Russell Brand – Scandalous,

Birmingham NIA

By Rita Maman

On the back of ‘Manuelgate’, there had to be a good reason for missing Jonathan Ross’s BBC comeback last night. And Russell Brand’s Scandalous tour date at the Birmingham NIA was it.

The tour name said it all and it was immediately clear that the frenzy whipped up after those infamous phone calls was not going to be ignored. The gig began with a montage of damning news clips and the subject took up a good part of his one and-a-half hour routine.

Brand swaggered on stage complete with back-combed hair, dressed in what he admitted was ‘”essentially, women’s leggings and a mini-dress”.

After asking fans at the front how much they had paid for tickets, he quipped: “After what I’ve done?”

Once he’d laughed off Manuelgate, Brand did what he does best – intelligent and witty stand-up.

The funniest moments came when he did impressions of his friend, Radio One DJ Tim Westwood and as security took away two over-zealous female fans armed with suggestive banners and a telephone number, which Brand naturally read out loud.