Kim Wells
- Comedian
Press clippings
Kim Wells on alternative versus old-style comedy
Kim Wells, compere and promoter of Earth Exchange Cabaret, one of the earliest alternative comedy venues, documents a heated dispute between Tony Allen, one of the founding fathers of alternative comedy, and old-style comedy script writer, Brad Ashton.
Kim Wells, Chortle, 4th September 2024The last curtain for the Earth Exchange cabaret
In the fourth and final part of his series about the Earth Exchange - a vegetarian cafe in North London that was a significant venue in the early days of alternative comedy - its promoter and compere Kim Wells tells of his run-ins with political correctness and the feminists who came to run the venue.
Kim Wells, Chortle, 22nd June 2024Trying to keep variety alive.... and the most stolen joke in British comedy
In the third part of his series about the Earth Exchange - a vegetarian cafe in North London that was a significant venue in the early days of alternative comedy - its promoter and compere Kim Wells recalls how stand-up came to dominate variety acts as the circuit started to take shape.
Kim Wells, Chortle, 21st June 2024Earth Exchange's hall of fame - and infamy
Following yesterday's introduction to the Earth Exchange - a significant venue in the early days of alternative comedy - today its promoter and compere Kim Wells, left, recalls some of the names, famous and not-so-famous, to have played this unassuming vegetarian cafe in North London.
Kim Wells, Chortle, 20th June 2024Earth Exchange: The most alternative of alternative comedy clubs
When the story of the alternative comedy revolution of the late 1970s and early 1980s is told, the focus is usually on the Comedy Store and the Comic Strip in Central London. But there were other important venues too, such as The Elgin in Ladbroke Grove, with its alternative cabaret nights run by Alexei Sayle and Tony Allen, and the Earth Exchange in North London. In a series of articles over the coming days, Kim Wells, remembers this often-overlooked endeavour and its signficant role in forging this bold new style of comedy...
Kim Wells, Chortle, 19th June 2024Bob Flag, one of the true originals of British comedy
Kim Wells pays tribute to Bob Flag who died last August, aged 92. Kim compered the Earth Exchange Cabaret in Highgate, North London, from 1980 to 1989, one of the very first alternative comedy venues in London. Bob frequently performed there, both as part of a musical comedy duo and with Kim doing a mind-reading act. Kim also guested at two of Bob's regular venues - the Kings Head in Islington in the 1980s and the Lincoln Lounge in Kings Cross in the late 1990s and the Noughties.
Kim Wells, Chortle, 22nd May 2024