Manchester comedy club that hosted early performances from Peter Kay celebrates 25th anniversary with support from Joe Lycett

A comedy club that has hosted some of the biggest names in comedy over the years is celebrating 25 years of mirth-making. Last week Joe Lycett broke off from his set at Manchester's AO Arena to give a shout-out to “the best comedy club in the world” - the city's own XS Malarkey which celebrated 25 years of continuous Tuesday night comedy last night (September 27).

The club started out at Scruffy Murphy’s in Fallowfield in 1997 and is now at The Bread Shed on Grosvenor Street. It has over the years charged visitors a pittance to see the likes of Peter Kay, Jack Whitehall, Sarah Millican, John Bishop, Diane Morgan, also known as Philomena Cunk, Nish Kumar, Daliso Chaponda, Jason Manford and Stewart Lee.

Peter Kay once played there for a paltry £1 on the door and Justin Moorhouse and Alan Carr played their very first gigs there. “We charge as little as possible and we don’t let in stag dos, hen dos or office parties. It’s all about the comedy and creating a great atmosphere for all sorts of different comedians who can just do their stuff instead of having to waste their energy on crowd control.

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"People love playing it which is why big acts still make the journey to try out their new shows with us - our Edinburgh previews frequently feature those who go on to the best reviews of the subsequent fringe. There is a positive vibe means that some acts who are a little bit off kilter flourish - they’re able to be a bit more experimental under the more benevolent gaze of the Malarkey crowd” says resident compere Toby Hadoke, who founded the club when he was 23 and had been a comedian for just over a