The life's work of one of the nation's most revered newspaper cartoonist is being showcased in a special exhibition in Oldham.

Gallery Oldham is staging an exhibition on the work of award-winning Tony Husband which opened on Saturday, February 4, with a special meet and greet with the man himself.

Tony is one of the country's most famous cartoonists, having appeared in multiple newspapers such as The Times, Daily Mail, Sunday Express as well as magazines ranging from Playboy to The Spectator.

For more than 37 years, he has regularly contributed to the news magazine, Private Eye, with a range of gag cartoons entitled "Yobs".

He was also a co-founder and editor of the influential and "anarchic" comic strip, OINK, in the 1980s which has been described as reminiscent of Viz for children for its tongue-in-cheek and sometimes controversial humour.

On the day of the launch, Gallery Oldham quickly filled with chatter and giggles as attendees wandered through the prolific display of Tony's life works.

While many of the cartoons depict humour in the mundanity of everyday life, from working, raising children, relationship troubles to humankind's love of animals, especially dogs, Tony's work also holds a mirror up to modern society and how digital devices have permeated our world.

Examples of this are brilliantly shown in his illustrations "Alexa", where the smart device seemingly becomes irritated by a request from its owner, to a cartoon of a man snapping a selfie alongside a coffin.

But a huge proportion of the Gallery was dedicated to some of his recent advocacy work for dementia.

These cartoons stood out, not least of all from the splash of colour some of the works incorporated, but as one woman said to her friend: "These hit home, don't they?"

The illustrations are personal to Tony and his experience of dementia, having watched his father suffer and sadly die from the disease, yet struck a chord with attendees who found the snippets relatable to their own experiences.

The work showcases some of the highs and lows of watching a loved one deteriorate with dementia.

His dementia series also accompany a book, "United", written by Gina Award and illustrated by Tony which he was signing and selling at £10 a copy at the Gallery.

Tony told The Oldham Times his dementia work was sparked when he was thinking about his dad and had a conversation with him "in my head" about what it was like to have dementia, "even though he had been dead three months", he added.

Tony said: "I started drawing various incidents and things and at the end of the conversation, he said 'can you imagine losing memory of everyone and anyone you've ever loved? Can anything be so cruel?'"

From there, Tony's cartoons caught the attention of his friend, Stephen Fry, and then a book publisher.

Tony has also written a book, "Take Care, Son", which documents his dad's journey with the disease which was published in 2014.

The cartoonist has since gone on to work with universities and dementia charities, including the Springboard Dementia Group in Oldham.

But his colourful career all started when he was a schoolboy as he always loved art and drawing cartoons.

He said: "I just had a natural flair and I was reading Punch Magazine in the first job that I worked and I thought, yes, this is what I want to do for a living, so I started sending cartoons out."

Tony said he initially worked in advertising then as a window dresser and as a jeweller before eventually taking "the plunge" to become a full-time cartoonist in 1984.

"That's when it took off", he added, as he landed jobs in magazines and newspapers, including Private Eye where he has worked for the past 37 years and The Times where he's worked almost every day for 20 years creating a sports cartoon.

He co-created OINK in 1986 with Mark Rodgers and Patrick Gallagher, though Tony admitted the cartoon "wasn't popular" with Ian Paisley, the then-Northern Irish loyalist politician who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), trying to get it banned in Ireland.

The comic strip was also met with backlash from butchers, particularly in Portsmouth.

"So we called it "Pork'smouth", he joked, "And we were mentioned in the House of Commons about this 'disgraceful' magazine and WHSmith put us on the top shelf because they didn't know what to do with it.

"We were in the same building as the Happy Monday's and their management, so that was fun and it became a bit mad.

"It was a great, crazy time."

When Tony said OINK faded away after three years, he went on to work on the children's TV series, Round the Bend with Hattrick Productions and Spitting Image puppets.

Tony added: "That was something different."

He has also toured the country with the poet, Ian McMillan, for a cartoon and poetry show.

"So it's kind of gone like that.

"I'm always looking for new ideas and I'm always trying to find things.

"I just love it. I just love what I do."

When asked what influences his cartoons, Tony said a great source of his inspiration comes from everyday life.

"About families, about people's relationships with pets, children, work, sports, just with a bit of surrealism as well and a bit of strangeness - a bit quirky", he added.

The exhibition at Gallery Oldham will run until May 13 and there will be a guided tour of Tony's works on Wednesday, February 13.