To the opening night of Micky Flanagan's London arena stint last night. Three nights at Wembley plus seven nights at the O2 Arena might not quite be a record but it wouldn't surprise me if the cockney comic broke the record for bar takings yesterday. The show started late because people were still buying drinks and during the interval - and I've never seen this before - one could not walk through the corridors because of endless multiple snaking queues of fans topping up before the second half.

Flanagan certainly knows his demographic. At the start he said onstage that he would be doing about 40 - 50 minutes and then having a break because he knew his audience would be getting thirsty by then. I'd hazard a guess that this audience was even boozier than Jagermeister King Seann Walsh or the Pub Landlord's audience.

Booze and comedy have always gone together in this country. In Victorian music hall times there were frequently punch-ups and even riots in theatres caused by drunk revellers. The Geordie superstar George Leybourne, famous for the song Champagne Charlie, was actually sponsored by Moet & Chandon. The 1980s Alternative Comedy boom started in pubs and clubs. These days a lager company sponsors the most prestigious comedy award in the UK.

I've been to gigs in America, Canada and various European countries but have never seen an audience as hell-bent on getting smashed as a British comedy audience. In America the ticket price is sometimes bumped up to include a drink otherwise the audience might not partake at all. Yet in the UK it is an ongoing issue. Sean Lock's show at the Hammersmith Apollo last week also started late as the audience trailed in from the bar. Flanagan's audience was jolly, well-behaved and up for a good time which they certainly had, but I did hear that there were some irritating interruptions at Lock's gig the night after I went when it was being filmed for DVD release.

Daniel Kitson used to tell a story about being at a Ben Folds gig and being amazed that in the middle of the show the 'fans' in front of him were more interested in their vodka and Red Bull than the band. I sometimes feel the same at comedy gigs. When you go to see a 'mainstream' act there is always a feeling that for some of the ticket holders the priority is getting a drink and the show is almost incidental.

I'm not a puritan by any means. I drink on the nights I don't go to gigs. And to be perfectly honest it is not the drink that is the problem, it is the consequences. Sooner or later you will have to get up and go to the toilet and disturb the people around you and the performer too if they notice. This is a particular problem at the Edinburgh Festival where temporary venues mean that it is not always clear where the nearest toilet is. Nothing shatters the magic of a Fringe set like a desperate punter lurching across the stage fiddling with his fly. I can only think of two options - ban alcohol or hand out nappies.