John Otway

When John Otway appeared on muso beard-fest the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 playing his piss-take of the hippie generation entitled Really Free, those in the know thought he was a both a punk-rocker and destined for big things – they were wrong on both counts.

But that hasn’t stopped Otway from developing a reputation as being “Britain’s biggest cult figure,” using well-orchestrated publicity stunts and an unswerving self-deprecation as aids to his staying power.

Fusing comedy and rock 'n' roll can lead to cringeworthy results, but Otway keeps the crowd chuckling throughout proceedings at clubwest with both the manic energy of a man half his 55 years and a clutchful of ironic anti-anthems. Most hilarious of all is a tune called "Bodytalk", which consists of gyrating John whacking out a beat on his pockets filled with syncopated drum-pads while singing about how our body language reveals our feelings.

As they say, you kind of had to be there, but if you can get past the fact that Otway could be your slightly embarassing Dad up there on stage and just enjoy the Monty-Python-esque goofy charm of the man, then this show is a real treat.