Christianity

Although Bobby and Tommy have known popularity, wealth and fame, they also know that these aren’t enough.

In Bobbys biography he describes the way he ‘had everything, and yet had nothing’. Even during the early 1980’s at the height of their fame he knew something was missing, and began to feel empty inside. By this time he had started to drink heavily, was womanizing and getting into fights. “At the height of our career, I could have anything I wanted, but it was never enough. Eventually, I was drinking a bottle of whisky a day, seeing as many women as I could and getting into fights as often as possible. I was not a nice man to be with, in fact I felt dirty and knew I needed forgiveness.”

During a Pantomime in Bradford at Christmas 1986, Bobby met an old friend, Max Wigley, the theatre chaplain. They talked about Jesus, and Bobby came to see there was more to life, and God was real. He decided to become a Christian and went to see Max one day, where he read a copy of ‘Journey into Life’, and then prayed and gave his life to Jesus.

The change was noticeable immediately, even though most people at first thought it was just a phase. However, two months later his wife also became a Christian.

In 1992 Tommy and Bobby were working in South Wales, near the Church of a close friend. Bobbys daughter Joanne (by now a Christian herself) decided to have her son dedicated to God one Sunday, and they asked Tommy and Hazel if they wanted their daughter dedicating at the same time. They initially refused, but a few days later changed their minds. During the service that Sunday they both became Christians themselves.

You can read a copy of Journey Into Life yourself.


Gospel Show cover

The Gospel According to Cannon and Ball cover

Rock around the Church flyer

Since then, Cannon and Ball have often written and spoken about their faith. They have performed in their own popular Gospel Shows, appeared in other Christian shows, and spend a number of evenings each year giving their testimony in An Evening with Cannon and Ball and An Evening With Bobby Ball in churches around the country.


 In My Life Bobby includes a prayer he wrote for himself.

In this world of ever-changing faces, help me to stay on the straight line I was destined to be on.
Help me to try and put right my faults, but to realise that my strengths are gifts.
Help me to be patient with others who are as impatient as myself.
Help me to learn the value of each minute of each day that I have on this earth, that I can bring love and happiness into someone elses life and not just my own.
Teach me to be honest with myself because if I am not honest with myself first, then it is impossible to be honest with others.
Make me slow to speak but quick to listen because others have a point of view too.
Help me gain a little wisdom as each day goes by because the smallest grain of wisdom is worth all the riches on earth.
Grant me peace and serenity that I may enjoy the days that I have left on earth.
Help me to see the good in others before the bad.
And last of all, help me to be honest in all that I do, because in spite of all our insecurities and faults we are the children of God and he gave us life.
So I shall try each day to become a better human being and, when my time comes to leave this wonderful world, I can go to God in the knowledge that at least I tried.
Amen.