other comics – or indeed other members of the public – haven’t already thought of.

His routine on Muslim women in niqabs, for instance, pretty much extends to predictable comments about letterboxes, or the fact you can’t see their lips move. We’re in ‘first thought’ territory here, where the first thing he thinks of has made his set, or so it seems.

But when he moves into stories from his own life, the set springs into life, and ever more so than when talking about the split from his wife – perfectly capturing feelings of disillusionment which surely everyone who’s been in a long-term relationship can relate to.

His failings at being single, and the father of a teenage boy at just the age when the ‘sex talk’ is needed, will resonate strongly, too.

The laugh rate could be higher, but he has the audience’s full attention, occasionally bursting it with a brilliant line out of the blue. It’s these sparkling moments that serve as a reminder he’s a comedian, not just one of us, as his ultra-relaxed, matey persona so effortlessly lulls us into believing.

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I was a contestant in the same competition back in 2001 and knew John Bishop already as he'd been a featured act at the venue a number of times previously. It made me think I had no chance of winning cos he was being unfairly championed. A few months later I went to see a friend perform at a local show and Bishop was on the bill. He spent most of the time poking fun at a member of the audience who I later found out to be me. It wasn't until he came over to apologise that I realised who he'd been referring to. Seeing his face on billboards and photoshopped DVD covers made me wonder how this guy had progressed with an act that borders on comedy. His performance on Live at the Apollo was all about him being on the show before. What a conceited man he is. Phony accent too. Pathetic

Nick, November 2010

I saw the show at Southport theatre and was not very impressed. Twenty minutes material spread out into two plus hours. He used bad language and tried to use the audience to drag the show out a bit longer by asking questions and encouraging them to call out answers, this backfired when he received an answer he did not approve of. His Liverpool accent I thought was a little to contrived so I looked up his origin it read as Runcorn now living in Manchester. I don't think Liverpool people would class Runcorn Cheshire as being in Liverpool.

Liverpool Lou, November 2010

Saw John Bishop in Southport on November 3, he was brilliant, a warm and witty comedian who really engaged with the audience. Unfortunately, in the second half, someone in the front row made some sort of very abusive remark relating to mothers and John found it very hard to recover himself from this, I felt really sorry for him (as I think many of the audience did) and he kept apologising to this guy . It slightly took the edge off for him but he is a great performer and was very popular and well liked by the audience.

Marie, November 2010

Ken and Riera obviously are cuckoo John Bishop is the best thing for a long time. If John Bishop was so rubbish why oh why has he sold out everywhere ? John Bishop is brilliant!

Natalie, October 2010

He is crap: 'Men don't like texting, do they', and so on

arthur seaton, June 2010

Was him in Norwich very funny. My daughter has not stop laughing since

James, April 2010

I forgot to say that in the Cardiff gig (and all his gigs i presume), he talked about television appearances. He explained he didnt like watching himself on tv but did so to see what of his material had been shown, so he could then remove it from his shows. True to his word, every part of the show was fresh to me and i have seen most of his tv appearances.

James, April 2010

Saw John in Cardiff few weeks ago. He was better than i was expecting, and i was already a fan. He was witty, funny and very warm. The gig in question was a re-scheduled date from a january gig which he cancelled. There were only about 200 of us crammed into the bar, very intimate. He apologised for cancelling on us in january and put on a free bar during the interval! Can't argue with that!

James, April 2010

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