Jo Brand's nursing years

Could this be where Jo acquired much of her brilliant comedy?

Location: The Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, SE5 8AZ

Description: Josephine 'Jo' Grace Brand was born on 3 May 1957 in Hastings, East Sussex, and is now an established and fantastic British stand-up comedian.

She was persuaded by agent Malcolm Hardee to begin a career in stand-up comedy, where she acquired the stage name, 'The Sea Monster'. She was central to the British alternative comedy movement, working London alternative comedy clubs, and appearing initially on the Saturday Live television show.

Brand's early style involved her delivering jokes in a bored monotone, one line at a time, with pauses in between. It drew heavily from pop culture and the media, with many jokes containing references to well-known celebrities and public figures.

She has commented that 'men are fantastic - as a concept'. She has also said satirically that she was reading in the newspapers that she was a lesbian for so long, she started to believe it...

And so to this very location - Jo was actually a psychiatric nurse at the Maudsley Hospital (and South London Bethlem) until the mid-1980s.

Could this be where she acquired much of her brilliant oberservational comedy - well - we'll never know!

Themes: Comedy Comedy Theme