About
Comedian? Tick. Digital DJ? Er, last time he checked! Author? Those forty complimentary copies don’t store themselves mate! Queen merchandise aficionado? Hang on, let me ask this unofficial candle depicting Freddie Mercury as a c.1820 Bavarian Prince. Digital content pioneer? Well…that’s not for him to say.
Yes, he’s an Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner (formerly The Perrier), Yes he’s a Gold Aria Award Winner (formerly The Sony’s) and yes, he’s one of the leading voices calling to make it illegal for awards to change their sponsor.
But it’s not all awards and trailblazing, John Robins’ CV reads like a who’s who of anyone who's ever presented a short-lived internet search engine based quiz show on UK digital channel Dave.
Alongside friend, comrade and “under-DJ” Elis James, he rewrote the rule book of commercial digital indie radio broadcasting. Having settled key debates such as should you have a waste paper bin in the lounge, whether a crème egg is the perfect weight and shape for throwing and how tall Brian May is, the pair moved to prime time publicly-funded speech-based radio channel BBC 5Live. Every Friday the pair tackle the big issues, like whether people have a printer at home and what’s the weirdest place you’ve done your tax return.
After launching their mental health podcast ‘How Do You Cope?’ one journalist commented:
"They are tweaking British masculinity at the edges, and in doing so letting in a lot of much-needed light. There is a warmth and reliability to the duo that have seen them become a cult phenomenon."
And one listener tweeted in capital letters
"Two giggling self-absorbed twerps spouting incomprehensible garbage"
But outside of his groundbreaking / incomprehensible broadcasting work has he appeared on Live At The Apollo? Just a bit mate! What about Mock The Week? Yeah, a couple of times, what of it? Surely he’s been on Taskmaster too? OK, let’s all stop tweeting him about that shall we?
When he’s not on the phone to the Taskmaster’s assistant Alex Horne saying things like “Yeah, no I get it, I totally understand” or “no, of course he’s the obvious choice” the duo host YouTube channel Bad Golf, a two man revolution in the way terrible golfers are represented in the media. The project has spawned a sponsorship deal with Cobra Golf and a regular column in industry bible Today’s Golfer.
Television
John has appeared on numerous television shows including:
Live At The Apollo (BBC2)
Live From The BBC (BBC3)
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled Series 1 & 3 (Dave)
Stand-Up Central (Comedy Central)
Russell Howard's Good News (BBC3)
Live at The Comedy Store (Comedy Central)
Drunk History (Comedy Central)
RADIO & voiceover
John has also appeared on shows for Radio 4 including The Now Show and The News Quiz.
In 2016 Elis and John announced their first major live appearances together. 'The Elis James and John Robins Experience' saw them bring their unique chemistry to venues up and down the country. Demand was unprecedented and tickets for London's Shepherd's Bush Empire sold out in a matter of hours. They have since published a book 'Elis and John Present: The Holy Vible' which you can buy here
Known for his honesty, charm and lightning quick improvisation John won the Chortle award for Best Compere in 2015. John is also a sought after voice over artist represented by Sue Terry voices. His voice over work has included television and radio projects for companies such as Ford, Asda, Mini, The BBC and BT Sport .
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