A PERFORMER at Glasgow International Comedy Festival has defended using his bank robber dad and notorious step-father for publicity for his show.

Gary Faulds, whose Lock, Stock and Two Yum Yums Please is described as a “living version of a Guy Ritchie” film, yesterday told The National he had not set out to glorify crime.

In an exclusive interview, he said a previous claim that he slept with a gun under his bed was just a stupid comment he had made when he was hungover.

“I don’t know why I said that because I don’t sleep with a gun under the bed,” said Faulds, who says he was born into a life of crime but walked away from it.

“I would never glorify crime or people being hurt. My dad was Freddy Jones, a bank robber who killed someone, and I would never condone that. I tell people my story – that my dad was a bank robber and my stepdad, David Faulds, was a notorious name in Glasgow – but I am not a gangster. The whole point of the show is that I take the piss out of crime. I don’t have a big flashy car; I am driving a Focus with a sellotaped mirror and I slept in a homeless flat for a while. But I get stick because of my second name.”

Asked why he was using the connections to publicise his show, Faulds said it was because he wanted to make the point that he was different.

“My act doesn’t glorify crime at all – it’s the complete opposite. In a way, I was the black sheep of the family because I didn’t want to be like the rest of them. That was why I joined the army – to get away. If anyone thinks I am justifying crime then they don’t know me and haven’t seen my show.

"I am a born-again Christian and I believe people can move forward. Even my stepdad changed his ways and got his own security firm and became a businessman. He was a smart businessman – he had a security company that did really well and if he had been involved in anything illegal, then the police would not have let him work.”

Faulds, whose show appears at the festival this month and who also works as a travel agent, added: “It is a shame if people think I am glorifying a criminal lifestyle because of my second name. I get this all the time but I am not a gangster and that is what my show is all about. I left the army under good conditions and I have got kids myself. I don’t want them growing up thinking I am a gangster.

“If anyone is offended by that, they shouldn’t be. If they saw my real life and took away my name, they would see what I am like. I am not involved in crime, I pay my taxes and have done nothing wrong. I joined the army to get away from it all and I don’t even speak to the rest of the family any more.

“I don’t talk about bank robbery in my act – I talk about me and I have never hurt anyone or intimidated anyone. I am a victim of crime as well because people judge me on what my family have done. I came out of the army because David had cancer and I did work for the security firm for three years but I never did anything wrong.

“I have got a past – nobody can live their lives without making a mistake – but I’ve not done anything bad. I stole a milk bottle once and got my arse kicked by my stepdad.”

Faulds has also appeared at Glasgow’s Stand Comedy Club.

“They would have nothing to do with me if they thought there was a gangster on the stage. I do talk about having a dad who was a criminal but I never knew that. I don’t say he was a good man. My act is not offensive at all. I am just a wee, fat guy that wants to make people happy.”

A spokesman for the Glasgow International Comedy Festival said: “Including a performer in the festival programme does not imply or involve condoning their views or actions. That is not a judgment that we make.”