The Glee Club is a chain of independent live stand-up comedy and live music venues in the UK. The first Glee Club was opened by Mark Tughan in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

's Chinese Quarter in 1994,Doors will open on an improved Glee club
Birmingham Post, 25 October 2001 the first dedicated comedy club to open in the United Kingdom outside

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

.Brum loses out in comedy stakes
Evening Mail, 8 October 2003 A second branch opened in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in 2001 with a third club opening in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in April 2010 and a fourth, two room club debuted in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

in September 2010. The latest club to come online is The Glee Club

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

which opened in February 2019. A number of major names cut their teeth playing at The Glee, including

Jack Dee James Andrew Innes Dee (born 24 September 1961), known professionally as Jack Dee, is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter and writer known for his sarcasm, irony and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom ''Lead Balloon'' ...

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...

Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom '' Not Going Out'', being a team captain on th ...

and

Ross Noble Ross Markham Noble (born 5 June 1976) is an English stand-up comedian and actor. Noble rose to mainstream popularity through making appearances on British television, particularly interviews and on panel shows such as '' Have I Got News for You' ...

.Laws, Roz
"Birmingham's first comedy club The Glee Club celebrates 20 years of jokes"
'' Birmingham Post'', Birmingham, 5 September 2014. Retrieved on 28 October 2005. The brand has been directly involved with numerous urban comedy festivals in their host cities, and also presented stand-up stages at major outdoor events, including V Festival from 2012-2017. The Glee Club Comedy Tent at V welcomed appearances from

Sean Lock Sean Lock (22 April 1963 – 16 August 2021) was an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian and in 2000 he won the British Comedy Award, in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Pe ...

(V2012),

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

and

Josh Widdicombe Joshua Michael Widdicombe (; born 8 April 1983) is an English comedian, presenter and actor. He is best known for his appearances on '' The Last Leg'' (2012–present), ''Fighting Talk'' (2014–2016), '' Insert Name Here'' (2016–2019), ''Mock ...

(V2013),

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeon ...

(V2014),

Frankie Boyle Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. He is known for his cynical, surreal, graphic and often controversial sense of humour. A stand-up comedian since 1995, Boyle first gained widespread recogni ...

and

Russell Kane Russell Kane (born Russell David Anthony Grineau; 19 August 1975) is an English writer, comedian, and actor. He has 4 times been nominated at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, winning the Best Comedy Show award in 2010. Although known mainly for st ...

(V2016), and

Joe Lycett Joe Harry Lycett, also known by the self-given moniker Mummy, is an English comedian, painter and television presenter. Known for his sardonically camp style, whimsical public stunts and elaborate set designs, Lycett has been described as one ...

(V2017).

Comedy show

The Glee's regular comedy show consists of three acts from the UK and international comedy circuits introduced by a compère. The Saturday shows are often followed by a disco in some venues. All clubs also host tour shows by more established acts. Unlike many other comedy clubs, the seating for all comedy gigs is arranged in a theatre style and the clubs' bars close during the performances. Professional comedians enjoy appearing at the clubs; as Tom Allen reported: "The Glee Club people are excellent at creating an environment where people can enjoy themselves. There’s a science to getting the venue and night out right and they are great at attention to detail, everything from the welcome at the door to getting the lighting right. In the past comedy could be quite a macho environment and the Glee Clubs have been great at tackling that and making sure their bills feature diverse performers."Hughes, Tim
"Much Glee: TV funnyman Tom Allen launches comedy club in new Oxford home"
''

Oxford Mail ''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid '' The Oxford Times''. History The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 as a succe ...

'', Oxford, 12 January 2017. Retrieved on 22 February 2019. Many professional acts also opt to play secret or low-key tour warm-up shows at The Glee. Among those who've previewed largescale theatre and arena shows, and test out new material, are

John Bishop John Marcus Bishop (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and former footballer. Bishop formerly played football as a midfielder for Winsford United F.C., Crewe Alexandra F.C., Runcorn F.C., Rhyl F.C., Witton Al ...

, Lee Evans,

Michael McIntyre Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is an English comedian, writer and television presenter. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. He currently presents his own Saturday night series, ''Michael Mc ...

Sarah Millican Sarah Jane Millican ( King; born 29 May 1975) is an English comedian, writer and presenter. Millican won the comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In February 2013 she was listed as one of the 100 most powerful ...

and

Jack Whitehall Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. He is known for starring as JP in the series '' Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016) and Alfie Wickers in the series '' Bad Education'' (2012–2014, 20 ...

Live music

The Glee Clubs have presented live music since April 2001, and presently host gigs in Birmingham, Nottingham, Cardiff and Glasgow. Among the acts who have appeared include

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

and

Mumford and Sons Mumford may refer to: *Amazing Mumford, a Muppet character on ''Sesame Street'' * ''Mumford'' (film), a 1999 American comedy-drama film * Mumford procedure, also called distal clavicle excision or distal clavicle resection, an orthopedic surgical pr ...

. Music was initially brought to the Glee Club by promoter Markus Sargeant.

The Glee Birmingham

Situated in

Southside, Birmingham Southside is a new name for the district in the city centre of Birmingham, England. It contains the Chinese Quarter, the city's Gay Village, The Arcadian and the Hippodrome Theatre. At the end of May 2009, the Birmingham City Council approved ...

, The Glee's original home opened in leisure development The Arcadian on 10 September 1994, and was the first dedicated comedy club to open in the UK outside

. The 20th anniversary show, in 2014, was compered by

. The venue is home to several unique nights including ''Comedy Carousel'' and ''Rough Works''. Hosted and created by comedian Andy Robinson, ''Comedy Carousel'' has won several awards including multiple What's On Readers' Awards for Best Comedy Club Night and a Chortle Award for Best Comedy Club Show 2015, while actress and comedian

Jo Enight Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy * ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series *"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from ''Tales of Us'' *"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from ''Lambs Anger'' * Jo a fictio ...

's ''Rough Works'' provides a platform for new and established acts try out new material. Also taking place at the club is ''The

Birmingham Comedy Festival Birmingham Comedy Festival is an annual arts festival in the city of Birmingham. The festival takes place throughout the city for 10 days during October. While primarily focused on stand-up comedy, it also includes films, theatre, cabaret, visual ...

Breaking Talent Award'', which recognises new and emerging talent from the West Midlands. Many local comics have graced the Glee's stage, including

Jasper Carrott Robert Norman Davis (born 14 March 1945), best known by his stage name, Jasper Carrott, is an English comedian, actor and television presenter. Early life Born in Shaftmoor Lane, Acocks Green, in Birmingham, Carrott was educated at Acocks Gr ...

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in '' The Le ...

and Guz Khan.

The Glee Cardiff

A second branch opened in

in 2001 and is located in the Mermaid Quay development in Cardiff Bay. The opening night line-up included Mark Lamarr and was "an instant hit" with audiences."Interview with Glee Comedy Owner Mark Tughan"
''

British Comedy Guide British Comedy Guide or BCG (formerly the British Sitcom Guide or BSG) is a British website covering all forms of British comedy, across all media. At the time of writing, BCG has published guides to more than 7,000 individual British comedies ...

'', 25 January. Retrieved on 22 February 2019. The venue has a seated capacity of 440 and a standing capacity of 600.

ITV Wales ITV Cymru Wales, previously known as Harlech Television and HTV Wales, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchise for Wales. The new separate licence began on 1 January 2014, replacing the long-serving dual franchise region serving Wales and the Wes ...

broadcast a series of eight stand up shows from the venue in 2006. It won the

Chortle Award The Chortle Awards were set up in 2002 by the comedy website Chortle to honour the best of established stand-up comics currently working in the UK. A panel of reviewers draw up a shortlist, which is presented for public vote at the Chortle websit ...

for Best Venue (Wales and West) 10 times between 2002-2017.

The Glee Oxford

The third Glee Club opened in Hythe Bridge Street,

in April 2010 with a one-off appearance from

Shappi Khorsandi Shaparak Khorsandi ( fa, شاپرک خرسندی, born 8 June 1973), formerly known as Shappi Khorsandi, is an Iranian-born British comedian and author. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family l ...

and Angelos Epithemiou, and went on to host appearances from

and

. Due to redevelopment of the area, the club relocated to The Bullingdon in Cowley Road, Oxford, on 14 January 2017. Appearing on opening night were Tom Allen and

Ellie Taylor Eleanor Jane Taylor is an English comedian, television personality, actress, and writer. After appearing on ''Show Me the Funny'' in 2011, Taylor has appeared on numerous television shows, including ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' (2011–2017), '' Fake Re ...

. Tom described appearing as "a big honour."

The Glee Nottingham

A fourth, two room club debuted in

on 15 September 2010.Whiter, Tom
"Glee Club aims to 'break some new ground' in Nottingham"
''

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Comedy show

Live music

The Glee Birmingham

The Glee Cardiff

The Glee Oxford

The Glee Nottingham

The Glee Glasgow

Awards

References

External links