2014 Edinburgh Fringe

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Is stand-up comedy a young person's game? Not according to "Old Men", Rod Hunter, John Purves and Les Sinclair as they come to the Edinburgh Fringe for the third year running.

Unlike most comedians, they decided that rather than buying red Porsches, they would exorcise their mid-life crises by starting to do stand-up. Taking up comedy in their 50s, together the three have 177 years of dashed hopes and unfulfilled dreams behind them. Two are already into their 7th decade!!

Undaunted by the fact that they are older than the fathers of many of their comedy colleagues, rather than looking forward to dignified retirements, they have individually taken their comedy all over Scotland and beyond. At a time when many of their peers are settling down in the evening with their cups of Horlicks, these guys are trailing back from gigs in Aberdeen or Dundee, etc.

The three currently live in the Glasgow area, but John and Rod are originally from Edinburgh, while Les hails from the Shetland Isles. Rod works for a Housing Association training organization, Les is a retired Secondary school teacher, and John is a Church of Scotland minister! If they had to guess who was the minister, most people would be wrong!

Having known each other for several years, the three decided to put on a Fringe show in 2012. They established a unique and much-commented upon rapport with each other so decided to continue the partnership. Others in the Scottish comedy community refer to them collectively as The Old Men - to the point that it has almost become a brand.

They again appeared at the Fringe in 2013 and put on several shows at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival in 2013 and 2014.

They have never tried to be trendy and ground-breaking, but they have recognised their demographic and appeal to a slightly older audience, one that is often forgotten by the young guns and hipsters of the comedy world. That this audience has been eager to see comedy that they can relate to is evidenced by the jam-packed houses the three have enjoyed in previous years at the Fringe.