1 Boyle had his first big break winning the Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award in 1996, beating off five other comics in the final, including one Noel Fielding.

2 He believes that while he was performing on BBC Scotland's Live Floor Show, the mic he was holding was deliberately cut off from its power source. The fact that he was not asked back after that appearance suggests he is correct in that assumption.

3 He gave up the booze a decade ago, believing that he had become one of the many undiagnosed alcoholics in Britain. Before his tee-total years, he used his three days off from working in a psychiatric hospital to get plastered.

4 One for coining eye-catching show titles, among his previous shows are Morons, I Can Heal You and The Voice of Black America. He stopped short of calling one set I Would Quite Happily Punch Every One of You in the Face.

5 During his 2005 appearance at the Glasgow Comedy Festival he spotted a guy in the front row that he had helped torment at school. Considering that his victim was now a man mountain, he opted to avert his natural stand-up instincts and go easy on him.

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 3 & Sat 4 Oct.