BIG-TIME funny man Phil Cool has revealed why he has become an unpaid star attraction at East Lancashire's very own comedy club, writes SIMON DONOHUE.

The acclaimed TV and theatre performer has already kept his promise to appear at Blackburn's Rubber Chicken Comedy Club by turning up for a surprise show on Wednesday.

And he says the venue, held weekly in the upstairs section of town centre club C'est La Vie, is a wonderful opportunity to try out new material.

Phil, who was born in Chorley, said: "I used to run a comedy club of my own like the Rubber Chicken. It was called Laughing Gas.

"That's gone now but it was an ideal way to try out new material on an audience.

"If they laugh at the new stuff, I'll include it in my work elsewhere.

"The problem is that when they laugh along in sympathy, I take the gags somewhere else and nobody thinks they're funny!"

Although Phil's face has been missing from our TV screens recently, audiences who attend the Rubber Chicken can be sure their feedback isn't going to waste.

He is still busy on the comedy circuit alongside some huge names at massive venues. "On Sunday I'm playing the London Palladium," said Phil, who now lives in Leyland.

"I'm on the bill with Eddie Izzard, among others. I really appreciate the Rubber Chicken's help."

Phil was on Wednesday's bill at the Rubber Chicken along with Sue Chlopicki, Andy Linden, Craig Newton and Kevin Seisay, writes MARK TEMPLETON.

It was a night of Euro 96 jokes by the four less well-known comedians but, just when the audience thought it was all over, there was a surprise appearance.

Phil Cool - who was in the crowd last week - took the stage for an impromptu performance.

He rounded-off yet another excellent night of stand-up at the club, which for a four quid entry fee must be Blackburn's best bargain.

Sue Chlopicki, a North West Comedian of The Year finalist, got the laughter underway with some absolutely filthy gags, mainly involving female genitalia.

Then skinhead cockney Andy Linden was up, looking like he'd just escaped from an asylum and cashing in on his Addams Family looks.

His observations were spot-on and he has to be the next Alexei Sayle, with in-yer-face gags spilling out from his motor-mouth like bullets from a gun.

Larger-than-life Craig Newton, of Blackburn, became the first local to go under the spotlight and proved that home-grown talent is out there.

Manchester's guitar playing Kevin Seisay got the gag of the night in my view - even though it was slightly corny and old:

"A bald cat gets on a bus in Darwen without paying and the driver asks him, 'where's your fur?'"

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