Chris Turner "Spontaneous", Oran Mor, Glasgow. Tuesday 17th June, 2025

If you've never heard of Chris (and why would you, with all your busy lives), here is his performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he was so good he received a standing ovation from the audience. He told the story behind that response in his last show.  

This time, he's freestyling, being Spontaneous, performing the whole show without a script. He introduces himself as his support act, reminding us that the funnier comedian will be on afterwards, then performs crowdwork, establishing that a woman at the front is pregnant and is accompanied by her partner. The attractive man is not overly excited about becoming a dad, though his response is probably muted due to nerves. Chris's attention is then drawn to the bloke on the other side of the aisle who is wearing a Jim'll Paint It Mr Blobby T-shirt. 

T-shirt

This chap has just resigned from his job at B&M to work on his Horror art, crafting skulls and foetuses out of clay. His partner is one-eighth Russian and also works in Horror Art, though more specifically in folk horror illustrations.

Why do we need such details? 

Because Chris, when he returns as the headliner, opens the main show with a freestyle rap incorporating all this information, pretending he's been listening backstage, writing his rap. A clever conceit that reminds us of his talent. 

Throughout the evening, he creates various raps, varying the stimuli to keep it interesting. So, one minute, he's rapping about the items we've pulled from our pockets; the next, he's serenading the couple who met twenty-five years ago while working together at a bar. 

One rap requires someone from the audience to provide the beat at a constant 4/4. When Chris asked for a volunteer, I was dying to suggest my wife, who ticked all the boxes (does anyone play an instrument, does anyone sing, is anyone in a choir?). The person he ultimately selected had previously sung professionally in pubs. She did a fantastic job singing an ethereal backing track in the style of Frozen by Madonna. The tune wasn't looped, so she had to keep going throughout, winning praise from Chris for being the best singer of the tour so far. Other nights, he said, sounded more like improvised jazz than rap.

As he went along, Chris noted down on a long sheet of paper the interesting topics and phrases that came up during the show, such as Crying Managers, Blobby Dissected, Living in a Cosmopolitan City, Low Ceilings and Light Keepers. He needed sixteen subjects, so he requested a few more at the end, receiving Necrophilia, Govan, and Dreich to complete his Glasgow list. To keep things precarious for him, rather than simply creating a complicated rap, he indicated that he would increase the beat by five every eight bars, starting at 75 bpm and reaching 150 bpm, which necessitated that he think and rap faster as he went along. 

It was a rousing way to end the show, and he totally smashed it.

Afterwards, we didn't wait to meet him or buy his merch (a rhyming card game), but it was nice to know we could have. It was a fantastic night. 

Ticket Price: £16 x 2 plus £4.00 fees = £36.00 from TicketWeb.

Chris Turner, "Vegas, Baby!" Underbelly Bristo Square, Edinburgh. Friday 25th August 2023

You can't come through to the Edinburgh Fringe and see just one show. That would be a crime against effort and time and a disservice to all the performers who've plastered every available surface of Edinburgh with their show posters. So, having locked in Mike Birbiglia at 7.15 pm, I checked the listings to see what other shows were nearby afterwards. I plumped for Chris Turner as I was curious to see how good he was in person.

If you've not heard of him, and why would you, he's an English comedian and freestyle rapper who received a standing ovation following his debut performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. From there, he won a contract to appear in Vegas at the Cirque du Soleil show, "Mad Apple". 

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

After Mike Birbiglia, we headed to the Underbelly Bristo Square to sample some of their 'udderly good summer drinks' but found the bar service so slow my wife had time to return from the Ladies' toilet before the first person at the front of the queue had received their order. So, instead, we went to the nearby Gilded Balloon, hoping their Library Bar might be a bit quicker and quieter. Unfortunately, no one was paying attention to the irony. Finding somewhere to sit was like playing musical chairs, only with everyone cheating and the music never stopping. We eventually snagged one chair for my wife and I stood until a second one became available. At least the drinks were cheap.

One door into the bar was hobbit size and I spotted a number of people hitting their heads on the way in. I'm not saying they were stupid (or tall) but I did note the moustache and mullet have made a fashion return (as in 80's Brookside, only with posher accents). We sat for a while until I got antsy, always OCD about being early for the queue. Only, I forgot we were in the Gilded Balloon venue and not the Underbelly so had a mild moment of panic as I realised I didn't know where we were going. Fortunately, the Buttercup was easy to find once I'd spotted the sign for the Underbelly. It is a bit of a maze finding these small venues.

I didn't want to sit at the front so chose a seat on the second row much to the annoyance of the usher who wanted all the seats filled consecutively. She didn't push it as the show was sold out and every seat was going to be filled anyway.

His hour this year describes his experience of getting to Vegas thanks to the Late Show ovation, revealing his good fortune was thanks to knowing Americans will follow anyone's lead. Spoiler: his wife was in the audience. 

Tonight, the audience suggestions for his signature freestyle rap were: an auburn Shetland pony, Defenestration, Bigfoot, a pole-vaulting New Zealand cat and Kinder egg toys being banned in the USA. His raps never fail to astound, even if he admitted he was still jetlagged having flown back to Edinburgh just that day to finish his Fringe run.

The jokes were great, the audience banter funny and he finished with an upbeat number that got everyone on their feet clapping (at his insistence). 

Afterwards, I managed to grab some stage time and can now claim I've appeared on stage at the Edinburgh Fringe. I can't claim to be any good, in fact, the audience left while I was on but it still counts, doesn't it? (explanation: we had to walk across the stage to get out).

Ticket price: £14.     

Blurb:

Award-winning comedian makes sure what happened in Vegas... comes to Edinburgh!

When Cirque du Soleil offer you a Las Vegas residency as the first comedian to perform with them, you don't say no... even if that means bringing your newborn baby along for the ride. Don't miss your chance to see 'a virtuoso... a hip-hop machine' (Guardian), with over 40 million YouTube views and sell-out shows across the globe. As seen on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.