COMEDIAN Dave Spikey will be pulling no punches when he brings his ‘Punchlines’ tour to Cheltenham Town Hall this month.

Dave has just completed a 15 night run at the Manchester Arena as part of Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights 15 night stint in aid of Comic Relief, reprising his role as Jerry “the St” Sinclair. His live show, however, sees Dave delivering punchlines with the quick one-two of a comedy champion.

Punchlines derive their humour from being unexpected, so, can a joke or funny story still make you laugh like a drain when you have been given the punchline beforehand? Dave believes so and in his new Punchlines show he will present strong evidence to support this and in so doing, he will land blow after blow that hit square on the funny bone, turning the most mundane of life’s events into comedy gold and ensuring audiences everywhere have their ribs not just tickled but thoroughly pummelled.

“We all love a good punchline,” says Dave, “ the final part of a Joke that provokes laughter and/or thought. Punchlines are so called because they get the laughs from being unexpected - “Punch” indicates that the “Line” should always come as a real surprise or shock. So I had this idea of examining the many types of punchlines and the ways of delivering them because when you think about it, they aren’t restricted solely to the pay-off to jokes are they? Any story or speech or monologue will have a punchline. Journalists quite often write a news story then think of a punchline which they use as the headline – “Zip me up before you go-go” , “Headless body found in Topless bar” are famous examples .

And when asked who his comedy is aimed at, Dave knows that he is really fortunate to attract a fantastically diverse audience, from teens to senior citizens.” It’s a great mix which has helped me grow as a comedian,” says Dave.

However, Dave reckons that the best thing about live stand up is the immediacy and intimacy of it all, which is why he is returning to Cheltenham Town Hall on Saturday, March 28. Visit www.cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk for tickets and more details.