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  1. The answer appears to be “shedloads”. If you can sell an arena’s worth of tickets and put on a show that involves about 10 lights, a screen or three and a microphone, you’ll make a fortune, it seems.

    I don’t mind Bishop, he at least has come form a sensible background, and is (IMHO) an engaging TV presenter too.
    Jimmy Carr, on the other hand…

  2. Comedians now are like American rock stars in the 70s. Huge TV fees, mega tours, corporate gigs, books, repeat fees from Dave….To be fair John Bishop wasn’t exactly on the bones of his arse to start with.

    Nonetheless, I feel this thread should be mainly about middle-aged men getting unaccountably angry about comedians. It’s been about five months since we last did that.

  3. It’s often said that live shows are the only ways for musicians to make good money these days. Bishop’s last tour seems to have been around 150 dates, with no band and (I’m guessing) no expensive props or stage show. My guess is that a comedian who can sell out the large theatre circuit will make a very comfortable living.

    Bishop’s comedy isn’t for me, but I have to admire anyone who can stand in front of thousands of people with nothing but a mic to hide behind and dare himself to make them laugh for 90 minutes.

    • Or in the style of the man himself:

      *cough* Stewart Lee *cough*
      *cough* Stewart Lee *cough*
      *cough* Stewart Lee *cough*
      *cough* Stewart Lee *cough*
      *cough* Stewart Lee *cough*
      .
      .
      .
      repeat till heat death of universe / someone laughs

      • You Know him, The Stewart Lee
        The Stewart Lee, with the writing on his hand
        The Stewart Lee, in a suit,
        You know The Stewart Lee, sweating in a suit with the writing on his hand,
        The Stewart Lee,
        fat face,
        The Stewart Lee,
        with the writing on his hand
        Sweaty fat face, with the writing on his hand
        The Stewart Lee
        Sweaty, with the writing on his hand
        The Stewart Lee

        Granted, it doesn’t read funny, it’s the way he tells it

  6. The comedy tour de force we witness most days on TV is that of Bradley Walsh on The Chase. Incredibly sharp in the way he can rattle off the quickfire questions without pausing or stumbling over words – and still be very funny. For a “traditional” style comic, he’s found a great vehicle.

      • Ya wonder if he’s the last of his breed. The much-travelled gagman no longer appears to be first call for even the daftest TV game shows. (As an aside, I have found myself of late watching a load of Bullseye repeats with smashing super Jim Bowen and – Jeyzoo Kristo! – the people in Northern England in the 80s/early 90s were one unhealthy looking lot – 35 going on 60, most of ‘em..)

  7. Obvious point is that most comedians are not wildly successful and they make very little. I’m friends with a guy who is very highly regarded in the business, won the Perrier award a long time back, but gets by on very little these days.

    Even a lot of those who have a decent public profile with TV and radio appearances don’t earn big money. It tends to be that few who can sell out large theatres and get gigs on chat shows and lightweight TV documentaries who make serious money. Whether that is warranted by their talent is a different conversation, but I suspect most of us Afterworders have different tastes to people who fork out for tickets Bishop/McIntyre/Carr etc.

    • Yes I think Sean Hughes was not massively rich despite talent to burn and a decent TV career in the 90s/early 00s. Bishop is more at the Adele end of the long tail than the 99% of comedians who are doing it in pubs and clubs for a few quid.

      • The Comedian’s Comedian podcast often touches on this. Many acts have no greater ambition than ten or twenty minute slots on the comedy evening circuit, sometimes the same set honed to the best version of itself that can be achieved. It takes huge ambition, the right breaks and an awful lot of material to work up to 90 minutes solo.

        It’s an excellent podcast if you haven’t heard it. The bit that has stuck with me, and I forget who the guest was or who was giving him advice, was someone who looked to an older and wiser comedian early in his career. ‘What’s the first thing you need to be?’ he was asked. ‘Funny!’ he confidently replied. ‘Wrong. First you need to be interesting. If you’re interesting the audience will listen to you and wait for the laughs, if you’re not they won’t pay attention and it doesn’t matter how funny your gags are.’

  9. Good luck to anyone who wants to be a stand up nowadays. it doesn’t matter how uncontroversial your subject matter, someone will find it “offensive”. You’ll spend most of your time tweeting heart felt apologies to the mass ranks of the outraged. Not worth it. We live in po faced times.

  12. Maybe that’s why he sold it. I mean perhaps only HS2 were going to pay that amount of money for a place in Northwich? Even if it is an actual mansion. I mean, none of us, even if we had a fortune, would spend it on a mansion in Northwich surely? Christ a three bedroom place with a biggish kitchen and a garden somewhere nice would be fine. £6 million might get that in parts of zone 3 in London I guess…

  13. A big part of the article is that Bishop has been an outspoken critic of HS2…then he’s taken their cash when he got a good offer. He probably got way over market odds for his house/castle/mansion, but I wonder if he’ll go quiet now?

  14. Can’t wait for stand-up comedy to enter into the orchestral concept era with gags that aren’t really gags and which go on for over twenty minutes and then to get blown back to basics by younger spikier comedians who say fuck a lot whilst picking their noses.

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