I am on tour at the moment. The tour is called Fizzy Logic. It is going reallly well. So far it’s been brilliant. Absolutely first class. It definitely gets better every time you go on tour. It consists of all my favourite venues back to back. There is no specific favourite for me. Obviously when I play at Newcastle there is something special about that because it’s my hometown but I love all the venues on this tour.

I always improvise when doing stand up.That’s the way I work. I think it’s important not to censor yourself; don’t have any boundaries. The improvisational style means that each show varies enormously. But that’s what’s good about it. Otherwise I’d climb the walls.

If I had to give anyone advice about doing stand up I would say just allow yourself to [go with the flow] don’t back yourself into a corner.

Loads of unusual stuff has happened on this tour. It has made really good content for my material. There have been some great stories; there’ve been some mad ones! A fight broke out in Edinburgh between a man and woman. That just became the show! Every night there are different things that happen so no show is ever the same.

I never really worry about whether I will be able to improvise on the night. It is not worth it. You may as well stand there and worry that a piano’s gonna fall from the sky or that you’ll get struck by lightning! There’s no point thinking about it until it happens. And if it ever does just deal with it at the time.

I get inspiration for more prepared material from all sorts of things. Stuff that has happened to me; stuff that I’ve seen in the paper; things that people have told me; observations; things in the audience that then lead on to something else. It really can come from anywhere. That’s part of the whole thing of not backing yourself into too much of a corner. Leaving yourself open to any ideas. Imagination is the key.

The great thing about stand-up is that you don’t have to write it down or run it by anyone, it just comes out. Nothing is as instant as stand up. It lives in that moment and then it’s gone. And that’s what I love about it.

I first got involved in the whole scene when myself and a friend started doing a street show. I also did kids’ parties and stuff. It just evolved from there. I used to do gigs in pubs and comedy clubs. I even did gigs in circus tents! Kids’ parties were the real nightmare. A room full of drunk people held no fear for me!

I wouldn’t say my stage persona is that different from my real one. On stage it’s pretty much just me. Though I don’t run around as much off stage. That’s the excitement for you. The same way as if you saw Mick Jagger on the street, he wouldn’t be there clapping his hands at everybody.

I cannot imagine what my life would be like if I hadn’t got into comedy. If I wasn’t doing comedy I would probably just work in a music shop or something.

If I consider where I see myself in ten years time it hopefully won’t be that different from where I am now. A lot of comedians can’t wait to knock stand-up on the head but I wanna still be doing stand-up when I’m 60. That would be the ultimate for me. Stand-up is what I love.

The Lowdown

Growing up

Ross has been performing stand-up since appearing in his local comedy club at the age of 15. Despite licensing laws that prohibited him working there and forced him to leave through the kitchen. Coming from Cramlington, a town dubbed “the ultimate in dullness,” which helped him with his career.

Awards

He has become known as an exciting and original performer and has received huge critical acclaim. The awards he has received are a Perrier Award nomination in 1999 for his Edinburgh Festival show Laser Boy, and a Time Out award in 2000 for another Edinburgh show Chickenmaster. He has achieved great popularity in both the UK and Australia, where he has toured extensively every year since 2001.

TV Talent

He has appeared on many TV shows in Australißa such as Network Ten’s Rove (Live), The Panel, and the ABC’s The Glasshouse and Spicks and Specks; and in the UK on BBC’s Johnny Vaughan Tonight and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Noble has also appeared on Have I Got News For You and has hosted Radio 4’s stand up show 4 At The Store. The comedian’s worldwide travels as a stand-up were the subject of his own BBC Radio 4 series Ross Noble Goes Global, produced by Danny Wallace.

Standing up

His 2003 show Unrealtime was the official best-selling show at the Edinburgh Fringe, before transferring to London’s West End for a month-long season at the Garrick Theatre where it played to packed houses. A recording of this tour was shown on BBC Two in 2004, and a double DVD set was released later that year.

Settling down

Noble married an Australian called Fran (short for Francine), whom he once claimed was a Mail Order Bride whilst talking on BBC 6 Music in 2006. Little is known about Fran Noble though Noble constantly refers to “my wife” throughout his shows and anecdotes.

In April 2006, Ross was involved in a motorbike accident, fracturing and dislocating his collarbone. Conveniently he crashed right outside a hospital. Ross performed his shows over the following weeks with his arm in a sling.