Jonny & The Baptists: The Best of 2012-2017

The Edinburgh Reporter / Mike Smith


There are a lot of clever performers at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. If your idea of a clever performance is one of biting satire then Jonny & The Baptists is a show for you. Not so much biting satire as sinking their molars, refusing to let go and drawing blood from the curiosities of life.

Jonny and Paddy – yep, there are just the two of them – celebrate five years of silly songs and satirical anthems as the title of their show implies. The stars of BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show entertained a small but adoring audience at Edinburgh’s Summerhall with their very funny songs. In these troubled political times, it doesn’t do any harm to start off with a song about Donald Trump but the song which I related to most was the one about ‘not being a proper pub’. As someone who prefers to sup his pint of foaming ale in premises which would nowadays be classed as ‘traditional’ i.e. no children, no loud music and no trendy beer costing an arm and a leg, this song literally struck a chord with me.

But then most of Jonny & The Baptists songs struck a chord with the audience. If you enjoyed the television comedy ‘The Flight of the Conchords a few years ago, then this show is definitely for you.

Head along for an hour of merriment. You’ll be glad you did. But be quick – the lads are only on until this Saturday, 19th August.