"[18]In 1979, the Gargoyle's upper rooms took in a varied series of weekly themed club-nights, in addition to the long-running Nell Gwynne Revue strip show.

Among the original line-up who made their reputations here were Alexei Sayle,[29] Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, French & Saunders, Nigel Planer and Peter Richardson who in 1980 led these pioneers to establish the breakaway Comic Strip team elsewhere in Soho.

The Comedy Store, at the Gargoyle and elsewhere, helped start the careers of Paul Merton,[31] Ben Elton,[32] Keith Allen,[32] Jo Brand, Mark Thomas, Arnold Brown,[18] Andrew Bailey,[33] Pat Condell and John Sparkes.

[31] He presented a BBC 1 documentary, 25 Years of the Comedy Store – A Personal History by Paul Merton (11 January 2005).

[34][35] In an interview Brand explained why she chose The Comedy Store for her portrait, and her experiences performing there early in her career.

[36][37] In October 1985, an improvisational group called The Comedy Store Players was formed, consisting of Mike Myers, Neil Mullarkey, Kit Hollerbach, Dave Cohen and Paul Merton.

The group has had several line-up changes over the years, and now features a rotating team of Neil Mullarkey, Josie Lawrence, Richard Vranch and Lee Simpson, together with frequent guest appearances.

The original team was Mark Thomas, Kevin Day, Bob Boyton, Nick Revill and Richard Morton.

[32] In 1993, The Store moved to a specifically designed stand-up comedy venue, at 1a Oxendon Street, between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square.