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newspaper column

Vince Hill was ‘one of the nation’s finest vocalists’ 150 150 mhamer

Vince Hill was ‘one of the nation’s finest vocalists’

Jimmy Cricket used a recent newspaper column to pay tribute to the late, great Vince Hill

A light went out in the entertainment industry when Vince Hill passed away earlier this year, says Jimmy Cricket.

Entertainer Jimmy pays tribute in a recent newspaper column to singer/songwriter Vince, best known for his cover of the hit Edelweiss.

His version reached number two in the UK pop charts in 1967. It stayed in the charts for 17 weeks.

The song was originally from the 1965 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.

In a recent Blackpool Gazette column (which also appears in the Lancashire Evening Post newspaper), Jimmy recalls Vince’s amazing life and career.

He describes him as “one of the nation’s finest vocalists”.

“Most readers will remember Vince for his big hits during the 60s like Edelweiss from the musical, The Sound of Music, and Roses of Picardy – a ballad about a wartime romance.”

Jimmy recalls doing several UK tours with Vince, including of Scotland.

“Vince enthralled the Scottish audiences, especially when he did this amazing arrangement of Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s most popular tunes.”

He concludes: “When he left us, we lost one of our greatest ever singers and a light went out in the UK entertainment industry.”

Successful TV shows

Vince first sang in public as a teenager and joined vocal group The Raindrops, but went solo in the early sixties.

He rose to fame with his debut single The River’s Run Dry and went on to produce a number of hits.

His other songs included Take Me To Your Heart Again and Love Letters In The Sand.

While known mainly for his singing, he was also a songwriter.

Additionally, he hosted several successful TV shows during the seventies and eighties, including the BBC’s The Musical Time Machine.

Before finding fame as a singer, he worked as baker, truck driver and coal miner.

Vince died peacefully at his home in Oxfordshire on 22 July.

Read: The life of British singer Vince Hill

From this website: Vince Hill: Cherished memories of touring Scotland with him

Autobiography – Buy Jimmy Cricket’s autobiography now

 

An Englishman, Irishman and Italian climb into a car… 150 150 mhamer

An Englishman, Irishman and Italian climb into a car…

Jimmy Cricket has been a newspaper columnist for almost a decade - but he appeared in a fellow funnyman's column about a car share earlier this week!

Jimmy Cricket has been a newspaper columnist for almost a decade – but he featured in a fellow funnyman’s column earlier this week!

The Northern Irish entertainer appeared in Steve Royle’s latest Blackpool Gazette column.

It centred on how they and another comedian, Tony Vino, did a car share to a gig in Essex.

Steve is an actor, writer, comedian, juggler and presenter.

He was a finalist on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent in 2020.

Tony has been a professional comedian for more than 10 years, touring both nationally and internationally.

Steve’s column begins: “An Englishman, Irishman and an Italian climb into a car.

Autobiography

“Sounds like the start to a bad joke but in actual fact it was the beginning of a marvellous journey.

“Having the company of two great comics on such an epic journey was more entertaining than the gig itself, with plenty of amazing anecdotes, especially from my fellow Lancashire Evening Post columnist, Jimmy.

“He has an autobiography out at the moment and even though I bought a copy, I think he told us virtually every story in it during the 14-hour round trip.”

Jimmy’s autobiography, Memoirs Of An Irish Comedian, costs £11.99 as a paperback.

It tells the heart-warming story of his 50 golden years in showbusiness – told in his own words.

Recognisable for wearing a funny hat and green wellies marked L and R on the wrong feet, Jimmy has been making people laugh for half a century.

And he proudly keeps his comedy clean – increasingly rare these days –  making him the perfect family entertainer.

Poorest communities

The book is available from online retailer Amazon here.

One pound from the sale of every book goes to Mary’s Meals.

The charity supports feeding projects in some of the world’s poorest communities where hunger and poverty prevent children from gaining an education.

Also read: Mary’s Meals: 20 years serving global communities

From bingo caller to 50 Golden Years in showbiz!

 

 

Frank Carson: Memories of a cracking comedian 150 150 mhamer

Frank Carson: Memories of a cracking comedian

Jimmy Cricket's tribute to the late Frank Carson

The late, great Frank Carson is the subject of Jimmy Cricket’s latest newspaper column.

Like fellow comedian and great friend Jimmy, Frank was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, died aged 85 in 2012.

Comedian Frank Carson

He had battled ill health for some time.

Frank was a regular face on television for many years from the 1970s onwards.

Having risen to prominence in the 60s after winning Opportunity Knocks, he appeared in popular TV series such as The Comedians and Tiswas.

One of his trademark lines was “It’s the way I tell them!”.

Another one was “It’s a Cracker!”.

Jimmy’s column relives Frank’s famous career and their great friendship.

He posted a grab of the newspaper piece on social media.

And he told his friends and followers: “Hi Folks! My tribute via @leponline and @The_Gazette to a much-loved comedian and friend whom we all sadly miss! #keepvarietyalive.”

Also read: Memorial concert to Frank Carson

 

Little and Large: It was a joy to work with them both 150 150 mhamer

Little and Large: It was a joy to work with them both

Hi folks my tribute to Eddie Large and Syd Little efore the unveiling of Eddie's Portrait this weekend in Blackpool, it was always a joy to work with them both! #keepvarietyalive

Jimmy Cricket says Little and Large were one of the best-loved comedy acts to ever play in the famous seaside resort of Blackpool.

Syd Little was the straight man of then two great entertainers, while Eddie Large was generally the funny guy.

They had a TV series and appeared in theatres and pantomimes for many years before their partnership ended when Eddie had serious health problems.

Eddie, who was born Edward Hugh McGinnis, died aged 78 in April 2020.

He had been suffering with heart failure and contracted coronavirus in hospital.

Fellow comedian Jimmy devoted his latest newspaper column to the famous comic duo.
It was published ahead of an unveiling of a portrait of Eddie this weekend at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens.
Jimmy said: “It was always a joy to work with them both.”
Here is his column in full:

Little and large were appearing in summer season at the Princess Theatre in Torquay when I went backstage to visit them with a sketch I’d written.

It was the early 80s and I was breaking into television.

They had a prime-time show on Saturday evenings at that time, that used guest artistes and as I’d done a few one-night­ers with them, I thought I’d pitch an idea to them.

I knew from experience that you had a much better chance of getting your material accepted if you let the stars of the show get as many laughs as you did.

So I hit on this idea to do a sketch based on me teaching Eddie to be an Irish comedian.

Eddie was a brilliant mimic and I figured if we could do a couple of routines, we could split the jokes between us.

I also figured if the wardrobe lady could tog him out in the same garb as my comedy character It would be even better.

Here’s the jist of the sketch:

Jimmy: Ladies and gentlemen, come ‘ere, I’ve been for a haircut.

He said: Do you want your hair cut round the back; I said, is there no room in the shop?

Eddie: And there’s more…

He said: You know it needs cutting badly; I said: I don’t want it cutting badly, I want it cut properly.

And so on…. the sketch finished with Eddie’s long-suffering on-stage partner Syd,
(they were the best of friends off stage), coming on to try and keep order but of course we both give him his come comeuppance and do a little jig off set.

When I knocked on the boys’ dressing room at the Princess Theatre in Torquay that evening, Eddie was there on his own and he warmly welcomed me in.

When I handed him the script, he sat down and perused it attentively, (comedy’s a serious business folks), but gradually a smile appeared as he visualised the comic potential of it and a huge feeling of relief came over me.

Happy summer season

He said he would show it to Syd and the two of them would show it to their producer Bill Wilson.

I left the theatre that evening in a confident mood.

You’ll be happy to know, readers, the sketch did make it on to the show.

From the moment we came to the set, in identical hat, wellies and tailcoat the studio audience lapped it up and I’m sure that was replicated with the viewers at home.

Many years later, I did a very happy summer season at the Britannia Theatre in Great Yarmouth with them.

Syd and Eddie never had a hang-up about other comedians on the bill getting laughs.

Another 15 years

To them it was the success of the overall show that mattered and the louder people laughed the more likely they would be to spread the word around the resort.

Not long after that season, Eddie’s heart condition deteriorated, but miraculously he was given a heart transplant at the Papworth Hospital in Cambridge which gave him another 15 years.

I made him laugh once when I sent him an email and jokingly suggested that the reason his new heart was in such good nick was that it came from a theatrical agent and had hardly been used!

It was while Eddie was having treatment for his heart at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, that he succumbed to the coronavirus and sadly died on the 2nd of April 2020.

A light went out in the UK entertainment industry.

All the happy memories of working with Eddie and Syd have been rekindled these last few weeks, because Eddie’s wife Patsy, and son Ryan, have passed on to me the happy news that a portrait of Eddie is to be unveiled at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.

Given the fact that Little and Large broke all box office records during their summer seasons in Blackpool, this is a fitting and lasting tribute from our premier seaside resort to one half of one of the best-loved comedy acts to ever play there.

LEP column was epitaph to the ‘wonderful’ Vera Lynn 150 150 mhamer

LEP column was epitaph to the ‘wonderful’ Vera Lynn

Hi folks! I had no idea when I wrote this May @leponline column it would be as an epitaph to this wonderful performer and humanitarian. R.I.P. our Vera!

Jimmy Cricket’s latest newspaper column was devoted to Dame Vera Lynn – just weeks before she died.

Dame Vera passed away on Thursday (18 June) aged 103.

She was known the Forces’ Sweetheart, whose songs helped raise morale in World War Two.

The Queen, Prince Charles and Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney were among those to pay their respects to her.

People knew her best for her wartime anthem We’ll Meet Again.

Jimmy’s column in the Preston-based Lancashire Post on 18 May (above) was all about Dame Vera.

The headline read: Remembering the forces’ WWII sweetheart Vera Lynn.

He tweeted on the day she died: “Hi folks! I had no idea when I wrote this May@leponline column it would be as an epitaph to this wonderful performer and humanitarian.
“R.I.P. our Vera! Performing arts“

The BBC reported: “Six weeks ago, ahead of the 75th anniversary of VE Day and during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Dame Vera said simple acts of bravery and sacrifice still define our nation.

“A week later, she became the oldest artist to get a top 40 album in the UK.”

The BBC recalled that Dame Vera had sold more than a million records by the age of 22.

The article added that she “was also remembered for singing The White Cliffs Of Dover, There’ll Always Be An England, I’ll Be Seeing You, Wishing and If Only I Had Wings.

“The Queen echoed her famous WW2 anthem during a speech to Britons who were separated from families and friends during the coronavirus lockdown in April, telling the nation: ‘We will be with our friends again, we will be with our families again, we will meet again.'”

Paying tribute to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy 150 150 mhamer

Paying tribute to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

pay tribute to a fellow Irishman, and to the Silver Screen's Stan and Ollie, with a great performance from @Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly

Jimmy Cricket writes about his admiration for a legendary comedy duo in his latest newspaper column.

In the 1 April edition of the Lancashire Post, the popular Northern Irish entertainer reviews a recent film about the careers of Englishman Stan Laurel and American Oliver Hardy.

They acted during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema and became well known during the late 1920s to the mid-1940s for their slapstick comedy. Laurel played the clumsy friend of the pompous Hardy.

Jimmy’s column begins: I’ve just come back from doing my one man show at the Slapstick Comedy Festival in Bristol at the Studio adjoining the Old Vic Theatre. The festival was started by a guy called Chris Daniels who just loves visual and silent comedy.

“I did my live set sandwiched between movies of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy up on the big wide screen. There’s been a resurgence of interest in Laurel and Hardy, mainly due to a biopic of the duo which went on general release in our cinemas recently called Stan and Ollie.

“In fact, I’ve been to see it twice. Well folks, our local Odeon Cinema here in Rochdale only charges a fiver to get in. It’s a moving, tender tribute to one of the funniest double acts ever to grace the silver screen; not only do Steve Coogan as Stan Laurel, and John C Reilly as Oliver Hardy get into the skin of these two lovable clowns, but the ladies that played their wives both give stunning performance as well.

“Nina Arianda plays Stan’s other half and Shirley Henderson is Ollie’s. I had a little inside information on this film. Steve Coogan’s Uncle Bernard takes his grandkids to the same school in Rochdale that I take mine, so I get some tasty nuggets of gossip in the playground.

“I looked at him enviously as he told me about getting the red carpet treatment when he got invited to the premiere of the movie up at the local cinema in Ulverston where Stan Laurel grew up. The only time I get to see a red carpet is when Mrs Cricket hands me the Hoover.”

Read Jimmy’s full column here

 

Charity Christmas CD and Snow White panto treat 150 150 mhamer

Charity Christmas CD and Snow White panto treat

Jimmy Cricket's column in the Lancashire Evening PostJimmy Cricket has been looking back in his latest newspaper column on his recent visit to a top shopping centre – and looking ahead to the pantomime he is starring in, which starts tonight (8 December).

Jimmy’s promotion of his new charity Christmas CD continued at the Intu Trafford Centre on the outskirts of Manchester.

Jimmy Cricket’s new Christmas CD is in aid of the Francis House Children’s Hospice

The popular 71-year-old comedian was invited to perform some tracks from the CD, entitled Santa bring my wellies back to me,  on the stage area of the Orient section of the mall.

Volunteers and staff from the Francis House Children’s Hospice – the very worthy cause Jimmy’s CD is in aid of – were also present.

In his December column for the Lancashire Evening Post, Jimmy says: “I had a very enjoyable time doing my couple of numbers up on the stage and then rushing down to the stall to help our wonderful volunteers sell CDs for those who wanted to take home the experience.”

* The new charity Christmas CD is available to buy from this website through a PayPal facility or in person directly from the hospice.

‘Mouth-watering treat for all ages’

Jimmy will play the Court Jester in the classic fairytale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the White Rose Theatre in Leeds City centre from 8 December to 1 January.

The White Rose Theatre is a new 1,400-seater arena, erected in a large marquee complex located within the premises of the Tetley contemporary arts gallery and near the city’s main train station.

This first evening performance on Friday 9 December will be a special charity preview of the show, where three local charities will stand to benefit greatly as all ticket sales will be shared out between them.

The panto also features reality TV celebrity Scotty T, who won this year’s Celebrity Big Brother on Channel 5 and will play the role of Prince Charming.

Actors Louis Emerick (from Last of the Summer Wine and Brookside fame) and Tupele Dorgu (who has featured in Coronation Street and Hollyoaks) will play the roles of the Royal Tax Collector and the Wicked Queen respectively.

And there will be cameo performances from children’s TV programme Rainbow’s George and Zippy, plus a recorded sequence starring Jimmy’s very good friend and fellow comedian Ken Dodd.

In his Lancashire Evening Post column , Jimmy says:  “This year we’ll have the new heartthrob from television Scotty T as the Prince.

“Also Geoffrey and Zippy from Rainbow will be helping me to give the wicked queen her comeuppance and we’ll even have the great Ken Dodd appear on video within the magic mirror.

“Yes, a mouth-watering treat for all ages.”

* The show will run from 8 December 2016 to 1 January 2017 and tickets are now on sale –  visit www.whiterosetheatre.com or ring 0113 870 7769.

Jimmy Cricket will star in a pantomime production of the classic fairytale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Leeds over Christmas and New Year

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