COMEDIAN John Bishop took time off from his sell-out nationwide tour to open his brother’s new art exhibition in the city centre.

Former Tranmere Rovers player Eddie Bishop, 42, specialises in iron sculptures, while fellow artist Paul Harcombe works with wood veneering.

The pair joined forces to produce The Irony Of Wood, which is on display upstairs at Madelainartz, in Clayton Square.

In typical John Bishop style, the funnyman ridiculed his brother, telling the crowd of approximately 50 people that he liked the art of his brother’s friend better.

He added he did not ever think anyone in his family would ever go to an art gallery – yet here he was looking at his brother’s art.

Exhibition spokeswoman Liz Lacey added: “John was brought along to open the exhibition and there was some brotherly love going.

“Jokes aside, John explained it was a great opportunity to see art work produced by people from the city.”

Paul’s paintings are reported to be worth around £12,000 and those depicting The Beatles got the most attention.

Liz added: “Paul’s inspiration were of different forms and there was a lot of interest in the Fab Four. The one of John Lennon created a bit of a buzz, especially with his 70th birthday and the anniversary of his death coming up.”