Brand performed stand-up at the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year final in 2000. Although he finished fourth, his performance attracted the attention of "Bound and Gagged Comedy Ltd" agent Nigel Klarfeld. That year, he also made his Edinburgh debut as one-third of the stand-up show "Pablo Diablo's Cryptic Triptych", alongside ventriloquist Mark Felgate and Anglo-Iranian comic Shappi Khorsandi. In 2004, he took his first one-man show, the confessional "Better Now", to the Edinburgh Festival, giving what he claimed was an honest account of his heroin addiction. He returned the following year with "Eroticised Humour". He launched his first nationwide tour, "Shame", in 2006. Brand drew on embarrassing incidents in his own life and the coverage about him in the tabloid press. The show was released on DVD as "Russell Brand: Live". Brand appeared in a sketch and performed stand-up at Amnesty International's "Secret Policeman's Ball" in 2006 and again at the 2012 edition at Radio City Music Hall.