‘Hidden’ Comedy Junction club in Sutton Coldfield attracts big stars who ask to play there

It's the landmark pub with a secret inside - one that has attracted some of comedy's biggest names. Comedy Junction is tucked away upstairs at The Station pub in the centre of Sutton Coldfield – slap bang next to the railway station.

Each month it hosts huge stars who ask to play there – rather than the venue asking them. For more than two decades some of the biggest names in comedy have been appearing to polish their acts, test new jokes or simply enjoy the intimate atmosphere.

Comedy is said to be ‘soaked into the walls, two feet thick’ at the upstairs room that pubgoers may be unaware of. It's billed as the ‘small club with big names’.

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The names who have appeared there are a who’s who of British comedy over the last 20 years – Tim Vine, Lee Mack, Alan Carr, Russell Howard, John Bishop, Sarah Millican, Joe Lycett, Rhod Gilbert, Zoe Lyons, Hal Cruttenden, Gary Delaney, Richard Herring and more.

The club was the brainchild of Sutton comics, Mark Degenetais and Karen Bayley, who met at Sutton Arts Theatre in South Parade. Karen is full-time on the circuit, while Mark steps in to MC when she’s not available.

'Between us we have ended up with a pretty big phone book'

They began putting on comedy nights at a pub in the centre of Sutton but soon had to find a new venue. Mark said: “We started the club in 2001 and have been doing it ever since. I have known Karen for years when I was on the circuit a little bit.

“I was part of a terrible double act when I was 21 and I am now 55! I know Karen from Sutton Arts Theatre. Between us we have ended up with a pretty big phone book.

“The first gig we did in Sutton was at The Bitter End pub which became the Hairy Lemon. We did the first three gigs there, and then the pub shut and we moved to The Station.

“The first gig we did, Alan Carr was the open spot. The only time we didn’t put any gigs on was during Covid. To me it’s more of a hobby. To Karen, it’s a full-time job.”

'Tim Vine says it’s his favourite gig'

But how does the Comedy Junction get the big stars to its small venue, away from the bustle of the big city nearby? “All the people coming to the club know what it is about, “Mark said. “The heckles are good heckles. Comedians know they are going to go there and do their craft.

“People sitting there want to listen to people do their work. Russell Howard always comes to us. Ross Noble comes and does his warm-ups, and Rhod Gilbert. The two gigs before lockdown were Russell and Rhod.

“They know they [the audience] will listen. They will get feedback from them. You’re not going to get that at the Glee Club. Tim Vine says it’s his favourite gig. He’s our patron saint!

“The club has space for 74 people with 80 the most we have ever had. It’s quite incredible. Especially given the acts we get in. we are really lucky. We don’t ask them – they ask us. We are so, so lucky with this comedy club. We always sell out.”

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But despite that sell-out success a lot of people don’t know about the club. Mark said: “I still meet people in Sutton Coldfield and I tell them I run a comedy club in the town and they say ‘where is it?’.

Mark revealed some more of the secrets to the Comedy Junction’s success. “We hold gigs just once a month,” he said. “Other places have tried to put on comedy nights and they think it’s easy. They think they can hold them weekly.

“But there’s around 100 people in Sutton who will go out to comedy once a month.”

The position changes if a big star calls. Mark said: “But if a bigger act gets in touch with us, they will say I’m free on one night. When a gig pops up in the middle of the week, that’s the reason.

“Our opening and closing acts are always headline acts. We burn through acts pretty quickly!”

'The entrance fee is just the price of two drinks'

Another factor is price. While some clubs charge £20 plus for a ticket – Mark and Karen have a simple philosophy. The entrance fee should be the ‘price of two drinks’. For example, Cruttenden, who has been on Live At the Apollo, Would I Lie To You, Have I Got News for You and more is £13.70

Mark said: “I want people to come! Everything is expensive. The pictures are expensive – although I want people to go to the Royal Cinema.

“Karen and I said: 'We want a night out for two pints of beer'. People can say: 'Two of us had a night out, saw two good comedians, had a couple of drinks and spent about £25 each'. We just want it to be a good, cheap night out.

“We just about break even. I said to Karen if we made a profit I would be worried! I always think ‘would I want to go?’.”

While the club is a bit if a secret, it does still sell out – particularly because of the limited number of seats and gigs being once-a-month. The best way to find out about upcoming gigs is to sign up to get the club’s newsletter.

Mark said: “Sign up to the emails. That’s where you’ll hear about gigs first. We have over 2,500 people signed up.” Even though the pub is next to the Cross City rail line, most of the audience is local. Some ‘99.9 per cent of people that turn up to the gigs are from Sutton Coldfield’, said Mark. “It’s the best location for a comedy club in the world,” he said.

Given its longevity and success, have Mark and Karen thought about bigger venues or charging more given sell-outs? He said: “No. If it ain’t broken don’t try and fix it.

“The comedy in that room is now soaked into the walls, two feet thick. They call it funny bones. The room’s got funny bones. The comedians say that to us. They say they want to come and play it – ‘it’s the place to play’.

Coming soon are Hal Cruttenden on October 31 – the show already sold out; Josh Pugh on Thursday, November 28 - £13, a Christmas show with acts to be confirmed on Friday, December 27 and Scott Bennett with his tour warm-up show on Sunday, January 12.