Having been sacked as a musicologist after his spurious lawsuits against pop stars, bubble-permed lecturer Brian Appleton has turned his idiosyncratic focus to history.

The lecture, given by John Shuttleworth creator Graham Fellows’ revived character, retold amusing historical trivia from across the ages, backed up by a borrowed carousel projector.

But aside from brilliant songs about the disgraced Profumo’s later career as a volunteer toilet cleaner and what happened to Oliver Cromwell’s head after he died – accompanied by an excellent cartoon slide show – there weren’t many laughs.

Between songs the stories were quirky – ranging from Eric Bristow’s defeat by an unknown challenger to the man who nearly killed Hitler in a 1931 car accident – but weren’t backed up by enough jokes.

In addition, the denim-clad Croc-wearing Appleton wasn’t an easy character to warm to. His delivery grated, his general demeanour was uncomfortable and his constant harping back to his music industry run-ins without telling the full story began to get frustrating.

The highlights of the show were his two oldest songs – his Airfix glue-inspired psychedelic anthem Lucy You’ve Got The Wrong Wardrobe and the Smithsian My Turn To Be Poorly. But with both now dating back at least ten years, it suggested a lack of new killer ideas.