Hello there - got me a new history of northern comedy out called On Behalf of the Committee which, er, tells the story of northern comedy, from Victorian music hall to tinternet, George Formsby senior to Peter Kay.
It' a 656-page monster of a thing - took nearly five years to write and research - and can be found here:
...amongst many other places (such as actual bookshops).
The book also asks the question - is there really any such thing as northern comedy and, if so, how does it differ from southern comedy? There's a thread in itself there!
Pip pip
TH