Behind the Mic: King Tut's Ha Ha Hut

Tell me about King Tut's Ha Ha Hut...

My husband's been a comedian for about 12 years now, so I've been to see a lot of comedy, been around a lot of people in comedy, and when I first started at DF Concerts (who run the venue), I thought King Tut’s would be perfect for a nice, intimate comedy night. So I took it to our team and they loved it. They loved the name, the idea, and we eventually got the go ahead for it.

Thing is, with King Tut’s, it's so busy for gigs, it's all about finding the right time and date to put it in. So it's been in the works since the end of last year. We originally wanted to launch it in March but thought there might be a bit too much happening with the Glasgow Comedy Festival, so we thought 'let's do it in April' instead.

How did it come about?

It was a combination of my connections in comedy and King Tut’s being a great space. It's such a cool and iconic venue that people just love to come to King Tut's. Like, if we're sitting outside in the sun at lunchtime, we'll get people asking if they can come in and have a look around and that's really cool. I just thought 'there'll be people that aren't in bands that would love to perform here' and I thought 'Why not comedy?’ There's a lot of comedians in Scotland who absolutely adore music and would love to play that stage, so I thought 'Let's do it, let's get them in.'

King Tut's used to do comedy, from 1999-2012. Phil Kay had a residency and the likes of Lee Mack, Ross Noble and Lynn Ferguson played here too, so it does have a comedy heritage and I thought now was the right time to bring that back. 

What are your hopes for the first one?

Other than wanting it ram-packed, I think it'll be good for people who don't come to King Tut's often because they're not huge music fans or they don't have the time, taking a wee punt on going to a comedy night and getting to experience the venue in a different way. The world's tough just now, isn't it? So this is a night for people to come, relax and have fun.

Who would be on your dream lineup?

Probably gonna have to say my husband here – could make or break my marriage if I don't. So, Rosco McClelland, and honestly, Susie McCabe. I LOVE her and I'm so, so thrilled that she's agreed to come and be our first headliner. She has me in tears every time I see her. Also, John Mulaney. If I can get him into King Tut's, I will do it. I'm not sure if he'll come all the way from New York to our little venue, but you never know.

Who on the comedy scene should we look out for?

Kim Blythe. I know she's been around a bit on social media – she does so well on TikTok and Instagram, but she's a great stand-up. I'm really excited for her career and reckon she's gonna do so well. There's also Daniel Petrie. He's a bit more established now, but I really enjoy watching him too.

Who are the funniest musicians?

We Are Scientists are just the funniest bunch of guys. On stage they're so excellent and so talented musically – I think they're incredibly underrated as well. But the stuff they do on social media and their general chat while they're on stage is so, so funny. I also have to mention Blink-182 as well. They're silly and funny and my favourite band of all time.

What’s next?

It's my plan to try and make Ha Ha Hut a monthly (or maybe every two months) thing either midweek or on a Sunday night. I think it'd be great to have people who are wanting to do something straight after work or folk that don't want to be out til 11pm. But our main mission is simply to have people experience comedy in such a world class, iconic venue.

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King Tut's Ha Ha Hut, King Tut's, Glasgow, 19 Apr, 7pm, £16, featuring a lineup of Kate Hammer, Chris Rutter, Gareth Mutch and headliner Susie McCabe
@kingtutsofficial