It could easily have been a day NOT to remember for funnyman Adam Hills. He's spent the earlier part of it in Bar Oz in Newcastle, watching his beloved Australian rugby team lose in the World Cup final to England. Now he was on stage at the Hyena Cafe in the city, singing the Oz anthem Waltzing Matilda to a stunned, and very silent, sell-out crowd. The gig was dying, he'd been had, at least that's what he thought... Adam, who is at Newcastle Comedy Festival in Exhibition Park, tomorrow, takes up the tale: "I played there the night of the Rugby World Cup final. Earlier I was in Bar Oz for the match, and there were about six Australians in a room full of what seemed like hundreds of Geordie England fans. "I had to do the Hyena that night. I got on stage and within a 40-minute period I must have been stopped at least five times by the Jonny Wilkinson Supporters Club, with chants of `Jonny!'. But I have to tell you, it was a great night. They really gave me so much stick but in a really good-natured way. "Then, at the end, when I was wrapping up, a guy told me I had to sing something - Waltzing Matilda. I said I would, but I wouldn't do it on my own and that everyone had to join in. "So it was agreed that would be what happens. So I started to sing the verse. And it was just me. I thought, `you little b******s'. Of course, I'd forgotten that nobody over here knows the verse, but when it came to the chorus, about 400 people started screaming it with more gusto than any Australians could ever do. "It was a real highlight for me. Simply brilliant. You can't plan a night like that or an atmosphere like that." And he's hoping for just as good a gig when he plays the city tomorrow. "I really love the Newcastle audience. They are really up for it, but they won't put up with any nonsense," says Adam, who has based himself in Blighty for more than eight years. "I live in London and I'm over here about eight months of the year," he continues. "You lose a bit of momentum back home. The scene isn't big enough. That's why so many Australians end up coming over to Britain. You can get five or six gigs a week over here. "Practice makes perfect." FESTIVAL TIMETABLE TONIGHT: 8pm Ken Campbell TOMORROW: 10am: Schools Programme (Kids Club). 7pm The Reduced Shakespeare Company. 9.30pm Adam Hills THURSDAY: 10am Schools Programme (Kids Club). 7.30pm Jeff Green. 9pm Julian Clary | 
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