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7-7-03 - The Clash of the Titans!

After months of sniping at each other on internet forums and in the comedy clubs around Manchester, the arena was finally set to sort out the whole Dave Ingram vs. Danny Deegan debate. And that arena was the original home of alternative comedy, the Frog and Bucket.
But before all that lunacy commenced, the show was opened by stand in compere, Mr. John Warburton. And it was a slightly difficult start to the night with an audience that didn't seem up for it. Mike Newall opened the show and the audience started to warm up a little.

*Mike Newall*		*Dave Purdy*
Then Dave Purdy bounded onto the stage clearly with the intention of waking the audience up. And he wasn't going to let them slumber. You can see why he won last weeks Beat the Frog with this amount of energy and by the end of it, the Frog and Bucket was resembling it's old self again.

*Rob Riley*		*Mr. John*
After the beer break, Rob Riley briefly graced the stage until he was croaked off by an audience already baying for blood. Steve Goldsmith followed Rob with an equally brief set and then Mr. John took to the stage with what can only be described as shouty lunacy, which promptly earned him three green cards and a stroll back to his seat and cheap bottle of booze.

Caroline "pregnant, not fat" Jones		Jo Dakin and the "Normal" card.
With a crowd this blood thirsty, it wasn't looking like anyone was going to do much more than a minute. But right from the moment that Caroline Jones took to the stage, you knew the tide was changing. She immediately put the audience at ease and upped the speed of her delivery to not give the crowd time to think about cards. This strategy was working perfectly until 20 seconds from the end when the cards appeared and the hooter sounded. A bit unjustly but it's part of the game.

Bill Poster and the "Normal" card making another appearence		Ian Fox
After the beer break, Wayne Collins stepped briefly onto the stage, and may has well have carried on walking for the time he got. After that, Beat the Frog regular, Ian "poshlad" Fox through himself to the mercy of the Frog bearpit, and was doing a fine job until about 3 minutes in when he was heckled with one of his own lines that seemed to through Ian and that was enough for the judges.

Dave Ingram		Danny Deegan
After that, the first of our "Titans" made his nervy appoach to the arena ready for his battle against "the magic that is" Danny Deegan. Dave Ingram burst onto the Frog and Bucket walkway and raced into his material after a short "aren't my hands tiny" comparison. And the audience loved him. He was storming it in the fashion that he claims all his gigs went, but this time it was actually happening. And just as I though we were gonna see the first act of the night Beat the Frog, the timer hit 4 minutes 38 and the cards were in the air. Goodbye Ingram.

*Andrew O'Neill*		*Nasty Nathan!*
After Ingram had almost equalled Caroline's 4:40, Adam Bowman went up against the very harsh judges and fluffed his first line. He seemed to get embarrassed and then demanded that he was croaked off. the judges were having none of it and wouldn't let him off the hook that easily. So Adam went into his set until he got the heckle "no, f*ck it, card him!". That saw him off. After that Danny Deegan took to the stage and had it all to do to beat Ingram's performance, and for the first few minutes, it looked like Ingram had him licked. But halfway through the set Danny seemed to step it up a gear and ripped it for the rest of his time, and was the first act to Beat the Frog. The final act of the night was Andrew O'Neill who had traveled all the way from the big smoke for the gig (among others) and was doing very well until he chose to break into song. They didn't like that, and up went the cards, meaning that Danny Deegan was crowned winner. Rounding off a great night with Ingram having to admit defeat and kiss Deegan's feet! A special mention to John Warburton for a superb compering job and whipping the crowd up to fever pitch in the second half.


Ingram bows down to the magic that is....	Danny Deegan!

Fancy yourself as the next Peter Kay? Book a spot at Beat the Frog by calling Dan Nightingale on 0161 236 9805