Comedian Micky Flanagan sells out seven consecutive nights at The O2 arena in London.

The O2 general manager Rebecca Kane presents Micky with a commemorative plaque celebrating 100,000 tickets sold to his latest tour, Back In The Game.

I had five minutes back stage for this photo call, so no pressure at all.  Ordinarily i'd try and play it simple by bouncing a Speedlite off the ceiling for even light, however the ceiling in this dressing room was totally black making that impossible.

Instead I threw up a Speedlite on a stand with a brolly to diffuse the light, and borrowing my handler/O2 press officer, I got a few frames off to set the exposure before Micky et al arrived.  Once they were in position I knew i'd be able to use the rest of my time to get the right pictures instead of fussing with gear.  This is how I like to work.

I got the frame, and even had time for an extra with Rebecca and Micky's tour managers, and everyone's happy.  The job was all over in 10 minutes, and thats just the way it is sometimes.

2013 AEG O2 Arena Micky Flanagan 04 Dec04.12.2013. London, UK. General views of The O2 Arena during Micky Flanagan's sellout tour.

Some 17,000 fans eagerly await Micky Flanagan on stage at The O2

Micky's sellout achievement is quite brilliant.  The rise of the modern standup comedian as a stadium-selling performer is fascinating to me.  More and more people are choosing live comedy as an entertaining night out, and that is excellent news for variety in culture.  Micky's performance was seen by 100,000 people each paying around £40 per ticket, and I hope that proved as profitable for Micky as it did his benefactors.  With relatively low overheads - a person on stage with a microphone and a few lights - the stadium comedian offers excellent value for promoters.  Compare this to bands with their instruments and gear and tour staff and elaborate stage designs.  Stadium comedians are the new rock stars.

Micky Flanagan will have been around the game long enough to know sellout stadium tours are the exception rather than the rule.  Every veteran working comedian will know the intimate cruelties of working every night for hardly much more than the acceptance of the audience, with even that gift sometimes withheld as a certainty.  Like shoals of wild, sad, abandoned clowns, standup comedians know their game is tough and against the tide, so well done to Micky for an impressive achievement.  I hope the same opportunity comes to many other great standup artists too.

2013 AEG O2 Arena Micky Flanagan 04 Dec04.12.2013. London, UK. General views of The O2 Arena during Micky Flanagan's sellout tour.

A view across the packed arena bowl from an executive box just prior to showtime