Browse Sections

• Education
• James Chapman-Kelly
• Neil Roland
• Mancunian candidate
• Special reports

The Buzz is back and Agraman is loving it

Susannah Wright
21/ 2/2008

A LEGENDARY comedy club is coming back to Chorlton for one night only.

The Buzz, which ran for 16 years until its demise in 2005, was a much-loved weekly comedy institution at The Southern Hotel on Mauldeth Road West.

And its compere and organiser, Agraman - the human anagram - will be aiming to raise the roof at the special one-off event in May.

The compere, whose real name is John Marshall, started The Buzz in 1989 and over the years just about every top UK comedy performer took to the stage at the venue.

Some of the many comedians who honed their emerging talents there included Steve Coogan, Peter Kay, Caroline Aherne, Eddie Izzard, Catherine Tate, Harry Hill, Alan Carr, Bill Bailey, David Baddiel, Frank Skinner, and Dave Spikey.

John, who now lives near Hull in Yorkshire, says he is thrilled to be bringing back the show as a one-off.

He said: "It’s fantastic to bring The Buzz back to its spiritual home at The Southern. I loved putting on the show there and it was a shame it shut down.

"It was great getting all these new comedians to perform and then seeing their careers develop over the years.

In fact I reckon nine out of ten comedians you see on TV these days, played The Buzz. There was always a good crowd there too and I miss those audiences a lot."

He added: "I will be a bit nervous before I go on again and it’ll probably be a bit emotional because it was such a big part of my life for so long, but I’m looking forward to it."

John, 57, started The Buzz to showcase comedy performers and bands, but the live music part was dropped as he decided to concentrate on the comedy element. I love searching out comedians and giving them a chance to perform," he said.

"If I can find great new talent and am responsible for giving the crowd a good night out then I’m happy."

And his organising and compering skills were reward ed in 2004 with the Les Dawson Award for excellence in promoting live comedy.

The special one-off Buzz night is to take place on Tuesday, May 20, as part of Chorlton Arts Festival. And John has picked three performers to make Chorlton chortle.

They are Roger Monkhouse, Ciamh - pronounced ‘qweeve - McDonnell, and Sam Harland.

John said: "I think the crowd are going to love them. Roger’s fantastic at improvising, Ciamh is a good old Irish raconteur, and Sam is a real promising talent with a big personality.

"I reckon it should be a great show."

Tickets for ‘The Return of The Buzz’ are £5. They are available from The Southern Hotel, Mauldeth Road West, Chorlton, by calling 0161 881 7048 or online at www.thesouthernhotel.co.uk