Biography
A little summary of what i've been up to for the last thirty years or so
Ranked amongst the top ten stand-ups in Britain by The Independent, Ian Stone is one of the most talented topical acts and comperes in the country. Edgy and provocative, with an easy-going manner and self-depreciating style, Ian is at great ease bantering with an audience. He received a nomination in 2012 for the BEST SHOW at the Leicester Comedy Festival. His Edinburgh festival show in 2022 Righter of Wrongs played to sold out audiences for the entire run and his 2023 show Ian Stone Will Make it Better won a Spirit of the Fringe award. He'll be back in Edinburgh in 2024 with a brand new show Ian Stone is Keeping it Together prior to taking it out on his first national tour.
He has performed all over the world including Comedy Festivals in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Holland, France, Ireland and Germany. He’s entertained the troops in Kuwait, Bosnia,Kosovo, Cyprus and Afghanistan. He was the first British stand-up to perform in Moscow and the first performer to appear for The Comedy Store in Mumbai.
"A masterful exponent of self mocking Jewish humour" - The Times ****
TV
On ESPN in 2013, Ian presented Off The Ball, a weekly comedy football panel show. On FA Cup Final Day in 2013, he presented a version of the show as part of ESPN’s coverage from Wembley Stadium. In May 2014, the show was renamed The Football's On, moved to BT Sport and ran for two seasons. The guest list reads like a who’s who of the nations favourite comedy talent and included Alan Davies, Dara OBriain, Lee Mack, Omid Djalili, Ardal OHanlon, Phil Jupitus and Milton Jones, Frankie Boyle, Mickey Flanagan, David Baddiel, Romesh Ranganathan, Omid Djalili and Sean Lock. It came back in 2022 and is currently running for the 2023/24 season.
Ian has also appeared on The Stand Up Show (BBC1), Mock The Week and Never Mind the Buzzcocks (BBC2), The Comedy Store (C5) and The 11 O'Clock show (C4)
"Seriously funny" - The Guardian
WRITING
In 2020, Ian published his first book. To Be Someone is part autobiography, part social history and part love letter to Paul Weller and The Jam. It has garnered over five hundred four and five star reviews.
Ian has also written on numerous TV shows including Alistair McGowan's Big Impression (BBC1), The Omid Djalili Show (BBC1), The Sketch Show (ITV1) and Fantasy Football (Sky Max)
"…like a cross between Tony Hancock and Frankie Howerd. Stone is probably better than we deserve. Ultimately, it is the sheer quantity of funny material that really impresses" The List
RADIO
Ian presented Christmas Up The Front (R5), Footballs Loyal Fans and Football's Home Fans (both R4). He was a regular guest on Fighting Talk (R5) and also appeared on Hot Gossip (R2). He presented the breakfast show on LoveSport Radio and for five years, he co-presented Rock N Roll Football on Absolute Radio with Ian Wright. The show was awarded a Sony Silver Award for best sports programme in 2012 and in 2015 won the Gold Award for best Specialist Programme of the Year at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards.
"I had high hopes for Ian Stone’s show. Not only is he a seasoned performer, but he has a brilliant line in political humour. Not only was I not disappointed, he blew all my expectations away. Stone’s skill as a comedian is in highlighting the stupidity of the common man through beautifully crafted stories, peppered with gags and asides, hilarious throughout. Not a word is wasted in his clever telling of his world view" Chortle.co.uk
PODCAST
Ian was one of the founder members of the Alan Davies Arsenal podcast It’s Up For Grabs Now. This show was a huge success (slightly more than the team unfortunately). After a short break, the show came back as The Tuesday Club and after fifty episodes, it became one of the top rated sports podcasts in the country with an average of sixty thousand downloads a week, an amazing achievement for an independent podcast. In the first week of October 2012, it was the third highest rated podcast of any sort in Britain.
Since 2019, Ian has presented Handbrake Off, the Arsenal podcast for the prestigious Athletic website. It's had over a million downloads since then and in late 2023, a live recording of the podcast played to a sold out crowd at London's Leicester Square Theatre
He has performed all over the world including Comedy Festivals in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Holland, France, Ireland and Germany. He’s entertained the troops in Kuwait, Bosnia,Kosovo, Cyprus and Afghanistan. He was the first British stand-up to perform in Moscow and the first performer to appear for The Comedy Store in Mumbai.
"A masterful exponent of self mocking Jewish humour" - The Times ****
TV
On ESPN in 2013, Ian presented Off The Ball, a weekly comedy football panel show. On FA Cup Final Day in 2013, he presented a version of the show as part of ESPN’s coverage from Wembley Stadium. In May 2014, the show was renamed The Football's On, moved to BT Sport and ran for two seasons. The guest list reads like a who’s who of the nations favourite comedy talent and included Alan Davies, Dara OBriain, Lee Mack, Omid Djalili, Ardal OHanlon, Phil Jupitus and Milton Jones, Frankie Boyle, Mickey Flanagan, David Baddiel, Romesh Ranganathan, Omid Djalili and Sean Lock. It came back in 2022 and is currently running for the 2023/24 season.
Ian has also appeared on The Stand Up Show (BBC1), Mock The Week and Never Mind the Buzzcocks (BBC2), The Comedy Store (C5) and The 11 O'Clock show (C4)
"Seriously funny" - The Guardian
WRITING
In 2020, Ian published his first book. To Be Someone is part autobiography, part social history and part love letter to Paul Weller and The Jam. It has garnered over five hundred four and five star reviews.
Ian has also written on numerous TV shows including Alistair McGowan's Big Impression (BBC1), The Omid Djalili Show (BBC1), The Sketch Show (ITV1) and Fantasy Football (Sky Max)
"…like a cross between Tony Hancock and Frankie Howerd. Stone is probably better than we deserve. Ultimately, it is the sheer quantity of funny material that really impresses" The List
RADIO
Ian presented Christmas Up The Front (R5), Footballs Loyal Fans and Football's Home Fans (both R4). He was a regular guest on Fighting Talk (R5) and also appeared on Hot Gossip (R2). He presented the breakfast show on LoveSport Radio and for five years, he co-presented Rock N Roll Football on Absolute Radio with Ian Wright. The show was awarded a Sony Silver Award for best sports programme in 2012 and in 2015 won the Gold Award for best Specialist Programme of the Year at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards.
"I had high hopes for Ian Stone’s show. Not only is he a seasoned performer, but he has a brilliant line in political humour. Not only was I not disappointed, he blew all my expectations away. Stone’s skill as a comedian is in highlighting the stupidity of the common man through beautifully crafted stories, peppered with gags and asides, hilarious throughout. Not a word is wasted in his clever telling of his world view" Chortle.co.uk
PODCAST
Ian was one of the founder members of the Alan Davies Arsenal podcast It’s Up For Grabs Now. This show was a huge success (slightly more than the team unfortunately). After a short break, the show came back as The Tuesday Club and after fifty episodes, it became one of the top rated sports podcasts in the country with an average of sixty thousand downloads a week, an amazing achievement for an independent podcast. In the first week of October 2012, it was the third highest rated podcast of any sort in Britain.
Since 2019, Ian has presented Handbrake Off, the Arsenal podcast for the prestigious Athletic website. It's had over a million downloads since then and in late 2023, a live recording of the podcast played to a sold out crowd at London's Leicester Square Theatre