A night of random fun as the fridgehiker comes to Leamington

In the middle of working on a film version of his award-winning book Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, not to mention fulfilling his regular stints on BBC Radio 4’s comedy output, Tony is bringing his first one-man show in ten years to the Spa Centre in Leamington on Friday.

He said: “It’s called ‘Random Fun’ and that’s what it is - encompassing a broad base of entertaining skills.”

Loosely based around how he became a performer, the show will include an illustrated story - with musical accompaniments - of his earlier life, as well as some on-the-spot comedy in response to questions fired at Tony from the audience.

He said: “It has a bit of everything in it. I enjoy the fact that the pace is constantly changing.

“It’s amazing how when you are under pressure, stuff comes out.

“You just launch into something. Sometimes it’s witty and sometimes it’s just daft.”

Regular listeners to Radio 4 shows such as The News Quiz, Just a Minute, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue and The Unbelievable Truth and BBC television shows such as Have I Got News For You and Grumpy Old Men, will know that Tony is no stranger to improvisation comedy.

But he is also a talented writer who likes to get so involved in his work that he dedicates large periods of his life to undertaking bizarre escapades.

His first book, Round Ireland With A Fridge, saw him hitch around the circumference of the country in a month - yes, with a fridge. It has now sold almost 800,000 copies worldwide and the film version has recently been released,

And in One Hit Wonderland, he travelled the world looking for a follow-up to his 1988 UK number 4 hit single Stutter Rap (No sleep Til Bedtime) and finally shed the ‘one hit wonder’ tag when he found success in the Albanian charts with Big in Albania.

Now he is working towards seeing the release of Playing the Moldovans at Tennis during next year’s Wimbledon fortnight - but thoughts of his next adventure are already ticking away in this multi-pie-fingering man.

He said: “I have got some ideas which are germinating in my head, but I don’t know what to do next. Something will be in the pipeline by 2013.”

Watch this space ...

Tony Hawks is coming to the Spa Centre on Friday at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £12. Call 0845 218 3540 or go online.