Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Junior Simpson


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. (non-admin closure) – Davey 2010 Talk 03:23, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

Junior Simpson

 * – ( View AfD View log  Stats )

Seemingly clear non-notable locally known entertainer as my searches at Books, News, browsers and Highbeam found nothing better than a few expected links and certainly nothing for better notability and improvement. This is even borderline speedy and PROD material but I always like AfD comments anyway. Notifying speedy decliner in case he had any input. SwisterTwister  talk  22:27, 20 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of England-related deletion discussions.  SwisterTwister   talk  22:28, 20 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Actors and filmmakers-related deletion discussions.  SwisterTwister   talk  22:28, 20 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Jamaica-related deletion discussions.  SwisterTwister   talk  22:28, 20 November 2015 (UTC)


 * Keep. Pretty clearly notable. Well known in the UK for his stand-up, TV, and film appearances. If we're defining being well known in the UK as 'locally known' then the project has lost all hope. --Michig (talk) 09:34, 21 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Delete fails notability. Eden&#39;s Apple (talk) 17:54, 27 November 2015 (UTC) — Eden's Apple (talk • contribs) has made few or no other edits outside this topic.
 * How, exactly? He is a well known comedian who was part of The Real McCoy sketch show, has appeared on stand up TV shows such as Live at Jongleurs, Red Light Comedy: Live from Amsterdam, has been a celebrity guest/panellist on Never Mind the Buzzcocks (3 times), Blankety Blank, A Question of TV, Big Brother's Big Mouth, The Comic Side of 7 Days, The One Show, and then there's the half-hour BBC special Respect: A Felix Dexter Special. Pretty obviously notable, and I'm wondering why nobody else seems able to find any of this. Or is nobody else really trying? --Michig (talk) 18:08, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
 * , "Or is nobody else really trying?" Agreed. The subject is clearly notable. Cunard (talk) 00:48, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

Keep per the significant coverage in reliable sources.  The article notes: "Junior Simpson is one of Britain's most successful stand-ups. He is not at Edinburgh this year; he hasn't been since 1998. 'Black performers,' he says, 'look at Edinburgh and at the people who go there, and we feel in the back of our minds that we won't be able to find an audience.' That is partly because Edinburgh has a tiny black population. 'When I was there in 1998,' says Simpson, 'the black population had increased by 50% - because I was there.' But even 'at regular comedy nights in London, Manchester, Birmingham or wherever, it's still unusual to see a black performer on the bill.'"  The article discusses his beginning as a comedian: "In his previous calling as a salesman, stand-up comic Junior Simpson would have never believed that a routine trip to the toilet would launch his career in comedy. 'I went along to a wedding with a girlfriend; she knew the bride and groom, but I didn't. The master of ceremonies got up and said: 'Does anyone else want to say anything on behalf of the bride and groom?' I had got up to go to the toilet, the guy assumed I wanted to say something, and I couldn't really say 'I don't know these people I have to go to the toilet'. 'I made some stuff up, talked about the day, and the whole place was laughing,' said Simpson from London earlier this week." The article covers his career: "His television debut was on the BBC's The Real McCoy in 1994, before going on to Sunday Selection, a variety show in London's Hackney Empire theatre, BBC's The Stand Up Show and Channel 5's Comedy Store. This year he will perform for the third time at the renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a three-week celebration of theatre, comedy, dance and music. In addition, the 'over 21, under 99'-year-old comic hosts a game show, In The Dark, on Channel 5. The programme has three couples performing a variety of everyday tasks in total darkness. Special cameras allow the studio audience to witness the contestants doing things such as putting make-up on their partner, swapping clothes or bandaging their partner's head."  The article notes: "Junior honed his material and performance skills on the British black comedy circuit. Soon word started to spread about this bright, young comedian, dubbed 'the new Lenny Henry', and within a few years he had become a mainstream success. Junior's style is hard to categorise. This, he says, is deliberate. He doesn't want to be stereotyped or confined to a niche market, and it's his desire and ability to metamorphosise that makes him a hit with such a wide range of audiences. ... Junior's ease at adapting his material means he is also a favourite with producers booking guests for TV shows, from Blankety Blank to Never Mind The Buzzcocks.  The talented all-rounder has also done some acting work. His TV credits include Holby City and Casualty, while his film appearances include High Heels And Low Lifes, and the hit Brit flick Love Actually, playing the world's worst wedding DJ."  The article notes: "From wedding speeches to Love Actually, Junior Simpson talks to Natalie Hale about his comedy career Since appearing on the comedy scene, Luton's lapsed choirboy Junior Simpson has quickly established himself as a true 'tour de force' live performer. ... Junior's highest profile role was as the world's worst wedding DJ in British blockbuster Love Actually. But despite the attention he received from appearing in the award-winning, worldwide hit, it's stand-up that still gives the comedian the biggest buzz of all."  The article notes: "JUNIOR Simpson says it is difficult to make a comedian laugh. 'The series The Office always makes me howl with laughter, but otherwise it's not that easy to make me laugh,' the English funnyman says. ... Junior says his material is more global comedy and is not specific to a certain area.  ..."</li> <li> The article notes: "Junior Simpson got into comedy by accident. The Luton-born comic was walking out of a wedding reception to use the loo, when the MC thought he wanted to make a speech and invited him on to the stage. 'The only person I knew there was my girlfriend,' said the Hackney comedian. 'I was just going to say a few things, like best wishes for the future, but then I started talking about relationships and my parents. I went into this stand-up routine. And people were laughing.' The happy accident has seen the 41-year-old delivering his humourous observations on life on TV and in clubs for the last 11 years."</li> <li> The article notes: "Simpson's irresistible energy and evangelical delivery can engage the most jaded of rooms - which is even more of an achievement when you consider the sheer paucity of his material. His topics seem stuck in a timewarp, covering such hoary chestnuts as the deep-voiced guy who does cinema ad voiceovers, and he does so with little insight or originality. Though his infectious stage manner carries him a long way, it can't overcome the dreary lack of invention that lies where the soul of act should be. There is the very occasional funny line, but it all seems like woefully inadequate papering over the gaping holes in his creativity."</li> <li> The article notes: "The former salesman, now 50, joked: 'If I had had better bladder control we wouldn’t be having this conversation.' Junior looks for humour in everyday life and shares stories of his travels. ... The dad of one, who lives in south Yorkshire, has had many highs and lows in his performing career.  ...  A particular highlight was performing to British troops in Iraq alongside Jim Jeffries.  His lowest point was a show at the Edinburgh Festival, which he completed but was heckled so badly that he left without picking up his coat or the money he was owed."</li> <li> The article notes: "With his infectious energy and huge stage presence, it is easy to see why Junior is a circuit favourite. He has a boundless joy and exuberance that has audiences hooked with hilarity. A true observational comic, Junior finds his humour in the everyday and humdrum with anecdotes of his world travels as a comedian adding a personal originality to his set. Junior is a regular headliner at clubs all over the UK and is also in great demand in South Africa and Australia."</li> </ol>There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Junior Simpson to pass Notability, which requires "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". Cunard (talk) 00:48, 28 November 2015 (UTC) </li></ul> <div class="xfd_relist" style="border-top: 1px solid #AAA; border-bottom: 1px solid #AAA; padding: 0px 25px;"> Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.

Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, KTC (talk) 00:50, 28 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Keep per Cunard. Passage of GNG has been demonstrated through publication of multiple instances of substantial coverage in independent sources of presumed reliability. Carrite (talk) 16:00, 30 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Keep. Not arguing with the refs provided in this afd. Szzuk (talk) 20:31, 1 December 2015 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.