It was almost a year ago that Oxford helped Phill Jupitus get his comedy mojo back on track.

The comic hadn’t done stand-up in a decade. He’d been distracted by other commitments: starring in West End musicals Hairspray and Spamalot, hosting his Radio 6 morning slot and writing a book about being a breakfast DJ, singing with the Blockheads, and appearing on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, QI and other TV and radio shows. But something was missing.

“I was invited to talk at the Oxford Union,” he explains. “People like Malcolm X and Bill Clinton have spoken at the Union so it seems a bit special, and the chamber itself is impressive: the weight of history bears down on you. Anyway it was just me on my own, talking to the audience of 300 about what I do when, about halfway through, it suddenly occurred to me, ‘Oh yeah, this is what stand-up feels like.’ It felt fun and made me realise I could still do it.”

Jupitus kicked off his showbiz career as Porky the Poet, writing angry rants against the injustices of 1980s Britain. Today, you still get the sense of a rebel wanting to be free to do his thing. “People think they know what you’re about because they’ve seen you on TV. But television shows are heavily edited and don’t give a true impression of what I do.

“After Oxford, and because Eddie Izzard told me to, I decided to go back to stand-up,” explains Jupitus about the impetus behind Stand Down, the show he’s on tour with and which visits Oxford’s Glee Club tonight. “I’m not the same bloke I was 10 years ago, and I was interested to find out what performer I had become. I’m a lot less needy now: it’s not just about getting the laughs, but more of an exploration of stand-up.”

As well as redefining his stand-up persona, the comedian has slimmed down and taken to wearing kohl eyeliner – another inspiration from cross-dressing pal Eddie Izzard? “That’s more the fault of Hairspray,” corrects 49-year-old Jupitus, who dragged up as Edna Burnblad for the kitsch musical. “I suddenly realised I don’t have many eyeliner-wearing days left. And I have really good eyes, so why not emphasise them?” he mocks.

During Stand Down, Jupitus tackles a number of taboo subjects, including his teenage daughter’s sex life – is he out to shock?

“When you put it like that, it does sound unreasonable,” he agrees. “But it is something thousands of parents have to deal with, and I’m talking about how it affects us. My daughter is cool with it.

“There have been times though,” says Jupitus, “when I have genuinely shocked myself about what I’ve talked about on stage. That’s what I missed about stand-up, that one night when you take things in a new and unexpected direction. Sometimes I don’t feel in complete control of it, and I kind of like that wobbly feeling.”

So does he expect any more thunderbolt moments in Oxford?

“There’s no knowing with stand-up, that’s part of its appeal. It’s like a form of alchemy, it would be impossible for me to predict what will happen at Oxford.”

Phill Jupitus’ Stand Down show is at Oxford’s Glee Club tonight. Buy tickets (£15/£10 students) online at glee.co.uk or call 0871 472 0400.