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LEP readers, come closer to hear about the wellies! 150 150 mhamer

LEP readers, come closer to hear about the wellies!
wellJimmy Cricket's column in the Lancashire Evening Post
Jimmy Cricket has told readers of his newspaper column how he came to end up with his trademark wellingtons – and why they were recently the subject of a photo shoot.

The Northern Irish entertainer is famous for wearing the green wellies – marked with the letters R and L – on the wrong feet during his acts.

Jimmy, 70, said in the Lancashire Evening Post (LEP) that he first donned them in a Manchester club in an effort to “get a laugh on my entrance by being visually funny… to help me win over some of the more hostile audiences”.

He added that an old pair of his boots were currently on display at a footwear exhibition in Nottingham.

Jimmy also told of the time a pair of concrete wellingtons presented to him by fellow funnyman Ken Dodd were stolen from his garden in Rochdale (they still haven’t been found).

And he also related the story of how recently they were the focus of a photo shoot by Andy Hollingworth,  a photographer who specialises in comedy.

Andy wanted to capture an image of Jimmy’s wellies for an exciting project, which involves him photographing iconic artefacts linked to famous comedians – either from mainstream or alternative comedy.

He has already photographed Eric Morecambe’s glasses, Norman Wisdom’s cap, Mr Bean’s teddy, Alan Carr’s glasses and he even flew over to Los Angeles to meet Harpo Marx’s family, who gave him permission to photograph his famous harp.

Famous wellingtons get their own photo shoot! 150 150 mhamer

Famous wellingtons get their own photo shoot!

Jimmy Cricket's famous wellingtons

Jimmy Cricket’s famous trademark wellies were recently the subject of a photo shoot!

It followed a request from Andy Hollingworth,  a photographer who specialises in comedy.

Andy wanted to capture an image of Jimmy’s wellies (above, in black and white) for an exciting project, which involves him photographing iconic artefacts linked to famous comedians – either from mainstream or alternative comedy.

Well-known Northern Irish entertainer Jimmy, 70, is famous for wearing the green wellington boots – marked with the letters R and L – on the wrong feet during his acts.

Andy has already photographed Eric Morecambe’s glasses, Norman Wisdom’s cap, Mr Bean’s teddy, Alan Carr’s glasses and he even flew over to Los Angeles to meet Harpo Marx’s family, who gave him permission to photograph his famous harp.

Andy met Jimmy at his house in Rochdale to snap the famous wellies – and the two (pictured below) had a great chat about comedy, which lasted longer than expected!

* Photos are copyright of Andy Hollingworth Archive

Jimmy Cricket and Andy Hollingworth

Sweep dreams from the early 1990s 150 150 mhamer

Sweep dreams from the early 1990s

Sweep Dreams, starring Jimmy Cricket

A picture montage (above) based on a silent comedy film in which Jimmy Cricket starred has been sent to the famous Northern Irish entertainer more than two decades after it was made.

The sender was the Reverend Lawrie Adams who worked with Jimmy on a film project in the early 1990s.

At the time, Rev Adams was based at a church in the pretty town of Whalley in East Lancashire and he was in charge of  BDTV – Blackburn Diocese Television.

Now a retired vicar living in Cheadle, Cheshire, Rev Adams recently went to see one of Jimmy’s shows at the Plaza Theatre in Stockport.

The project  they worked on was called Sweep Dreams, a short, silent, comedy piece featuring Jimmy as a street sweeper in and around the Lancashire coastal resort of Lytham St Annes.

Rev Adams directed the piece and his two daughters – Fiona and Tracey – were also part of the production team.

The week’s filming in 1992 was completed on location in and around the notable landmarks of the resort ie the beach, promenade and bandstand, and, as you would expect, the theme of the film was Jimmy getting into all sorts of scrapes and mischief!

Although the project was never broadcast on television – interesting because this film pre-dated Mr Bean which became a success in the same silent comedy genre a few years later – much fun was had by all who were involved.

Jimmy said he enjoyed his time on location, adding: “It was really nice that 20 years later I was able to hear again from the Rev Lawrie and to receive the montage which brought back many fond memories.”