A RARE thing in modern stand-up terms, Gary Delaney, next up at The Clown's Pocket in Neath today, is a committed gagman.

It might put him in a category of one — two if you count dear old Ken Dodd — but he is happy to be in that select group, he says.

"You won't hear any narratives, you won't learn anything about me, you will just hear loads of jokes.

"That's why it takes a lot of time for me to write a show. You just have to sit down and write lots of funny jokes."

Henry Youngman, Emo Phillips and Woody Allen all have the comedy stuff Gary admires, though he has a soft spot for Doddy too. "He is still fantastic. I saw him a couple of summers ago at one of his marathon shows," he says.

"He went on until 1am and there were rows of ladies down the front with tartan picnic blankets around their legs, settling in for the night with flasks of tea. He is the only comic I have seen who has an interval, when he goes off for a rest. He brought on this country and western singer and a trumpet player."

You might have seen Gary recently on Dave's One Night Stand, or on Robert's Web.

The laughter gets started at The Duke, in Market Street, at 8.50pm.