THERE must be something in the air in Bolton. It gave us the comedian Peter Kay who last year became Britain's fastest-selling comic and now there is Dave Spikey who is fast catching up.
Earlier this year, the first leg of his comedy tour Overnight Success also sold out quickly and the second leg, now under way and including dates in Southport and Liverpool, has been doing the same.
The two have been writing and performing pals for a while but it was the huge success of the comedy series Phoenix Nights, which they co-wrote and in which they both starred, which cemented that success.
Spikey played the sparkly-jacketed club compere in the series which was rather apt - he first came across Kay when he acted as compere at a show in which Kay was appearing.
While Bolton may have a comedy atmosphere, Spikey suggests it is the North West itself.
"We've always had this great sense of humour which is why we have turned out so many good comedians," he says. "It's just part of the environment, something handed down. Our attitude is that every cloud has a silver lining and no matter what sort of day you have, a good laugh will make it better."
It was his painter/decorator father who introduced Spike to comedy.
The family was brought up "among the mills, cobbles, back-to-back houses and outside toilets" of the town. "My father was working at the tannery and he was a massive comedy fan. So I grew up listening to radio shows like The Clitheroe Kid, Round the Horne and The Navy Lark," he says.
But he never intended to make a living from comedy. "It was just a hobby for me."
So while he worked as a bio-medical scientist specialising in haematology in a Bolton Hospital, he dabbled in amateur dramatics writing and directing sketches and pantomimes.
HE ALSO sent off sketches to broadcast shows like The Grumbleweeds, The Two Ronnies and Russ Abbott. "They were completely unsolicited but, after two years, they started using them which was a massive thrill."
