“I am here for The Buzz which is a comedy club that meets on Thursdays upstairs in The Southern.
You squeeze in around little tables, before a little stage, in the company of students, not all of whom, given that not all of them are pierced, can come from the North of England.
And you are greeted by a compere of quite extravagant sweetness and inconsequentiality - Agraman the Human Anagram.
The anti-joke of this miniscule transformation of Man into Word serves warning of still more negligible achievements to come, the Human Anagram stepping onto the stage between acts to read out painstakingly crafted prose-pun-poems on the theme of food or stationery or mountains. He is delighted when we boo him off stage.”
Howard Jacobson - writing in Esquire magazine in 1995
“I must have played The Buzz twenty or more times in those early years, and the venue and John hold a very special place in my heart.”
“I once did a one-off comedy special with Agraman at Ronnie Scott’s club in Birmingham- and the crowd absolutely loved him. He went down massive and came offstage shell-shocked, he’d never had a reception like it.”
Under the Microscope: My Life – Dave Spikey, 2010
“The night started in its usual fashion with Agraman unleashing some awful but well-written puns. He'd be the first person to tell you he wasn't a comic, but there was a genuine love for him in the room, as this was the guy who organised it for you to see all these comedians week in week out for a fiver.”
Brung up Proper – Jason Manford, 2011
“Agraman has remained the enthusiastic amateur in spirit as well as financial recompense, gamely taking to the stage with agonisingly tortuous stories constructed solely out of band names or London Underground stations. He holds jokes like a threat over the room. Cheer vigorously or he'll unleash another one.”
Steve Bennett, editor of CHORTLE comedy website, 2007
“Agraman was instrumental in getting my career up and running. Without his faith in me, I would never have improved as quickly as I did.”
Look who it is! – Alan Carr, 2008
“Numerous big names had been through the Buzz, with Agraman as the resident compere. Over the years Marshall had become something of a comedy legend, and was also regarded as one of the nicest men in the business.”
That Peter Kay book – Johnny Dee, 2006
“Agraman certainly helped elevate comedy in the North West...he was later to encourage me to do my first solo theatre show.”
How did all this happen? – John Bishop, 2013
“I got a call from Agraman the human anagram who asked if I'd be interested in doing 20 minutes stand-up, he said he could offer me £30.”
The sound of Laughter – Peter Kay, 2006
“My other overriding memory is that for a fifteen minute performance Agraman the human anagram paid me £35.”
Saturday Night Peter – Peter Kay, 2008
“Now, the wonderful Agraman - 'the human anagram' who booked the acts there - had a great eye for talent.”
Becoming Johnny Vegas – Johnny Vegas, 2013
“The gig was a ‘Buzz Comedy’ gig run by the legendary ‘Agraman’. He’s a true maverick of the comedy business who delights in the pun. Most comedy clubs start with a fanfare of loud music, followed by an enthusiastic compere whipping the crowd into a frenzy, and asking members of the audience where they come from and what job they do. Agraman is different. He just appears on stage without any intro, then gradually batters the audience into submission with a long series of terrible puns, and an innate charm. I really liked his approach, and so did the audience.”
Jim Park (Scottish stand-up), 2008
“Thanks for starting me out in Showbiz!”
Signed photo sent by Lee Evans