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Review: My Previous Life In Comedy by Johnny Ball
Naturally shy, Ball was initially so nervous he had to incorporate a paper bag he breathed into to calm himself into his opening line. But he soon learned to work a room, and established himself on an exciting club circuit of the Swinging Sixties.
Chortle, 2nd April 2025The Iceman: The Final Block review
The Iceman is surely the act most widely cited to illustrated the weird and wonderful state of the fertile post-punk alternative cabaret circuit which birthed the modern stand-up scene.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 28th March 2025Johnny Ball on his days as a 'bag of nerves' comic
An extract from Johnny Ball - My Previous Life In Comedy.
Johnny Ball, The Guardian, 26th March 2025Penguin to publish 'definitive annotated edition' of Terry Pratchett's Night Watch
Penguin Modern Classics is to publish a "definitive annotated edition" of Terry Pratchett's Night Watch, one of his Discworld novels.
Lauren Brown, The Bookseller, 11th March 2025Mark Steel: The Leopard In My House review
From reading The Leopard In My House, Mark Steel's uncompromising account of his punishing encounter with throat cancer, you might expect him to be a diminished force on stage. The book describes in vivid detail how the treatment savaged his epiglottis, leaving him unable to speak, eat or drink while sapping him of every last scrap of energy. Yet 18 months after his diagnosis, his voice and his passion are undimmed.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 9th March 2025