Nik Hill is a Recruitment Manager, born & bred in Gloucester. He's recently started doing Stand Up at the ripe old age of 43 and is pleased with the positive feedback he's getting on his performances. He's now expanding his horizons, also looking to start his own Club in sleepy backwater Gloucester. He feels he has a different outlook on life to some of the younger guys on the circuit. He did send me a picture by email but I can't display it as it was nearly 7,354 Terabytes in size - large parts of the Internet in Eastern Europe collapsed under the strain.

Q1. How did you start performing comedy and what keeps you doing it?

I got started I guess way back when I was at School!

Always seemed to have the ability to fool around in class and nothing really has changed since then, My first real performance was about 7 years ago when my Dad was involved with the local Lions club (which came as a surprise as he hated animals) asked if I could do a comedy spot at a variety night they were putting on; I agreed and did about 10 minutes of telling my favourite jokes, although they were somewhat watered down to suit the occasion; after this I did absolutely nothing until 1999 when I performed at a local BBC Radio production headlined by Mike D’Abo of Manfred Mann fame. My band, The Toffs, were playing that night and I was asked if I could do some stand up as well.

But even this was somewhat removed from my passion of being able to be on stage and say what the hell I liked without bits being edited!

My first real venture into the stand up circuit came earlier this year when I answered an ad in the local paper; this led me to the Kitchen Comedy Club and I somewhat nervously did a 7 minute spot one foggy February night in The Miners Arms in Sling, Forest Of Dean.

Since then I have performed a 20-minute spot at the same Club, but at Westbury Village Hall, Glos.

This has brought me into contact with some great guys like Ryan Gough, James Cook, Rich Batsford who have assisted me in my quest for the stars!

I love doing stand up as it’s a real release for me, it gives me such a buzz and every time I just want to do more and more!!

I’m not getting younger and although I’ve started late I fully intend to make up for lost time!!

Q2. What part do you think promoters play in encouraging the growth of new comedy? Is it enough to offer open spots, or is there more?

This is a difficult one to answer, as I don’t know too much about it yet!

I think there is no right or wrong answer here, you need people with the same commitment and willingness to recognise that there may be a lot of untapped talent out there,and it’s just as much their responsibility to find and exhibit it, as it is the performers themselves.

There is no easy road, I know that, but it has to be a 2-way thing I guess.

So far though, I’ve found Promoters to be receptive, albeit wary to new acts, and look forward to speaking to many more of them after they’ve all read this wonderful bit of prose!

Q3. What do you find is the best way for you to approach/contact a promoter? And are there any kinds of spots/clubs/promoters you'd avoid?

You have to make the effort first and foremost! It’s a lot of emailing and phone calls but persistence pays off.

Look at it from the Promoters point of view, what’s in it for him?

If unsolicited correspondence arrives on his desk, answerphone, pc…what’s he most likely to take notice of? You have to take a professional approach to this aspect of the job and put together something worth listening to, looking at or reading.

Recommendations are brilliant apart from the fact that you need to be recommended in the first place and you can’t do that till someone has seen you and they can’t so that until you’ve performed…get the drift!! 

Keep going, be professional and learn when to back off is what I say!

Q4. What impresses you most about a club you perform in - and least?

Organisation!!

A well organised event has a much better chance of success every time; it sets the scene for the audience who need to be looked after; they’ve paid, and want to be entertained from the minute they walk in the door, it’s all about creating an atmosphere right from the start.

The other vital tool any Club needs is enthusiasm; from the ticket collector to the Bar staff to the Compere, they all need to have that edge, that certain something which makes them stand out from all the rest.

I can’t stand people who haven’t made the effort, what’s the point being there if you don’t really want to be!

Some people say audiences are poor, lacking a sense of humour. There is no bad audience, only a bad performer!!

Q5. How do you see yourself progressing in the comedy world - and ending up where, one day?

I would love to be able to do this as a full time job. But let’s get real here shall we!!

There are a lot of talented individuals out there, I know that, some with loads of talent, some with none (!); at the moment I need to get onto the circuit, gain confidence, learn my craft before I can think about taking it to the next level; having said that, I have every confidence in my abilities and fully intend to grab every opportunity I can to bring my humour to others.

It’s early days yet but I am already negotiating with a famous Sports Venue in Gloucester to host my own Comedy Club, hopefully that’ll happen before September, after that we’ll see what happens.

One day, before I get too old, I’d like to play the Edinburgh Festival or, as a last resort, end up on Des O Connor’s show, pipe dreams…watch this space!!!

Q6. If you had one key piece of advice for new acts, what would it be?

Do it! If you have any inkling that this is something you want to do…make the effort and do it!!