{"id":3204,"date":"2008-11-16T17:05:12","date_gmt":"2008-11-16T17:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/comedykings.co.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/one-off-dates\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T22:23:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T22:23:53","slug":"one-off-dates","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/comedykings.co.uk\/index.php\/one-off-dates\/","title":{"rendered":"One-off dates"},"content":{"rendered":"

2023, 2024 and 2025<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Silver Bells Christmas Show<\/a><\/p>\n

Appearances in a Christmas variety show at the Blyth Phoenix Theatre.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

2023 and 2025<\/h2>\n

\"\"Tommy has appeared on a number of P and O cruises:<\/p>\n

2023 cruise from Singapore to Southampton on Arcadia
\nJuly 2025 cruise to Iceland on Arcadia
\nSeptember 2025 cruise to Canada on Aurora
\nOctober 2025 Mediterranean cruise on Arcadia<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

2005<\/h2>\n

\"Flyer\"\"Flyer\"<\/p>\n

\"Flyer\"<\/p>\n

Date at Butlins Skegness<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

1983<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

One-off show, Sunday 2nd October 1983.
\nWith Flair, Terry Seabrooke, Peter Saint and the Mike Ryal Orchestra.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

1982<\/h2>\n

\"1982 \"1982
\nHarold Fielding’s Sunday Night at the Blackpool Opera House
\nEaster Sunday, 11th April 1982 – two shows<\/p>\n

\"1982Cannon and Ball are a comedy double-act with a difference. Their act blends comedy with pathos, and hinges on the constant conflict between the suave Tommy Cannon and the scruffy-suited, leg shaking character of Bobby Ball and their ‘Rock On, Tommy’ catchphrase is perhaps the most repeated in the country. Professionally they have been in show business for 18 years. Prior to that they worked on a semi-professional basis. They were welders in the daytime and most of their evenings were spent entertaining in Lancashire clubs. By the time they turned professional they were already established in their native North of England, but their ambition was to achieve stardom\u2014and no one can doubt that they have now realised this ambition. Tommy Cannon was christened Thomas Derbyshire, and Robert Harper is the real name of Bobby Ball. Both are from Oldham, where they still. live with their respective families. They first met in the early 1960’s as workmates in an engineering factory. Both were welders doing repetitious and often boring work, but they formed a friendship that over-spilled into their social lives. The twosome shared a love for singing, and after a couple of impromptu performances at the factory social club, formed a singing duo called ‘The Harper Brothers’. And so, their lives were trans-formed. By day they continued as welders, but in the evenings they donned their best suits and entertained in local clubs. However, it soon became evident that Bobby had a natural flair for comedy and this was complemented by Tommy’s ability to remain straight-faced and act as the perfect foil to him. Soon, the serious singing was spiked with the type of hilarious humour which has now become the Cannon & Ball trademark. Comedy entirely original and unique; comedy, loosely based on their working relationship as welders. As the act began to develop through their many appearances in the social clubs of South East Lancashire, they began to look for opportunities outside their native area. As their appearances increased and confidence grew, it soon became evident that engineering would have to survive without them. Working mainly in social clubs in the North of England, Cannon & Ball can look back at overcoming some of the toughest audiences in the country. Lesser artistes have not survived these most demanding and discriminating audiences. Cannon & Ball not only survived, but learned how to build a following whose loyalty and affection is the envy of many artistes. In 1965, they began to appear throughout the country In 1970\/72, Cannon & Ball undertook tours of Australia and South Africa for cabaret and radio work. Few acts in the country today can obtain such a wide range of responses from an audience. The quickly changing love\/hate’ relation-ship from Tommy Cannon to Bobby Ball in their act is based on masterly timing and knowing how to ‘work an audience’. The pathos and sympathy extended to the rejected Bobby Ball and the animosity towards Tommy Cannon, who refused his partner’s friendship, is clearly based on their early experiences. With the continual encouragement of Stuart Littlewood, their Personal Manager, the ex-welders from Oldham have come a long way. With their perfect timing and their flexibility to play any audience, it is easy to see why Cannon & Ball are so much sought after as stars in Britain’s cabaret and theatres. At Christmas they appeared for 61\/2 weeks at the Coventry Theatre, Coventry. They are currently appearing on ITV in their new television series and follow this with a summer season at Bournemouth.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

1981<\/h2>\n

\"1981
\n4 shows in Fort Regent, Jersey<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

1980<\/h2>\n

\"\" \"\"
\n2 dates at Scarborough Floral Hall – Sundays 13th July and 10th August.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"The Maurice Merry Orchestra
\n“Dream Machine” featuring Ray Connell and his dancers
\nMike Newman
\nGuy Kent
\nMike Newman<\/p>\n

Interval<\/p>\n

Your stars for this evening
\nCannon and Ball<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The rise of Cannon and Ball to becoming one of the most consistently \u201cin demand\u201d double acts in the country is one of real success. Success that can be measured in the respect and admiration of their fellow artistes, and the loyalty of their ever growing audiences.<\/p>\n

Working mainly in social clubs in the North of England, Cannon and Ball can look back at overcoming some of the toughest audiences in the country. Lesser artistes have not survived these most demanding and discriminating audiences. Cannon and Ball not only survived, but learned how to build a following whose loyalty and affection is the envy of many artistes.<\/p>\n

They have made several television appearances to date, both for BBC and various independent television companies, including a series of \u201cBruce Forsyth\u2019s Big Night Out\u201d for London Weekend and their own \u201cCannon and Ball at the Wheeltappers\u201d for Granada.<\/p>\n

Since 1975, Cannon and Ball have regularly appeared during Pantomime seasons at the \u201cAlhambra\u201d (Bradford) \u201cGrand\u201d (Leeds) \u201cDavenport\u201d (Stockport) and in 1978 at the \u201cEmpire\u201d (Liverpool). The same period has seen them topping the bill in Summer Seasons at the \u201cWinter Gardens\u201d (Bournemouth) \u201cBehans Night Spot\u201d (Jersey) \u201cThe Pier\u201d (Cleethorpes) and \u201cWellington Pier\u201d (Gt. Yarmouth).<\/p>\n

In the Autumn of 1978, Cannon and Ball undertook a nationwide tour with the American singer, Gene Pitney, appearing at the London Palladium and other major theatres and concert halls.<\/p>\n

Following the success of their recent television series Cannon and Ball are now firmly established as one of Britain\u2019s leading entertainment attractions, and are currently breaking all box office records at Blackpool.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

1979<\/h2>\n

\"1979
\nSunday September 30th, Blackpool ABC
\nWith The Dooleys<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

1977<\/h2>\n

\"1977
\nSunday June 26th, Great Yarmouth Wellington Pier Pavilion
\nWith Brotherhood of Man<\/p>\n

\"1977<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2023, 2024 and 2025 The Silver Bells Christmas Show Appearances in a Christmas variety show at the Blyth Phoenix Theatre.[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3204","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nOne-off dates - Comedy Kings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/comedykings.co.uk\/index.php\/one-off-dates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One-off dates - Comedy Kings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"2023, 2024 and 2025 The Silver Bells Christmas Show Appearances in a Christmas variety show at the Blyth Phoenix Theatre.[...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/comedykings.co.uk\/index.php\/one-off-dates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Comedy Kings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-10T22:23:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/comedykings.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/pandobrochure.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/comedykings.co.uk\/index.php\/one-off-dates\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/comedykings.co.uk\/index.php\/one-off-dates\/\",\"name\":\"One-off dates - 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