Review by Steve Bennett

Cochrane’s a very hard comic to dislike, which puts him in great demand as a compere. With no affectations, he comes across as a 100 per cent natural – an unfussed, amiable, effortlessly cheerful fellow simply chewing the cud about whatever happens to have amused him.

For the most part, such things are utterly trivial: the quirky use of a word, perhaps, or an inconsequential observation, maybe a whimsical childhood anecdote. At times, he’s a bit of a juvenile prankster, but that’s as raunchy as it gets. He remains a firmly middle-class comic -educated, but not erudite - with no fire in his belly nor burning desire to change the world.

What you do get instead is a witty, easily amused Yorkshireman with a wry sense of cheeky mischief whose understated skill is in instilling the same sense of uncomplicated fun into his audience.

His act is thus a simple pleasure, full of smooth, laid-back charm with plenty of droll, well-constructed material to back it up. In that, he is the genuine article.

Review date: 1 Mar 2005
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett