John Fleming (I)
- Journalist
Press clippings Page 45
Bob Slayer being ripped-off & pulling-off another comic
The previous day, Bob had sent a text message to me, Kate Copstick and others saying: "I've had a creative breakthrough - I'm not a comedian. I'm a performance artist."
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 12th August 2014Jim Davidson v alternatvie fascists; Jeff Leach
A look at Jim Davidson and Jeff Leach.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 11th August 2014Who started free show & how to sell Irish comedy
"People claim that PBH was the first to perform free shows at the Fringe in 1996. But, in fact, the year before - 1995 - Malcolm Hardee publicised his yet-to-be-published autobiography I Stole Freddie Mercury's Birthday Cake by doing free shows in Edinburgh"
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 10th August 2014Networking with media + comic is threatened with rape
"Performers at the Edinburgh Fringe get worried about the number of bums on seats and I don't think performers should come to the Fringe thinking about audiences; they should come thinking about the media. If you get a full house, the word-of-mouth from that is not going to let you fill the O2 Arena. But, if you get a review in the Guardian or spotted by a TV producer that might get you part of the way. It's all about self-promotion, not bums-on-seats."
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 9th August 2014Audience member urinates on a bag & other extreme acts
Yesterday evening, I saw the Miss Behave Gameshow which involves a lovely male assistant called Harriet and which climaxed with the audience winner going into the street outside Bob & Miss Behave's Bookshop and smashing a mobile phone to bits with a mallet.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 8th August 2014Picking up girls & boys, court case on werewolf erotica
Yesterday in the Grouchy Club show at the Edinburgh Fringe, showman Adam Taffler picked up a girl. Literally. He does it all the time.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 7th August 2014Just some of the many oddities I tripped over yesterday
Publicity is difficult at the Edinburgh Fringe. Acts hand out flyers to people in the street. And try to get articles and photos in the press. Two days ago, I went to a photoshoot for clowns performing at the Fringe. Apart from the clowns, I was the only person there.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 6th August 20145-star review may be a BAD + vomitting over critics
So far at the Edinburgh Fringe, the show I have seen with more laughs per square minute is Matt Price's The Maryhill Dinosaur and that was despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that he did not start the show for about 15 minutes. He just interacted with the audience, who were encouraged to participate with what was, on paper, a narrative monologue not an ad-libbed jazz-like free-form hour of comedy. But Matt brilliantly interwove his (mostly) planned story with ad-libs and diversions which actually added to the show's theme which was, basically, about his insecurities over the past year.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 5th August 2014How NOT to flyer + act goes nude in Cosmo to plug show
So, yesterday I was rushing (oh yes I was) round the edge of Bristo Square to get to a comedy show when this young and rather dodgy-looking bloke came at me. He looked coked-up and aggressive and I thought was going to ask me for money. In fact, he grabbed me strongly by the arm, did not tell me about any show but told me I had to take a flyer for the undescribed and un-named show he was pushing. Apparently I had to take the flyer, I had to touch fists with him and I had to tell him that 100% I was going to go to the show.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 4th August 2014Grouchy Club co-host Kate Copstick says I am "odious"
In yesterday's blog, I mentioned a comedian who, for two consecutive days, had not noticed the line between admirable persistence and pointless harassment to plug his Edinburgh Fringe show. Yesterday, I had yet another text and another phone call from him. Thankfully, my iPhone makes it easy to block numbers, which I have now done. Over-promotion without originality is counter-promotion.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 3rd August 2014