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Article in Weekend Magazine, February 1988<\/p>\n
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The top-shot comedians owe success to their marriage partners<\/p>\n
TOUSLE-HAIRED Bobby Ball holds on to his braces and admits: “We’re not the easiest men to live with.” The slimmer-lined Tommy Cannon nods. “Our wives have a lot to put up with,” he says.<\/p>\n
Being married to the country’s best-known comedy double-act is not all jokes. But Cannon and Ball both acknowledge that they wouldn’t be where they are today without the backing of their wives.<\/p>\n
“We’re married to two exceptional women,” says Tommy, of the crocodile shoes and Christian Dior shirts. “Mine has always been totally behind me.<\/p>\n
“Even when we were struggling in our early married days and I was earning just \u00a310 a week, she was always a very level-headed girl. She never said: ‘Don’t do it-it’s not worth it.’ “<\/p>\n
“We’re both great worriers,” says Bobby. “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve returned home with a terrible black cloud around me because something didn’t go too well that night.<\/p>\n
“But my wife would put her arms around me and say: ‘Don’t let them think you’re not good -you’re the best in the world.’ “<\/p>\n
The comic duo certainly work hard for their money-summer-season work usually means a seven-day week. But the rich trappings of the good life surround them-the matching Rolls-Royces, the holiday homes on neighbouring islands in the Canaries and the smart houses on the outskirts of their native Oldham.<\/p>\n
Bobby is 44 and has been married for 16 years to Yvonne. They have a 15-year-old daughter, Joanne. He also sees a lot of his sons-Robert, 23, and Darren, 19-by his first marriage.<\/p>\n
He was born just up the road from his present home, which is close to Tommy’s birthplace.<\/p>\n
Tommy, 49, lives with his wife, Margaret – just four miles from where he was born in a one-up, one-down terraced house-and has two daughters, Julie, 23, and Janette, 26.<\/p>\n
Both men are inseparable from their Lancashire roots. They still drink in the pubs they used when they were welders. But they never take their holidays together (“we’d never unwind”).<\/p>\n
Tommy admits he likes his privacy more than Bobby, and he’s certainly shyer. To all outward appearances, they are total opposites.<\/p>\n
“I worry even if I have nothing to worry about,” he confesses. “Margaret is the exact opposite. She’s my anchor.”<\/p>\n
Bobby recalls the early days and says that, though times were tough, there was also an underlying happiness.<\/p>\n
“When Yvonne and I first got married, we lived with my sister in a two-up, two-down house. There were four adults and three kids.<\/p>\n
“We had no money, and we were struggling. It couldn’t have been tougher. But we’re so close as a family that, do you know, it was the best time I’ve ever known.<\/p>\n
“Even if I’m not actually worrying about the job all the time, I’m usually thinking about it, how to improve the act and so on,” says Bobby.<\/p>\n
I put it to them that there must be certain hardships for the families of entertainers who are rarely at home. The both nod philosophically.<\/p>\n
“Yes,” agrees Tommy, “but it’s accepted. While we’re doing well, it’s worth the sacrifice. We benefit, and so does the whole family. I’ve got two terrific daughters.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t have a very happy family life when I was young. I think that may well explain why I’ve tried that much harder with my own children.”<\/p>\n
Bobby takes over: “I was also brought up in a very poor household, so I appreciated every little luxury, every little present. It was something I instilled into our daughter, Joanne-we insisted that she worked hard for her pocket money.”<\/p>\n
Tommy reflects that it sometimes surprises him that he ever got married. Margaret was only his second steady girlfriend. They met at a dance in a disco at the top of Oldham Co-op.<\/p>\n
“I must be honest, marriage wasn’t my idea-it was Margaret’s. She said: ‘I’m not sure whether I want marriage just yet.’ So what can you do when your girlfriend says that?”<\/p>\n
“Tommy wasn’t joking when he said we’re married to a couple of exceptional women,” says Bobby. “Moodwise, I’m mostly very happy, like I am on screen, so I’m not a difficult husband in that respect.”<\/p>\n
Outside the support he receives from Yvonne, there is no doubt that Bobby finds that his religion gives him inner strength.<\/p>\n
His conversion happened a year ago. “I started talking to a priest who’s a friend of mine and I got very interested in what he was saying. So I became a born-again Christian. Simple as that.<\/p>\n
“I still drink. I still smoke. I suppose praying has just made me more kind, and it’s helped me deal with success-with our success.”<\/p>\n
But that success, thanks to the encouragement of Yvonne and Margaret, is unlikely to adversely affect the comedians’ personal lives.<\/p>\n
Bobby says: “We’re going to start to make more time available, so that, in our private lives, we can benefit from everything we’ve gained professionally.<\/p>\n
“We’ve known both sides of the coin,” he adds. “Now we want to enjoy ourselves and make other people laugh.”<\/p>\n
He muses: “That we’re still able to do it, that we’re still pretty much together as people, Tommy and I, is all thanks to the women we married. I don’t think either of us will ever forget that.”<\/p>\n
Article in Weekend Magazine, February 1988 Matches that fire Cannon and Ball The top-shot comedians owe success to their marriage partners[…]<\/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-3265","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n