Unfunny comedians

[TheTecknician]

We've covered lousy actors and questionable singers. A further spin-off: who really isn't that funny, past or present? I offer:

Hale and Pace
Freddie Starr
Lenny Henry

Mean-spirited, I know.

On the plus side, I did like Jimmy Tarbuck. I'm probably being unfashionable but his delivery as a stand-up was perfect, even if some of the jokes wouldn't go down well today.

Kenn dodd

Interesting thread!
Agree I don’t find Rosie Jones funny at all, saw Peter Kay live and he was very underwhelming (im southern though and it’s very northern humour and probably older generation nowadays).
I really like Romesh, in terms of female comedians Joanne McNally makes me laugh out loud on her podcast MTGM so im going to see her live tour- hope she’s good!

He’s not funny at all.

Wasn’t he Peter Kay’s mate? I seem to remember that he was a friend of Peter Kay who brought him into Phoenix Nights as a small part as a favour, and he’s inexplicably been given more work from there.

I honestly think he was playing himself on Phoenix Nights…..

There's a load of great US based female standup acts on Netflix - Chelsea Peretti, Fortune Feimster, Tiffany Haddish, London Hughes, Tig Notaro, Wanda Sykes etc. Don't accept the boring, middle class, right thinking bland ladies the BBC throw at us.

I think when you watch people on things like 8 of 10 Cats sometimes you just get a little glimpse of comic genius. I like Simon Brodkin, and there's a great act called Feltface which is live but not being shown on TV as far as I know, Australian puppet type comedian. Nina Conti seems very good too, well regarded. You need a comics' comic really - like the late Sean Lock, he had impeccable timing. Oh and Richard Ayoade, love him. I find it easier to say who I like than don't, but I think Rosie Jones is a better actor than comedian.

Agree, have seen loads in smaller clubs and Edinburgh Fringe there's amazing ones out there on the comedy scene

Sorry, not to me he isn't. He's never made me laugh.

I get that different people find different things funny but there are some comedians that I just cannot watch. Some just come across as pervy/creepy and there are others that are extremely annoying. For me the worst ones are the hyperactive strange men like Russell Brand, Russell Kane, Eddie Izzard, Ross Noble. Would not like to be trapped in a room listening to any of them.

I think this started in the eighties with the rise of alternative comedy. I think they called it alternative because it wasn't actually funny. Ben Elton, Alexi Sayle etc just shouted, in some ways it was quite embarrassing.

Paddy McGuinness - saw him live at the studios on that no likey no lighty thing (I've had wine sorry can't remember stuff!!) - he was all fun and games with the camera on, minute the floor manager shouted "cut" his face was like thunder.

There's plenty but the two that spring to mind are Jimmy Carr & Rosie Jones. I can't watch either of them.

Sean Lock (RIP) is the best comedian I've seen live.
James Acaster the worst (at least of known comedians). He reacted very badly - his act was not going down well after a promising start and he started blaming the audience (mostly female).

I'm on a roll now, think it's the wine. Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse. Not necessarily together, but yeah that's a little glimpse of respective geniuses for me.

Liked Rowan on not the nine o'clock news.
Dave Allen was sooo funny loved watching him whilst growing up in the 70s.

I think they were funny. I just think it happens at some people are intelligent and some people are not. Some people get some humour and some people don’t get the other stuff quite interesting watching some great comedians on YouTube. Let’s take the piss out of the mega lot and they hate it they don’t find it funny but it bloody well it is.

Jimmy Carr he’s really funny and the way he puts down hecklers it’s really good

Yes @FKAT great list! Also Hannah Gadsby and Mae Martin.

Sean Lock: the story about you know how there's always an obligatory looney/shouty drunk on the night bus, and then one night he got on and there wasn't one, so he had to do it ...

There is one doing the rounds on Facebook. I think she now lives in Australia. She is bloody funny. She’s a nurse and she has made so many great stand-up on Facebook about her time being a nurse and I can’t remember her name and there’s another one that talks about the menopause from the north and she’s really funny as well

I saw him live once. He was so funny my sides aches. We all must have different tastes.

Someone mentioned Jo Brand being unfunny live and I loved her. Sarah Millican was lazy and just did material we'd already seen, more than once, on the TV. Really wished I'd stayed home and saved my money that night.

I agree that Dave Gorman is genuinely very, very unfunny. I've just never seen the attraction.

My current favourites are Josh Johnson and Taylor Tomlinson.

Peter Kay live at the O2. I sort of smirked once but that was it for the whole show. Other people were rolling about. Maybe they were drunk or very easily pleased.

I like Joe Brand to I think the stories from her psychiatric nurse time were very funny including that one way she was in a room and there was a man under the bed. It was very funny the way she told her I really like her.

Yeah. Swearing and talking about tampons. Ooh.