Phill Jupitus is one of the most popular and richest Comedian who was born on June 25, 1962 in Newport, Newport, United Kingdom. His performances of two of his poems, “Beano” and “Nobby”, were included in the 1986 album Not Just Mandela, alongside tracks by Billy Bragg and Attila the Stockbroker, amongst others. Released on Davy Lamp Records, all proceeds of the record were going to the Anti-Apartheid Movement.
Jupitus was one of the panellists on the first TV episode of the show Loose Talk, which made a brief transition from radio to television in 1994. In 1996, he joined BBC Two’s pop quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks as a regular team captain – having appeared in every single episode, except for series 25, episode 6. He is the guest panellist who has made the most appearances on QI, while his daughter, Emily Jupitus, currently works on the show as a researcher (or ‘QI Elf’). He had a history of mimicking the QI host, Stephen Fry, while on the show. In December 1999, he had the lead role in Dark Ages, an ITV sitcom parodying preparations (and fears) for the year 2000, set in Essex in the year 999. Jupitus has played Councillor Cowdrey in CITV children’s series Bottom Knocker Street since its first series in summer 2013.
Jupitus began hosting his own radio show on BBC GLR in 1995, a regular job that would last until 2000. After that, he embarked on his first stand-up comedy tour of the UK, Jedi, Steady, Go, performing the Star Wars story in a comedic fashion.
Jupitus became press officer and compère for The Housemartins (appearing in the 1986 music video for “Happy Hour”), using the role to continue being in front of an audience, while also filling support slots for other artists. During this time, he worked as a warm-up act on the Channel 4 TV show The Show. He quit working for Go! Discs in 1989 and fell back on his poetry and competing to try and gain a foothold on the London comedy circuit.
Jupitus toured colleges, universities and student unions, supporting bands such as Billy Bragg, the Style Council and The Housemartins. He supported Billy Bragg once more on the Labour Party-sponsored Red Wedge tour in 1985: “In the early ’80s, I got involved with Red Wedge, in which Neil Kinnock got various bands to stage concerts for Labour. The reason I got involved was 20% because I believed in the cause, 30% because I loved Billy Bragg, and 50% because I wanted to meet Paul Weller”.
He conceived and directed the Brit Awards-nominated music video for Bragg’s “Sexuality” in 1991 and wrote a parody version of that song about bestiality. He also appeared alongside R.E.M. in the music video for Bragg’s “You Woke Up My Neighbourhood” and performed in Searchlight magazine’s 2006 “Hope Not Hate” campaign tour with Bragg. He has also appeared numerous times at the Glastonbury Festival as a DJ and a compere in The Left Field tent. Jupitus produced the music video for Kirsty MacColl’s 1991 single “All I Ever Wanted” from the album Electric Landlady. He appeared at her tribute concert in 2002 as compere, and also sang one of her songs, “Fifteen Minutes”.
