What's the secret of a great comedy song?

If comedy is like music, why are funny songs so hard to get right? It's partly because the rhyme scheme can reveal the punchline too early, puncturing its effectiveness. And also because the structure of pop music relies on repetition. Nobody wants to hear the same joke three times in two minutes. These are sort of revelations that comedian Phil Nichol has been making as he records his new podcast, Songs In The Key Of Laugh.

BBC: far from perfect but has given us great comedy

The daft ditties of Glasgow's Ivor Cutler and Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks might never have seen the light 'without the BBC, writes Aidan Smith.

Scotland's funniest 60 people

As the Glasgow International Comedy Festival prepares to launch with a gaggle of giggles later this month, we count down Scotland's funniest 60 people.

Mr Twonkey pays tribute to Ivor Cutler

Influences are always interesting. Malcolm Hardee Comedy Award winner Paul Vickers is currently preparing for his new show - Twonkey's Night Train to Liechtenstein - at the Glasgow Comedy Festival next Friday (9th March). Paul performs as Mr Twonkey, definitely one of the more eccentric acts in British comedy. He reminded me that today (3rd March) is the anniversary of the death in 2006 of Ivor Cutler - Scottish poet, songwriter, humorist and arguably the eccentric performers' eccentric.

My Comedy Hero: Rob Auton on Ivor Cutler

The York-born stand-up picks the influential Scottish poet and songwriter as his comic icon.

Review: The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler

As well as being terrific work from Vanishing Point, The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler is also a timely reminder, as Rufus Norris takes the reins proper of our own National Theatre, of how playful and ambitious the National Theatre of Scotland has proven (and continues) to be.

Review: The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler

The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler is a charming, quirky and delightful celebration of a man whose determination to be his own man remains a lesson to us all.

The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, Glasgow, review

This show succeeded brilliantly in opening a window into the beautiful world of Scottish humorist, poet and songwriter Ivor Cutler, says Mark Brown.

Ivor Cutler play leads NTS spring season

Ivor Cutler, the iconic Scottish comedian, is commemorated in the National Theatre of Scotland's spring-summer season 2014, announced today.

A comedy worth catching: Mordrin McDonald: 21st Century Wizard: Said Scot is the UK's 19th most powerful necromancer, living in a wee Scots village and failing to avoid being sent on any quests (such as "Can you chaperone this fairy to the ceilidh? Can you return these DVDs to Blockbuster?"). He ends up in the first episode saving Aviemore from a dragon by serenading it with "Sex on Fire" by Kings of Leon. Co-writer and star David Kay evokes fond memories of Ivor Cutler, and there is no higher praise.