Phil quits comedy after 30 years

Phil Cool is to quit stand-up after more than 30 years in the business.

The 64-year-old comedian and impressionist, who will end his last nationwide tour in June next year, said the pressures of touring have become too much

But he said: ‘I will probably still do gigs within a half hour radius if the opportunity arises.’

Cool – who shot to fame in the Eighties after being spotted by Jasper Carrott –narrowly escaped serious injury after a 'nasty' motorway pile-up when travelling home from a gig in March.

But he told the Lancashire Evening Post: ‘My decision isn’t because of the car crash but it is because of the traffic, I do my own driving and I hate the traffic when I’m on tour. I love doing the gigs but it’s so tiring.’

He said that after he finishes performing, he will write a book about his career and work on his alternative profession as a singer-songwriter.

Cool – real name Phil Martin – suffered a heart attack in 2000, and returned to the stage in 2002. His ‘Tour Of No Return’ runs from January to June, ending in Broadstairs in Kent. Click here for dates.

Published: 22 Oct 2012