Fringe Audiences Crack Up at Joke About Amy

A DIG at troubled singer Amy Winehouse was yesterday declared the funniest joke of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Comedian Zoe Lyons took the top spot after her jibe about the star was chosen in a public vote.

Her winning one-liner is: “I can’t believe Amy Winehouse self- harms. She’s so irritating she must be able to find someone to do it for her.”

The 33-year-old, from Brighton, makes the joke in her show, Mangled Mantra of the Messed-up Modern Mind.

She scooped the prize in the inaugural comedy award from TV channel Dave, which bills itself the home of witty banter.

Lyons said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won the award. I know self-harming is not funny but it’s just a joke, so I’m not going to beat myself up about it.”

She received almost 12% of the public vote and takes home the Dave Award for the Funniest Joke of the Fringe and a cash prize.

Selecting the winner was a long process.

First, 10 of the UK’s leading comedy critics trawled through masses of comedy acts at the Festival Fringe and picked out their favourite three jokes.

It is estimated they sat through an average of 60 different comedy performances, which included 3,600 minutes of material and 7,200 puns.

The 30 top choices were then put to the public, and from 2,000 votes Lyons came out on top.

She made her debut at Edinburgh last year.

TOP 10 JOKES

1 Zoe Lyons: “I can’t believe Amy Winehouse self-harms. She’s so irritating she must be able to find someone to do it for her.” (11.65%)

2 Andrew Laurence: “Most of us have a skeleton in the cupboard. David Beckham takes his out in public.” (10.10%)

3 Lloyd Langford: “My girlfriend said, ‘Did you know that hippopotamuses kill more people every year than guns?’. ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘but a gun is easier to conceal’.” (9.90%)

4 Josie Long: “When I was a kid I asked my mum what a couple was and she said, ‘Oh, two or three’. And she wonders why her marriage didn’t work.” (7.35%)

5 Tim Vine: “Velcro. What a rip-off.” (6.10%)

6 Stephen Grant: “The Scots invented hypnosis, chloroform and the hypodermic syringe – wouldn’t it be easier just to talk to a woman?” (5.80%)

7 Edward Aczel: “So far bird flu has only killed 47 people. By the time it ends, it’s going to have killed 37 million. It’s got to get going, hasn’t it, if it’s going to be the pandemic we’ve all been hoping for.” (5.60%)

8 Joan Rivers: “Grandchildren can be f****** annoying. How many times can you go, ‘And the cow goes moo and the pig goes oink?’ It’s like talking to a supermodel.” (3.75%)

9 Tom Stade: “I like Jesus but he loves me, so it’s awkward.” (3.55%)

10 Jeff Kreisler: “People were outraged because of Barack Obama’s spiritual adviser. I think it’s great he had one. Who was George Bush’s spiritual adviser? Jim Beam? Johnnie Walker? Jack Daniels?” (3.40%)

(c) 2008 The Journal – Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.