From punk to the stage...

JoJo Smith started her working life while at sixth form college, launching her punk rock fanzine The Ligger as the counter culture took hold.
JoJo SmithJoJo Smith
JoJo Smith

She interviewed all her heroes, The Clash, Ian Dury, the Sex Pistols, and “a million one hit wonders”.

She went on to paid employment with music papers including Smash Hits, NME, The Face and Record Mirror.

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A positive review in the latter that led to her being invited to work for Dexy’s Midnight Runners as their PA.

A fictionalised account of life on the road with Kevin Rowland and the gang forms the basis of her first novel, Searching for the Young Soul Rebels.

After Dexy’s she became a bingo caller at Butlins, before returning to journalism, becoming a feature-writer job at the Evening Standard.

Being diagnosed of Repetetive Strain Injury, “combined with an interview with Bill Hicks”, inspired JoJo to leave journalism to become a stand-up in the early Nineties.

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But she combined comedy with her previous job for a 42-part late-night ITV series, Funny Business, about the art of comedy in which she interviewed pretty much everyone from Jimmy Cricket to Jo Brand.

JoJo made her TV stand-up debut on Craig Charles’ late night ITV show, The Funky Bunker, and she also supported the Red Dwarf star on his national tour.

As well as being an established circuit act, she has also played in South Africa, Shanghai, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and both the Sydney and Melbourne comedy festivals

In the last 13 years JoJo has gone from open spot to late-night TV personality, from global fame on the Internet to international comedy performer, not bad going for someone who until then had never stood on a stage in her life.

She is apparently massive in Romania and gigged in aid of the striking Liverpool Dockers.