The Bobby Ball statue is located in Lowther Gardens, Lytham-St-Annes.
It was officially unveiled on Sunday 28th August 2022 – information from the brochure produced for the unveiling is below.
Some of the funding for the statue was raised at the Rock On show and The Bobby Ball in November 2021.
Unveiling Brochure
Born Robert Harper in January 1944 in Shaw, Oldham, Bobby Ball, though small in stature, grew to be a National Treasure. Best known for his comedy double act Cannon and Ball, with his friend and partner Tommy Cannon, they had a hugely successful career spanning six decades and were believed to be the longest running comedy double act in the UK.
Bobby and his sister Mavis were discovered singing together in the cotton mill where their mother worked in Shaw and were soon given a licence to leave school to perform on BBC radio. They worked gigs around the north of England as children, and Bobby performed in his first Pantomime at the age of fourteen. As he grew older, however, he became a Welder by trade in order to support his family and this is where he first met Tommy. He was still performing locally as a semi-professional singer and musician at the weekend and one day invited Tommy to join him. They began performing together and after overhearing that comedians received three pounds more per performance, reinvented themselves as a comedy double act.
After years of making a name for themselves on the club circuit, guest appearances, summer seasons and pantomimes, Cannon and Ball were given a primetime show for London Weekend Television on ITV. The Cannon and Ball Show (LWT) was one of London Weekend’s most successful series with consistently high ratings that lasted for twelve years. They starred in the film The Boys in Blue together in 1982, and appeared in the Eric Sykes slapstick film, Mr H is Late in 1988. Other notable guest appearances were The Kenny Everett Television Show (1992), Shooting Stars (1996), and the fifth series of I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here. (2005). Bobby also appeared on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, Pointless Celebrities and with wife, Yvonne, appeared on Mr & Mrs.
Bobby also had an extensive career as an actor and Caroline Aherne with Jeff Pope wrote parts for him in The Fattest Man in Britain, and The Security Men. He had guest appearances in Heartbeat; Last of the Summer Wine; Surprise Surprise; Shooting Stars and between 2011 to 2017, played Barry opposite Sally Lyndsay and Dan Ryan in Sky One’s Mount Pleasant. Bobby had completed the first pilot episodes of The Cockfields, which were well received, and was looking forward to reprising this role after the Covid restrictions were lifted. However, he earned a new generation of fans as Frank in Lee Mack’s long running BBC One sitcom, Not Going Out, on which he appeared between 2009 to 2020. He made his final television appearances as Frank, filmed a few weeks before his passing and aired after his death.
Bobby was first and foremost a family man, he adored his wife, Yvonne, and his children, Robert, Darren and Joanne and was a loving Grandfather to his nine Grandchildren and two Great- Grandchildren. He was close to his sister, Mavis and her family, and missed his older sister, Sylvia, who passed away in 1972.
Bobby and Yvonne moved over to Lytham St Anne’s in 1997, and quickly made it their home. After performing in several Summer Seasons with Tommy in Blackpool, they already felt at home and knew the area, and had many friends. Bobby was always supportive of local events and, unless he was working, would never say no to opening a business, appearing at a charity show or helping out in the local area. He threw himself into community life in LythaM and soon became Patron of the local theatre, Lowther Pavilion, often dropping in to see the Amateur Dramatics group, or supporting local acts. He and Yvonne were also Patrons of the NHS charity Blue Skies, situated at Blackpool’s Victoria Hospital. He also supported Lytham Hall, Lancashire Blood Bikes, and Variety Children’s charity, presiding over ceremonies and appearing at fundraising events. He received a Lifetime Achievement Honour from Variety in 2018.
Bobby was a Creative, he was multi-talented. He wrote scripts, songs, children’s books, poetry and plays, and also published an autobiography, My Life (Hodder and Stoughton, 1993) which not only detailed his early life, highs and lows, but his journey towards his Christian faith, which, he believed, saved his marriage to Yvonne, partnership with Tommy, and ultimately his life, which was on a downward spiral at the height of his career. He travelled around the UK speaking in Churches about his faith in God and how his life had changed dramatically since he had become a Christian. He was an active member of Hope Church, Lytham with Yvonne, his daughter Joanne and his grandsons, and together with Yvonne, not least from appearing on Mr & Mrs, Bobby helped to raise funds for orphanages in Vietnam supported by the Church.
Bobby sadly passed away due to Covid 19 in October 2020. Just two weeks previously he had made his final stage appearance at Viva, Blackpool, fittingly, with Tommy and his own sons, Robert and Darren, a double act in their own right known as Harper. He was admitted to hospital two days later.
Bobby was truly an inspiration and a great friend to everyone around him.
In fact, he had the unique gift of making every person feel valued and was a true ‘People Person’. His goal in life was to make people laugh, and when asked why, he always said, ‘When they’re laughing, for that moment, they’re not worrying.’
The Bobby Ball Foundation. Registered Charity. 1193504
The Bobby Ball Foundation celebrates the life & legacy of Bobby Ball while raising funds for Local Charities and Organisations across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre.
Founded by Bobby’s family alongside a board of independent trustees, the charity will continue the charitable endeavours of the late Bobby Ball. The Foundation is registered with the Charity Commission.
In November 2021 the Charity held a Gala Performance ‘Rock On’ at the Blackpool Opera House as a celebration to Bobby’s life and legacy. The sell-out show was supported by the world of entertainment and followed the next day by ‘The Bobby Ball’ in the Empress Ballroom. Both events raised a massive £141,000. These proceeds were split £58,000 each to Lowther Pavilion and Blue Skies Hospital Fund, both charities that Bobby was Honorary Patron of.
The remaining £25,000 from the events was put towards the statue, in addition to the Just Giving page and the proceeds of the Charity Lunch held earlier in 2021 organised by Bobby’s friends, Debbie and Mark Baxter.
The Foundation would like to thank everyone that has contributed, your generosity has allowed us to place the statue in Lowther Gardens as a lasting legacy to one of Britain’s finest performers.
President: Yvonne Ball
Chairman: Peter Taylor
Trustees: John Camilleri, Nicky Figgins, Mary Lowe, Deni Middleton, Joanne O’Sullivan, Christian O’Sullivan, Jim Pennycook, Deborah Wilkinson, Kelvin Wood
THANK YOU…
The Bobby Ball Foundation would like to offer special thanks to the following supporters:
The Trustees and Staff at Lowther Pavilion, Fylde Borough Council, The Blackpool Gazette and Lytham St Annes Express, ITV, Phil Dale, The Winter Gardens Blackpool, Michelle & Andy Cuffe, Cuffe & Taylor, Mick Spratt and Wigwam, Debbie & Mark Baxter, Andrew Redfearn and Mediaprint, Kila Redfearn, Helen Fitzgerald, Rick Coates, The Cast & Crew of ‘Rock On’ and ‘The Bobby Ball’, Daniel Cuffe, Paul Rowley and Campbell & Rowley, Andy Wolstencroft at Creative Sparc Architects, Hermole Associates Structural Engineers, Tom Gallagher and all at River Properties, M&H Electrical, Ray Butterworth and all at Fylde Paving, Pete Foy and all at Lowther Builders, MKM Builders Merchant, Greg Anderton and all at Leafy Lytham, Lytham in Bloom, Smith’s Plant Hire, Fylde Aid For Ukraine, Danbro, Linda Alexander at Sophisticated Events, Ray Bevan, Stephen Lawton at Clifton Buying Group, Lloyds Bank staff Lytham Branch and everyone that supported ‘Rock On – The Variety Show’, ‘The Bobby Ball’, ‘The Bobby Lunch’ and sent a donation to the Just Giving Page. You are all truly superstars.
