Liverpool comedy history
The chance meeting that got Paul Smith back on stage
Paul Smith told the Liverpool Echo he had quit stand-up until a chance encounter with Phil Chapman sent him to Hot Water Comedy Club. The story, in Paul’s own words.
7 questions, 3 min read
Paul Smith is one of the best-known comedians in the country: a crowd work phenomenon who went from the stage at Hot Water Comedy Club to arenas. By his own account it nearly didn’t happen, and Phil had something to do with it.
This is the story as Paul told it to the Liverpool Echo in April 2026. The quotes are his, from the Echo’s interview (opens in a new tab).
Watch
Podcast guest
The Paul Smith Podcast, episode 5
Hot Water Comedy Club
Did Paul Smith really quit comedy?
For a while. He told the Echo that he stepped away from the stage for a year in 2010, after falling out of love with the industry, and went back to ordinary work.
Where does Phil come in?
According to the Echo, a chance encounter with “fellow comic Phil Chapman” alerted Paul to Hot Water Comedy Club’s arrival. Phil did not just mention it, either. In Paul’s words: “He’d done one gig and made me book for a gig while I was with him.”
What happened at the gig?
Paul admits he had no intention of going and forgot all about it, until the reminder popped up on his phone at a barbecue, a few cans in. He went anyway, in shorts and flip-flops, could not remember his set, and did crowd work instead.
The set was a hit, and the club invited him back as a regular MC. Crowd work became the thing he is famous for.
What does Paul say about it now?
The line that made the headline: “If I hadn’t bumped into Phil that day, I might have never done stand-up again. I don’t tell him that because he’ll ask for half of my money.”
So does Phil get half?
There is no record of an invoice. There is, however, a review of sorts: “One of my favourite acts to watch” is the line credited to Paul Smith on the listings for Phil’s solo shows Enthusiast and Figures.
Have Phil and Paul worked together since?
Yes. Phil was a guest on episode 5 of The Paul Smith Podcast (plays here), the pair turn up together in Hot Water clips such as The Jackets (plays here) and Lock Screen (plays here), and when Paul played the Leicester Comedy Festival in 2020, the Leicestershire Press noted that “Smith introduced his friend Phil Chapman as his interval act.”
Where can I see Phil?
At Hot Water Comedy Club in Liverpool, where it all started, most weeks. His upcoming dates are listed here with tickets from the club, and hundreds of his clips are on the Watch page.
