| Archie Henderson | |
| Birth Name: | Archie Henderson |
| Birth Place: | London, England |
| Nationality: | British |
| Occupation: | Musician, comedian, writer |
| Alma Mater: | University of Cambridge[1] |
| Years Active: | 2015–present |
| Notable Works: | You Shouldn’t Have Knight Fever |
Archie Henderson is an English comedian, musician and writer, most notable for performing as the character Jazz Emu,[2] a comic character, "more or less born out of lockdown".[3] In 2023, Henderson won two Chortle Awards: Best Social Media and Best Variety or Character.[4]
Henderson's comedy career started with sketch shows and stand-up performance with the Cambridge University Footlights[5] in 2015, and at the Edinburgh Fringe. His inspirations include comic musicians, Flanders and Swann, Bill Bailey, Flight of the Conchords and Victor Borge.
In 2016, he formed the comedy trio "Two Plus Ones" with fellow Footlights alumni Luke Sumner and Josh Chana. Their comedic endeavors included performances at the Edinburgh Fringe, contributions to Comic Relief, and sketches for the children's show "So Beano!" on Sky One, the group performed under the pseudonym "All the Same." They won the award of “Best Newcomers” at the 2017 Musical Comedy Awards.
Henderson's stand-up comedy career included participation in events like the London BBC New Comedy Awards 2018, Heat 1.[6]
He also had a solo show “NOW That’s Who I Call Archie Henderson” that was performed at the Brighton Fringe in 2018. He won the IYAF Best of Brighton Fringe Comedy award for this performance.
In 2019, Henderson gained recognition alongside comedian Adrian Gray for a Twitter thread humourously tracing music charts back to 14,000 BC, playfully answering the question, "What happened to the first four versions of Mambo No. 5?"
He made cameo appearances in various television programs, such as Late Night Mash and the BBC Three pilot "Britney," where he played the characters 'Peter' and 'Pedro,' respectively.
In 2018, Henderson introduced his stand-up show titled Archie Henderson: Jazz Emu. Originally, the name referred to his comedic act rather than a distinct character. The choice of "Jazz" alluded to the musical aspect of his comedy, while "Emu" humourously reflected his own physical appearance, as he described himself as resembling an emu. Performances continued into 2019, encompassing venues such as the Brighton Fringe, Buxton Fringe, and Edinburgh Fringe.
Unable to perform live during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Henderson adapted by creating musical songs and sketches on both his personal and Jazz Emu YouTube channel and social media accounts. Through this, he achieved success with the character Jazz Emu, with his song "How To Socialise" featuring on BBC Radio 1 by presenter Greg James who described him as "a very funny man."
The character of Jazz Emu has a unique persona and backstory, often characterised as a Global Sensation, '70s lothario, or unlicensed Sex Therapist. He adopts a distinctive, low, smooth voice and an exaggerated pronunciation of words. The character's backstory delves into a strained relationship with his father, explored extensively in his full-length show, "You Shouldn't Have."
Henderson rarely conducts press interviews as the character Jazz Emu, instead opting to discuss the character in the third person. When Jazz Emu does participate in interviews, the responses tend to be whimsical, obscure, and bizarre.
In 2022, Henderson wrote and starred in a 7½-minute pilot titled "Jazz Emu," produced in collaboration with Blink Industries, a part of Blink (company). This pilot garnered a Discovery Award in the Comedy Shorts Category at the LOCO London Film Festival in May 2023. Notably, comedian Phil Wang played the character Crimpsy Dimpson.
Jazz Emu has also made appearances in musical comedy skits on BBC Radio 4's "The Now Show." including playing the final ever song on the show's final episode.[7] [8] [9]
Henderson appeared as a guest on Richard Herring's interview podcasts, "Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast," in 2023.
Since 2020, Henderson has released five full-length, self-produced albums and singles under the persona of Jazz Emu.
In 2023, Henderson collaborated with television channel Dave to write an "unofficial entry for the Eurovision Song Contest". Called "We Also Wrote A Song", and featuring Rachel Parris,[17] it was a parody of Mae Muller's official 2023 UK entry "I Wrote a Song".[18]
Jazz Emu hosted a show on BBC Radio 4 entitled Jazz Emu: The Sound of US, which aired in February 2024. There were four episodes, namely The Sound of Love, The Sound of the Future, The Sound of Man and The Sound of Family. The show was co-written with Adrian Gray.[19] Henderson appeared as Jazz Emu on Channel 4's 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown on 2 February 2024.[20] In June 2024 he appeared on BBC Four's Loose Ends.[21]
In August 2023 Jazz Emu ranked 26th in the Daily Telegraph's 50 Funniest Comedians of the 21st Century.[22] |-| 2017| | So You Think You're Funny| |-| rowspan="3"|2018| | BBC New Comedy Award[23] | |-| Best of Brighton Fringe Comedy[24] | IYAF| |-| Judges Vote| Musical Comedy Awards[25] | |-| rowspan="2"|2019| Comedy Reserve| The Pleasance | |-| People's Choice Award[26] | Amused Moose Award| |-| 2021| Legends of Lockdown[27] | rowspan="4"|Chortle Awards| |-| 2022| Best Variety Act| |-| rowspan="3"|2023| Variety or Character Act[28] | |-| Social Media Award[29] | |-| Best Ensemble| LOCO London Comedy Film Festival[30] | |}