‘I’d be wiping down the bar as I was watching all these brilliant acts every night and one day I decided to try it’

MUSICAL comedian Jonny Awsum rose to fame after appearing on Britain’s Got Talent (BGT), famously performing with Ant and Dec, and David Walliams.

His upbeat, feel-good approach won him standing ovations, 50 million online views of his performances, and a place in the semi-finals.

He’s gone on to star in panto, and tour alongside the silent Tape Face and Lost Voice Guy, who won BGT the year after Jonny’s appearance.

Now Jonny’s finally headlining his own headline tour, entitled Jonny Awsum Is Coming To Town, which is about to stop off at The Glee Club.

The shows were great, I loved opening for both those acts, my brother says I must be the go-to guy for acts that don’t talk on stage.

I’ve been friends with Lee Ridley (Lost Voice Guy) for years so it was wonderful to do such a huge tour with him, we spent five months on the road together and had so many laughs.

We told the promoter we wanted a ‘tour dog’ and they sent us a giant cuddly toy which we stuck in a Lost Voice Guy t-shirt and had with us everywhere we went.

I’ve been a fan of Tape Face for ages, so it was a dream to spend a month with him, I’d do my spot and then go and watch the show from the back every night – it was magical.

Sam (Wills, Tape Face) does a bit with these large, plastic pigs that you can squeeze to make them oink, he gave a couple of them to my kids when they came to one of the shows… it was the equivalent of someone giving your kid a drum kit! They now live on a very high shelf. but you’ve been doing comedy for some time – how/ where did it all start?

I used to play guitar in rock bands and because we weren’t making any money, I’d always have a part-time job to pay the rent.

One job was in a bar and they had comedy there, it was like going to comedy university for me I guess, I’d be wiping down the bar as I was watching all these brilliant acts every night and one day I decided to try it.

I put down my dish cloth and the rest is history.

I’ve always done songs, I used to do bits of stand up and songs when I first started but it always felt like the audience were waiting for me to finish the stand-up

Who are some of the acts who inspired you?

I’ve always loved Spinal Tap, it’s such a funny film and I can relate to so much of it having been in bands for years, so those guys for sure.

I have been inspired by Tape Face as he does this wonderfully interactive show that involves punters but doesn’t degrade them.

I like to perform in the same way, championing people rather than picking on them.

I saw many really top notch musical comedians when I worked at the ba, but one who I gigged with recently was Rich Hall and he was such a dude, I had to go on after him in a club and he lent me his guitar stand and lead – what a lovely guy.

As soon as you come on stage you establish an instant rapport with the audiences. Making that instant impression is not an easy thing to achieve. Was there an eureka moment where things just fell into place, when you discovered how to make that kind of impact?

Yes, when I realised that most people want you to do well – they want to go to work the next day or put on Facebook that saw this amazing comedian last night who was really funny etc.

So I think it’s about going for it, having confidence and remembering why we are all there – to have a good time!