About Us
This Is Your Laugh is the creation of Dave Allison.
He has been making live comedy shows since 2012 in various formats for all kinds of celebrations and groups of people.
About
David Allison
Founder, Creative Director
The back story.
I am David Allison,
a graduate of law,
an export from Bradford
and an expert in nowt…
…but somehow, I’ve been providing laughter, professionally, for the last 25 years.
I do this now, through my company, This Is Your Laugh.
Your laughter is literally my business.
So please indulge me as I tell you how I got here.
This story has become quite lengthy. I’m old! And I’m still adding to it. It’s loaded with links to videos if you care to spend even more time learning about me.
I am now using it as where I am storing whatever I’ve done professionally, that I’m cool with sharing, in a rough chronological order in one place.
But there is a shortcut. In 2016, BBC Radio Leicester gave me an hour in a Desert Island Discs type show to tell much of the following in a more concise way.
In 1997, I escaped* from a poverty-stricken childhood** to find refuge*** in North London with only my trusted feline Tommy Tittlemouse**** for company*****.
I was Dick Whittington******, in pursuit of wealth and success********
*moved
**Leicester University
***live with my girlfriend at the time
****a law degree
*****as a qualification
******David Allison
*******a career making TV programmes and documentaries
Law… What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing! Oh no, that’s war.
I love law. Not all of it. I’ve broken it from time to time. But I still love it.
Especially my study of it. It gave me the skills to make smart-arsed arguments. Jurisprudence was my favourite subject.
It was also the one you dropped if you wanted to practice law as a job. I didn’t drop it as I realised I’d never sit still long enough to read all the books necessary to make it my profession.
(Drum roll… big reveal… I’ve got ADHD… I’ve been diagnosed and everything.)
So I decided not to become a ‘proper’ lawyer.
Though, I am proud of the part I played in making a few: several years after completing my own degree, I was a senior producer and team manager at the University of Law.
This was to be producing educational media for law students, many of whom went on to pursue a career in the profession.
During those years, my boss was Jon Harman.
He was and still is a massive inspiration to me in lateral and creative thinking.
We had a conversation fairly recently which was made into a podcast called Grit that I enjoyed a lot.
Television
Back to my journey into an alternative career.
The first step, which I made in 1998, was to become an intern with Sir Bob Geldof’s television production company Planet 24.
I was hired to work with presenters Jonny Vaughan and Denise van Outen on a Channel 4 morning show called the Big Breakfast.
Their ratings were stalling so a call was put out to bring in the big guns.
It was my responsibility to make them tea.
Here’s me with Zig and Zag.
After that, a bunch of other companies contacted me to request I help them with all kinds of different productions.
I became known for my versatility and availability. Not so much for my tea.
A company called Ideal World required me to spend six months in Glasgow.
My role was to be a ‘classic car researcher’ for a Ch4 show called ‘Deals on Wheels’.
This was despite me never having owned a car at this point in my life.
I was soon given the nickname ‘the mechanic’ because of how well I fixed problems with the show.
They also called me ‘tracksuit-Dave’.
Something to do with the lurid sportswear I was known to favour.
For me, my choice of attire enabled me to fit in with the locals better.
Or specifically, Darren Bender called me it.
He would later become a person of huge importance to me professionally and personally.
(He’s in the photo above. The handsome one. At the back. To the left.)
Like the littlest hobo, I kept moving on.
Next stop was to Hewland International in Kentish Town.
First outing there was to be in the studio for the End of the Week show on ITV.
This was especially memorable for how they had music guests ending the show with a song. They were always the best cover bands of the biggest acts alive or dead.
One week it was The Bootleg Beatles. Speaking to ‘John Lennon’ was fascinating.
Not only did he really look like him, he actually went to the same school as him, a couple of years behind.
Can you imagine that?
Getting into playing music, looking so similar to Lennon, following behind his success in the same neighbourhood, how do you make your own success?
Literally copying him has become his actually very successful career.
Doing John Lennon for longer than Lennon did himself!
Then on another recording, I met Elvis Presley’s favourite ‘Elvis Presley’ cover.
He let me wear the sunglasses that the original Elvis gave to him.
So I have seen the world through the same rose-tinted glasses as the King himself!
Also, on the same show, I first met my now great mate Mark Roberts, the world’s greatest streaker!
He was a guest.
I drew an arrow on his back for a streak he did on the show.
Since then, we kept in touch and he took part in the This Is Your Trial pitch for ITV about 15 years later.
Mark is the funniest human with such specific commitment towards his achievements that can never be beaten, by anyone.
There at Hewland, I became the series producer of a show on ITV called ‘Young, Gifted and Broke’.
It was a late night show years before X-Factor.
We also showcased some of the shittest talent to be found anywhere along the A1.
Magenta Divine was the presenter and she was a class A act.
It was an almighty experience.
Then I did some things at MTV.
My favourites were assembling incredible playlists for the Chillout Zone and scoring goals for the MTV football team.
Plus going to some of the most lavish work parties I’ve ever been to.
Other than that, I didn’t learn very much.
And I soon went on to create my own shows.
The first commission, in 2000, was Pop Will Shoot Itself .
It was a 20x episode comedy series for PlayUK.
The concept came about from an application I wrote for a job I didn’t get at MTV.
They required applicants to write a script about the making of a specific pop video.
I wrote one about ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ by the Verve.
I adapted my script and research to make a pilot video that became an idea for a show impressing an exec producer at Ideal World called Mike Chamberlain.
He went on to get it commissioned.
The 6 months of making shows in 2001, were the most fun I’ve ever had in employment.
I had control of a budget and a plan of action, both creatively and logistically.
I hired some of my best mates who had appropriate skills to join me for the ride.
One of my cleverest ideas to be put on television happened with this series:
I managed to persuade the Reverend Doctor Leslie Griffiths, to spend an afternoon recording reviews of all 20x music videos featured in the series.
At the time, Leslie was total-end-of-all-levels boss of the entire Methodist Church!
The closest I will ever get to God, that’s for sure.
He really had done his homework with the best of intent.
He was and still is magnificent.
I think this is why he earned the SuperIntendent job title which sits alongside his knighthood.
We didn’t have any budget to pay for special guests.
But we needed to illustrate what the directors of those music videos said about their work.
So we glued eyes on to all my shoes and et voila!
The episode about the video for ‘It’s Like That’ by Run DMC has more than half a million views!
It’s not my favourite, though.
That’s a toss up between the Pulp and the Eminem episodes.
Documentaries
After Pop Will Shoot Itself, I got a bit more worthy and serious.
I started making documentaries.
Losing Your Balls for C4 is the one I’m most proud of.
It was about a bloke called Stefan, who wanted to become a woman called Cheryl.
Stefan made late night trips to golf courses.
Wearing a diving suit, he’d jump into their lakes and ponds to gather lost golf balls.
This was without permission.
Stefan traded those balls for cash to pay for black-market hormones helping Cheryl to grow boobs.
He also exchanged them with second-hand stalls for wigs and dresses.
Also for Cheryl.
The Cheryl/Stefan was such a fascinating dynamic.
It provided me with insight into two distinct identities in one person.
And they shared themselves with me and my camera for one of the strangest and most challenging weeks of my life.
A second documentary I made for C4 was called ‘Bindiana Jones and the Toilet Crusaders’.
It’s the best programme title I’ve ever come up with.
The film itself was ok.
It was about John McBride, a dustbin man who went on holiday to warzones.
My own experience of work as a refuse collector during the holidays when I was a student, was one topic that John and I could find a connection.
In 2003 to 2007 I worked again with my great friend Mike Chamberlain.
This was for his production company Stampede.
Given the role of head of production, I had many responsibilities.
One was to set up a regional office at the Hat Factory in Luton.
I had many brilliant experiences during those years.
Some more glamorous than others.
The glamour was mostly determined by the work and whether it took place in Luton, or not.
We secured regional funding to produce regionally-focused documentaries for regional audiences who watch Anglia Television.
As a result of those films, I went to the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 where they were screened.
With all this new experience of developing documentary-making talent, I was invited to Nigeria for the BOBTV film festival in Abuja to give workshops in those skills.
A truly unique and unforgettable experience.
Drama
Before I left Stampede, I had a brief foray into proper filmmaking.
As the producer, I took a small film crew to spend three days in the freezing mountains near Glencoe, Scotland, in January 2006.
We had a dozen rolls of 35mm film, what seemed like hundreds of lenses, two horses, two Japanese actors and a baby I found in Morrisons on Holloway Road.
This was all to tell the story of a haiku written by a celebrated author called Basho.
The results were stunning. The experience was extraordinary.
But after so much effort for not a lot of audience response or financial return, I decided I’d had enough of making films.
I have also written, directed and produced video commercials and marketing media for businesses, workshops and training and unique comedy experiences.
Other screen appearances
I have been asked to appear on screens many times.
Generally, I do not have the time to answer all the requests.
But every now and then, the stars align and the project is of special interest to me.
It always helps the filmmaker if they tell me there’s a costume to wear.
This is when I was Thomas Neale, inventor of the National Lottery on an episode of the One Show.
Upon reading the script and profile of this incredible man, I felt I could relate so I accepted the role.
Have you ever seen the popular music band called Erasure perform their music live?
I have.
For my first ever experience of a live concert. It was in Manchester, in 1988.
I was 12 and it was for their ‘Wild’ album tour.
It blew my mind and in no doubt, influenced much of everything I have ever done since. Hence…
When I was younger, more confident and more athletic, I went to California to try my hand auditioning for various sitcoms and popular shows.
Unfortunately, my accent or physique wasn’t what anyone was looking for.
I am still proud of my efforts.
Here’s a self-tape I did for a show called Baywatch.
I didn’t get that job but I believe the show was a flop anyway.
Dropped after only one season because instead they hired some German guy who looked like a giant Leo Sayer and couldn’t swim.
More recently, I have been brought in to give a boost to some major TV shows and Hollywood movies.
For me it’s just a little extra work that I can fit in to my schedule every now and then.
You might see me steal some scenes like I did here in the Paramount show ‘Knuckles’.
My old mate Cary Elwes had a lead role as ‘Pistol Pete’.
Typical of Cary, he insisted on a more outlandish wardrobe than me.
Fair play.
Other productions I’ve been involved with include an episode of ‘Black Mirror’, the latest ‘Bridget Jones’ movie and some spy series with Gary Oldman.
I always appreciate the efforts of the producers on these productions to not make a big fuss of my scenes.
When George Lucas called to tell me about his plans to reboot the franchise, I shuffled some bookings in my diary to grab the opportunity of helping him out.
He is a decent bloke and has always remembered to send my kids xmas cards and Lego sets.
So spending a couple days at the Elstree studios was the least I could do.
A couple of years ago, one of my dad’s mates, Theo asked if I could make up the numbers in the Dragons’ Den gang.
It looked like it would be a laugh.
But there was some mix up with the dates of recording and there I was, sat by myself in the studio.
It was quite embarrassing. I never bothered to do it in the end.
Football
A potted summary of my football career:
My talents were was first spotted while I was playing for the famous Sandy Lane FC, the legendary junior football club from Bradford.
This was during our week long tour in Russia, back in 1990.
I was soon approached by Man Utd. This was me after signing contracts with the gaffer.
It was a busy year. I was with the England squad for a brief time after the announcement of the squad for the Euros ’98.
But disappointingly, I sustained an injury to my index finger whilst playing in a Subbuteo tournament with the lads.
Because of that injury happening when it did, sadly, it meant I was removed from most record books.
Sadly, I didn’t actually make it onto the field in any professional game.
Gladly, the club saw fit to recognise and acknowledge my best years of service by dedicating a seat in the stadium with my name emblazoned to it.
I came out of retirement to play for a number of clubs when I went to London.
They include Alexandra Park FC, where I became a centre forward.
After a couple of seasons with MTV in Camden I moved on to the North London Asian League to play for NVA.
As the single non-Asian that the league allowed each club, I spent some of my most enjoyable and successful seasons becoming the clubs leading scorer for two consecutive years.