{"id":114481,"date":"2015-07-23T14:57:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-23T19:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/the-uks-top-comedians-by-search-volume\/"},"modified":"2024-12-23T00:36:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T05:36:31","slug":"the-uks-top-comedians-by-search-volume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-gb\/insights\/blog\/strategy\/the-uks-top-comedians-by-search-volume\/","title":{"rendered":"The UK\u2019s Top Comedians by Search Volume"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being a former stand-up comedian (Don\u2019t just take my word for it – \u201cHead, shoulders, knees and toes above the rest\u2026mighty stage presence and impressively high punchline ratio<\/em>\u201d Brian Donaldson, Scotsman), inevitably my use of search stats was eventually going to turn towards the state of comedy in the UK. With the Edinburgh Fringe looming, now seemed like a good time to have a look at the figures.<\/p>\n

Mind you, the Fringe is something that many comedians look forward to but that I usually look back on with the musical score from Platoon<\/em> playing in my head.<\/p>\n

Anyway.<\/p>\n

Scotland vs. England vs. Wales vs. Northern Ireland <\/strong><\/p>\n

Regional differences are something that I was always aware of when doing stand-up. Not necessarily in as simplistic a way as England vs Scotland, but I did find that the further South I travelled, the more shocking any on-the-edge jokes seemed to become to audiences. Between Aberdeen and Manchester I was funny; any further down the road and the situation was less clear.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the more simple matter of cultural touchstones. Some aspects of comedy will touch on a \u2018universal truth\u2019, while others may touch on a more localised truth. Not all humour travels.<\/p>\n

So, if looking at search numbers for comedians across the UK and then dividing them up into separate searches for Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland – what would I find?<\/p>\n

Well, in what will probably come as a surprise to very few comedians, Scotland and Northern Ireland seemed to share a similar taste in comedians when it comes to searching for them. The names in their top 3 are the same, albeit in a different order:<\/p>\n

Scotland<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Kevin Bridges<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Billy Connolly<\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Russell Brand<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Northern Ireland<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Russell Brand<\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. Kevin Bridges<\/strong><\/li>\n
    3. Billy Connolly <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      What of England and Wales though? It turns out that they share the same top 4 of most searched for comedians. Rhod Gilbert doesn\u2019t quite make it into that number, though he is tied for the next spot with Russell Howard, John Bishop, Noel Fielding, Billy Connolly and Ricky Gervais.<\/p>\n

      England <\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Russell Brand <\/strong><\/li>\n
      2. Michael McIntyre<\/strong><\/li>\n
      3. = Miranda Hart & Jack Whitehall<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Wales<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Russell Brand<\/strong><\/li>\n
        2. = Miranda Hart, Michael McIntyre, Jack Whitehall<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Russell Brand is the only name that England and Wales share with Scotland and Northern Ireland\u2019s top searches and it was something of a debate as to whether to include him in the list or not. Is he an activist these days as much as a comedian? Is he a Hollywood celebrity rather than a stand-up? In the end, he\u2019s been included so you can make up your own mind.<\/p>\n

          City vs. City<\/strong><\/p>\n

          It\u2019s probably not too surprising that Kevin Bridges and Billy Connolly dominate in Scotland (Frankie Boyle was no.4), due to an understandable pride over their talents as well as the way in which their material resonates with a home audience.<\/p>\n

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