I first saw Al Porter at a gig in a sparsely attended comedy gig in a bar near Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. Immediately I was aware that he was something special. 

At a time when a lot of new stand ups are influenced by acts like Bill Hicks or Louis CK, Al was coming from a completely different tradition. His influences are people like Frankie Howerd and Larry Grayson and the British vaudeville tradition they come from but of course he gives it a modern twist. 

Unlike all the other comedians and musicians I have interviewed he is not someone who has discovered a yearning for performance in his teens. He has been performing on stage literally from the age of three.  

Follow Al on Twitter @TheAlPorter