We British love an eccentric and we love an underdog. Give us an eccentric underdog and we’ll go into a frenzy. John Otway has carved a career out of his eccentric ‘failings’ and imaginative publicity stunts. A loyal cult following, in on most of his stunts, has ensured continued non-failing despite his best efforts. Once threatening to take 300 fans with him on a world tour in a private jet. Our favourite was the concerted effort to give Otway a second hit record with a song he had written to help his daughter with her science homework. It worked, ‘Bunsen Burner’ got to number nine in the charts in 2002 and earned Otway an appearance on Top of the Pops. Remember the last episode of ‘The Young Ones’? Remember the crazy tramp playing his body and making it talk, prompting Vivyan to comment “I’ll make his bloody body talk in a minute!”? That was John. As he himself would no doubt say. He did it Otway. Expect the unexpected.

Sun 20 Nov 7pm at at Hare and Hounds, High Street, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7JZ £10 hareandhoundskingsheath.