by Mike Wade

twitter:@iomnewspapers

Controversial comedian and TV personality Jimmy Carr is set to appear on the Isle of Man.

He is to bring his ’The Best Of, Ultimate, Gold, Greatest Hits’ tour to the Royal Hall, Villa Marina on Tuesday evening next week.

Often courting both rave reviews and outrage, with his white-knuckle ride along the borders of taste and decency, Jimmy has been one of the UK’s most popular comedians, both on television and on the live circuit.

This latest comedy show is, what Jimmy calls, a ’greatest hits’ concert, where he will get the chance to revisit and tell some of his favourite, famous and most shocking jokes of all.

’I wanted to see if you to see if you could do a stand-up show where you just played the hits like a gig from a classic band,’ said Jimmy.

’I also like the idea of just dropping bombs for two hours. One-liner after one-liner-all killer, no filler.

’Also I really love these jokes and, unlike a musician, I don’t get to perform them once the show’s finished touring. You just sort of put them away forever. That always struck me as kind of a shame.’

Which means that most of the jokes that have earned Jimmy the reputation of some one who gleefully stamps all over the notion of a societal taboo will be included in the repertoire.

’Comedy is all about building up tension and then releasing it,’ he said. ’Talking about taboo topics is a fast way to build tension and the more tension, the more laughs when you finally release it.

’I’d also say that one of my favourite sounds in the world is laughter turning into shock. I’m obsessed by cognitive dissonance, that is the idea that you can make people laugh and be disappointed in themselves for laughing at the same time.

’And as long as the laugh comes first, even if it’s half a second before, it’s fine. I like the idea that you don’t choose what you laugh at, it chooses you.’

Jimmy has become well known for both his stand up work and his appearances on some of television’s most popular celebrity panel shows, most notably the shows ’8 out of 10 Cats’, and the spin-off ’8 out of 10 cats does Countdown’. He has also presented Channel 4’s ’Big Fat Quiz of the Year’, ’Your face or Mine?’ and the BBC programme ’Have I Got News For You.’

However, his notoriety has been earned by laughing at the topics that scare most comedians off.

Any topic is considered fair game, and Jimmy has always maintained that there is no limit to what he will joke about, or how far he is willing to push certain comedy boundaries.

’Making television is collaborative,’ he said.

’Live stand-up is very different. You’re on your own and that can be stressful.

’You’ve got more freedom though. With TV, even if it’s late night, you’re ultimately being beamed into people’s homes, sometimes uninvited.

’With a live gig, people have paid to see you. That allows you to push it that little bit more.

’However, my jokes are just that, jokes,’ he said.

’There is no grand vision, no political or social message.

’If the joke is funny enough then the ends justify the means. Look, I say some horrific things in my act and, yes, if you take those things at face value then clearly they are unacceptable.

But I think it’s pretty obvious that, in context, those subjects or ideas are merely vehicles for comedy, that they are designed to elicit laughter and nothing more.

’If you believe in free speech, you have to be prepared to hear things you don’t like. That’s kind of the deal.

’If you say someone is "offended", what you’re really saying is that they’re feelings got hurt. That doesn’t put you in the right.

’If you’re not laughing, you’re well within your rights to just not listen. That’s absolutely fine.

’If I was using my shows to put forward a manifesto on how we should live our lives then maybe it would be a different story, but I’m not. I’m just trying to make you laugh.’

’The Best Of, Ultimate, Gold, Greatest Hits’ tour reaches the Villa Marina on Tuesday, October 3.

There are still tickets available for the show, priced at £28 each. Tickets can be bought from the Villa Marina box office, either by phoning 600555 or online from villagaiety.ticketsolve.com

Doors open at 7pm.