You’re starting a rather extensive tour of England in the next few weeks. Are you looking forward to it?

Yes, touring is always fun as you’re playing to an audience which has made the deliberate decision to come and see you, which is by no means always the case in the clubs.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever played, and why?

Depends what you mean by best… first time I played the comedy stage at Glastonbury was pretty memorable.

The show you’re taking on the road is called Don’t Believe A Word. What can you tell us about it?

It’s my skepticism show. It’s about figuring out what’s true, what’s not and how to treat them accordingly. Goes into some fairly contentious areas as you can imagine but it’s been very popular so far.

You originally presented Don’t Believe A Word at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2014. The Festival is often seen as a rite of passage for aspiring comedians and you have performed there several times. How did you find it?

I’ve been playing Edinburgh, doing various different things for over 25 years now; I think it’s a good idea to have a specific objective in mind when you go up. For me it’s about creating and honing a new show I can then take out on tour.

Would you say you prefer performing at festivals or touring at more conventional gig venues?

They’re all fun in different ways; I try to concentrate on enjoying whatever I’m doing at the moment.

A lot of the music you play has a humorous bent to it, and you are obviously a talented musician. Do you ever see yourself performing in a less satirical manner?

Might yet happen; the thing about the Internet is an artist can put an album out which is maybe a radical departure from their usual stuff as a download-only album at no great risk to themselves. If people want it it’s there. If they don’t, you haven’t wasted any money printing it up.