Accrington and Song 4

Accrington is a place only known to me from an advert in the eighties which you'll either remember fondly or wonder what on earth I'm talking about. Since my visit last night, however, it's now more than a crap football team.

Battling the elements, I parked up near The Arden Inn and said hi to various familiar faces at the door. Inside a group of older locals huddled around the bar and yet more comics I knew had positioned themselves at tables around the corner of this traditional boozer. 

The show got underway with some tentative MCing which, considering the minimal engagement from the "real" audience, held up pretty well. Keith Wild then opened with a triple bill of hummable, and occasionally filthy, songs. Sarah Lloyd then brought her middle class Welsh ways to the stage and was taught how to swear authentically Accrington by a local. The Mighty Swob then brought us some old-school vibes with his 1970's dinner-shirt and left field take on reality. 

It then fell to me to close the first half with a couple of songs and an open discussion on what makes a local. The audience laughed in all the right places, which is about all any comic can ever ask for, and I improvised a line in "My Ex" for a job suggested by an audience member (or, if we're being honest, another act. But it still counts!)

Come the break I managed a quick chat with most of the assembled before bundling everything back in the car and powering through the torrential rain back to Glossop. Would I do it again, certainly. Props to Adam Anwar for organising a great, if unusual, night!

New song time. My Friday nights aren't what they used to be. Find out how here.