Mark was born on 7th January 1967, as Mark Jones, into a working class Swindon family with three elder sisters. He passed five O’Levels and dropped out of school at 17. He was plucked from obscurity after writing a poem (‘I’m the James Dean of the dole queue’, published in 1987). His act developed from poetry to stand-up, and he was spotted on the touring circuit for the launch of Channel Four’s Big Breakfast in 1992. From there he went on to co-present The Word.
He’s best known for his dour turn as the resident 50s throwback on BBC 2’s Shooting Stars, and as the razor-sharp compere of Never Mind The Buzzcocks. He has also worked on Edinburgh Nights, Top of the Pops, The Late Show and Mark Lamarr Leaving the 20th Century. He’s hosted his own show on BBC GLR, and has presented on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 5 Live.
I found the following on the NMTB Official Site, which has since disappeared.
Mark Lamarr discovered music at 11 when he became a rockabilly fan. In 1985 he stepped on stage at London’s Comedy Store and has continued to perform stand up ever since. In Autumn 1996 he took part in the sell out national t our of Shooting Stars. He has appeared on many television shows, and worked as a presenter on the Big Breakfast (C4), The Word (C4) and The Series From Hell (BBC2) as well as being team captain on the award-winning Shooting Stars (BBC2).
He presented a series of programmes about America on C4 called Planet Showbiz and will soon be presenting the nightly BBC2 arts programme, Edinburgh Nights, live from the Edinburgh Festival. He has also presented several radio shows including The Mark Lamarr Show (GLR), Fabulous (Radio 5), Vibe (Radio 5) and Big In Japan (Radio 1).Mark is particularly fond of ska, reggae and soul, and his favourite band is Public Enemy.
Mark’s Filmography:
- Lamarr’s Attacks (2000)
- Never Rewind the Buzzcocks (1999) (V)
- Mark Lamarr Leaving the 20th Century (1999)
- It’s Only TV, But I Like It (1999)
- Edinburgh Nights (1998)
- Planet Showbiz” (1997)
- Mark Lamarr Uncensored and Live (1997) (V)
- Shooting Stars Unreleased and Nude (1996) (V)
- Never Mind the Buzzcocks (1996 - 2005)
- The Late Jonathan Ross (1996)
- The End of the Year Show (1995)
- Shooting Stars (1993)
- The Big Breakfast (1992)
- The Word (1990)
His filmatography came from imdb.com
