Elvis is The King (of the Midlands Comedy Awards)

Elvis Dead creator Rob Kemp wins three accolades

Rob Kemp – the man behind the cult hit Edinburgh show The Elvis Dead – has picked up three trophies at the Midlands Comedy Awards tonight.

The Black Country comic scooped the gongs for Breakthrough Act, Best Alternative Act and Best Live Show – having been nominated in six of the ten categories.

Kemp, whose show combined the songs of Elvis Presley with the plot of horror film Evil Dead 2, is the first act to win three Midlands Comedy Awards in the same year.

The creator of the awards, Jay Islaam saod: ‘This was obviously going to be Rob Kemp’s year. He’s an exceptionally nice guy and the Midlands comedy community is delighted with his success

In other categories, Nottinghamshire-based Barry Dodds picked up the best MC trophy for the third year in a row.

The best act award went to Birmingham’s Joe Lycett, with Luisa Omielan and Rob Kemp as runners up.

In other categories:

Best New Act - Nottingham University student Jem Braithwaite

Online Comedy – Jack Kirwan

Best Comedy Club – The Glee Club in Birmingham

Best Small Club – Funhouse Comedy network of gigs

Open Mic Show – The Holly Bush in Cradley Heat

Outstanding contribution – Funhouse Comedy promoter Spiky Mike

Finalists for the awards – presented at The Cookie in Leicester – were decided by promoters and performers from the Midlands comedy community, with more than 4,000 votes cast in a public ballot to decide the winners.