Whilst in Llandudno a couple of years ago besides visiting Portmerion ( where the cult TV serial The Prisoner was made ) we also got see Ken Dodd perform live, another long held ambition. We weren't disappointed. The Happiness Show started at 8 p.m. and went on until 1 in the morning with just a 30 minute interval to relieve those aching bladders! What a genius the man is - in his 80's now and still as funny as ever. The packed theatre was rolling in the aisles - tears running down their faces. The majority of the audience were over 50 and poor Archie, who is 16 now, felt like he was part of some terrible Darby & Joan Club outing!
I imagine most of the audience , like me, grew up with Doddy when he was on the radio in the 60's and 70's and became hooked on that mad world of Knotty Ash, the jam butty mines, the Diddy Men etc. The last of the great variety performers.
After the show Hazel insisted on waiting round at the stage door to get our programmes and tickling sticks ( bought in the foyer ) signed by the great man himself. Sadly he was too exhausted to come to the stage door but his secretary or assistant took our things for him to autograph which he kindly did.
Below is a short extract from The Good Old Days which was popular on BBC television throughout the 60's and 70's. and gives you just a hint of Ken's marathon stage act.
Ken Dodd - Good Old Days 1970's
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2 comments:
One of the funniest men ever to have graced our theatres and TV's.
Apparently he has sold more than 100 million records!
eat your hearts out Take That.
Surprisingly, and probably just as well, he only sang a couple of songs during his 4 hours on stage and one was "Ha - penis" and the other was with the Diddy men - children from local stage school in rotund costumes.
I see a lot of Ken Dodd records on my charity shop and boot sale hunts. Mostly those sickly MOR hits he made back in the 60's and 70's. The few novelty records he made seem to be overlooked which is a great shame.
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