STAND-UP comic Alun Cochrane brings his unique brand of humour to Burnley. We caught up with him ahead of the show.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GO INTO COMEDY?

A traumatic childhood, a lifelong obsession with what is funny and a lack of confidence in me being able to do anything else. Take your pick.

YOU'RE COMING TO BURNLEY MECHANICS — DO YOU ENJOY PLAYING GIGS UP NORTH?

I enjoy nice gigs wherever they may be, but as a resident of northern England it is nice to not have too long a drive. I'd rather manage Burnley than Bolton — what was he thinking?

DID YOU HAVE A GOOD RESPONSE FROM APPEARING ON MICHAEL McINTYRE’S COMEDY ROADSHOW LAST YEAR?

Yes, the response was really good. I'm sure it helped sell tickets on my tour. People seem to have various favourite bits from it. I joke about my house value depreciating but it doesn’t matter because ‘I’m gonna live in it’. It is slightly weird, every now and again someone says ‘oh yeah, your house — you're gonna live in it’. I think it highlights how silly the property market got — that it is now a joke I am just going to live in it.

WHAT REACTION DO YOU GET ON THE STREET?

I get spotted now and again but I am so rarely on TV it is just as likely to have been from a live gig as from the telly. I have a look of the bloke from the BT internet adverts so I'm certain people are looking at me wondering if I'm him and why he’s in a post office in northern England.

HOW DO YOU WRITE YOUR MATERIAL?

I write by doing gigs, mainly. I try to put new bits in in comedy clubs as much as possible then I tighten it up with pen and paper and actual graft. But working on it in the day is hard for me. I need deadlines and to see people's reaction to it. When I have done the work to make it funny enough, I then tend to hide it under a veneer of self-mockery. Don't know why I do that.

HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING BEING A DAD?

My son’s two-and-a-half now and I love it. Not only is it good for material and a superb incentive to get better at comedy (my jokes now buy his shoes), it is just really nice knowing we’ve nearly always got fishfingers or fruity malt loaf in the house.

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

Short answer; nothing. I’m pretty lazy. My wife recently told me she couldn't imagine me ever having any hobbies. Actually, it is just that a lot of my hobbies are invisible. Doesn’t imagining stuff count as a hobby?

WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF HAPPINESS?

It is good when a pub plays music you like and sells beer you like, at the same time, and the pub is nearly empty.

WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF HELL?

Full pubs, bad beers and bad music — sounds like going out on a weekend.

TELL US SOMETHING VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT YOU.

My pin number is 3016. Oops.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAMOUS PEOPLE'S NUMBERS IN YOUR MOBILE?

I'd say so, but it doesn't mean I ring them any more than I would otherwise. I find obsession with fame very odd and unhealthy.

WHAT WERE YOU DOING THIS TIME YESTERDAY?

I actually test drove a car. Six gears!

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING THIS TIME TOMORROW?

Daydreaming I expect. That is my general status unless I’m cattle-prodded into some horrendous world of productivity, like today.

* See Alun Cochrane headlining at the Jester Society Comedy Club, at Burnley Mechanics on Thursday, January 28. For tickets call box office on 01282 664400.