FROM jumping on stage with Kanye West to gatecrashing a FIFA conference, it’s safe to say London funny man Lee Nelson is full of surprises. Simon Brodkin, known for his on-screen persona Lee Nelson will be visiting the Old Fire Station in Carlisle on Friday April 28 and the Carnegie Theatre in Workington on Thursday May 4. The English comedian performs both on the stand-up circuit and in comedy television series.
He is best known for playing cheerful character Lee Nelson and Jason Bent, an unintelligent Premiership footballer with a Merseyside accent. Performing solo stand-up since 2004, he has also written for and appeared on the television shows; Al Murray’s Multiple Personality Disorder in 2009, Lee Nelson’s Well Good Show in 2010 and Lee Nelson’s Well Funny People in 2013. Starting out his stand up career up the road in Edinburgh at the well known Fringe Festival, Simon hosted his first stand-up show in 2006 titled Simon Brodkin: Everyone But Himself, which won The Writers’ Guild Award.
In his Lee Nelson stand-up routine, Brodkin’s character typically interacts with his audience, telling them about his life, asking them questions, then replying with responses that reflect his world view, his own ignorance or his own stereotypically antisocial attitudes. His act is highlighted with slang words. In character as Lee Nelson, he briefly stood as a candidate in the South Shields by-election, 2013. He has won several competitions and awards for his work, including Brighton s Komedia comedy competition.
Simon Brodkin in recent years has appeared in the news for his participation in pranks. In 2013, he ran onto the pitch at Goodison Park and attempted to warm up with the Manchester City team ahead of their Premier League match with Everton. On 8 November 2014, during Stereo Kicks’ performance on The X Factor, as Lee Nelson invaded the stage pretending to perform alongside them.
At Glastonbury Festival 2015, Brodkin as Lee Nelson interrupted a performance by Kanye West by running onto the stage and proceeding to join in with the performance. On 20 July 2015, Brodkin as Jason Bent gatecrashed a press conference at the headquarters of the football governing body FIFA in Z rich, Switzerland amidst the organisation’s corruption scandal. He walked onto the stage and threw a wad of United States dollar bills worth $600 over the FIFA president Sepp Blatter, claiming that it was part of a bid to bring the 2026 FIFA World Cup to North Korea. Brodkin was promptly led out of the conference by security personnel, and Blatter temporarily postponed the news conference.
And in recent weeks, in character as Lee Nelson, renamed Sir Phillip Green’s 100m super yacht Lionheart to BHS Destroyer, in reference to the recent collapse of the BHS department stores of which Sir Philip was previously the owner. Whilst the boat was moored in Monaco, Brodkin and a small crew hung up a banner reading BHS Destroyer, he attached it over the yacht’s actual name. The comedian will be setting out on a mammoth tour in 2017, and will visit the Old Fire Station in Carlisle on Friday April 28 and the Carnegie Theatre in Workington on Thursday May 4.