Pete Cain

When he was lazy, he was very lazy but now he's dark, very dark.

Pete Cain ambled onto the comedy scene in 2002 with his "lazy man" routine, managing to reach the semi-finals of 'So You Think You're Funny' with his second ever gig and only narrowly missing out on the final. He immediately put audiences at ease with his laid-back, couldn't give a monkeys approach. The dry, intelligent and highly original material made the audience earn their laughter by forcing them to think about the joke before they laughed at it, which is one of the reasons he managed to connect with them so well; claiming such things as his desire "to be a scientist, but not now… way back when it was easy… when you could be the first person to announce that wood floats."

However, in 2005 Cain decided to take a rather different course. He went dark, very dark. Touching on many taboo subjects; the tsunami, Hitler, disability and the benefits of killing in this overpopulated world. Initially, the audience are shocked but it's not long before the laughter comes, as he repeatedly pulls the rug from beneath the feet of their preconceptions. It soon becomes clear that he isn't doing it purely to shock. He's got a point to make and wants the audience's full attention, which he most certainly gets. Strip away the cleverly conceived gags and you're left with a message and an understanding of "People Power" and how it appears to be the only way we're going to change the world for the better. His intention is to inspire his audience into doing their bit, in the hope that everyone doing their bit will help to change things. Ambitious indeed, but he does have a point and it's impossible not to leave thinking slightly differently to how you did when you arrived.

Biography
Pete Cain grew up in the 70's on a council estate in West London where the only comic influences that he was exposed to as a cheeky, rebellious child were the likes of Billy Connolly, Dave Allen and Jasper Carrot. In fact the first album he ever bought was the young Carrot's (he was hip back then), listening to the "Bogus Insurance Claims", "The Mole" and, of course the "Magic Round-about" routines over and over again. Pete now realises that being a stand-up was the first thing he ever wanted to do.

Aged 21 Pete really started to consider doing it but something was missing. It became clear a decade later when a friend gave him a Bill Hicks video. Before that he hadn't appreciated how brilliantly comedy can take on serious, sensitive issues and make them palatable. Suddenly, everything seemed to fall into place. Stand-up seemed to be the only place left where the uncensored truth could be told and Pete's overwhelming attraction to it now had some meaning. He thought long and hard about how to incorporate his ideas and make them funny but kept drawing a blank. Eventually, he conceded and enrolled in a comedy course. It was obvious he'd need to learn some of the craft of stand-up before he could embark on his real mission. So, he developed the "Lazy man" routine. This laid-back persona allowed him to gain confidence and hone his performance skills.

After the ups and downs of about 500 gigs Pete figured there was little more to learn with the lazy man and started performing "the dark stuff", which is now being received astonishingly well up and down the country. It seems to be tapping into a general unrest about how our world and our nation are being run for and on our behalf with little or no consideration for us. Maybe people are finally starting to think that enough is enough and it's time things changed - how do we go about it? Pete hopes to provide some inspiration.

Live performances
This year Pete is performing his debut solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 'The Idea Hunter' will be showing at the Pleasance Courtyard. Last year Pete was the star of 'AAA Stand-Up', also at the Pleasance Courtyard.

Earlier this year, Pete supported Lucy Porter on her nationwide tour.

Pete is now seen at The Comedy Store in London, Jongleurs, The Comedy Café, Up the Creek, Banana Cabaret and a host of numerous other venues across the country.

Quotes
"What an outstanding comic: sharp, inspired writing and he even looks funny." - Independent

"Had the pleasure of seeing Mr Cain do his lazy man routine at the Gong Show last night. He quickly, or should I say slowly, turned the rowdy crowd around so they were hanging on his every word. Very clever, very funny, as he graciously stepped down to allow the comedian he was in a dead heat with, to take the crown. Despite, in my opinion, being by far the best on the night." - Chortle.co.uk

"Cain takes his time and that makes the audience listen to every word and concentrate on his set. This isn't as much of an effort as it may sound because Cain is a very adept storyteller and very funny along the way. It's amazing (and disappointing) how quickly his time runs out considering the staid pace, which just goes to show what a totally engaging and entertaining performer he is." - Funny.co.uk

"Adopting a cleverly conceived Everyman anti-hero persona, Cain reasoned that, as all the world's problems are caused by overpopulation, the only logical solution is to start killing people, beginning with the "morons". Dark but delicious" - Roger Cox, The Scotsman