Tom Little: Comedy Spotlight

Sharing a Wikipedia page with Johnny Vegas and with a bottle of Prosecco to prove it, it's the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year, everyone

Feature by John Stansfield | 09 Apr 2015

He's only been performing for just under two years, but there aren’t many new acts having a better time than Tom Little. A finalist at the start of this year in the coveted BBC New Comedy Award, he recently won the title of Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year and has firmly cemented his billing as ‘rising star.’ His awkward, shouty demeanour is levelled by his sing-song Cumbrian accent, and his delivery and dissection of even the most simple jokes mark him out as one to watch.

First gig:

"My first gig was at Beat the Frog in Manchester. It went terribly. I didn’t feel nervous at all until I stood on stage and suddenly felt completely aware of being stared at. I mumbled the first bit of material and waited for the massive laugh I’d imagined it would get. It got silence, and rightly so because my material was weak. I mumbled a bit more and got more silence. I wished I’d never got up, said ‘God. This is horrible,’ and was finally gonged off after an excruciatingly long 30 seconds. Normally gong nights can feel a bit mean but that night it would have been more cruel to make me stay on stage. My second gig was the very next night in a pub to eight people and went better. The lesson is ‘Start small.’"

Best gig:

"My best was last month when I won the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year. Johnny Vegas won it in 1997 meaning that, if nothing else, I’ve got my name and his name on the same Wikipedia page without having to edit it myself. Also, I won a bottle of Prosecco."

Favourite venue:

"XS Malarkey’s obviously great. For entirely different reasons, I’m still fond of The Worst Comedy Night in Salford, at the King's Arms. There are normally about ten people in. Seven are the same seven acts who are there every fortnight, one is the one new act who only came because he thought the name ‘The Worst Comedy Night in Salford’ was going to be ironic, and the other two are the ‘audience’ who came in by mistake then leave in the first interval because it’s horrible. It’s still a good night though, or if not a good night, then an interesting one A lot of my earliest gigs were there because you can just turn up and get a spot on the night. A lot of other open mics seem to be booked months in advance so when you’re just starting out that’s really helpful. I hope it runs forever."

What would you be doing if you weren’t doing standup?

"I used to work as a support worker in a children’s home so if I didn’t do standup I’d still probably be doing that."

If you were on death row, what would your last meal be? And why are you on death row?

"Chicken Madras. I’m on death row because I saw someone drop litter and had an argument with them about why they shouldn’t, then the argument got completely out of hand and in the heat of the moment I murdered them. I reckon I’ll be at least 50 before that happens though. At present, whenever I see someone litter I just think ‘I have to let this go. I have too much to live for right now. But one day, when I’ve got nothing left to lose…'"

What’s the largest animal you think you could beat in a fight? No weapons.

"I could be entirely wrong but I imagine it’s relatively easy to break a cow’s leg if you bend it the wrong way. A bull will maul you to death but I can’t imagine a cow even being able to turn around quick enough to bite you if you’re punching its side. So yeah, a cow. I still wouldn’t want to though."

If you lived in medieval times what would you do for a living?

"Probably just a turnip farmer or something like that. I’ve no interest in turnips and don’t think I’m especially suited to farming but I just accept that there were less opportunities back then."

Question from past Spotlighter Jack Evans: Which video game is your life most like?

"Tetris. It just goes on and on for no reason."


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See Tom at Golborne Sports Club, Wigan, 24 Apr; Hot Water Comedy at the Holiday Inn, Lime St, Liverpool, 2 May; and The King's Arms, Salford, 4 May