Jimmy Carr

Date Of Birth: 15/09/1972

A former marketing executive for Shell, Jimmy Carr is one of the hardest-working comedians in the UK, and DVDs of his live shows now sell more than 150,000 copies each.

His first full-length show, Bare-Faced Ambition, was nominated for the Perrier in 2002; and he was named best stand-up at the Time Out Awards in 2003, and at the Laftas in 2004. At the same awards he was named ‘funniest man’ in 2005.

He won the Royal Television Society Award for best on-screen newcomer in 2003, and soon established himself one of the main faces of Channel 4, hosting game show Distraction, the first series of The Friday Night Project, three series of panel show 8 Out Of 10 Cats, and several specials such as The Big Fat End of Year Quiz and The Comedians’ Comedian.

Carr has also made headway in the US, performing four times on NBC’s TonightWith Jay Leno and three times on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He made a half-hour stand-up special for Comedy Central, and hosted two series of Distraction USA for the same network.

He has also appeared in the films Confetti, Alien Autopsy and Stormbreaker, all released in 2006; and has hosted a weekly radio show for London’s XFM

Jimmy Carr Videos

See more Jimmy Carr videos

Women's sport Sweatshops Jimmy Carr: Telling Jokes Jimmy Carr on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien Jimmy Carr Showreel 2006 Jimmy on Jay Leno (2) Jimmy Carr In Concert Jimmy on Jay Leno (1)

Reviews

Give It Up For Comic Relief

Wembley Arena

Like so many things involving Russell Brand, Give It Up For Comic Relief was morally ambiguous.

The evening was raising funds for drug and alcohol addiction centres, yet seemed to be a veritable advert for consumption - from Noel Fielding’s tongue-in-cheek ‘Don’t Do Drugs’ reggae number, to Brand saying: ‘Many people watching this at home will be out of their minds on drugs, and that’s fine...’ Even unlikely narcotic advocate Simon Amstell, who needs little chemical help being paranoid or self-analytical,urged: ‘If you’ve never had magic mushrooms, you really must.’

How much of the pro-drugs message made it to BBC Three screens, I don’t know. But abstinence was not a popular option in Wembley Arena itself, which is odd considering the tie-in with Comic Relief. The skips full of drugs consumed by the likes of Noel Gallagher, Kasabian and Brand himself over the years are hardly likely to be Fair Trade, doing damage in the sort of Third World countries that the rest of the Comic Relief organisation works so hard to put right.

read more of this review …

But such considerations were not for tonight. Brand wants a change in attitude to drug addiction so it’s akin to the approach to alcohol, that it’s fine to indulge as long as it’s not a dependency. That was one message of the night, the other was that viewers should text ‘give’ to 70005 and donate a fiver to treatment centres, as they watched the entertainment unfold.

And there was certainly a hell of a lot of entertainment for your £5... or £50 if you brought a ticket to the gig, which ran for three-and-a-half interval-free hours. OK, it’s not Mark Watson’s 25-hour effort of last week... but a long time to be passively viewing music and comedy. Wembley’s plastic seats weren’t built for that.

A ridiculously long running time is a hallmark of any big benefit, of course, as too is an eclectic booking policy, to maximise the appeal. There can’t be much Venn diagram overlap between fans of Kasabian and fans of Rizzle Kicks, but here they are sharing a bill. The former were the musical highlight, alongside Gallagher’s High Flying Birds , delivering a welcome reminder of just how impressive they can be with an awesomely epic version of Fire... which proved an entirely inappropriate introduction to Amstell’s low-key introspection.

Other musical acts on the bill were Emeli Sande, Paloma Faith, Jake Bugg, Jessie J and Nicole Scherzinger. The former Pussycat Doll rather gave away one reason for her involvement in the show by announcing the track Domino as: ‘This song is a positive, inspirational song. It’s also my next single.’

Besides the clumsy plug, surely you can’t tell people your own song is inspirational. I’ll decide what inspires me, and generic, club-friendly, R&B/pop sung by a girl in her pants, isn’t it.

As host, Brand warned against such ungenerous thoughts, pointing out that all the acts were performing for free. Throughout the night, he was playful about both the cause, and his own bad-boy reputation, from flirting with the girls to borrowing a female audience member’s mobile to demonstrate how to text a donation and suggesting: ‘This is the BBC and I’m playing with a phone. It’s already risky territory.’ Then turned to the woman and asked: ‘What’s your grandfather’s phone number?’

Later in the show Brand took a messianic walk among his followers in the audience, finding the most funny in banter with a young lad called Alfie, which he knew would never make the TV. ‘They’re not going to show a BBC presenter getting anywhere near a fucking kid,’ he said knowingly.

Brand was at his best, though, when padding for time from backstage as techies were setting up for bands, ad libbing like crazy yet consistently finding the funny. His banter with pal Fielding, especially, was priceless.

Fielding appeared on stage, uncredited, as hard-ass New York cop Raymond Boombox, delivering his ‘anti’-drug message, which might have been more weird than hilarious – an epitaph for much of his output – though it was entertaining watching people figure out who was behind the gaffer-tape ’tache.

He’d been preceded by Jack Whitehall, who seems to be channelling a lot of Michael McIntyre with his upper-middle-class observational incredulity. After something of a slow start, he found his pace with some material about bullying, an old and obvious gag about the campaigning wristbands notwithstanding.

Amstell injected a bold note of cynicism into proceedings. Reverting to his Pop World snidery, he questioned Jessie J’s motives in shaving her head for Red Nose Day – and even whether charity was the best way to combat the complicated problems of poverty. It was nicely contrary, but he could have used more time to expand, especially after dealing with the gear-change of following Kasabian.

After his tumultuous week at the hands of The Sun, Jason Manford delivered a solid but unspectacular observational set that probably won’t be remembered on such a packed night. Eddie Izzard was far more successful. Even if some of his initial flights of fancy into the topics of human sacrifices and Charles I’s reign didn’t quite land, his unique thought processes are always fascinating, and after padding around a while, he finally found the vein of wit, to use an entirely inappropriate metaphor.

Jimmy Carr did what Jimmy Carr does, pointed if unprincipled one-liners – some that he’s been doing for a while, and some new – accompanied by his distinctive heehaw laugh. He set a high gag-rate in the limited timeslot, and if he was setting the taste bar low, so Frankie Boyle could stomp it down through the ground.

‘I’m genuinely surprised to be here,’ he said, surely echoing the thoughts of many a BBC executive. And indeed, he was cut from the ‘almost-live’ broadcast after being brutally offensive with every perfectly-crafted line. Criticising the hypocrisy of Comic Relief while much of the West profits from Third-World strife might have touched a nerve, but it was an harsh anti-Queen setup that provoked the greatest boos of discontent among a surprisingly monarchist crowd. ‘A joke is just a proposition, a “what if”?’ he explained, as he’s probably quite used to doing. But it’s the quality of the punchlines that determine whether real offence is caused, and unlike most low-aiming wannabe shock comics, his sharp writing scores on that count.

Doc Brown, despite being the lowest-profile act on the bill, showed why he deserved to be there with a brief set featuring his boldly political comedy rap about poor tea-making technique, before the comedy was closed with John Bishop making reference to his own, more strenuous, fundraising efforts of last year. Despite spending most of his set doing the admin of emphasising the positive aspects of the night, it was Bishop, not Boyle, who caused the evening’s biggest controversy... by dissing Man Utd, since football is far more important than who rules Britain.

Still, if there was a Champions’ League for comedians, all of this line-up would be in it, ensuring the quality was maintained even if the viewer’s concentration ebbed and flowed over the long night.

Review date: Thursday 7th Mar, '13

Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

David Cross & Friends

Malcolm Hardee tribute show

Leicester Comedy Festival 2003 preview show

Comedy Store's 30th Anniversary Charity Gala

Howie Mandel Gala

Jimmy Carr: Gag Reflex

Jimmy Carr: Charm Offensive

Jimmy Carr's Bare Faced Ambition Perrier nominee

Rubbernecker

News

Comments

Older Comments

Michael Monkhouse - 15/01/2013

Jimmy Carr's suffered a lot of critics - usually people who can't bestraddle a stage for two hours cracking 'em out like Bob Monkhouse on amphetamines in the way Jimmy can! Love him.

Roberto - 09/04/2011

His roots were in sales and this shows. Has successfully turned himself into a brand by employing trite, shock-tactic comedy with less substance than a Big Mac. Essentlially mirthless.

Kyle - 16/02/2010

Am I the only person who finds one line jokes really patronising? "Blah Blah, ta da". *Laugh!* Also, he repeats himself. I've heard that Smarties tube on cats' legs joke so many times. Also, he fakes wit. When he's being heckled, "Your Mum". You've thought of this before. Stop faking spontaneity.

Geoff F - 22/11/2009

Jimmy Carr is frighteningly intelligent - but arguably also cold, cynical and calculating. He has the ability to conjure up gags about any subject under the sun - but his approach is that of an academic exercise. Unfortunately, with Rapier Wit he seems to have opted for the lazy, crowd pleasing approach of concentrating on sex in all its many forms. The clever reversals of expectation may still be there, though with less frequency, and less amusingly. I also felt a contempt for the audience coming through: "This is the sort of crap you want. I think it's rubbish, but I can give you as much as you can take." The line between this and, say, Roy "Chubby" Brown seems to be getting very blurred. I should add that I have seen Jimmy Carr four times, the first being when he was one of the supports for Milton Jones at a comedy club event. Rapier Wit may be the last.

Tzameti - 14/10/2009

Stop being so pompous Noel James (below). He probably came up with that joke by himself anyway.

Bob - 13/10/2009

Saw him live this week and when part of his set was just made of a PowerPoint presentation of "rude" cartoons, revolving around hairy women - send them to Germany, Madonna and her manly body and Susan Boyle being ugly, I could not for the life of me see how he could justfy calling the tour Rapier Whit - maybe Jim Davidson castoffs

Dave W - 04/07/2009

Tara just because you have no creativity,the same cannot be said for Jimmy Carr, he comes up with all his own material, it is not dervied from the humorless wasteland of Sickipedia. Jimmy Carr is infinetly funnier than you'll ever be, and I don't even know why im posting this as Jimmy Carr would hardly show much concern for your worthless opinion.

Schadenfreude - 24/05/2009

Saw Joke Technician a few days ago - found it a bit exhausting. Please slow down and tell a story from time to time.

Tara - 19/05/2009

Rude,tired offensive jokes from sickipedia, no build up, too dead pan and sooo smug it makes him even more detestable. Wasted £20 on his stupid DVD!

Simon Sadler - 14/10/2008

Saw the Joke Technician show over the weekend and it was far too edgy, it seemed that he wanted to see how far he could go before offending the entire audience. I can see why he is far better on TV as his put-downs are very good but live he gets worse every time I see him.

Darren Smith, Liverpool - 05/08/2008

Jimmy Carr is so overrated it hurts. One can only assume he brown noses with tv exec types very well, otherwise why would he have so much TV work coming in? Not for his talent surely? I cannot wait for the day to arrive that I never have to witness this bigot with my eyes or my ears ever again.

Michael Monkhouse - 23/07/2008

He's a sharp, natty stand-up certainly, but the gag-gag-gag approach has its limits, most of all lacking the cumulative effect of longer, more elaborate routines. Some of the dirtier, live-only stuff smacks of desperation... Still, probably one of the swiftest one-line merchants around.

Not amused - 24/05/2008

I went to see Jimmy last year in Derby - thought he was mildy funny - but not half as talented as he would like us to believe. Imagine my suprise when husband dear goes and gets us two tickets to see him in Derby again - a few weeks ago. Went along. Disappointing performance - not funny, not even remotely funny. Constant blather, repetition, arrogant swipes at the comically challenged within the audience. Very amateurish. His little spiel about love making made me want to throw up. Definitely not seeing him again - stick to top 100 shows and stuff like that - you really don't have what it takes to connect with a group of strangers who are looking for laughs.

noel james - 02/12/2007

He seems to be using one of my jokes, the one about supply teachers, which I wrote back in the early nineties and am still using today. he did on ITV just the other night. Should I be incredulous?

Duncan - 11/08/2007

Went to see him at Blackpool last night. Very funny indeed although may not be to everyone's taste. He is not the most of sophisticated of comics but there are no other agendas, he just wants to make people laugh. The bantering with the audience was superb. Good fun.

sarah - 21/07/2007

Very witty and clever with his words. I like him on 8 Out Of 10 Cats

Skinnytony - 14/02/2007

I bought some tickets for the Jimmy Carr show and laughed continuously. Whch surprised everybody as I don\'t go to see him for another 4 months. Though having the mental age of a five year old may explain away that.

Nik Hill - 27/01/2007

Saw him last night in Cheltenham, thought he was ok, didn't blow me away, seemed very staged and scripted, best bits were the bantering, worked really well; clever guy all the same, likeable, but can't see him lasting the distance, bit all the same really.

Andy Hodder - 18/11/2006

Saw Jimmy in the hell hole that is Margate, last night, he was great, shame the audience were so cunting shite!

Nigel Trueman - 09/11/2006

I saw Jimmy on TV for the first time on a recent trip back to the UK from the US where I now live. He was B*****y fantastic. If you only saw the tripe that passes itself for humor in the US you would thank your lucky stars to have someone like this to watch. Keep it going Jimmy!!

David - 06/11/2006

One of the true hacks of the circuit, a media wh*re, untalented and truly overexposed.

Grown up opinion - 24/08/2006

Ignore the epilepsy rant, I have it but I get on with my life unlike that drama queen. Went to the Edinburgh show and it was top notch comedy.

Will - 23/08/2006

Almost too clever. Will lose a lot of people. Aso one hour of one liners can be a bit much

Ted - 19/08/2006

Jimmy Carr is brilliant. Who cares if he's offensive? If you're too much of an insecure tool that you get offended, then you deserve to be offended. Jimmy Carr has told some of the funniest jokes I've ever heard. 8 Out Of 10 Cats is one of maybe 5-10 decent things on modern TV.

Mark Lawton - 09/08/2006

He takes the mick out of anything, it's not aimed at one specific subject, thats what makes him one of the best comedians around, because you can't be offended.

Peter - 07/08/2006

Why are people upset about a right wing comic being right wing? If you think this neo-con comedy upsetting then go and listen to an old Billy Bragg album. The BBC had no right to apologise for his so-called racist humor regarding the Gypsies. It was a joke. get over it.

Angela Thompson - 20/07/2006

You are a sick nasty comedian who has to stoop so low to get his kicks he takes the piss out of epileptics, I can not explain what I have gone through with epilepsy, and he would be the last person I would tell beacause he will just take the piss. What gives him the right to do what he did,? And do not say he did not mean to offend anyone because that is a total lie, or he would not have said it in the first place

Hayley - 18/07/2006

Jimmy Carr is the funniest stand up i've seen, a really talented man. Yeah some of his jokes are offensive but he does warn you beforehand that if you are easily offended, not to watch. I don't think I've ever laughed so much

Imogen - 24/06/2006

Absolutely amazing... nothing more should be said! He has the whole audience's attention

Justin Holland - 15/06/2006

Definitely one of the greats. Jimmy Carr's intellectual dry humour is what makes him a living legend. He's the only good thing to come out of England since Monty Python.

Geena - 14/04/2006

One of the funniest men alive, his one liners hit home every time and his sarcasm is excellent. He is one of a few people that can offend anyone and make it so funny you cry with laughter. He is untouchable by other comedians and I hink his stand-up and live dvd's are genius. I'd pay to see him live any day of the week. I love that man.

Christopher - 07/04/2006

Biting, scathing wit, delivered with effortless panache. A true great on the comedy circuit. A must see but for your own safety do not heckle; he will eat you alive.

James Oppenheimer - 03/04/2006

Jimmy Carr is not that funny. His jokes are so stupid because many of them are too intellectual to be understood by a general audience. His accent is annoying and his snobbish attitude qualifies him to be better suited as court jester for Queen Elizabeth II.

Gem - 04/03/2006

Watched him in awe in Nottingham last night - absolutely hilarious even though some of the jokes were hugely offensive. I haven't laughed as much in years

James Van - 21/02/2006

Saw him do the warm up for Al Murray a couple of years ago - he spent two hours reading us jokes from a bit of paper in his hand. Yeah - pure talent, that. It doesn't help that he has one of the most instantly punchable faces/personalities there is

Vince Cook - 19/02/2006

I genuinely cannot understand people who say Jimmy Carr isn't funny, he clearly is, for those who have watched his live show he is brilliant, it's a shame people can't seem to spot real wit rather than the diluted wit of people like Rory Bremner

Barry Dodds - 17/02/2006

Simply exellent. Some of the best one liners ever written. I know some people don't like his "on-stage" persona but you cant love everyone. I think he is a genius.

Jason Mckenzie - 30/12/2005

I just saw his latest dvd and it was hilarious. So witty and his audience put downs were absolute gold but what makes him stand out is his delivery and demeanour. 100% reccomended Jason Mckenzie30.12.05

Tes - 29/12/2005

Having read the praises of Jimmy Carr, I can t help airing the views of the opposite who dread the dryness, shallowness and irresponsible nature of Jimmy and his \'comedy\'. Jimmy s transgression of ethical values, even within the relatively loose confinements of the comedy world, is so grave that people in some audiences had to challenge him, quite rightly. Tes 29.12.05

Ben - 26/12/2005

He can make comedy come from everywhere, he can create jokes form nothing. You can see this when he jokes with the crowd, making gags from seemingly nothing. Absolute genius. Ben 26.12.05

Mark - 25/11/2005

I saw him this week at the CIA and he exceeded all my expectations. Not only was a fantastic improvising with the audience, but i was also pleased with how much of his material was new. He was capable of laughing at himself as well as everyone else. Mark 25.11.05

Dave - 11/11/2005

He is to comedy what Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen is to fashion sense. I would rather watch Joe Pasquale Dave 11.11.05

Sarah - 10/11/2005

Jimmy Carr is great! Sure, he uses a lot of bad language...but his act is fantastic. He is so original and I laughed and laughed. Sarah 10.11.05

Mel - 07/11/2005

After seeing Jimmy Carr on the tele, namely Eight Out Of Ten Cats which we watched with the children - we were delighted to see tickets for his Newcastle tour. We were however surprised at the fact he made Roy Chubby Brown look like the Mother Theresa of comedy. Continuous foul language and every single joke about sex. Hecklers from the audience shouting \'you\'re crap\' pretty much summed it up. Jimmy Carr is a clever comic and I felt disappointed not only for us paying money to see such stuff but for him to take himself to that level. At least with someone like Chubby Brown you know what you\'re getting and if it\'s not your thing you avoid. His tv image doesn\'t tally with his standup routine. Mel 07.11.05

Aaron - 01/11/2005

I think the guy is hilarious! Sardonic and dry throughout- he breaks new ground in taking deadpan comedy to another new level Aaron 01.11.05

Lisa - 29/10/2005

My god he was so funny, his jokes aren\'t that brilliant on their own but this guy could make pulling teeth funny. His persona makes him a unique comedian.Great laugh and good for the soul Lisa 29.10.05

James - 08/09/2005

Scathing humour, and deadpan one liners are surefire bets for sucess. Genuinly funny man with good improvisation skills. James 08.09.05

Andrzej - 07/09/2005

I have no problem with bad language and I have never been offended by anything I\'ve heard at a comedy gig. Jimmy Carr must think that merely by using expletives he will make people laugh. I was mildly amused by his act but hugely disappointed as I had expected a lot more. Not poor, just average. Andrzej 07.09.05

Pete - 29/08/2005

Saw him last week in Edinburgh in his Off the Telly show. Absolutley brilliant, he\'s just getting better and better. Pete 29.08.05

Newcastle - 09/08/2005

I get annoyed from people that have not seen this man perform live - he proves he deserves the cult status he has obtained with his witty one liners and instant comebacks. I recently saw him perform in London at the Bloomsbury and the banter between himself and the audience was so good that the gig lasted over 2 hours, and not once did he falter. I have seen other comics that simply insult with no tact or humour, and thus fall flat on his face. Yet Jimmy overcomes this falling point amazingly and the result is a fantastioc performance, enjoyed by all (excluding christians, gays, fat people, the welsh.. etc...!) which should be seen to everyone to have this comic appriciated in the way he should be. Becky, Newcastle 09.08.05

Joelamite - 03/08/2005

Funny as hell. I want a couple of those t-shirts he does, though. Joelamite 03.08.05

Jack - 30/11/-0001

After Lee Evans, the best English comedian hands down! Fantastic. Jack 05.10.06

Ed - 30/11/-0001

Saw him on the Jay Leno Show and he went down really well. Very funny act. Ed 26.09.05

I just saw a Just For Laughs episode and when Mike - 30/11/-0001

How he cHow he can get away with racism and material offensive to people with disabilities says a lot about attitudes nowadays. The gyspy moth 'joke' for a start. He is basically Bernard Manning with a degree. He may suggest that audiences are too intelligent to take all this seriously; unfortunately, when an inspired pair like Little Britain start 'blacking up' and going after wheelchair users and the mentally ill, a lot of their audience will be running around the playground for weeks afterwards using this stuff, without an ounce of understanding but starting a trail of unpleasantness. Getting a bit po-faced I know, but laughing at various minorities leads to eugenics and the BNP. Oh yesot