Adam Hills: Your paymasters Jongleurs are scummy spammers
So tonight I received an odd comment on our item about MADC’s promotion of its awards using party boy Corey Worthington – it’s spam and a supposedly reputable organisation called Jongleurs seems to be behind it.
I’ve left it up there. It says:
“That sound like a great night out. You sound like my friend, she has no idea how to advertise either, but she sure knows how to organise parties! Last christmas she organised the best party I’ve ever been to. It was meant to be for an office christmas party; but it was so relaxed it felt like my best friends were there. She did it for free though, as a little treat for all of her work buddies.”
It’s rambling and misses the point, so at first I just assumed it had been left by a deranged Kyle & Jackie O fan who’d stumbled upon Mumbrella through our coverage of the rape victim-tormenting duo.
Jongleurs - spamming the world
But then I noticed that “Mary” had provided a link. I’ve removed that (you’ll understand why in a moment), but it goes to the corporate website of the British comedy behemoth Jongleurs. The final part of the address is: jongleursevents.com/content/christmas-parties.
If you’ve ever watched stand-up comedy in the UK, then you’ve probably been to a Jongleurs venue, or at the very least seen comedians managed by them. Jongleurs don’t have venues in Australia yet though. You’d assume they’d care about having a reputation for treating the public with respect.
But what appears to be going on is that some bright spark at Jongleurs has decided that a great way of getting some SEO going around their Christmas party packages is to find blogs that include the keyword “party”, then spam them, regardless of whether they’re in Australia.
Now of course, that’s just a hypothesis. It could have been put up by anyone. After all, what would Jongleurs want with Australia? And what responsible brands would be involved in putting up messages that affected people’s ability to enjoy perusing a website. Jongleurs is all about entertainment, right?
Jongleurs IP address
So let me share this with you. It’s the IP address of the person who posted the spammy message. Here you go: 82.110.214.116.
And guess who it’s registered to? Jongleurs Comedy Ltd.
Now that’s where I start to feel a bit more impotent. Jongleurs is in the UK. I’m in Sydney, Australia.
But as I say, Jongleurs do have a management arm. And among the people whose British interests Jongleurs represent is the excellent Australian comedian Adam Hills. You can see a profile of Hills on the Jongleurs website. (I did put a link in there, but then I remembered that they’re black hat SEO scumbags, so I took it off again).
I’ve seen Adam Hills host Late & Live in Edinburgh several times and he was always excellent. As you’ll know, he also ably hosts Spicks & Specks on the ABC here in Australia.
So my one small gesture against spammy corporations like Jongleurs is this. Through my job I’ve tended to organise events. In the last three years, I’ve been involved in hiring people for awards bashes in Australia including James O’Loghlin, The Chaser and Wil Anderson. And funnily enough, we tried to get Adam Hills, and would have paid well if he’d been available on the relevant date. Until now, he was my number one choice for a future gig.
As it happens, I will be involved in other events here in Australia using comedians as comperes. But as far as I’m cencerned, Hills is blacklisted for as long as he’s represented by Jongleurs anywhere in the world, not just Australia. The same goes for anyone else we might consider using.
I take it personally if an artist’s management spams my website.
The chances are, this will achieve precisely nothing. Adam Hills is quite rich enough already, I’m sure. But it makes me feel a bit better. And if ever Jongleurs wants to extend its activities to Australia and anybody Googles the words “Jongleurs” and “Australia” then hopefully this item will do well in the SEO and the public will know how little respect Jongleurs has for Australian consumers.
Of course, should you ever be writing an item on your own site about the increasing sophistication of blog spam, if you were to link to this piece using Jongleurs in the anchor text, then it would only go higher in ther SEO rankings.
You know, I’m just sayin’.
Tim Burrowes
Linkedin
Hey from the UK.
Those of us who follow good stand-up comedy here always avoid Jongleurs. Good comedy clubs are all about great comedy. Jongleurs just uses stand-up as a simple way to sell overpriced poor beer and food to stag nights, hen nights, and office parties. Immediately after the acts have finished they remove all the tables & chairs so you have to stand or dance, and turn up the music so your ears bleed. The idea being that if it’s impossible to talk you’ll drink more.
We’ve followed Adam Hills for years in Edinburgh (I saw him there three days ago) and at good comedy clubs elsewhere, and like him a lot. I’m surprised that he’s listed as being represented by Jongleurs; I thought he was managed by Off The Kerb / Universal Pictures in the UK. We would never ever go to see him at Jongleurs.
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You couldn’t be more right about the power of mumbrella seo: this article and the google news that grab it is within the top 5 results on search for ‘jongleurs’ and #1 & #2 for ‘jongleurs australia’
Ah…gotta be carefull with those black hat techniques!
Keep going Tim.
I’m hoping the Jongleurs connection is just an old one that isn’t active for Adam Hills any more… because from his website he doesn’t list them at all. Wouldn’t put it past them listing popular commedians who have past used them as representation as on their books judging by their SEO tactics.
Either way… de-black list Adam Hills, I’m a huge fan and don’t want to miss possibly seeing him at any media gigs. 🙂
His current representation as per his website:
http://www.adamhills.com/contact.html
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Hi Sloan,
On the Jongleurs site they claim to represent him. If they don’t, and they’re out of line doing so, then I’m glad to add a little light to that too…
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
“rape victim-tormenting duo”
Sorry- I thought his was uncovered as a false claim- ie: she was lying?
The police have dropped the investigation.
How can somebody be a rape victim if they’ve never been raped? Oh, I guess it sounds better to further your cause to keep using that term.
Anyway- using emotion and bullshit claims puts you in a higher calibre than ACA and TT how?
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Hi Ajax,
I suspect you may just have known what I meant.
But to cover a serious point, many rapes go uninvestigated, or if they do, have investigations dropped for various reasons. That doesn’t mean they didn’t happen, it just means that for whatever reason, there is not a reasonable likelihood of a successful prosecution.
Neither of us will ever know what happened here, but we can be certain that police dropping an investigation does not prove that something did not happen. And it certainly does not demonstrate that somebody was lying.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Yeah, I know what you meant.
Adding loaded phrases like “rape victim-tormenting duo” definitely adds a bit of colour the sentence. Why not throw it in!! Who cares about facts!!!
Fair call claiming that “just because investigation’s are dropped- doesn’t mean it never occurred” But by using the same logic- you’re contradicting yourself. It also doesn’t mean it DID occur as well.
To publicly state that an individual (and minor) is a rape victim, when:
1) Its been uncovered that she p”robably” didn’t get raped.
2) Police have dropped the investigation
3) It cant be be 100% verified.
Is irresponsible to say the least.
You’re leveraging off a crime against a minor that cannot be verified, in the hope that your crusade about the Kyle & Jackie O show with somehow hold more weight.
To even sign off with “Neither of us will ever know what happened here” is a cop out.
If neither of us will ever now- why post she’s a rape victim? Your argument is quite strange.
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Anyway, back to Jongleurs and their Office Christmas Party and Comedy bookings.
Well spotted guys, I do hope Jongleurs Office Christmas Party and Comedy bookings go well and that their Christmas Party and Comedy bookings are not re-directed to this site because of their feeble attempt to get some Christmas Office Party Bookings by spamming you with the relevant search terms such as Office Christmas Party Bookings and Comedy Bookings.
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Hi Tim
I am just saying but as much as I love your website, I never remember signing up to receive the daily newsletter.
Spam? I am just saying.
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Ajax, I’m beginning to suspect you actually work for Vile and Tacky O. Or, maybe you ARE Kyle. Oh, that would be a horror too grotesque to comprehend.
Although, perhaps if you are Kyle I should use smaller words.
You seem to completely missed the point of the entire article, leaping to the defence of Dumb and Dumber that are mentioned off-handedly in one sentence. Riiiiggght. And then of course you were very much in their corner when the actual story broke, also. Hmmm. The Ajax doth protest too much, methinks.
Anyway, Timbo, interesting article as always. Keep up the good work.
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Hi Kate,
Ajax is entitled to his views. But from the looks of his IP address (which i won’t be sharing) he’s not in Sydney. Also, his spelling is too good to be Kyle.
Hi Dan,
I don’t think you’ve left an email address with your comment, but if you email me directly I’ll be happy to look you up and tell you exactly how you’re on there.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Its official – Lets – Get – Tim – Day – 2009.
Anyway, anyone know where I can hire a stand-up comedian for a christmas office party? Jongleurs comedy? Comedy Jongleurs?
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Yes Kate, I’m Kyle Sandilands.
Busted.
I’m actually not even sticking up for Kyle- I could care less about them- and the show.
What I’m bringing to light is the laughable hypocrisy of a number of media outlets (including this one) all leveraging off this story to create some type of moral base to preach off.
Even in here- you’ve got the Tim (who’s work on here I really enjoy most of the time) using loaded comments like “rape victim-tormenting duo” to spice up his copy- but again, as with ACA, the Daily Tele and TT etc etc- why let the facts get in the way of a great sound byte?
I’m all fine for having tabloids degenerate into a sesspool of bullshit, half facts and twisted words- but if you’re going to do that- best you not get on your high horse too often about other issues.
For the record- I work and live in Sydney in the media industry- not radio. I’d check your IP tracking skills Tim, I may even be in the next cubicle for all you know. 😛
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I think you’re shooting the wrong guy in aiming at Adam Hills – he’s hardly responsible for their SEO techniques, and Jongleurs (who attract a cunch of bunts to their venues at the best of times) were never going to take a cut from his Australian appearances anyway. Comedians are often booked by a few different agencies.
Tell people not to go to Jongleurs if you must (sod it, I’ll tell them that!) but leave the comics out of it.
Come to think of it, Kyle and Jackie are about the normal clientèle of a Jongleurs club anyway, so that should put you off!
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Hi Ajax,
The only person in the next cubicle to me is a short grey haired bloke who talks too much and calls himself @thumbrella. That’s not you is it?
And Gav,
You’re right. The link to Adam Hills is a weak one. But he was the only prominent Australian comedian I came across who Jongleurs claim to have on their books in the UK. The best I could realistically hope for (and even that’s unlikely) is a pissed off call from his local management to Jongleurs. If they’re not lying about representing him, then he puts his reputation in their hands.
It’s not much, but if they want to play SEO games, then I’m up for it.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
I’m just waiting for Ajax to mention Hitler.
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Cheryl, you old joker you….
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Adam Hills is not managed by “Jongleurs”. If you google.au ADAM HILLS the first website that comes up is http://www.adamhills.com. If you navigate yourself to the contact page you will find all the contact details for his authorised management representitives in Australia, the UK and Ireland (USA rep details will be loaded shortly – he is a super busy guy!).
Being in Australia I don’t know much about Jongleurs, but on short inspection it looks like they provide a comedian booking service in the UK – Adam Hills simply appears on their list of comedian options (he lives there 4-6 months of the year).
There are genuinely hundreds of corporate booking agencies/speakers bureaus who appear to ‘represent’ comedians – but they are not authorised management representatives. For want of a better term, they are ‘middle men’ who find entertainment for their corporate clients and charge a commission to do so. It is a legitimate service. They represent a wide range of corporate entertainment options from Adam Hills to Vince Sorrenti, The Three Waiters to Kisstroyer and no doubt a bevy of hypnotists and magicians thrown in there too. Agree it is tedious and confusing, but it is an unregulated industry with new corporate booking agents popping up and out every month – and the truth is with a little web research it isn’t too hard to find the right people.
If you are interested in Adam Hills for an event in Australia best to contact his Australian agency direct (www.token.com.au). You will find we are both delightful and helpful.
Hope this clears Adam Hills’ accidental involvement in this spam rage – and his name is taken off your black list please.
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Thanks Dioni,
A central point you make well is that effectively Jongleurs are using Adam’s name without a real business relationship.
Consider him back at number one on the booking list!
Now we just need to come up with the right event…
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Ajax – your posts are becoming so “same-ish” I have starting skimming them – LOL.
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My life is now in ruins.
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I don’t see anywhere on the Jongluers site where they claim to mange him? They list hundreds of comedians. As Dioni has explained there are a many people who are middle men. You call a company to organise an event and they then call the artists management and add a significant fee. If you want to save money you call the management directly. There are many many similar sites in Australia. You should really run a correction at the top of the article or delete it. I think it’s a shame that you’ve dragged Adam Hills into this. Any comic who has ever done a gig for Jongleurs or who has a significant profile would be listed as someone who may be available for bookings on their website. Did you seriously think a management company would have hundreds of clients? They have Kitty Flanagan, Carl Barron, Hung Lee and about five other Australians listed as well. Also Rhys Darby is there so possibly we should all throw out or Flight of the Conchords DVD’s while we’re at it. Maybe a couple of phone calls or some googling before attacking someone?
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