It was April 1^st and we had a huge comedy benefit in aid of Bowel Cancer at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. Should one question the event given the date? No it was for real and a fine selection of the elite of the comedy world was in attendance to entertain royally for excess of three hours.

Compere for the first half was the larger than life Stephen Frost. Mr Frost has more of a reputation as an impro comedian than a stand up but more power to him for giving this a go. Having warmed up the audience, he introduced that legend of comedy Barry Cryer. The years may be slightly catching up with this funny man, but they have not in any blunted his wit in any way as he entertained the entire audience with his own brand of hilarity for the duration of his all too short set.

From one end of the spectrum age wise to another next in line to entertain was the posher than posh Miles Jupp. It has been a couple of years since I have seen this veritable whippersnapper on stage, but he was as sharp as ever with his laid back and class conscious style whether commenting about mugging, late night busses or his experience clubbing.

Stephen Frost took to the stage again and it seemed there was a problem with the next act being ready, so instead of leaving him to struggle, ever popular Karen Dunbar took to the stage to ‘assist’ him with one of her drunken Glesga keelie roles that she can do all too well. Suffice to say this filled the time perfectly until noted Scottish singer Eddi Reader took to the stage and was also ‘helped’ by Karen with a couple of numbers including her major hit Perfect, what an apt title to finish the first half. 

The ubiquitous Ms Dunbar was the compere of part two, and she mesmerised the audience with her energy, vitality and comic abilities. This lady has the stage presence to fill the vast auditorium and raised the bar for those to follow.

After too long away from the stand-up scene, Rhona ‘The Moaner’ Cameron was the next to entertain. Although slightly rusty initially she was soon back into the groove and before long it was like she had never been away and was more than capable dealing with the token heckler. Nice to see you back again Rhona, let’s hope you are not away for as long this time.

I have never been a fan of the TV series Red Dwarf, but knew that Hattie Hayridge once played the part of the voice of the computer. Ms Hayridge is also a fine stand up; her material was entertaining but her somewhat laid back style did drop the pace somewhat, something that Karen Dunbar put paid to before Bill Bailey took to the stage. The ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’ man, although obviously suffering from a cold, certainly was up to par on the material front. This 'Part –Troll' is wacky, cerebral and random in his humour, and a very accomplished musician as well. His abbreviated set was all over far too soon for most.

Time was by now moving on, but there was still a chance for me to witness live for the first time Jo Brand. She came to this bill almost immediately finishing on stage at another Edinburgh venue where she was performing on her current tour. Jo excels with her relaxed style, oozes professionalism and in her real life role as a mature mother has stories and observations that seem all too real to be invented.

So how does an evening such as this reach it’s conclusion? Well, following another number from Eddi Reader, enter Bill Bailey one more time, but he is accompanied with his band Beergut 100 who drive out a mean sound together with some unusual choices of material to rock it up with. Numbers from the Undertones and Kraftwerk stood cheek by jowl with numbers such as Tomorrow from the musical Annie and Morecambe and Wise’s theme song Bring me Sunshine, strange but it certainly worked.

Highlights? All were good but for me Karen Dunbar was superb. I’d not been her greatest fan before this, but I certainly am now. This lady from Ayrshire was immense.