A wise man once said that comedy is merely tragedy turned upside down...perhaps he wasn’t far off the truth?

So, whilst glancing over this year’s mammoth Fringe brochure, I arrived at the conclusion that the world is full of would be comedians...though I guess you could make the current occupant of 10 Downing street, an honourable exception.

It’s a funny old game being a comic, and it’s also fascinating and intriguing as to how someone standing alone on a stage and with just a few well-turned phrases and remarks, can make you howl with laughter.

This then beggars the question that has always mystified and puzzled me: Are comedians brains wired up differently to everyone else? For instance, do they see the world from a completely different angle than the rest of us? Or is their ability to constantly cause chuckles viewed as a natural talent, a gift they were born with, or something that is learned, grafted and studied over any number of years.

Then again, the art of comedy comes in all forms and guises. Not all are Ken Dodd style court jesters, as there are mordant comics, cynical comics, slapstick comics, surreal comics & political comics (quite a few notable examples there, I guess!)

As I look back over my childhood and teen years, I recall a number of my old school pals and former work colleagues who could automatically come out with a steady stream of hilarious gags, cutting comedic observations, and blunderbuss insults, that left me helpless with laughter as to how clever they were in any given situation.

So from such modest and humble laughter inducing beginnings, originally developed in a classroom, office, pub or factory floor, can it eventually evolve and grow into later fame & success on stage, TV & radio? Certainly for many a comedian (Billy Connolly and Ricky Gervais instantly spring to mind) that route has proven enormously productive and persuasive.

So with the country presently engulfed in much doom, gloom, despondency and despair, the chance to enjoy a right good belly laugh, was the ideal medicine to be prescribed. Take this year’s Festival Fringe for example, as I decided to see two highly popular comics who both enjoy a loyal following, as well as radically contrasting comedic styles.

First up, was Tam Cowan. Who since the 1990s, has become a welcomingly familiar face and voice on radio, TV, theatre stages, newspaper columns, football grounds; whilst not forgetting numerous eating establishments throughout Scotland.

Combining a razor-sharp wit, acute observational skills, as well as firing off gags and one-liners in all directions, he offered up a master-class in old fashioned Scottish comedy patter that was lapped up by an appreciative audience.

Taking pot-shot at Glasgow’s ‘Old Firm’, while demolishing the questionable laughter quota of ‘PC comedy’, this ‘bon vivant’ of the airwaves and local curry houses offered up a joyous performance that left the audience gasping for breath, while gasping for more!

Though his style is never malicious or intentionally cruel, he channels a recognisable benevolent aggression, that stems from a typical, uncomplicated, no-nonsense Scottish working class background, that many could instantly identify with.

Then we come to the comedy character of John Shuttleworth, someone entirely different, but no less amusing. Much like Steve Coogan’s priceless creation of Alan Partridge, the creator of Mr Shuttleworth is the actor Graham Fellows. Who in a previous life, enjoyed brief pop fame as ‘Jilted John’.

John Shuttleworth arrives fully formed as a mild mannered, cosily familiar Yorkshire suburban family man, with delusions of musical grandeur as an accomplished singer-songwriter – complete with his trusty organ. Not quite in the Elton John bracket, one might say. Though his easy going monologues touch upon the dull, the bland and the mundane aspects of everyday life, he manoeuvres through this comfy image with well-timed acerbic observations, accompanied by a high level of devastating wit. Surprisingly, out of all those musings, what emerges are tales of genuine hilarity.

Looking back, one of the funniest men I ever knew, was my former Leith FM broadcasting buddy, Ricky Callan; while I recall my Dad talking admirably about a man he regarded as hilarious, Edinburgh’s own Alex ‘Happy’ Howden.

In the final analysis, who for me stand tallest in the world of comedy? Why. that is a shoo in…

Mr Laurel & Mr Hardy, of course.