You studied History and Politics at University in Southampton. Not the most obvious springboard to comedy. How did it happen?
I tried my hand at writing first, but I got rejected from journalism school – for the very good reason that I was useless at the time. I decided to focus on comedy at that point and ended up writing for some 80s sketch shows that nobody remembers today. After a while I decided it was time to write material for myself.

Can you remember your first gig?
Yes. It was 25 years ago, in January, in Banana Cabaret in Balham. It was good to discover I could actually do it and get a good reaction out of people. It was the perfect time to start gigging as all the talent was going to telly and there was a gap in the market. It was much less formal in those days, with lots of very peculiar people trying their hand at it. The circuit's much more professional now.

You've got quite a big fanbase for your radio work. But what do you prefer – radio, television or live gigs?
The live gigs, definitely. I basically don't like doing TV, which is why my CV's pretty sparse in that department. I've been on some shows, Blackadder Goes Forth and so on, but it's generally not something I like much.

Is it true the Guardian newspaper sacked you for not being funny enough? What happened was, I thought I had the opportunity to write a serious column. You know, to be a proper journalist writing about proper stuff. I got away with it for about six years before they started to get irritated about the joke-to-serious-writing ratio. They also complained I was too critical about the Labour Party. Still, I try not to develop too big a sense of victimhood about it. They can hire who they like.

Do you still think there is a place for comedy with a political edge?
That's why I like live gigs – you can say what you like on stage. I talk about things that I think about a lot. I don't think about sport or soap operas so I don't talk about them. People say I'm just preaching to the converted but that just means that the people who come to see me are on my side. If I give them confidence to carry on believing what they believe, then great. I don't expect Tories to come along and change their minds. It would be good if it happened, though.

In an unlikely twist, you presented Top Of The Pops in 1996. How was that?
It was great fun – just me and Jack Dee arsing around. The Lighthouse Family weren't that into us when we said that Mr and Mrs Lighthouse must be very proud to have their children on Top Of The Pops. But the Manic Street Preachers were quite friendly and Jamiroquai – he was a laugh. Have I namedropped enough?

What music sends you cowering into a corner?
Anything by Phil Collins. I don't mind the gorilla advert, I just don't like him. I dislike anything by James Blunt, Celine Dion... the usual suspects. I really don't get dance music and I hate music with shit lyrics. I like Amy Winehouse – they should cut that girl some slack. The nature of our culture is that people only enjoy reading about a screw up.

It's your birthday on July 17th. Got any nice plans?
I always try to ignore my birthday and make it clear to my friends that I don't want a fuss made over me. And then I get irritated when they don't make a fuss over me. Anyway, I think it's a bit childish to keep celebrating birthdays. Once you pass thirty, a year goes around so quickly it isn't really a useful measurement of time. After a couple of e-mails, reading the paper and having a cup of tea, the year has gone. What's the big deal? I'm a bit of an Eeyore when it comes to birthdays.

You can see Eeyore doing what he does best on his current live tour.
Get further details here