IT'S as a bandana-wearing redneck that the gruff-voiced comedian Rich Hall has made his mark in the UK over the last three years.

But the American has decided to kill off the jailbird character Otis Lee Crenshaw, so it's time to relish one last tour date in Blackburn.

The Perrier Award winner will be appearing at King George's Hall next month -- and if his reputation for ferocious stand-up is anything to go by, fans are in for some of the sharpest wit on the circuit.

For one thing, resolutely unimpressed with President Bush's permanent state of war alert, Hall has single-handedly decided to put the world's wrongs to rights.

"That's my job," he drawled. "It is up to the comedian to sort it out. I am not quite sure what plans he has got in mind and I am the one being sceptical. He's a scary guy.

"There's a dictatorial thing going on right now. But tension is always good for comedy -- you can always find something dire to play on."

And his gloom spreads to the best of Hollywood. He has a distinct distaste for the likes of Tom Cruise, who he claims are just "too happy".

But anyone will know that he will be the one having the last laugh when his character, a country singer performing with the English band Black Liars, turns his scathing wit on his second homeland.

"The British really are something else. Britain is obsessed with scandals and shame. You guys care less about Osama Bin Laden than coke and hookers. It is just one big backyard of gossip.

"I do like the British way of doing stuff. Even when people die it's suddenly or peacefully. I mean, were they supposed to live forever?"

But he concedes some barriers to comedy.

"There are certain things that are just not PC. War might be disastrous but it always feels miles away but I wouldn't make a joke about asylum seekers."

Hall has a soft spot for the North.

He said: "I was in Morecambe a few days ago and it was really nice and friendly. The North is the real Britain, compared to London."

But the comic creation that is Otis Lee Crenshaw will soon be not more. For the downhome country singer bruised by life, this is his farewell tour in the UK. Rich said: "This will be the third tour and I just want to go back to stand-up comedy. I don't want to burn it out."

But in America they are just getting the joke and the character, who mocks all that is "state south side", is going down a storm in Northern America, where he will live on.

"Otis is a big hit there because he is based on the funniest elements of the South, but even among the red necks, they pride themselves on being that way."

Rich Hall as Otis Lee Crenshaw is at King George's Hall, Blackburn on Thursday, March 6. Tickets £12 (£10 conc) from the box office on 01254 582582.

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LAUGHS: American comedian Rich Hall has a soft spot for the north of England