Lee Evans: Specials

Lee Evans was born on February 25th 1964 in Bristol, but spent his formative years in Essex, where he went to secondary school. It’s not surprising that Lee went into entertainment as he was merely following in his dad’s footsteps; Dave Evans was a club performer and still performs in clubs and pier ends. For the young Lee and his brother Wayne the early days were defined by digs, theatres and clubs, sitting backstage while Dave performed. However life for Lee brought several false starts and dead end jobs, including a window dresser, boxer, labourer and cleaning toilets on Southend High Street. Nice. Taking advice and contacts from his dad, Lee began trying out stand up in rough East End working men’s clubs, where his act bombed. He soon found success when he was told his material would be better suited at London’s famous Comedy Store, where he performed alongside the likes of Jack Dee, Frank Skinner, Eddie Izzard and Steve Coogan. After establishing himself as a name on the circuit with a weekly slot at the legendary venue, in 1993 Lee won the coveted Perrier Award for his one-man show at the Edinburgh Festival and in that same year he performed and sold out two nights at the London Palladium. Since those early years Lee Evans has become arguably the most popular and successful British comedian working today. In 1996 Lee enjoyed a sell-out run for eight years at London's Lyric Theatre breaking all box office records for a solo comedian.