From Bingo Halls to Boris Johnson's Agent: Behind the Scenes with Jeremy Lee (Founder, JLA Speakers)

In this episode, Jeremy Lee (Founder & Host of the 'Just Between Us' podcast) shares some of his amazing experience of building JLA Speakers, the biggest UK speaker agency in the corporate & public sector & being agent to the 'great & good' which includes comedians, politicians, entrepreneurs & cultural figures...After cutting his teeth booking talent into bingo halls & holiday camps, Jeremy founded the speaker agency JLA in 1990, flogging a new wave of stand-ups for recession-weary audiences.The agency soon started signing up politicians & luminaries, turning into 'The UK's leading speaker bureau.' (Financial Times).Aside from comedians he has represented pillars of the Establishment & anti-Establishment as well as experts in this, that & the other. The client list included Mark Carney, William Hague & Boris Johnson before he entered No.10; heads of the army, police & MI5, plus mainstays of the TV schedule from Ian Hislop & Steph McGovern to Brian Cox.He’s flattered Hollywood legends, heard lots of secrets & been sworn at by a prominent (current) Ambassador. The explorer Ranulph Fiennes called him 'the doyen of the speaker circuit' in his autobiography.Along the way he rocked the boat on the Agents' Association Council & the governing body of pool, for whom he had a brief stint as an ITV presenter. He also succeeded in losing money on a Gyles Brandreth stage musical & Tony Hawks' film of Round Ireland with a Fridge.To fulfil a promise to himself he stood for Parliament in 2024 as an anti-extremist Independent. After a five week campaign combined with moving house (that's his excuse), the good people of Bury St Edmunds saw fit to give him a modest 819 votes.Since then he’s launched the ‘Just Between Us’ podcast as an excuse to chat to his favourite talent & share a lorry load of behind-the-scenes stories. And to avoid being mistaken for the bestselling chef who shares the same name. (Find out more at https://www.jeremy-lee.co.uk)Listen & enjoy!In addition to being Host of the SuperConnector Show podcast, Paul Lancaster is Founder, Event Producer and Host of the popular, monthly PLATFORM events and 5-day UK Startup and Scaleup Week festivals. He is also Coach and Mentor for busy entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders who want to focus and be more productive. Find out more at https://platformevents.ai & https://ukstartupweek.com