Al Murray

FROM the fat man in the front row to the young girls who were told they had nothing left to hope for, there was no escaping Al Murray’s acid tongue.

But the 4,000 spectators at the Manchester Apollo knew exactly what they’d signed up for when they bought their ticket.

The Pub Landlord’s penchant for picking out the flaws of unsuspecting members of the audience was in full flow on Saturday night — and we loved it.

He’s certainly no looker himself, but the comedian pulls no punches when he mocks his adoring fans.

His UK tour (which returns to the Apollo for two nights next month) is based around Al’s theory on how to correct Broken Britain.

Pensioners starting a cycle of abuse, no respect from teenagers, the banking crisis and the 2012 Olympics debacle were given the full-on brutal Pub Landlord treatment.

Big Al shared a few celebrity secrets discovered during filming his ITV chat show “Happy Hour” where he has shared the stage with the likes of The Spice Girls, Girls Aloud and Louis Walsh.

And we were also let into his two golden rules of life — never be too keen and be lucky.

To illustrate his point, Al photographed a couple in the audience — whom he nicknamed Beauty and the Beast — to demonstrate how men can often punch well above their weight.

A much-welcomed encore saw Al take questions from the floor and quick as they came, he batted them off with ease, proving his worth as a top quality stand-up.

And the closing number generated enthusiastic audience participation with a handful of ladies invited on stage for a conga — and then back to the big man’s dressing room!