FUNNY man Phill Jupitus is hitting the road again after taking a break from stand-up.

He will be at Salisbury Arts Centre with his show Juplicity on Friday (April 27).

The former Never Mind the Buzzcocks star says: “Obviously, I’ve been performing in one form or another for some time now. It has taken many different forms, I started as a poet then went into stand-up and went into television stuff, which is slightly different to that, radio, and did musicals for five years so when you come back to something at my stage of life two things come to bear – you’re mindful of the fact there are a lot more comedians out there.

“The market place has changed massively since I started. There were plenty of gigs for everybody in those years then as time has gone on more and more people are doing stand-up. Firstly, it is very easy to do in terms of it is just you and your ideas and so you are mindful of that when you are just adding yourself to the number of people out there on the road.

“In a real sense I have got nothing to prove because I have been doing it for 30 years so you want to do it a slightly different way so that was at the front of my mind. With this tour, it is much more a kind of general mix of everything that I’ve done over the years – there’s music in it, poetry, stand-up, there’s storytelling, improvisation. That is basically all the skills I use – everything but dance, and even then there is a little shimmy here and there.”

During his break from stand-up Jupitus has been treading the boards in the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and also been in a band with Ade Edmondson and Neil Innes.

Speaking of his return to comedy he says: “The one thing I like about leaving stand-up for long periods is when I come back to it it always feels very different to me. I feel like a different bloke doing it. I haven’t done a stand-up tour in like eight years. I always leave stand-up for about five to eight years. Obviously you flex those muscles when you do things like QI.”

Jupitus, who was a civil servant for five years, said he never intended to get into comedy and entertainment.

As he explains: “No, it was never on the radar. It was never a thought because it is not a serious job is it?

“This is just something I was fortunate to discover a bit later in life.”

He started as an illustrator and used to produce comic strips as well as writing poetry.

“When you look back it everyone says wow what a brilliant way of doing things because it keeps you very engaged and keeps you very interested in what you’re doing because there is always a newness about it. I love what I do, it is terrific fun.”

He adds: “If you have seen me on telly and you like me it is a night with me doing what I do best. If you enjoy what I do on television you are going to freak out at what I can do live because you see it happening in front of you.”

For tickets or more information go to salisburyartscentre.co.uk or call 01722 320333.