Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the audience has no pre-set expectations about the crowd, and vice versa. In comedy clubs, there tends to be a certain vibe—alternative comedy explores different types of material."

The Official History of London's Comedy Store credits comedian and author Tony Allen with coining the term, though in his autobiography, the late Malcolm Hardee claims to have coined the term in 1978.

Alternative comedy came to describe an approach to stand-up comedy that was neither racist nor sexist but free-form and devised by the performers themselves. This style won out in a 'civil war' against more traditional comedians who had initially played London's Comedy Store, Soho, from its opening in May 1979.

Traditional club comics of the time had been reliant on trite jokes which often targeted women and minority groups. The alternative that developed was more like comedy's answer to punk.

Stephen Carlin is a Scottish-born stand-up comedian, now living in London. Carlin is popular on the UK comedy scene for his intricate knowledge of international snooker^{[citation needed]} and accomplished writing and performance. He was named by Stewart Lee as one of the 'Ten Best Comedians In The World Ever'^{[citation needed]}. He has appeared on television and radio including ITV2's Comedy Cuts and The Milk Run on BBC Radio 1. He is represented by Glorious Management.

William "Bill" Burr (born June 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, radio host and actor.

Burr was born in Canton, Massachusetts. His father was a dentist, and Bill worked as a hygienist for a short time. He began stand-up at age 23 after attending Emerson College, where he majored in Radio. Burr also had a early morning slot on college radio during this period. In 1995, he moved to New York City and lived there for eight months. Burr then moved to Los Angeles, California, where he worked on a number of film and television projects. He returned to New York in 1999 and moved back to Los Angeles in 2008, where he currently resides. Burr stands 5'10" in height, is left handed, and is of German and Irish descent.

He performs over three hundred shows annually, had two movies released in 2006, and has performed on The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. In early 2004, he appeared in two episodes of Chappelle's Show, and in September 2005, his HBO One Night Stand special aired. Along with many other projects, Burr has also been a guest comedian on the Bob and Tom Show as well as on the Opie and Anthony Show on XM Satellite Radio, sometimes sitting in when third member Jim Norton is away. He has also performed on the Comedy Central Presents show.

Maeve Higgins (born 24 March 1981) is an Irish comedian, from Cobh, County Cork. She was a principal actor/writer of the RTÉ production Naked Camera, as well for her own show Maeve Higgins' Fancy Vittles. She has a regular, Tuesday morning, slot on The Ray D'Arcy Show on Today FM called "What would Maeve do?", which provides tongue-in-cheek advice to listeners' questions.

Higgins hosts her own radio show on Today FM titled "Maeve Higgins's Amusing Notes".

Higgins was born in Cobh, County Cork, and attended Walterstown National Primary School and Saint Aloysius' College, Carrigtwohill. She later studied photography in Colaiste Dhulaigh, Dublin, finishing her studies in 2004. Soon after that she began doing stand-up comedy.

Higgins started her 'comedic' career in 2004, and has written and performed at many festivals and shows. She began her comedy career on national radio station Today FM after auditioning on The Ray D'Arcy Show in February 2004. She failed to win.

In 2005, she took part in the hidden camera show Naked Camera with fellow comedian and friend, PJ Gallagher, and landed her own television show, Maeve Higgins' Fancy Vittles, in 2009.

Henning Wehn (born 10 April 1974 in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German stand-up comedian based in London.

Since October 2003 Wehn has been self-styled the "German Comedy Ambassador in London". After beginning his career as "warm-up act" to various comedians in London, he now has his own act on the British comedy circuit.

He was a regular guest on the British comedy television programme FAQ U (on Channel 4), produced by Endemol; and has appeared on the BBC Radio 5 Live radio show Fighting Talk, where he is "in it, to win it", and on the BBC Radio 4 programmes The Unbelievable Truth, Act Your Age, The Now Show and The News Quiz. He has also appeared in the BBC2 television series QI as a guest panelist. In Germany, he is a comedian on local radio station Antenne Münster.

Wehn's act plays upon the British stereotype of Germans, such as the German's supposed efficiency and punctuality (he often goes on stage wearing a stopwatch around his neck) and lack of sense of humour. A large part of his routine is based around comprehensively analysing and explaining his punchlines and jokes in the smallest detail.