Ed Byrne's Crowd Pleaser does exactly what it says on the tin

Poppa: since his breakthrough tour, Different Class, Byrne has become a father, and maybe nappy duty has distracted him from matching that benchmark
5 April 2012

Ed Byrne's latest tour is called Crowd Pleaser and it does precisely what it says on the tin.

His London show's only radical aspect was that the quickfire UK-based Dubliner did a tester pot-sized intro before his own jovial support, Karl Spain, closed the first half.

Since his breakthrough tour, Different Class, Byrne has become a father, and maybe nappy duty has distracted him from matching that benchmark.

Despite claiming to be a nerd - his name is an anagram of "be nerdy" - the gags were often standard observational fare about life's annoyances. This gifted grandstander can generate cheers by describing Piers Morgan as a "sweaty-faced bollox", so that is no complaint, but he was more creative during his extended riffs about odd encounters - with a Star Trek star, a teen in a smutty T-shirt and the enemy within, his own cat.

When Byrne got onto parenthood, however, he shifted into top comic gear. The subject was clearly close to his heart, whether discussing projectile pooing or sulkily asking why he gets frowned at when he burps yet his son gets applause. Not quite as classy as Different Class perhaps, but Crowd Pleaser was never crowd boring.

Ed Byrne: Crowd Pleaser
HMV Hammersmith Apollo, W6

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