Stewart Lee grew up in Solihull and began stand-up in 1988 at the age of 20, having been inspired by seeing the post-punk anti-comic Ted Chippington open for The Fall in Birmingham in 1984. He won the Hackney Empire new act of the year award in 1990 and for the next decade was a five nights a week regular on the stand-up club circuit. In 2001 he was asked to contribute to the libretto for the composer Richard Thomas' Jerry Springer: The Opera which went on to win four Olivier awards. His most recent stand-up shows have been Stand Up Comedian (2004), 90s Comedian (2005), 41st Best Stand-up Comedian (2007), If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One (2009), Carpet Remnant World (2012) and Content Provide (2016). Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, featuring his stand-up, ran for four series on BBC2, and won the BAFTA for Best Comedy Programme in 2012. Stewart is also the author of the stand-up comedy studies How I Escaped My Certain Fate (2010) and If You Prefer a Midler Comedian Please Ask for One (2012). He has written for The Wire , Uncut, the Observer and Mojo , and won Celebrity Mastermind answering questions on the guitarist Derek Bailey. Stewart has two children and has lived in Stoke Newington, Hackney, since the 1990s.

He recently recorded a half hour piece inspired by his contribution to this book, Telly Savalas Looks At Birmingham , with the free-jazz trio capri-batterie. Maria Whatton was born in Liverpool and moved to the Midlands in the 1990s where she married a Birmingham firefighter and raised a family. She is a multi-award-winning storyteller who tours nationally and internationally telling ancient legends and folk tales. She lectures and performs in theatres, festivals and educational establishments.