Mitch Benn

"Comical musical genius" Tania Shakinovsky, THE DAILY MAIL

In 1995, Mitch Benn was voted "Best New Comic" at The Glastonbury Festival. A quintessential moment in his career, Glastonbury (where he has appeared every year since) unsurprisingly has a very special place in his heart. Fitting then, that, after four warm up gigs at Sound in London's Leicester Square, he chose the Glastonbury Festival 2003 to introduce the world to his new band, The Distractions prior to a run at the Edinburgh Festival.

"Benn's lyrics are crammed with enough jokes to keep most comedians ticking over for life" THE LIST

In the eight years since his Glastonbury debut, Mitch has risen through the comedy ranks to become one of the UK's foremost exponents of comedy song. "Comedian Of The Year" at The Leicester Comedy Festival of 1998, he became a regular on both BBC Radio 4's "Now Show" and BBC Radio 2's "It's Been A Bad Week". Most recently, Radio 4 commissioned his very own radio series - "Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music". This aired to critical acclaim in Feb/Mar 2004 and was repeated in the prime 6.30pm slot during April/May. The BBC have just commissioned a second series, the first episode of which will be recorded at this year's Edinburgh Festival.

""Song after song of exquisitely crafted satire" THE SCOTSMAN

His first CD, "The Unnecessary Mitch Benn", a collection of live recordings, was a big hit with his fans. His second and latest CD, "radio face" is a studio album featuring fifteen tracks, many of which are extended versions of songs previously featured on "The Now Show" and "Bad Week". Released by Laughing Stock in 2002, the success of the album and the desire to play these more complex arrangements live prompted the idea to form a band.

"Enormously entertaining… the lyrics are a joy" Malcolm Hay, TIME OUT

The Distractions are two enormously talented female musicians, Kirsty Newton and Tash Baylis. Tash (drums and percussion) joined all girl band Hepburn in 1999 and toured the world. Since the demise of the band, she has concentrated on session work that has to date included an eclectic mix of performers including Enya, Andrea Bocelli and Busted. Kirsty plays bass and keyboards with equal virtuosity - and she can sing too!

"Brilliantly written and powerfully performed - thanks in no small part to the feisty girls in his band THREE WEEKS

In it's short existence, reaction to the band has been hugely positive and The Edinburgh Festival 2003 garnered an impressive collection of five and four star reviews. After a successful season at The Bedford, the band returned for a Christmas one off performance with special guest Neil Innes. 2004 to date has seen appearances at The Leicester and London Comedy Festival with Brighton and Liverpool Festivals to come. The band are currently recording their first album together which will be released in September to coincide with a national Autumn tour.

"Well crafted, well sung, his songs are just plain funny" THE GUARDIAN