As anyone who uses social media knows, many people think they are funny, but only a select few are funny enough to perform as a stand-up comedian in front of an audience and make them laugh out loud.
Among those select few are West Ham United supporter Mark Simmons.
Born in Kent in the mid-1980s, Simmons has been working as a comedian since 2008, and has found fame, if not fortune, for his outstanding delivery of one-liners. That delivery saw Simmons invited to appear on the popular panel show Mock the Week, hosted by Irish comedian Dara Ó Briain and featuring big-name funnymen and women including Rory Bremner, Frankie Boyle, Russell Howard and Angela Barnes.
A regular on the British comedy circuit, Simmons has become synonymous with the Edinburgh Fringe, the UK’s largest arts festival. In 2022, his one-liner, ‘Did you know, if you get pregnant in the Amazon, it’s next day delivery?’, was voted the second funniest of the Fringe.
Then, in August this year, ‘I was going to sail around the globe in the world’s smallest ship, but I bottled it’, was named Funniest Joke of the Fringe.
At the start of October, Simmons embarked on a tour which will see him visit venues across Britain and Ireland, including London’s Leicester Square Theatre on 13 November and Billericay’s Players Lounge on 15 November, and conclude at London’s Soho Theatre on 16 December.
Before then, the award-winning funnyman visited London Stadium, where he sat down with fellow comedy writer, Hammer and Mark, Mark Webster, to discuss his career and success…
Where did it all begin for you, then, Mark?
“When I was doing my GCSEs, I had a choice of drama or PE, and I went PE, and then I went to sports science and worked in the sports industry for ten years after university, and then started comedy. It’s totally switched, and now I'm just all-in on comedy!”
Did you know your comedy style immediately. Were you always a one-line man?
“No, I tried every position on the pitch, to be honest. I tried observational storytelling, for one, but your style chooses you, rather than you choosing your style. My brain works with wordplay and double meaning so, once I realised that, I could write different shows every year.”
Congratulations on your award, Mark! How did it come about?
“I don't really think about it in the preparation but, because I'm a one-liner comic, I do a lot of one-liners, so I’m always in the market for winning it. I've been on the top-ten funniest at the Fringe list a few times before. I think I've had number ten, number six, number two and now I had numbers one and five this year!”
I like the fact that your jokes have improved!
“Yeah, but now what do I do? I’ll have to win it back-to-back!”
Let’s hope you haven’t peaked! Now, winning this award can be a poisoned chalice, can’t it?
“Yeah! I found out I’d won a week before it was announced and, in my head, I was well prepared, because my friends have won it in the past and they either got stick for their joke being rubbish, or you get stick for your joke being stolen [from another comedian], because people will find a tweet from years ago [telling the same joke] and stuff like that. So I made sure I was prepared and I had evidence of when I wrote the joke, which is way before anyone else had ever tweeted it, because I've had so many jokes stolen and posted on social media. So yeah, I was well prepared, but actually this year as people seem to like the joke, so I was chuffed.”
And, as you mentioned, you also came fifth, so what was that joke?
“I love the Olympics. My friend and I invented a new type of relay baton. Well, he came up with the idea, I ran with it.”
You’re a Hammer, too?
“Yes, from a young age. My brother and Dad support West Ham and the other side of my family are Crystal Palace. I went to the Martin Allen Soccer School and met Les Sealey. They took us on a tour around Upton Park and I bought a West Ham hat, and when we met Les he said ‘You’re a Hammer!’ and that was it!”
Back to you, you’re on tour, so tell us about that!
“It’s the SEVENTH section of my tour. It started really small and with social media I’ve been able to keep going and going and appearing at bigger venues, finishing in London in December.”
*Follow Mark Simmons on X @JokesWithMark and buy tickets for his tour via marksimmons.co.uk
