Review by Steve Bennett

East-End lad George is an old-school comic with an old-school attitude to life - and material.

That the only thing resembling a laugh in his set is an old music-hall gag that must be at least twice as old as he is ("Return ticket, please"/ "Where to?"/ "Back here, of course") is telling indeed. Mind you, he does make it his own, by adding about half a dozen expletives to the simple nine-word joke.

As well as the tediously predictable banter, there are some tediously predictable songs, which he gamely tries to cajole a reluctant audience into joining in with, but with little success.

There's also something slightly worrying about a man who proudly dresses in the St George cross on stage, who takes time on his website to deny he's homophobic (using the line "I take the piss out of everyone" - that old Manning defence) and whose catalogue of songs includes such titles as Fred Le Frenchy and Indian Take Away (My Arse Is On Fire) - the latter being a brainlessly obvious reworking of Great Balls Of Fire.

He seems confident enough on stage,having that stereotypical cheery Cockney motormouth style as possessed by a hundred cab drivers, but he doesn't have the material to back it up. That may be good enough his mates down the pub, but it's won't stand him in good stead for the comedy circuit.

Review date: 6 Dec 2003
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett