Category Archives: Comedy & Theatre

Remembering a Stupid Boy made good – a tribute to Jimmy Perry

The following tribute started out as a re-write of my respectful nod to Clive Dunn on these pages in November 2012, Permission to Pay a Tribute, Sir. But today I’ve adapted it to mark the passing of the man who created … Continue reading

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting up close and personal with Toyah

Regular readers of this blog won’t be surprised that this scribe is an avid viewer of BBC 4’s Top of the Pops re-runs, a point I soon confess to my latest interviewee, Toyah Willcox. “Oh, God bless those!” The more … Continue reading

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Proof perfect pop idol here to stay – the Will Young interview

  (PLEASE NOTE: This interview largely centred around Will Young’s proposed Symphony at the Tower show in Lancashire on Friday, July 1, which was unfortunately cancelled on the day of the show. I’ve subsequently updated where I felt I could, … Continue reading

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Further Adventures of The Wonder Stuff – the Miles Hunt interview

Miles Hunt was taking a break from archiving material in the studio when I caught him on the phone at his rural Shropshire base, not far from his Black Country roots. “Not so far at all. It’s still Midlands, innit”. … Continue reading

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Celebrating Songs of Stage and Screen, with Blake’s Stephen Bowman

It was the morning after the night before when I spoke to Stephen Bowman, one of the three mighty voices behind close-harmony group Blake. But this is a tale of a rare night when this top-selling trio didn’t have to … Continue reading

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Shout? Let it all out – the Lulu interview

It was a long time coming, but Lulu’s been fully in charge of her career for at least a quarter of a century now, making up for lost years after at least two decades letting others make her big decisions. … Continue reading

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Puppini Sisters/Hollie Stephenson – Lowther Pavilion, Lytham

Never mind the pom-poms … here’s The Puppini Sisters. And they want to talk to you about living The High Life. On the back of a brand new album – their fifth, and most independent yet – the London-based trio … Continue reading

Posted in Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

High Life, high fidelity – back in touch with The Puppini Sisters

The past decade has proved a blast for The Puppini Sisters, this close harmony trio amassing gold and multi-platinum discs, and enjoying famous collaborations with everyone from Cyndi Lauper and Michael Bublé to The Manhattan Transfer. There have been lots of … Continue reading

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Meeting Himself, coming back – the Gilbert O’Sullivan interview

According to my battered copy of British Record Charts 1955-1979, Gilbert O’Sullivan sold more UK singles than any other solo male artist in 1972, seeing off the likes of fellow top-10 acts Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Donny Osmond, David Cassidy … Continue reading

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Me and Mr Jones – the Howard Jones interview

Can it really be more than 30 years since Howard Jones first arrived on our TV screens, with that cutaway t-shirt and distinctive split-level dyed-blond spiky hair, amid a bank of synthesisers performing New Song on Top of the Pops? … Continue reading

Posted in Books Films, TV & Radio, Comedy & Theatre, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments