--- title: "Arthur Smith: Comedian, Specials & Podcast | D.O.C." description: "Arthur Smith: 2 stand-up specials, 2 podcasts and 2 screen credits. An English comedian and writer from Bermondsey, one of the alternative comedy…" url: https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-arthur-smith.html updated: 2026-11-13 --- Stand-up comedian · London, England # Arthur Smith Also known as Brian Arthur John Smith ## Who Arthur Smith is Arthur Smith is an English comedian and writer from Bermondsey, one of the alternative comedy stand-ups of the 1980s, and he still works a room much the way he did then. A fixture of the Edinburgh Fringe since 1977 — where his after-hours tours of the Royal Mile became the stuff of festival legend — he comperes the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year final, co-wrote the hit stage play An Evening with Gary Lineker with Chris England, and sang his way through Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen, which reached BBC Radio 4 and returned to the Fringe in 2013 as Volume Too. A familiar radio voice on Loose Ends and Excess Baggage, he narrated A Life of Grime and grumbled professionally as one of the BBC's Grumpy Old Men. ## Follow their dates Put them in your D.O.C., your twelve, and the free D.O.C. letter brings their new dates, episodes and videos each week. Saw them live? [Make a card →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/share-my-doc.html#live) ## At a glance **Born** 1954 **Based in** London, England **From** Bermondsey **Stand-up specials** Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen and Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen **Podcasts and radio** Loose Ends and Excess Baggage **On screen** Grumpy Old Men and A Life of Grime **Official site** [arthursmith.co.uk ↗](https://www.arthursmith.co.uk/) ## Is Arthur Smith on tour? **No upcoming dates on record** No upcoming dates are on record right now. That doesn't mean they have stopped touring; their own site is the place to look for new dates: [arthursmith.co.uk ↗](https://www.arthursmith.co.uk/). Last checked 13 November 2026. ### Are they coming to my town? No dates are on record right now (checked 13 November 2026), so no town is confirmed yet. Follow them and your town to hear when one is booked. ### Want them in your town? Name your town and how many of you would come: the towns fans ask for show here, with how many asked. Lineups belong to the rooms and the comedians, and can change; each listing has the last word. [Their nights on the Comedy Calendar →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedy-calendar.html) [Build a night out around their show →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/build-my-comedy-night.html) ## Specials, shows and podcasts ### Stand-up specials - **Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen** stage show and BBC Radio 4 - **Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen** Volume Too) (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2013 ### On screen - **Grumpy Old Men** BBC Two - **A Life of Grime** narrator, BBC One ### Podcasts and radio - **Loose Ends** BBC Radio 4 - **Excess Baggage** presenter, BBC Radio 4 ## Comedians like Arthur Smith Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town. - [Donna McPhail](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-donna-mcphail.html) also on Loose Ends - [Kevin Pollak](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-kevin-pollak.html) also in Grumpy Old Men - [Michael Akadiri](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-michael-akadiri.html) also on Loose Ends - [Nathan Caton](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-nathan-caton.html) also on Loose Ends [Six Degrees of Komic Bacon: how they connect to anyone →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/six-degrees-of-komic-bacon.html) [Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/stand-up-comedians.html) ## Career timeline 1. **1954** Born 2. **2013** Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen (Volume Too) (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2013) Special ## Questions and answers ### Where is Arthur Smith performing next? No date is on D.O.C.'s Comedy Calendar right now; their own site has their dates: [arthursmith.co.uk ↗](https://www.arthursmith.co.uk/). ### What stand-up specials have they released? Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen and Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen. ### What podcasts and radio shows have they been on? Loose Ends and Excess Baggage. ### What TV shows and films are they in? Grumpy Old Men (BBC Two) and A Life of Grime (narrator, BBC One). ### Where are they from? From Bermondsey. ### Where are they based? London, England, as their record gives it. ### What is their official website? [arthursmith.co.uk ↗](https://www.arthursmith.co.uk/). ### How old are they? They were born in 1954, so they turn 72 in 2026. ### Who are some comedians like them? [Donna McPhail](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-donna-mcphail.html) (also on Loose Ends), [Kevin Pollak](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-kevin-pollak.html) (also in Grumpy Old Men), [Michael Akadiri](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-michael-akadiri.html) (also on Loose Ends) and [Nathan Caton](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-nathan-caton.html) (also on Loose Ends). ## Is this you? This page can be your website, free. Send your bio in your own words, your links, your clips, who books you, a line said about you and your weekly show, and they go on this page beside the dates D.O.C. already keeps. Fans follow you here and get your news in the D.O.C. letter. Your short address, for your bio: **disciplesofcomedy.com/arthur-smith** [Make this page yours →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-profile.html) [Your dates on your own site](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/tour-dates-widget.html) [Your show on a poster](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedy-show-flyer-maker.html) ## The full SUCDb record The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with a button to add them to your D.O.C., your twelve. [Their SUCDb record →](https://disciplesofcomedy.com/comedian-arthur-smith.html) [Their own site ↗](https://www.arthursmith.co.uk/) ### Sources - [Wikipedia (comedian) ↗](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Smith_(comedian%29) Born 27 November 1954 in Bermondsey; 1980s alternative comedy stand-up; Edinburgh Fringe regular since 1977; comperes the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year… - [arthursmith.co.uk ↗](https://www.arthursmith.co.uk/) His own site, answering under his name (as of 13 November 2026) Updated 13 November 2026 · the record checked 13 November 2026