TONY Hawks is a man who will do (almost) anything for a bet. He hitch-hiked round Ireland with a fridge (forfeit: to run naked up Balham high street).

And he tracked down the entire Moldovan national football team - and whupped each one of them at tennis.

In each case he won the bet and wrote bestselling books about his experiences.

His latest challenge was to rack up a Top 20 hit anywhere in the world within two years.

There is no depth Hawks will not plumb in pursuit of a bet.

How do I know this? I was one of the lucky members of the audience at the Pyramid Centre during his stage version of the book, One Hit Wonderland.

And during the course of the show, he sang, disco-danced, and dressed up in a pixie suit.

Although literary fame has come relatively late to Hawks, he has had a varied career in showbiz over the past 20 years and is best known as a stand up comedian, with regular appearances on the radio show Just a Minute, and on television.

And it was the comedian Hawks who was in charge of the show.

He explained that the idea came about at a dinner party when the conversation swung round to Hawks' hit in the late 80s, The Stutter Rap, a Beastie Boys spoof, which he performed as part of a cabaret act, Morris Minor and the Majors.

One Hit Wonderland, the stage show, is an inventive blend of stand up comedy, songs (which Hawks performs with guitarist and singer Willie Dowling), and slide show.