Russell Brand speaks ahead of his Birmingham show

The show came about after Russell became a parent. “Once you’ve had a baby you’re a parent and immediately you go from being a madman (cool) to a mad dad (not cool). How can you be a dangerous, edgy, rebel with a tiny, little daughter?”

Russell brought the show to Birmingham late last year – and it was evident that much had changed since his previous tours. He’d got married, settled down, had a baby daughter and written a best-selling book, among things.

He admits he’s changed considerably. He told one interviewer: “Yes, I’m less mad now.

“I was a needy person. I mean, that condition abides, but I manage it better now, I think.”

Russell’s show features his observations on Donald Trump, fatherhood and his frequently turbulent relationship with the media.

When he last visited Birmingham, he spoke at length about a disastrous interview with Jeremy Paxman – and also showed that he has been willing to learn from his mistakes.

Russell says much of the change in his life came about when he met his wife, Laura Gallacher.

And he told one interviewer that it had changed his approach to the way he lives – and also to money.

“I’m lucky because I have been dirty poor and now I’m stinky rich – not that rich actually, I gave away a lot.

“But it doesn’t make that much difference. I am (now) in a position of privilege, there’s no question about it, so in a way I am sort of qualified for it.

“I am not trying to motivate anyone into trying to get their hands on a stack of cash, it’s more like a motivation to recognise that you probably already have what you need and, while you can purchase pleasure with a big stack of cash, you cannot purchase happiness.

“I don’t necessarily think that penury is the answer, it’s not necessarily the answer to give up everything, but I think it’s about finding a different kind of connection in yourself.”

Russell has faced troubled times in his life and he has battled hard to overcome addiction. “I was a very, very severe type addict character . . . I now have to be very aware about what’s stimulating me.”

He got clean by following a 12-step programme to recovery. “I think that ideology needs to be proliferated and I think that the more access people have to it, the more people could use it. I’m fascinated by its potential.

“I think it could be applied as a sort of model, because now my lens for living is this. I think it’s universal.

“Addiction is just an extreme behavioural pattern, and we all have patterns.”

He’s also learned to distance himself from the political arena after trying to intervene in elections.

“When I got into that politics game I made some mistakes because I’m a very egotistical man. Now I want to make sure that I do things with the right intention, to help people improve their own lives.

Brand became a household name after appearing as the host of Big Brother’s Big Mouth, a Big Brother spin-off, in 2004. Three years later, he featured in St Trinian’s and further appearances in movies followed.

He worked as a voice actor in the animated films Despicable Me in 2010, Hop in 2011, and Despicable Me 2 in 2013, and played the title character of the 2011 remake of the romantic comedy Arthur. In 2013, he released the successful stand-up special Messiah Complex.

He has been a headline writer’s dream during his career after becomeing the subject of frequent media coverage and controversy. Such issues as promiscuity and drug use, his outrageous behaviour at various award ceremonies, his dismissal from MTV and resignation from the BBC, and his two-year marriage with singer Katy Perry, have all earned column inches.

Russell was born in Grays, Essex, and his parents split up when he was six months old, leaving him to be raised by his mother. He had a difficult childhood and was sexually abused.

He developed a love of theatre and at the age of 15 appeared in a school production of Bugsy Malone. That led to a place at Grays School Media Arts College and in 1991 he was accepted to the Italia Conti Academy, though he was expelled for illegal drug use and poor attendance.

Russell moved into stand-up and won a place in the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year final in 2000. He soon after made his Edinburgh debut as one-third of the stand-up show Pablo Diablo’s Cryptic Triptych, alongside ventriloquist Mark Felgate and Anglo-Iranian comic Shappi Khorsandi.

By 2004, he had taken his first one-man show, the confessional Better Now, to the Edinburgh Festival, giving what he claimed was an honest account of his heroin addiction.

Since then, the comic has been involved in numerous controversies but he remains popular with fans and regularly sells out the Symphony Hall and similar large venues.