A Turner prizewinner who is appearing at the Edinburgh festival says his much-derided stage show is as good as anything created by Leonardo da Vinci.

Martin Creed’s Words and Music was written off in a one-star review for The Times as “an excruciating evening” of hilariously bad songs and stream-of-consciousness drivel.

Though Creed, 49, regretted the criticism, he responded by comparing his work with that of artists such as Leonardo, responsible for The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa, and Francisco Goya. Other examples of contemporary culture, such as the TV programmes Fawlty Towers and Curb Your Enthusiasm, were superior to some of the old masters, he added.

Creed’s unorthodox worldview became apparent in 2001 when he won the Turner for Work No