COMEDIAN Dave Spikey is ready to deliver some knockout punchlines when his new tour comes to town next month.

The 63-year-old Bolton funnyman is back on the road with his latest stand-up show, Punchlines, which he will perform at the Octagon Theatre on Saturday, November 8.

Punchlines derive their humour from being unexpected and the usual way of thinking is that very few are inherently funny out of context.

But, in his new show, Dave is out to turn the usual school of thought on its head, with a mix of observational humour, laugh-out-loud comedy and heart-warming jollies.

He said: “I usually do the Albert Halls but I just thought with this show, because it’s very conversational, I wanted that intimacy.

“I think, with those topics, you need to connect more as it’s not big comedy. It’s conversation comedy.

“I’ve not done a show there since David Thacker (the Octagon’s artistic director) has been there and I’m a massive fan of his.

“I’ve had a few meetings with him.

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

The double British Comedy Award Winner will also perform the show at Middleton Arena on Friday, October 24, as part of Rochdale Literature & Ideas Festival, arguing that you do not always need a punchline for a joke to be hilarious.

He said: “It’s some sort of literary event where they’re celebrating the language.

“They initially asked me to do it when I did the last tour, Words Don't Come Easy.

“That was about the ambiguity and celebration of language.

“I finished that tour and this one is a natural progression from that so they were quite keen for me to do Punchlines.”

Dave was working as a biomedical scientist at Bolton General Hospital when he first dipped his toe into the world of comedy.

He went to a comedy workshop at The Octagon Theatre, under then artistic director, Romy Baskerville, in the 1990s before embarking on a successful career.

In 1996, TV comedy history was made when Dave met fellow Boltonian, Peter Kay, and the pair went on to write Mad for the A6; a Granada special, That Peter Kay Thing and Phoenix Nights.

Earlier this year, he was on the judging panel of a competition to find the town’s next big comic talent, organised by Crompton Place shopping centre and the Octagon.

It was won by Chris Kehoe, a lawyer and father-of-one from Bolton, who will appear at the Octagon on November 23, along with runners-up Cassie Atkinson and Adrian Baxter.

Dave said: “It was good. The standard was surprising and I don’t mean that in a bad way.
“They were people who hadn’t really done comedy on an open stage.

“They were proper novices and the standard was really impressive.

“I loved being involved with that.

“It was a really good initiative. We are well-known in Bolton for our sense of humour and the comedians we have produced.

“The girl who came second came up to me afterwards and said you know my dad.

“Her dad was a doctor at the hospital and I worked with him 25/ 30 years ago.

“It was really nice to catch up.”

Dave Spikey will be at Middleton Arena on Friday, October 24, at 8pm. Tickets cost £17, call 0844 855 4020.

On Saturday, November 8, he will be at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £16, call 01204 520 661.