Since winning the inaugural Scottish Comedian of the Year Award in 2006, barely a year after his first-ever open-spot, Mark Nelson’s mix of dark humour, cutting observations and superb one-liners has seen him firmly established as one of the UK’s biggest-hitting comedy powerhouses.

With a likeable manner on stage belying some of the stronger content, Nelson often has audiences laughing at things they know they really shouldn’t be laughing at. An MA degree in Politics from Glasgow University supports his brilliantly topical writing and, although his stand-up is certainly not for the easily offended, the material is intelligent, well conceived and beautifully crafted, all supported by a very confident delivery. He is therefore a very sought-after comedian and writer, with both the skill and intellect to be able to adapt his material to suit and entertain any club, theatre or corporate audiences.

Nelson has sold out his hour-long shows at nine Glasgow International Comedy Festivals [Lowering The Tone (2007), Aftershock (2008), Smile You Son Of A Bitch(2009), Offending The Senses (2010), Guilty Pleasure (2011), Under The Radar(2012), Nelson—Live (2014), Older Than Jesus (2015), Smiley Face (2016)].

His 2017 solo show Irreverence makes its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe, performing a season at the Gilded Balloon.

Nelson’s excellent writing skills are also being recognised. His debut radio series Mark Nelson’s Guide To Marriage broadcast in December 2013 and won the Scottish Comedy Awards Radio prize. He supplied material for Jason Manford’s A Funny Old Week, three series of Russell Howard’s Good News. Mark also wrote and performed sketches, topical stand-up and co-hosted (with Susan Calman) BBC Scotland’s 2014 Commonwealth Games satirical comedy series Don’t Drop The Baton.

In 2016 Mark created a series of online clips, The News At 2, for BBC Scotland’s Short Stuff strand and co-starring his two-year-old daughter. Featuring topics such as Global Warming, Donald Trump and the Economy, the clips went “viral” and he was commissioned to make more, starting with one on the Brexit turmoil. Now rebranded The News At 3, he released several more in 2017 with a number of them, including the hilarious Valentine’s Day, again going viral with views in the many millions. Another subsequent clip released in time for Easter is approaching 70 million views alone. The popularity of these clips has seen The News At 3 being mentioned in the Scottish Parliament as part of the discussion about a new BBC in Scotland and becoming the biggest social media phenomenon in the BBC’s history with audience engagement approaching 100 million views.

Widely recognised as a superb stand-up, including being crowned 2015’s Best Headliner at the Scottish Comedy Awards, Nelson has no gimmicks, relies on no frills—his work is just consistently top-quality comedy, pure unadulterated stand-up of the highest order.

“A remarkably accomplished stage presence… blistering material which pushes dangerously near the boundaries of good taste.” The Sunday Times