Chris Martin

"One of the UK's best young observationalists" The Guardian

"Destined for greatness" The Sunday Times

Of all the people for an up-and-coming stand-up to share the same name with, the notably humourless lead singer of Coldplay is one of the most unfortunate. But, like a plucky little soldier learning to overcome a grazed knee, the comedy Chris Martin has managed to get past the burden of his nomenclature and establish himself as one of the UK’s most promising young observationalists. Martin’s not a comedian who’s looking to rewrite the rules of stand-up or bend the artform into remarkable new shapes. Instead, he’s a straightforward chronicler of everyday oddities, and there’s nothing wrong with such a meat-and-potatoes approach when you do it as well as he does. He’s probably at his best when confronting problems of manliness, such as how to respond to a mugging, or deal with a congenital inability to park, and emerge from the situation with your masculinity fully intact. It’s a shtick that certainly strikes a chord with other young blokes, and has the potential to win him mass appeal.