The Stand Comedy Club

The Stand hosted its first regular club night on Thursday, 21 September 1995, in the small basement of W.J. Christie's Bar on the West Port in Edinburgh's Old Town. Between the two clubs an average of 1600 tickets are sold to events every week. The venue has banned stag and hen parties, and talking during the performances, in an effort to minimise disruptive behaviour so that the comedians can concentrate upon delivering their crafted material. Glasgow Club The Glasgow club opened on 14 April 2000. The Stand invested £750,000 in fitting out the basement venue, part of the former Waygood complex. As the Newcastle club prepared to open, Tommy Sheppard said that he expects this venue to be the last Stand to open. ==Cowboy==

The Stand's cowboy logo appears as a painted backdrop to the stages in The Stand's three venues. The backdrop, a boy dressed up as a cowboy holding a toy gun to his own head, was painted by artist Thomas MacGregor, who was involved in the founding of the club. The backdrop was repainted in 2022 by MacGregor to remove the toy gun, which was increasingly seen as problematic or offensive to some acts, and unhelpful in publicity images.{{Cite news|publisher=Edinburgh News ==Famous acts==

Since becoming a year-round dedicated comedy club, The Stand has been a platform for comedians such as Fred MacAulay, Kevin Bridges, Des Clarke and Frankie Boyle. ==Fundraising events==

Over the year The Stand Comedy Club holds around ten benefit evenings which raises money for various charities such as the Red Cross and Amnesty International. Since 2005, the club has been able to raise money for these charities as the acts performing don't receive a fee and the money is then donated to the selected charity. ==New performers==

The Stand's programme contains an event called Red Raw beginners' night, where new comics can request to be on the bill. When asked about changes to the club over the years the original founders have noticed that comedy has become more popular as thousands will now go out weekly to see a live show compared to dozens many years ago when The Stand was set up. As a result of the growth in the audience more performers have come through to try comedy out which has seen a three or four-month waiting list to get a spot on the Red Raw bill. ==Recognition==

Tourist guides and websites recommend The Stand as a tourist attraction. and the clubs are recognised as contributors to the economy. ==References==