Scottish Kids

From his DVD

More Kevin Bridges videos

Kevin Bridges started stand-up shortly after his 17th birthday, and reached the finals of the So You Think You're Funny? talent contest at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe, when he was just 18.

He staged his debut hour-long solo show at the Glasgow Comedy Festival in March 2006, and made his Edinburgh Fringe debut the following year.

In 2009, he appeared on BBC One's Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, which hugely boosted his profile to the extend he played the Glasgow SECC in 2010.

Bridges won the breakthrough award at the 2010 Chortle Awards.

Kevin Bridges: The Story Continues
Live Review
Hammersmith Apollo

Kevin Bridges is worried about what repercussions the Jimmy Carr’s tax-avoidance scandal might have on his own affairs. ‘Wait till the press hear about me,’ he says. ‘I’m still signing on…’

For despite the arena-filling tours, and own BBC One show at the age of 25, Bridges remains Mr Ordinary; the working-class Glasgow lad who struck it lucky, but still keeps his feet on the ground. There are fish fingers in the freezer, the only documentaries he watches are presented by Danny Dyer, and he goes unrecognised on buses.

He’s the sort of everyman stand-up who makes everyone think they can be a comedian. So natural, so unaffected, is his style that it hardly seems written at all. However, the flip side of that relaxed style is that the show can slide into more workmanlike sections, light on punchlines with observations falling into the category of ‘stuff we’ve all thought about’. But for good company with bite, Bridges delivers.

A healthy cynicism pervades his act. His bullshit detector is in full working order, and once identified, he can destroy his target with a sharp wit – from the government plan to force the unemployed to work for free to boost their ‘self-esteem’ to the guff spouted by self-absorbed celebrities. His counter for that would be a chat show in which vacuous statements are greeted with a disdainful Glaswegian indifference: ‘Did ye? Aye…’

For you cannot take Glasgow out of Bridges; his personality is the city’s, and it comes as little surprise that there a lot of fellow Scots in his London audience. He celebrates both his home town’s no-nonsense approach and their hard-edged vernacular, the versatile use of the crudest of swear words becoming almost charmingly poetic. He also has some fun at the Old Firm rivalry – derailed thanks to Rangers’ financial woes – while his attitude to devolution is pretty much the same as his attitude to life: ‘Fuck it, it’ll be a laugh.’

The night has a conversational feel, underlined by his technique of returning to someone in the front row for each of his opening gambits, in lieu of seamless links: ‘Going on your holidays, Lee?’ introduces the bit about a lads’ boozy week in the sun, for example.

He has a scatological section on ‘ghosties’, that recalls Billy Connolly’s obsession with jobbies, has an awakening that the ‘para’ in Paralympics isn’t what he thought it meant, and – the most common staple of observational comics these days – has a story about a nutter on the bus. But here, he does what he does best, brining an everyday scenario to life with his sincere sardonicism and occasionally inspired turn of phrase. Across the night, he liberally uses callbacks for added chuckles.

It’s a short show, just an hour – plus 30 minutes from his opener, the similarly accessible Irishman Neil Delamare, who mixes potent punchlines with more functional fare such as mocking regional accents – and Bridges doesn’t know how to end it.

In fact, his encore is borderline shambolic, as he doesn’t have a purpose for coming back on stage. A brief ad hoc Q&A doesn’t go anywhere, and he momentarily lets the room get the better of him, thanks to a man in the balcony so keen on sharing his considered opinion of John Terry that he has to shout the same expletive a good four times. Told you Bridges’s unassuming approach could convince anyone they were a comedian.

It doesn’t take this idiot to prove that’s not the case, and Bridges’s ability to harness his natural, earthy humour into stand-up that reliably delivers shouldn’t be underestimated, even if sometimes he takes a slightly too obvious route to the laughs.

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I have seen Kevin three times at the Stand Comedy Club in Glasgow and these are the best types of venues to see comedians. It is a much more intimate venue and he has real partipation with the audience and I dare anyone to sit at one of the tables around the little stage - you them are part of his show. Keep up the great work Kevin!!

Myra, Glasgow, February 2013

One of the few "TV, live at the Apollo" comics who haven't lost their edge. Bridges seems almost embarrassed by success and that comes through in his material. Great to see him taking on meatier topics in his new tour and i think the best is yet to come. Proper social commentary from a proper Stand Up. Keep it up.

Jodie, November 2012

Bridges has found his audience, style and comfort zone at an early age. Once he strays from these parameters the impression is shaky and that of 'witty sales assistant'. To truly last he needs the invention and eccentricity of Connolly, which is not in evidence at this point in his pop comedian career.

Mandy Allan, November 2012

Saw him in Belfast. Excellent.

Robbie, October 2012

Kevin was incredible in Glasgow! 20th Sept. I admit the show was short and he cut many jokes out but then out them back in for the DVD but i was in fits of laughter at everything he said! Glasgow is the best gig to go to as it's a home crowd for him and he talks about more Glasgow based subjects.

hahaha, October 2012

We saw Kevin Bridges at Aberdeen (AECC). It was poor, his contribution lasted just over an hour, he couldn't cope with comments from the audience and it was overpriced - waste of money.

Wendy Clarke, October 2012

I love Kevin Bridges I think he is the funniest comedian I have seen for a while. He makes his jokes about simple everyday things that we can all relate to and he doesn't need to cause offense or have controversial material just to get noticed. I am definitely going to see him in Ireland in October with all my friends. Ireland loves Kevin.

Aoife, Dublin, May 2012

Kevin is absolutely FANTASTIC! For all the people saying he is a one trick pony etc. If you go see a comedian 5 TIMES you should probably expect hearing the same material.

Ewan Shand, February 2012

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