Dominic Frisby

Dominic Frisby is a British comedian, author and voice actor, known both for his satirical songs and his commentary on finance and economics.
He has variously been described as, “mercurially witty”, having “a genius touch” and “all over the place”.
In the UK, his best known song is "17 Million Fuck Offs". Worldwide his song, "We’re All Far Right Now", has more than 50 million views.
His books, including The Secret History of Gold: Myth, Money, Politics and Power'', Daylight Robbery: How Tax Shaped Our Past and Will Change Our Future, Bitcoin: The Future of Money? and Life After the State, explore economic and historical issues such as money, gold, taxation, bitcoin, and investment. Frisby also writes and speaks on these topics through his columns and his newsletter, The Flying Frisby. He has written two feature documentaries on related subjects, Four Horsemen and Adam Smith: Father of the Fringe''.

Early life and Education

Born in the United Kingdom, he is the son of the playwright Terence Frisby, and Christine Vecchione. He was educated at St Paul's School and Manchester University, where he studied Italian and drama, and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career

Early Comedy

Frisby began performing live stand-up in 1997 with a musical comedy act, the Upper-Class Rap, which he had originally tried to get released as a Christmas novelty single. His friend, a music agent, brother of anarchic comedian Malcolm Hardee, advised him to try it out at his brother's comedy club, Up The Creek in Greenwich, which he did. “The next thing I knew I was a comedian,” Frisby said.
He won the Ha Bloody Ha New Act of the Year competition in 1998 in a final that included Hal Cruttenden, Mickey Flanagan, and Rob Rouse. In 1999 he was runner-up the Leicester Mercury New Comedian of the Year.
He followed the Upper-Class Rap with other character acts, including Alpine slap-dancer, Ludwig the Bavarian, farm hand Morris the Morris Dancer, and It guy Simon la Fontaine. Steve Bennett writing for Chortle in 2000 said his show was “a series of fine comic characters delivering some inspired gags” but “sadly patchy.” Writing for the Guardian, Dave Simpson said the show was “unusual, but hugely funny” and that “Frisby is a comic catch.”
Frisby began compering in 2003, and became resident host at London’ Downstairs at the King's Head in Crouch End, which he called his "favourite venue".
He still comperes on the UK comedy circuit today and is said to be Nigel Farage's favourite comic.

Edinburgh Fringe

Frisby has written and performed in many shows at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

1999 The Big Value Comedy Show with Robin Ince, Howard Read and others.
2000 Asprey and Frisby.
2001 Aaah, Dominic Frisby!
2001 The Sitcom Trials with Miranda Hart.
2003 Truth and Bullshit.
2016 Let's Talk About Tax, which formed the basis for his book Daylight Robbery.
2016 The Upper-Class Rapper''.''
2018 Dominic Frisby's Financial Gameshow.
2019 Libertarian Love Songs.
2019 The Shadowpunk Revolution.
2019 Adam Smith: Father of the Fringe.
2022 How Heavy? A Brief History of Weights and Measures.
2023 Gold: A Lecture With Funny Bits.
2024 Shaping the Earth. A Lighthearted History of Mining.
Father of the Fringe

In 2020, when Edinburgh Festival Fringe was closed because of COVID-19, Frisby shot Adam Smith: Father of the Fringe, a feature documentary based on his lecture the previous year, directed by Alex Webster, featuring comedians Jimmy Carr, Al Murray, Shazia Mirza, Henning Wehn and Arthur Smith. It described the economic success story of the Fringe, and argued that it derives from the philosophies of Adam Smith. It was released during the reduced Fringe of 2021, in collaboration with Panmure House where Adam Smith lived.
Critic Bruce Dessau said it was, “a lovely history of the Fringe.” Writing for Chortle, Steve Bennett took issue with the economic arguments of the film, but admitted,”this film is a celebration of what makes the Fringe... so thrilling and mad and creative and vast.”

TV and Radio

In the run-up to the 2001 General Election, he appeared several times on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends with a series of spoof party political broadcasts, culminating, after the record low turn-out, with The Victory Speech by the Apathy Party.
In 2001, he played Davina McCall’s boyfriend Jez in the sitcom Sam's Game with Ed Byrne, and he played Captain Rimming alongside Pam Ann in Mile High Club, part of Comedy Lab.
In 2005, he played salsa teacher Jez in an episode of Murder in Suburbia.
In 2006 he appeared in Titty Titty Bang Bang.
In 2007 he presented comedy movie review show, Sky Comedy Close-Up.
In 2008-10 he voiced Roary the Racing Car with Peter Kay
In 2010 he appeared in Scrooby Trevithick with Andy Parsons.
In 2011, he appeared in The Inbetweeners Movie.
In 2014 He appeared on BBC Radio 4 in Simon Evans ''Goes to Market on to discuss gold, in Kerry's List with Kerry Godliman and in Hal with Hal Cruttenden.
In May 2017 he presented a pilot panel show for BBC Radio 4, More Money Than Sense with Andy Zaltzman, Paul Sinha, Shazia Mirza and Gráinne Maguire.
In 2018 he hosted Money Pit with Jason Manford on Dave and appeared on BBC Radio 4's Moral Maze to discuss the morality of comedy.
In 2019 he appeared in Simon Evans is Right on BBC Radio 4.
In 2020 he appeared on BBC Radio's 4's The Now Show with his song Lockdown Blues.
In 2021, he became one of the presenters of GB News' comedy newspaper review programme Headliners, with Frisby co-presenting most of the nightly shows alongside BBC Radio 4 comedian Simon Evans.
In 2022 he wrote and presented Damned Lies, a panel show, about statistics for BBC Radio 4 with Sir David Speigelhalter, Paul Foot, Gary Delaney, Janey Godley and Lucy Porter.
In 2023 he appeared in The Oldest Comedy Club in Britain, a documentary about Downstairs At The King's Head, where he was resident host since 2003.
In 2024 he appeared in Unsafe Space on BBC Radio 4 with Andrew Doyle, Graham Linehan and Simon Evans.
In 2025 he appeared in Grooming Gangs Cover Up'', a 100% verbatim drama, based on the judge's sentencing remarks, telling the true story of one of the UK's most infamous Pakistani rape gangs.

Finance and Writing

Alongside his comedy, Frisby is an established financial writer focusing on gold, bitcoin, taxation, investments and economic history. He has been a regular MoneyWeek contributor since 2006, and has written for other publications, including The Guardian, Aeon, CapX, and The Telegraph.
Frisby has written four books. His first, Life After the State berates the failure of the state to competently provide such essential services as education and healthcare, and has been described variously as "a rollicking defence of anarcho-capitalism a fantastic read" by The Idlers Tom Hodgkinson, while former Conservative MP Steve Baker said, “it's all far too radical for a Conservative, but I challenge anyone to read his accounts of life in Cuba and the decline of Glasgow and not be moved. Highly recommended.”
His second, Bitcoin: The Future of Money , details the online currency Bitcoin and includes research on its creator Satoshi Nakamoto. The Spectators Michael Bywater called it "a magnificent job", further commenting that "since reading Bitcoin I have been thinking about money... with the same sort of intensity that atheists reserve for their relationship with God", however The Economist mused that "for any book on bitcoin to be worth reading, though, it has to delve further".
His third book, Daylight Robbery: How Tax Shaped Our Past and Will Change Our Future , looks at the history of taxation from ancient times to the present day, while considering what form future taxes might take. Frisby argues that there is a tax story, usually an untold one, behind all of humanity's defining events, and he encourages the reader to “look at the world through the prism of taxation.” Writing in the Sunday Times Luke Johnson said it was, “a highly readable account of a very dry subject, but one of paramount importance” Writing in the Critic, Jamie Blacket said, “The book interests, enrages and worries us about what for most of us is the biggest overhead in our lives — the cost of government”. It was selected by Merryn Somerset Webb as one of her six Christmas book choices for 2019.
Reviews for The Secret History of Gold.
”Dominic Frisby’s writings about economics and finance are, like his comedy, intelligent, beautifully crafted and always ahead of the curve. The Secret History of Gold is well-informed, utterly coherent and very, VERY timely.” Liam Halligan, Telegraph
”It doesn’t just tell you about gold – it makes you feel its weight through history. It’s just so interesting," Toby Young, Spectator
”Written with both insight and Dominic’s signature humour, this is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the lengths human beings will go to for the promise of riches,” Rory Sutherland, author of .
“Frisby entertains impressively and convincingly … his tales of German and Japanese gold-hunting during the Second World War are eye-popping … a colourful and sly adversary to contemporary financial and political pieties,” Simon Ings, the Telegraph
His fourth book, The Secret History of Gold: Myth, Money, Politics and Power Penguin , explores the history of gold and its enduring significance in the digital age.