Beyond The Joke has learnt that comedian Dave Evans has died. 

Dave Evans was the father of Lee Evans but also a long-standing highly respected professional comedian in his own right, doing mainstream stand-up, music and impressions of famous performers including Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, Max Bygraves and Tom Jones. In the mid-1980s he appeared on the ITV impressions show Copy Cats and was a guest on the 1984 prime time show Knees Up hosted by Jeff Stevenson.

He continued to perform on cruise ships and in clubs and holiday camps until ill health in recent years. Before his son became a performer himself he got a taste of showbusiness when he used to travel with his father when he was gigging around the country at working men's clubs.

Entertainer Pete Matthews paid tribute on Facebook: "I worked with Dave many times. He was a pros pro. Very sad news indeed. RIP Dave Evans."

Ventriloquist Steve Hewlett paid tribute on Twitter: "R.I.P. mate xxx a True Variety, Musical & Comedy Legend Dave Evans" and added on Facebook: "He loved talking about the business and had the best stories and his double act with Shirley had me in stitches every visit!...He was a true master of Musicality, Variety & Comedy."

In his autobiography The Life of Lee his superstar son recalled seeing his father onstage: "I still vividly remember the first time I saw Dad perform. I must have been six or seven. Wayne and I stood clutching Mum’s hand at the back of a pub as he came on stage. Suddenly — kapow! — he started singing and we were mesmerised. We couldn’t believe how brilliant and how powerful he was on stage. He was like a force of nature, a second Tom Jones."

Watch Dave Evans doing stand-up below