Monday 25th – Saturday 30th April 2005 at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.
Also starred John Stokes’ Bachelors, Craig Douglas, Ray Alan, Clive Webb & Danny Adams, Anne Duval and Duggie Chapman
Tickets cost £6.50-£16.50 evenings, £4.50-£12.50 matinees.
Brian Goddard for the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre and Qdos Entertainment plc present
A Night At The Music Hall
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Act One Overture – The David Hale Trio |
Act Two Entr’acte – The David Hale Trio |
Programme
Cannon and Ball
Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball are one of Britain’s funniest and most successful double acts. In a career spanning over 30 years they have achieved a string of honours that includes them among the all-time greats of show business.
On television they have starred in their own series practically every year since 1979. They have also ‘guested’ on all the major shows including Wogan, Parkinson, The Des O’Connor Show, Sunday Night at the Palladium and several Royal Variety shows. They featured in a BBC documentary Funny Business based on double acts, which also included footage of comedy legends Martin and Lewis, Laurel and Hardy, and Morecambe and Wise.
To add to their pedigree, they remain the only act to have won three separate National Club Awards and be named as the Variety Club ‘Personalities of the Year’.
Their feature film The Boys in Blue in addition to its cinema success, has gone on to become a video best seller. The boys have also been the subject of This is Your Life.
During the 1970s they built a strong reputation around the UK cabaret club circuit for being a great live act. They also toured extensively in the hotel circuits of Australia and South Africa. Tom and Bob have broken records in theatres all over the UK, including London. In 1981 they played a six-week season at the Dominion Theatre. Every seat was sold before the show opened, and in 1988 their pantomime Babes in the Wood broke all previous pantomime records at the world famous London Palladium, where Cannon and Ball created the record for the largest box office amount taken in one week in British theatre history. Rock with Laughter 96 fulfilled Tommy and Bobby’s ambition to star in their own rock ’n’ roll spectacular, their first summer season for Producers AMG. After an extensive autumn tour and a trip to Israel, the boys played the Chinese Policemen in Aladdin at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle and again at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton.
They have appeared on many major TV shows including The Des O’Connor Show, Noel Edmonds’ House Party, Talking Telephone Numbers and The Generation Game. In the spring of 1999 the boys appeared at various theatres across the country starring in A Night at the Music Hall whilst continuing their tour of An Audience With… The boys played full houses at their summer season in 1999 at the Blackpool Grand Theatre, the season was one of the most successful summers Blackpool has ever had!
The 1999/2000 pantomime season saw the boys play the Regent Theatre, Stoke on Trent for the production Cinderella, co starring Melinda Messenger and Britt Ekland. The early part of 2000 saw the boys starring and touring in various shows throughout the UK’s theatres. Summer season 2000 featured the successful Comedy Bonanza show (which broke box office records) at the Blackpool Grand Theatre and the Princess Theatre.
Pantomime 2002/2003 saw the boys star at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford and 2001/2002 saw them appearing at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. Summer 2002 saw the boys back in Blackpool at the Grand Theatre with Comedy Bonanza 2002 starring The Barron Knights and The Roly Polys. The boys took the roles of Starkey and Yoo in the pantomime Peter Pan for the first time at Wolverhampton Grand in 2003/4, and repeated this success at Darlington this year.
Tommy and Bobby are delighted to be making their fourth appearance in Brian Goddard’s Night at the Music Hall at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton. Even after three decades of making people laugh, Tommy and Bobby are still enjoying every minute and are looking forward to entertaining for many years to come.
John Stokes’ Bachelors
With 17 hit records in the UK charts throughout the 1960s and selling millions of records around the world, The Bachelors became one of the top acts, both in recording and stage entertainment.
In 1964 they achieved huge record sales, showing for an amazing 77 weeks in the UK charts (compared to The Beatles’ 50 weeks) and reaching number one with ‘Diane’ and ‘I Believe’. Many hits followed throughout the world, especially in the Far East and Australia, plus hit singles in the US Billboard charts, with ‘Diane’ and ‘Charmaine’ reaching no 5, and many successful albums. The UK market was very demanding on The Bachelors’ time, with long seasons booked in the top theatres in London and around the country, which left little time for promotion in the US, apart from a couple of appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Johnny Carson Show., plus some of the other top TV shows there. The Bachelors enjoyed great success through the 70s to mid-80s, but opinions within the group were conflicting as the group’s popularity seemed to be in slow decline. The choice was to continue or to update with modern pop songs. Founder member John Stokes believed that their market was with a mature audience and their hit songs would stand the test of time if presented in a more entertaining way, and set out to do a complete makeover of the act. The successful result of this is now obvious, as The Bachelors are once again one of the top acts in the UK and in big demand for the top theatre and cabaret venues. Such is the demand that they have completed six summer seasons in seven years at one of the top resort theatres, namely the North Pier Theatre in Blackpool. This is unlikely ever to be repeated by any other act. News of The Bachelors’ new-found success reached as far as Australia and in 1998 they were invited to tour there once again. Such was the reception that they have returned to tour there every year since, and last spring took in top venues in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland. This year will be taken up with European cruises, theatre and cabaret shows in the UK.
Craig Douglas
In 1959, a 16-year-old singer, Craig Douglas, was rocketed from obscurity right to the top of the charts. Craig is celebrating 46 years in show business in 2005 and still has his own teeth and hair!
Born Terry Perkins in Newport, Isle of Wight, Craig was one of nine children and counts among them three sets of twins. He segued into show business at 15 years of age when he won a local talent contest (first prize £5) and had a hit with ‘A Teenager In Love’ (no 13) – before recording the classic million-selling no 1 ‘Only Sixteen’ in 1959. This song topped the British charts for six weeks and it triggered a veritable explosion of hits for Craig – among them ‘Pretty Blue Eyes’ (no 4), ‘The Heart of a Teenage Girl’ (no 10), ‘A Hundred Pounds of Clay’ (which was at one stage banned by the BBC), ‘Time’, ‘When My Little Girl Is Smiling’ and ‘Our Favourite Melodies’. The last four hits all, amazingly, reached no 9! Craig also charted with ‘Oh Lonesome Me’ (no 15) and went on to sell well over five million records.
The advent of The Beatles (who had once been Craig’s backing band in a concert at Liverpool Empire in 1962) shifted the focus of British recording to groups who performed their own material and saw Craig move into film, television and theatre engagements. Craig has also worked with world stars like Nat King Cole, Lena Horne and Neil Sedaka.
Craig has worked all over the world and even performed for American troops, in the Philippines, on their way back from Vietnam. His cabaret shows have included dates in South Africa, Kenya, Hong Kong and Singapore. He is now often seen at concert halls, theatres, on cruise ships and performing regularly at Warners hotels all over the UK. He even performed in a bullring in Spain in 2001.
Craig appeared with Helen Shapiro in their hit touring show from 1988 until her retirement in 2002. Way back in 1962 Craig and Helen appeared together in the film It’s Trad Dad as the juvenile leads!
Among his many fans is Coronation Street’s Liz Dawn (Vera Duckworth) who asked Craig to sing at her 60th birthday party. Craig has recently completed a highly successful Solid Gold Rock ’n ’ Roll tour with Showaddywaddy, John Leyton and Freddy Cannon.
Ray Alan
Ray Alan, acclaimed on American television as ‘the world’s greatest ventriloquist’ was born in Greenwich, London and educated in Lewisham.
At the age of five he had his first taste of applause when he entered a talent show at his local Gaumont Cinema and at 13 was a call-boy at the Lewisham Hippodrome Theatre. A year later, with a magic and impressions act, he entertained at private functions. He introduced ventriloquism into his act as a brief novelty and also sang and played ukulele.
Ray toured all the leading variety theatres and spent eight months in cabaret in India and in 1954 played a never-to-be-forgotten tour with the famous comedians, Laurel and Hardy. In that same year Ray appeared on the famous Moss Empires with Howard Keel.
With the emergence of television, Ray introduced Lord Charles into his act and the two made their television debut on the BBC’s Good Old Days (a show for which Ray holds a record number of appearances). He also created Tich and Quackers for a children’s TV series, which ran for seven years and Ali Cat for HTV’s network series Magic Circle. For two years he was the host of BBC’s Ice Show and graduated to chair the high-rating panel games Where in the World and the children’s quiz show It’s Your Word.
Internationally, he has appeared on television and in cabaret all over the world. In May 1985, Ray was one of the special guest stars chosen to appear in Bob Hope’s Birthday Show. Staged in the presence of HRH Prince Philip at London’s Lyric Theatre and screened on the NBC TV network throughout America and by ITV in Britain, the show celebrated the comedian’s 82 nd birthday. Lord Charles also made an appearance as a guest on a Liberace TV special and along with Ray also worked with Jack Benny.
Domestically, Ray has headlined his own summer shows and Christmas seasons. On TV he has guested on all the major variety shows including Celebrity Squares, Give Us a Clue, Blankety Blank, Starburst, Entertainment Express, London Night Out,
Family Fortunes, The Bob Monkhouse Show, The Des O’connor Show, 3-2-1, Bullseye, Blue Peter, The Paul Daniels Show and The Ronn Lucas Show besides hosting his own series Three Little Words, Where in the World, The Magic Show and Cartoon Carnival.
Ray Alan devised, wrote and presented the Channel 4 documentary A Gottle of Geer, the title of which was taken for his first book on the secrets of the ventriloquial art published by Pagoda Books, followed shortly after by a second book Lord Charles Wine Guide. Ray Alan also devised, wrote and presented another Channel 4 documentary Starmakers (the history of the variety agents) and wrote and hosted BBC Radio 2’s popular series The Impressionists and presented Woodentops for BBC Radio 2, talking about the history of ventriloquism.
He is in great demand at conference and corporate functions as well as after-dinner speaking engagements and cabaret. Ray has also been performing on board the cruise liners for many years including world cruises on the Canberra, Oriana, Oceana and Adonia and he continues to entertain passengers throughout 2004/5 on board the QE2 and the new QMII along with his many engagements performing at venues throughout the UK.
Clive Webb & Danny Adams
CLIVE WEBB
Clive started his show-business career as a drummer with a pop group. After a year had passed and a serious lack of bookings – and food – and weighing only four and a half stone, Clive hung up his drumsticks. There followed a string of jobs including plumber’s assistant, sewerage farm worker and sausage stuffier.
One day the circus came to town, and when it left, Clive went with it. They had advertised for a drummer so with a clean pair of sticks, socks and underpants he applied for the job. He stayed with Robert Brothers for seven years, ending up as head clown. Clive left the circus to form comedy band The North Stars, which won Opportunity Knocks, and then rather perversely promptly faded into obscurity. It was back to the breadline for Clive – something had to be done. Armed with an impromptu magic act, including a flea circus, exploding dustbin and a guillotine, and with only a few minutes’ rehearsal, he launched himself onto the unsuspecting public, hitting club-land with a vengeance. His act was an instant success, touring with the major names of the time; Rolf Harris, Val Doonican and Shirley Bassey to name but a few.
Clive’s television appearances include Seaside Special, a series of Rolf on Saturday, The Ronnie Corbett Show, two series of Razzamataz, four series of How Dare You, a series as Resident Comedian with Bernie Winters in Make Me Laugh, The Royal Variety, Talking Telephone Numbers and, of course, three years of Tiswas. Clive also co-hosted Razzamataz and How Dare You – national television series produced by Tyne Tees TV.
In 1988 Clive reached another pinnacle of his career -he became British Magical Champion, the first comedy magician ever to win this prestigious and coveted award.
2001 saw Clive and Danny in the circus again, touring for 10 months with Zippo’s.
He and Danny have featured in major number one pantomimes every season and this year will be in Cinderella with Gill Halfpenny at Newcastle-on-Tyne, Clive as Baron Hardup and Danny Adams as Buttons.
Clive and Danny are in their 9th year touring with their own Circus Hilarious which appears in theatres all over the country and the nine-week summer season sees them once again starring in Peter Jay’s Hippodrome Circus and Water Spectacular at Great Yarmouth.
DANNY ADAMS
The fact that Danny Adams was almost born in a dressing room enabled him to start his show business career very early!
This early start, coupled with an absolute passion for every aspect of show business, his incredibly high energy level, and the dogged determination required to acquire his highly-tuned physical skills, has led Danny to achieve a great deal in his young life! He has already entertained millions with his antics in a wide variety of venues, from family-style to cabaret and TV audiences, which include Mole in the Hole for GMTV, The Tweenies, Stars in their Dressing Rooms and It Shouldn’t Happen to a TV Presenter. His zany, high-energy style of comedy produces gales of laughter and gasps of amazement almost simultaneously – no mean feat!
Danny believes there are two types of comedy. He says “There are people that say funny things and funny people. I like to think of myself as a funny person.” Danny’s act consists of many ingredients including stand-up comedy, knock-about comedy, comedy magic, comedy unicycle/juggling and all-round madness!
Danny and Clive appeared at Wolverhampton in 2000 with Jesse Spencer in Jack and the Beanstalk, in 2001 with Jimmy Cricket in Dick Whittington, and 2003 and 2004 in their own Circus Hilarious. Danny is looking forward to seeing his many fans in Wolverhampton.
Anne Duval
Born in Ewloe, North Wales, Anne Duval has worked regularly in the theatre and cabaret, supporting star names including Jimmy Cricket, Frankie Vaughan, Tom O’Connor, Charlie Williams, Ronnie Hilton, John Hanson, Ray Alan, John Inman and Edmund Hockridge.
In addition to appearing in the music hall many times at the famous City Varieties in Leeds, Anne has also toured in music hall in the USA and Sweden, and has appeared in cabaret in Malta, Spain, Sicily and the Canary Isles.
Anne has appeared in 22 pantomimes (including 15 as Principal Boy) with star names including Cannon and Ball, Bill Maynard, Ken Goodwin, Geoffrey Hughes, The Bachelors, Craig Douglas, Jimmy Cricket, Keith Harris and Paul Shane. In recent years Anne has played character roles, including the Wicked Witch in Mother Goose, Queen Natasha in Snow White and the Empress in Aladdin.
16 summer-season shows as leading lady have found Anne returning to most venues for a second or third time, including Great Yarmouth, Douglas (Isle of Man), Whitby, Skegness and Llandudno.
Versatility is certainly a good word to describe Anne’s career, which has also included leading roles in both plays and musical productions, including The Hollywood Musical, The World of Rodgers and Hammerstein and The Ivor Novello Story.
Anne is delighted to have been asked by her husband, Brian Goddard, to come out of retirement in order to appear in his final show at the Grand Theatre and to work again with all her friends and favourite artistes in the world of show biz.
Duggie Chapman
An entertainer and producer of international status, Duggie actually began his career as an 11 -year-old film star. Duggie landed the part through auditions for a northern boy for the Robert Donat film The Cure for Love. He got the showbiz bug at the age of 15, on leaving school, and went on tour with a boy singing group, The Four Blue Pages. During three years of continuous touring in variety his voice broke and developed an unmusical croak overnight.
He decided to turn to comedy after working with so many idols, and his first engagement as a comedian was at the age of 18 at the Old Collins Music Hall on Islington Green, a mecca at that time for agents and talent scouts. He was spotted by a representative of Vic Oliver who introduced him to the BBC producer Alistair Scott-Johnson, who gave him his first broadcast in Variety Playhouse. Many more radio shows followed and in all Duggie has made over 100 broadcasts for the BBC.
Duggie became popular as a summer-show comedian and starred in summer shows throughout the country. Always in demand as a pantomime dame, he spent three consecutive Christmas seasons at Richmond Theatre, London, and for Derek Salberg at Bournemouth and Birmingham. It was in the 60s that Duggie went into business on his own account and his hugely popular Chapman Music Hall played every major town and city in Great Britain and abroad. Visits with the show to South Africa, Scandinavia (three times) and the USA (four times) have meant a very busy schedule for today’s top stars in a series of concerts. As a director in his own right, Duggie has produced more than 400 pantomimes, summer shows and plays.
In 1997 Duggie was awarded the first Roy Castle Trophy for outstanding services to variety from an impressive list of nominees.
This year Duggie will be presenting star pantomimes at Blackburn, Gainsborough, the Albert Halls in Bolton and the Forum Theatre, Billingham.
Duggie has been a great supporter for charity and was proud to become a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats last year.