How Glasgow comedian deals with Barlinnie prison hecklers

Tattoo Dave, whose real name is David McKinely, is a stand up comic who isn’t afraid of any crowd, including locked up inmates.

The 46-year-old, from the West End, has even had to put some of Glasgow's hardest criminals in their place for heckling as he visits prisons across Scotland.

It comes as he performs with the Wholesome Prison Blues collective, a group of six who have completed 26 gigs for convicts since last November.

Tattoo Dave got his name because he owns a tattoo parlour in the city (Image: Newsquest)

Speaking to the Glasgow Times, Tattoo Dave said: “The prison shows are great, it is a really extreme environment compared to a pub or club.

“We need to think about the material we use as well, a lot of them don’t know what things like Netflix and JustEat are because they have been inside for so long.

“Barlinnie is brilliant, we have done three gigs there now and the guys are always lively and up for a right laugh.

“The place has a hard reputation so you need to be prepared to deal with that and with the hecklers in the crowd.

“When someone shouts out during the show you don’t know who they are or why they are in Barlinnie so it can be scary, but you just need to be confident and banter back.

“Sometimes I put them in their place and it goes dead silent, then there is that split second of panic that maybe I went too far with the wrong person.

"Everytime it ends in the room erupting with laughter though, and we carry on with the show.”

Tattoo Dave has performed to prisons across the country (Image: Newsquest)

Wholesome Prison Blues collective aims to reward well behaved prisoners with comedy to give them respite from their sentences.

Tattoo Dave hopes their visits will encourage rehabilitation within Barlinnie and set the convicts onto a better life path.

The group is also developing creative writing and performing workshops with the inmates to provide them with more skills and confidence.

Tattoo Dave wants to help rehabilitate prisoners (Image: Newsquest)

Dave explained: “One of the things I really love about doing these prison shows is because they can really make a difference in these guys' lives.

“Some guys are in because they never had opportunities on the outside and now they can have access to education and help with addiction.

“The comedy gigs play a small part in helping people leave in a stronger position than they were in going into Barlinnie.

“Prison should be the punishment, they should do their time and get help so they can be a better member of society.

“It helps us as well because if we can go into a prison on a cold winter Monday morning and can make 30 guys laugh at 10am, then going to a festival or comedy club should be no problem.”

Tattoo Dave is excited for the future of his comedy career (Image: Newsquest)

Tattoo Dave is performing at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh revealing stories of what it is like inside the prisons.

He also has gigs coming up in Glasgow at the Stand on Tuesday, August 22.