Research published today by insurance provider Swiftcover has revealed the UK’s top comedy hotspots as voted by the nation. Mancunians will be pleased to discover they’ve claimed a top five spot coming in fourth with 15.1% of the votes, just barely beaten by Newcastle to the coveted third spot.
The results also show a clear North-South divide with northern and Scottish cities claiming the top spots in the list, showing that those north of Watford Gap are perceived to be funnier than those south of the ‘border’.
Of the 2,000 UK adults polled, a whopping 87% of Mancunians described themselves as having a good sense of humour despite over a third admitting to cracking only one joke or funny story in the last week. That being said, almost half (44%) admit to laughing up to five times a day, most frequently at their friends or the telly.
While over half of them (58%) have not been to see a live stand-up comedy in the last year, 23% identified the Frog and Bucket comedy club in Manchester as their pick for the UK’s best comedy club. So as part of its bid to get people on the road and explore the UK’s comedy hotspots, Swiftcover has teamed up with comedian Chris Ramsey to put on a comedy roadshow this summer
The insurer is offering comedy fans the chance to register to attend Swiftcover Presents Chris Ramsey’s Comedy Hotspots on a first come basis for five nights of free stand-up in Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow featuring comedians hand selected by Chris Ramsey.
The gig in Manchester will take place at the popular Ruby Lounge club on Thursday 14th July with a line up including Carl Hutchinson as MC supported by Bilal Zafar, and Hayley Ellis as the headline act.
Comedian Chris Ramsey said: “There is something so British about all these people who claim to have a fantastic sense of humour but in the same breath admit that they never crack a joke or go out to a comedy club. If you’ve got a great sense of humour then a comedy club is the best place for you – they were literally invented for people with a good sense of humour. It would be amazing to get each and every one of those people to hop in their car and get themselves to one of the comedy nights we’re putting on. We’ve got some fantastic comedian in some of the UK’s finest cities – there’s no excuse to stay at home!”
Comedy historian Robert Ross also commented on the funny findings: “Many people might be surprised to hear that Liverpool was voted the funniest city in the UK, but it actually has a very rich heritage of comedian alumni including Jimmy Tarbuck, Tom O’Connor, and Ken Dodd. Most people would associate Edinburgh and Glasgow with comedy – thanks in part to the association with The Fringe Festival – but there are lots of comedy hotspots all around the UK. And while not all stereotypes ring true, one thing does – half the nation describe their sense of humour as dry or sarcastic, which is definitely accurate!”
Regional differences also laid bare a number of interesting insights into British humour, showing that while Aberystwyth qualifies as the most sarcastic city (83%), York considers itself the funniest (92%), and despite Cambridge being renowned for its academia, half of its residents admitted to laughing most at the telly. Even more surprisingly perhaps is that we identify ourselves as a nation of ‘gigglers’, with 45% of Brits describing this as their laughing style, followed closely by those who “chuckle” (37%) and “belly laugh” (27%).
The research also uncovered some interesting differences between the way women and men communicate their emotions digitally. Almost half (48%) of women would convey their amusement using emojis, compared to only 27% of men.
