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You wait ages for an American podcaster to visit and then two arrive in the same week. After Marc Maron, who may be Barack Obama’s favourite podcaster, comes Adam Carolla, who perhaps numbers Jeremy Clarkson as a fan.

Like Clarkson, Carolla is an unapologetic petrolhead, and even presented an American version of Top Gear. When a member of last night’s audience asked the outspoken visitor what he thought about stars thumping staff, he seemed sympathetic. “Guys punch guys. It’s how we beat the Nazis.”

This gig was a special recording of stand-up-meets-chat for The Adam Carolla Show, which holds the world record for the most downloaded podcast. After a crowd-pleasing intro in which the imposing Californian skewered David Beckham’s lucrative US soccer career — “all he did was get tattooed” — and won over the audience by expressing his love of pubs, first guest Rich Hall appeared.

Hall and Carolla made a striking double act, the former’s wrinkly cynicism dovetailing neatly with the latter’s everyman misanthropy.

When they compared the travails of parenthood, the host had the last word, explaining how after he was told that children grow up in the blink of an eye he stood in front of his exasperating nine-year-old twins blinking constantly.

After the interval veteran rockers Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent recalled early fame and visiting “Elvis Land”. One can forgive Carolla for consulting his notes as he had only jetted in earlier in the day.

What was less forgivable was the way he often had his back to Hall as he probed his new guests. In a similar situation Grace Jones famously walloped TV host Russell Harty. I wonder how Carolla would have felt if he had been on the receiving end. Blokey banter, lots of denim. Quite like Top Gear, but with punchlines instead of punches.

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