'I never quite managed to pay off my debts'

Veteran comedian Barry Ferns has told how his dedication to the Edinburgh Fringe left his bankrupt and homeless.

The stand-up first performed at the festival in 1999 – but racked up £5,000 in debt for his first show.

Over the years that built up to £45,000, and he was declared bankrupt in 2007 and was subsequently left homeless.

Ferns – who went on to found the Angel comedy club in London – told The Scotsman: ‘I’m from a working-class family in Dorset, so I didn't have a safety net.

‘I just thought the way that you got good at comedy was to go to the Edinburgh festival.  

‘Every year it was the same. I’d go to the Fringe and spend the rest of the year trying to pay off my debts, but I never quite managed it. I think that first year, I managed to work off half of it.

‘But then I went up again, because I thought "this is what I want to do with my life". It felt like an investment. Then it got to the point, after my seventh Edinburgh, that I went bankrupt.’

In his early days, he performed as Lionel Ritchie, and flooded the city with cryptic ‘This belong to Lionel Ritchie’ stickers and became known for his annual gigs atop Arthur's Seat.

Ferns e said he became homeless, sofa-surfing before ending up in a squat in London – but he added that although  bankruptcy was ‘emotionally hard’ it gave him a chance to start again.

And it inspired him to ensure Angel Comedy, which has a permanent, crowdfunded home in Islington’s Bill Murray pub, offered free opportunities for comedians.

The comic is heading to the Fringe this year for the 20th time, where he will talk about these experiences in the show My Seven Years as Lionel Richie at Just The Tonic at the Caves.

Published: 15 Jun 2025