0:00:15 > 0:00:19The Palladium is the temple of showbusiness.
0:00:23 > 0:00:30It's every entertainer's dream to be on the stage at the Palladium.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35It is every performer's dream to one day perhaps be
0:00:35 > 0:00:37at the top of the bill.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42It's a great honour, a great privilege, very exciting,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44and frightening!
0:00:47 > 0:00:53I think the Palladium gives the audience a buzz before they go there.
0:00:53 > 0:01:00The atmosphere gives them the feeling of loving the show they're going to see.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02It's the very fabulous Dior dancers!
0:01:05 > 0:01:08It's kind of the mothership, isn't it, of all theatres.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10It's a legend, this place.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12You stand on the stage and think,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15"Well, just about everyone has been on this. Don't cock it up!"
0:01:21 > 0:01:26Oh, it's the one place everyone wanted to perform at,
0:01:26 > 0:01:31and considered all over the world, "The London Palladium, ooh!"
0:01:31 > 0:01:35The great Palladium, theatre where showbusiness was born,
0:01:35 > 0:01:39and typical of showbusiness, nobody knows who the father was.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43You always set yourself goals and ambitions and have dreams,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45and one of them is to play the Palladium.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49In your own heart, you know, I have achieved something,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52I'm doing something I've always wanted to do.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56Truly one of the greatest experiences of my life was playing on this stage.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01If you stand on that stage and you're any sort of performer,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04you get the message that it wants to love you.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10It's like playing at Wembley or Lord's, riding in the Derby -
0:02:10 > 0:02:13you come here, you're at the top of the First Division.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14You think, "This will do."
0:02:14 > 0:02:18I got a new television set specially for watching BBC Three.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22It has a chain on the side for flushing after the programme is over.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25There's a wonderful saying, that it's always half full.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27There's a saying about several theatres that
0:02:27 > 0:02:29they're always half empty,
0:02:29 > 0:02:31but I love it that the Palladium is always half full.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35It's the people's theatre, somewhere where everybody can feel at home.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38It's not stuck-up, grand, it's not the Royal Opera House.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40It's a wonderful, wonderful theatre.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45You couldn't study the history of variety
0:02:45 > 0:02:48without having the Palladium on every page, really.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51It's right there in the forefront.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55It would be like trying to do the history of pop music without the Beatles.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57It's there at the centre, the core of everything.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Marie Lloyd, Dan Leno,
0:03:05 > 0:03:06George Robey, Little Tich,
0:03:06 > 0:03:09they would have all appeared at the Palladium
0:03:09 > 0:03:12in that very early period.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14All the great stars played here,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18so it was a true variety theatre.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Variety mattered enormously
0:03:21 > 0:03:25to British culture in those days, and I think still does, really.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Everybody from opera singers to comedians, you know, bands,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40dancing groups, there were no holds barred, there were no boundaries.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46A special something that appeals to me about the Palladium,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48it's got a variety element to it,
0:03:48 > 0:03:50and my background is in a lot of variety
0:03:50 > 0:03:52and comedy and stuff like that.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54LIGHT JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS
0:04:04 > 0:04:06'I do love that side of the business
0:04:06 > 0:04:10'and I do venerate those sort of stars, I really do.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13'Those people that stand up on the stage on their own
0:04:13 > 0:04:17'and do a show, I find breathtaking.'
0:04:17 > 0:04:19There aren't many theatres in London
0:04:19 > 0:04:24that are really so associated with that kind of ability.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26DRUMROLL
0:04:35 > 0:04:37APPLAUSE
0:04:39 > 0:04:43I remember booking Jimi Hendrix on a variety bill when he was up-and-coming.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46He was top of the bill, and we had a variety bill of jugglers,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49and a bicycle act. We had no idea what we were booking.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53# 'Scuse me while I kiss the sky... #
0:04:53 > 0:04:57People always thought that speciality acts were rather dull,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59but the ones they had on the Palladium,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03variety bills, and indeed on the Royal Variety performances,
0:05:03 > 0:05:08were things that did make you gasp and think how wonderful, how brilliant they were.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14I got my nose knocked sideways,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and probably is still slightly crooked, actually.
0:05:26 > 0:05:27Broken ribs...
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It's an occupational hazard, I was told, so...!
0:05:36 > 0:05:40They absolutely knew that they were going to catch her.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42It was remarkable.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Used as a football throughout the act
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and a skipping rope towards the end.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55- I bet you couldn't do it with a man. - How about it, chaps? Come on.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58LAUGHTER
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Artists could go around doing variety theatres all around
0:06:03 > 0:06:06the provinces and the suburbs for years and years,
0:06:06 > 0:06:10and never get the chance to appear at the London Palladium.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16So when you do get that opportunity, it's "Oh, I've reached it!"
0:06:16 > 0:06:18You can't go any higher.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21There was one fella, had some dancing ducks.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25I was fascinated how they did the can-can.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27HE QUACKS THE CAN-CAN
0:06:27 > 0:06:30And he had little frocks on them, you know.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33HE CONTINUES QUACKING THE CAN-CAN
0:06:33 > 0:06:35I thought, how does he do that?
0:06:35 > 0:06:37He had a hot plate, the hot plate was under a thing,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41and the ducks were going "Phew!"
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Wouldn't be allowed today.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Oh dear God Almighty, yes.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50The Palladium is a star in its own right, no matter who's on the bill.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54No matter who's top, the Palladium is the star.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00I did go and stand in the middle of the stage
0:07:00 > 0:07:03and look at the auditorium, and I thought, my goodness.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08I'm standing where some of the greatest names in the history of entertainment have stood,
0:07:08 > 0:07:13and I had this building, and I must say I did have a bit of a tear.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17I thought, well, this is the building of all buildings that has got to be loved.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20I adore the place.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30It's not like a Royal Opera House, which is a little bit intimidating.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34There's a great feeling that it's giving you a cuddle,
0:07:34 > 0:07:35do you know what I mean? It's nice.
0:07:35 > 0:07:41It's spiritually uplifting, it's really good for your head and soul.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47To perform on the stage, I mean, even if you were feeling dead,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50you got on and this house just went "Come on, girl."
0:07:52 > 0:07:53Do know what I like to do?
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Go and stand on the stage when it's empty and look around.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00You can actually hear the laughter in your ears.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02You can hear the applause.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04It sends a shudder through you.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13You walk on that stage when you're working, and all the ghosts are with you.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15You name them, they've been on here.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17# Today the ship is sailing
0:08:17 > 0:08:19# And every jolly heart
0:08:19 > 0:08:22# Is wishing he could chuck the sea
0:08:22 > 0:08:23# And stay just where we are... #
0:08:23 > 0:08:28'Every performer worth anything stood on the stage at the Palladium,'
0:08:28 > 0:08:32from Tommy Trinder, the Crazy Gang, to all of those great, great stars.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34# The ta's are going t'eather
0:08:34 > 0:08:36# So kiss him for his heart
0:08:36 > 0:08:38# Byesie byesie, toodle-oo
0:08:38 > 0:08:40# Ta-ta, ta-ta, ta-ta. #
0:08:40 > 0:08:44The Crazy Gang were the biggest thing, comedy-wise,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46especially at the Palladium.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50THEY SING OPERATICALLY
0:09:01 > 0:09:03'They were so successful,'
0:09:03 > 0:09:06really, they spent eight years
0:09:06 > 0:09:09at the Palladium, more or less one revue following another.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19'They were hugely popular, and quite rightly so
0:09:19 > 0:09:21'because they were anarchists.'
0:09:21 > 0:09:25They got in there and caused chaos at the theatre.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30The stories of things that they did to other performers.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35Monsewer Eddie Grey would go out to do his juggling and find the clubs covered with Vaseline
0:09:35 > 0:09:38so he couldn't even pick them up, never mind juggle.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45I think they broke up, it was mostly because of the war.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50AIR-RAID SIREN WAILS
0:09:50 > 0:09:54# We'll meet again
0:09:54 > 0:09:56# Don't know where
0:09:56 > 0:09:59# Don't know when
0:09:59 > 0:10:06# But I know we'll meet again some sunny day... #
0:10:06 > 0:10:11The manager used to come on the stage during the performance and say
0:10:11 > 0:10:14"The air raid warning has just gone,
0:10:14 > 0:10:19"so if anybody wishes to leave the theatre and go into the underground,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21"would they please do so now."
0:10:21 > 0:10:26And some people used to get up and go out and leave, but the show just carried on.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30# Will you please say hello to the folks that I know
0:10:30 > 0:10:33# Tell them I won't be long... #
0:10:33 > 0:10:35'Lots of people would actually stay over
0:10:35 > 0:10:37'and rough it within the buildings,'
0:10:37 > 0:10:42doing things, whether they were chorus boys and girls,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44right up to the biggest stars.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47# We'll meet again
0:10:47 > 0:10:52# Don't know where, don't know when
0:10:52 > 0:11:00# But I know we'll meet again some sunny day. #
0:11:00 > 0:11:03I used to stay in there at night with the firemen
0:11:03 > 0:11:09until the all clear, then I would drive home in my little Austin 10!
0:11:09 > 0:11:12We kept each other company at the stage door,
0:11:12 > 0:11:18because through the stage door, it led on straight on to the stage
0:11:18 > 0:11:22and then in between there was this very thick wall,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25you know, to obscure the noise.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29I used to sit on the floor and lean against this wall,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32kidding myself I was safe.
0:11:32 > 0:11:38# My British buddy We're as different as can be... #
0:11:38 > 0:11:42'There were patriotic shows as well, and Irving Berlin came over'
0:11:43 > 0:11:45and did his show, This Is The Army.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48# When the job is done
0:11:48 > 0:11:52# And the war is won... #
0:11:52 > 0:11:57It was all about making people feel good and better about what was going on,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and that there were going to be better times around the corner.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05- REPORTER:- Straight from Cuckoo Land came Stan Laurel
0:12:05 > 0:12:10and tagging along behind, 21 stones' worth of Oliver Hardy.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14First time I ever came to the Palladium, must have been 1947,
0:12:14 > 0:12:18I'd got a job in the theatrical agency as the office boy
0:12:18 > 0:12:22and the boss gave me two tickets to come here and see, erm...
0:12:22 > 0:12:24I think it was Laurel and Hardy.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- Anything you especially want to do over here, Oliver?- Nothing,
0:12:27 > 0:12:31but try and make the people happy... Will you keep quiet a minute?
0:12:31 > 0:12:33I couldn't believe they had walked on the stage.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35HE HUMS
0:12:35 > 0:12:37There they were, and I just started laughing.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39After a couple of weeks we might...
0:12:39 > 0:12:42- What is it? - You're standing on my foot.
0:12:42 > 0:12:43Oh, I'm sorry!
0:12:45 > 0:12:50The so-called big variety season started the year after in 1948
0:12:50 > 0:12:54when Val Parnell had taken over control
0:12:54 > 0:12:58of booking the Palladium.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Val Parnell was in the business of filling the Palladium
0:13:02 > 0:13:05with a different bill every week, 52 weeks a year.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10Val had come up with this idea of bringing a whole season,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13virtually, of American artists.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Lights up in London too, behind the scenes at the Palladium,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20where the stage is all set for a visit from a famous star.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Even the chorus crowds to the wings to see the show.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29The opening act was Mickey Rooney.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36He left early because the British audiences
0:13:36 > 0:13:38just weren't actually getting his humour.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45So, you know, people started to say, "It's not going to work."
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Val Parnell had already booked Danny Kaye,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51and Danny Kaye wasn't that well known over here
0:13:51 > 0:13:54so he didn't know how his act was going to go down,
0:13:54 > 0:13:58and when he saw a consummate professional like Mickey Rooney
0:13:58 > 0:14:01going down the drain, he was so scared.
0:14:06 > 0:14:12But he opened, and within 24 hours, he was the toast of the town.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16MUSIC: "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" by Dean Martin
0:14:25 > 0:14:29Swaying backwards and forwards, the crowd bulges ominously
0:14:29 > 0:14:32as a sleek black car brings along the star of the night,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35the man thousands have waited six hours to see, Danny Kaye.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41His overgrown curls hidden below a large sun hat,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Danny hurries away and the crowd surges forward
0:14:44 > 0:14:49to acclaim the King and Queen, arriving with Princess Margaret and the Duke of Edinburgh.
0:14:49 > 0:14:54Danny Kaye came and just ripped this place apart,
0:14:54 > 0:14:57and you just couldn't get in. You couldn't buy a ticket.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02It wasn't a royal command, the King and Queen and the young princesses,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04as they were then, came to see him.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Acknowledged as the star of the evening is the carroty-headed comedian from Brooklyn.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15Even the King and Queen couldn't get tickets, so they just turned up on spec
0:15:15 > 0:15:18one night, and the managers had to ask a family in the front row
0:15:18 > 0:15:20if they'd mind giving up their seats,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24because the King and Queen had come with Elizabeth and Margaret.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28Now Danny's got a visitor, a little man who's always busy as a bee
0:15:28 > 0:15:30and just as helpful, Arthur Askey.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Backstage was full of everybody you could think of.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Attlee, who was the prime minister at the time, and Churchill.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the casino.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- LAUGHTER - We do hope... What?
0:15:54 > 0:15:56I was madly in love with Danny Kaye,
0:15:56 > 0:15:59and I queued up overnight to see him.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03When I was a child, I came here to see Danny Kaye.
0:16:03 > 0:16:09And it was quite, quite the most wonderful experience.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23CYMBAL CRASH
0:16:23 > 0:16:26It's never left me. It's one of the things that's been
0:16:26 > 0:16:33a lasting memory my life, when Danny Kaye became a great. He was my hero.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35# I shake with fright
0:16:35 > 0:16:38# Because my Dinah might
0:16:38 > 0:16:40# Change her mind about me
0:16:40 > 0:16:44# Hey, hey, you didn't make me love Dinah... #
0:16:44 > 0:16:47'Many times, he'd look round and say, "Peter, what are you doing?"'
0:16:47 > 0:16:50And I'd say, "I'm going to go home, sir."
0:16:50 > 0:16:54"No, you're not, you're coming out with me." And remember, I was only just over 16.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58HE SCATS
0:17:04 > 0:17:05# Hey
0:17:05 > 0:17:07# Hey
0:17:07 > 0:17:08# Hey
0:17:08 > 0:17:09# Oh
0:17:09 > 0:17:11# Ba hey-oh-eh
0:17:11 > 0:17:13# Hey-oh-eh, hey-oh-eh
0:17:13 > 0:17:16# Baaaaa! #
0:17:16 > 0:17:18It helped my education.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Hello, how nice to see you again.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Well, it's been a big week of close-ups on the stars.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Here's your first view of Britain from Plymouth Sound. What do you think?
0:17:40 > 0:17:44It's a beautiful thing. Just think, this whole thing is surrounded by tea,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46I think it's a beautiful thing.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49And I can't wait to have my first cup of tea,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52because from now on I'm on a solid tea diet, I will be sloshing around.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56In a week or so, I'll be half-man, half-teabag, and I'm thrilled about it.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01# When I fall in love
0:18:04 > 0:18:07# It will be forever... #
0:18:07 > 0:18:13What meant more to the American performers was playing the Palladium.
0:18:13 > 0:18:19If you came over here, then the next day in Variety, their magazine,
0:18:19 > 0:18:23"Appeared at the London Palladium", it was a big thing to all Americans.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26First of all, Miss Garland, welcome back to London.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Thank you very much. It's nice to be here.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33Everybody around the world wanted to play at the Palladium.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34It was an international theatre,
0:18:34 > 0:18:39and probably still is the only truly international theatre that we have.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42It's always nice to come back to the Palladium.
0:18:42 > 0:18:48They were glamorous, and they had their craft, you know,
0:18:48 > 0:18:49absolutely down to a tee,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53and they were quite wonderful moments to see them performing.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55# As I walked out
0:18:55 > 0:18:59# In the streets of Loredo
0:18:59 > 0:19:02# As I walked out
0:19:02 > 0:19:04# In Loredo
0:19:04 > 0:19:06# One day
0:19:06 > 0:19:10# I spied a young cowboy
0:19:10 > 0:19:13# Wrapped up in white linen... #
0:19:13 > 0:19:16APPLAUSE
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Shucks, I wouldn't put it on unless I was good at it.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26I wouldn't like anyone to think
0:19:26 > 0:19:31that the American recording stars had it all their own way.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35We produced a whole string of...
0:19:35 > 0:19:38hit recording artists in this country
0:19:38 > 0:19:42who would pack the Palladium as much as any of the Americans.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44# I'm putting on my top hat
0:19:45 > 0:19:47# Tying up my white tie
0:19:48 > 0:19:50# Brushing off my tails
0:19:51 > 0:19:53# I'm
0:19:53 > 0:19:55# Doing up my shirt front
0:19:56 > 0:19:58# Putting in my shirt studs
0:19:58 > 0:20:00# Polishing my nails... #
0:20:00 > 0:20:04'The biggest of them all was Dickie Valentine,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07'who became absolutely a heart-throb,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09'a huge record seller,'
0:20:09 > 0:20:12and a major, major recording star,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15to rival Nat King Cole, Johnnie Ray, Frankie Laine -
0:20:15 > 0:20:18all those big American stars.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19'Dickie Valentine was up there.'
0:20:19 > 0:20:22# Typing up my white tie
0:20:22 > 0:20:25# Dancing in my tails. #
0:20:25 > 0:20:28'I think it was around 1945, 1946, he was a page boy in the Palladium,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32'and they used to just do the odd jobs, they were like the runners of today.'
0:20:32 > 0:20:35And he was off having a cup of tea somewhere at a cafe, I think,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37and one of his colleagues came and said,
0:20:37 > 0:20:43"The head guy wants to see you," and my dad cheekily turned round and told him, "Tell him to wait."
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Jokingly, of course. But this guy went back
0:20:46 > 0:20:49and told the head guy and when my dad got back, he got the sack.
0:20:49 > 0:20:55# Look at those stars above you... #
0:20:55 > 0:20:59And then in 1955 he topped the bill at the Palladium for two weeks,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02amongst the Americans and everybody else that was being booked.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07# You too can be a dreamer... #
0:21:07 > 0:21:10What a fairy tale to go from the Palladium, sacked,
0:21:10 > 0:21:12ten years later, topping the bill.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15# Mr Sandman
0:21:15 > 0:21:17# Bring me a dream... #
0:21:17 > 0:21:21I want to introduce to you a star of many opera stages
0:21:21 > 0:21:25and a great star of Hollywood - Mario Lanza.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:21:33 > 0:21:37Well, I had some very difficult clients, especially Mario Lanza.
0:21:37 > 0:21:43# When you are in love
0:21:43 > 0:21:47# It's the loveliest night
0:21:47 > 0:21:48# Of the year... #
0:21:48 > 0:21:53'We were at the Dorchester Hotel, I was living in the same suite as Mario.'
0:21:53 > 0:21:56We had very big problems with him.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59It was touch-and-go whether he was going to perform.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01# Touch them from here... #
0:22:01 > 0:22:07'He had been horrific to me personally, and to everybody around.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11'And the door opened,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15'and a photographer came in with his camera and said, "Now?"'
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Mario said, "I told you, no photographers!" And he struck me.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22He hit me right in the face and actually knocked me out.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25I'm not talking to the press now
0:22:25 > 0:22:29or to Leslie Grade who represents me in Europe,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32or Mr Val Parnell or just anyone at all. HE SIGHS
0:22:32 > 0:22:36It took a long time, but I just want to talk to you, the English people.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40It took so much time, and may I say, hello. That's all.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:22:42 > 0:22:45'I came to, he was reviving me.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46'He was all,'
0:22:46 > 0:22:48"Peter, I'm so sorry.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50"You know I'm nervous, I'm so tense."
0:22:50 > 0:22:52I said, "That's it. I've had enough."
0:22:54 > 0:22:59'So I walked out, slammed the door and I said to Leslie Grade,
0:22:59 > 0:23:02'who was actually my boss,'
0:23:02 > 0:23:05and he said, "What's that? You're bleeding!"
0:23:05 > 0:23:09And I said, "Yes, my nose and my mouth are bleeding.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11"That bloody man's knocked me out again."
0:23:11 > 0:23:16And Leslie came back to me and said, "Peter, now what we're going to do is this.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20"You let Mario go on and do a good performance tonight.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23"When he walks off the stage, you hit him."
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Well, of course, everybody laughed.
0:23:25 > 0:23:31# It's the loveliest night
0:23:31 > 0:23:38# Of the year. #
0:23:38 > 0:23:40That is what makes this place so special,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42the people behind the scenes
0:23:42 > 0:23:45and the amount of work that goes on there,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47because it really is a family.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58I don't think I've ever felt so much part of a family.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03# Hello, Liza... #
0:24:03 > 0:24:08- APPLAUSE - # Well, hello, Liza
0:24:08 > 0:24:11# It's so nice to have you here
0:24:11 > 0:24:15# Where you belong
0:24:15 > 0:24:19# You're looking swell, Mother
0:24:19 > 0:24:23# I can tell, Mother
0:24:23 > 0:24:27# You're still glowing You're still crowing
0:24:27 > 0:24:30# You're still going... #
0:24:30 > 0:24:32SINGING FADES OUT
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Aside from the performers on the stage, the people behind the scenes,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44if you like, were the best in class.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56The London Palladium...
0:24:56 > 0:25:00is my second home, and I love this place so much.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06My lamp becomes a part of me.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08It's part of me.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11And all the worries I have is gone.
0:25:11 > 0:25:12The show come first.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19Oh, I mean, Linford has been there since the Palladium was built.
0:25:19 > 0:25:24He's incredible. I think he's just part of the works there.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29Whoever has come and gone, Linford has been there through them all.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37Linford, doing his follow spot, honing right down on to her face.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Linford's proudest moment.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48I've worked at the Palladium for 47 years,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52and I don't have one day of regret of being here.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56# Somewhere
0:25:56 > 0:25:59# Over the rainbow... #
0:25:59 > 0:26:00Sing it with me.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03# Way up high... #
0:26:03 > 0:26:06You can sing it better than I can, come on, sing along.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07Come on!
0:26:07 > 0:26:10'Like everybody else, she was incredibly nervous.'
0:26:10 > 0:26:14You know, the Palladium, big British audience,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18and she had had a few bad experiences already.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22# Somewhere
0:26:22 > 0:26:25# Over the rainbow... #
0:26:25 > 0:26:27'A guy called Bill Ward'
0:26:27 > 0:26:32went up to the dressing room and he came in that side there and said, "The bitch won't go on."
0:26:32 > 0:26:35I said, "Well, neither would I if you spoke to me like that," and I was a kid.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39And I got all the guys, Little Roy and Big Roy, stagehands,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Jack, and I said, "Line up when I bring her out."
0:26:41 > 0:26:43I went up and said, "Hi, how are you?"
0:26:43 > 0:26:46She said, "Hi, how are you?" I said, "I'm fine.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50"You fancy going down to have a look? They are dying to see you out there.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53"If you don't want to go on, don't worry, I can go on.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55"But I think you'll love it if you do."
0:26:55 > 0:26:59And she said to me, which I'm very proud of, "You've got a lot of class, little man."
0:26:59 > 0:27:03And I took her by the arm and all the stagehands were waiting, and they went,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06"Welcome back, Miss Garland. Welcome back, Miss Garland."
0:27:06 > 0:27:11Well, I got the choke there. And on she walked and killed them.
0:27:11 > 0:27:17# If happy little bluebirds fly
0:27:17 > 0:27:22# Beyond the rainbow
0:27:22 > 0:27:24# Why... #
0:27:24 > 0:27:26You're marvellous!
0:27:26 > 0:27:34# Oh, why can't I? #
0:27:34 > 0:27:36CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:27:48 > 0:27:50'Those performers that have got it
0:27:50 > 0:27:55'and can play an audience and work an audience, this is the place for them.'
0:27:55 > 0:27:57And standing down there and watching it,
0:27:57 > 0:28:00I can remember all the time watching
0:28:00 > 0:28:02and just admiring... watching the stagecraft
0:28:02 > 0:28:06and learning how some of these performers, the tricks of the trade...
0:28:06 > 0:28:09I'd come in night after night, and watch them.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13I hope you're having a nice time. I had my Easter holiday just over a week ago.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18A lot of people noticed how brown I looked. I looked very dark on the screen, you know. That was all tan.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20I've got to tell you, I just...
0:28:21 > 0:28:23It wasn't boot polish, it was tan, madam.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25And you'd be waiting for it.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29"I know the gag that's coming up." And you'd look at the audience,
0:28:29 > 0:28:35and they don't know how funny this is going to be, and you'd watch the place rock with laughter,
0:28:35 > 0:28:37whoever the great comedian was.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Oh, there's nowhere like it. Nowhere like it.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47Before Sunday Night At The London Palladium,
0:28:47 > 0:28:49everything was black and white -
0:28:49 > 0:28:53even though there was no colour television at that time, but it was like that.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58That moment, variety, or entertainment, changed direction.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00To see the best that there was
0:29:00 > 0:29:04on the Palladium stage, it was almost the perfect storm.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07You had the best entertainers on the best stage
0:29:07 > 0:29:10and the best spot on television, Sunday night at that time.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14Every Sunday night at 8 o'clock, the house lights dim,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17the conductor raises his baton
0:29:17 > 0:29:21and Val Parnell's Sunday Night At The London Palladium is on the screen.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26This is what millions of people all over the country settle down to watch.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29'The country, as I remember, revolved around it.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31We'd never seen, on our TV screens,'
0:29:31 > 0:29:34a show that was as big.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42'Sunday Night At The London Palladium closed pubs and things.'
0:29:42 > 0:29:47I used to go into my local pub and they'd say, "Who's on on Sunday?"
0:29:47 > 0:29:49And I'd tell them and they'd go, "Oh, my God!"
0:29:49 > 0:29:53# I got myself a crying, talking... # CHEERING
0:29:53 > 0:29:57# Sleeping, walking, living doll
0:29:57 > 0:29:59# Got to do my best to please her
0:29:59 > 0:30:03# Just cos she's a living doll... #
0:30:03 > 0:30:05For us, it was a matter of how to get the biggest,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08widest audience possible. And has it paid off for me?
0:30:08 > 0:30:09Yes, it has.
0:30:09 > 0:30:14# My one and only walking, talking, living doll. #
0:30:14 > 0:30:17For artists selling records, it was the best plug.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19You didn't need to do any more television.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23You did Sunday Night At The Palladium and you reached 90% of the population.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27# I'm going to get there somehow Ringing up to see
0:30:27 > 0:30:29# That I'm going to get there somehow
0:30:29 > 0:30:31# I'm leaving right away... #
0:30:31 > 0:30:36'I was working at a little club in Soho and a message came through
0:30:36 > 0:30:38to my dressing room -
0:30:38 > 0:30:41"Val Parnell was in tonight while you were on stage."
0:30:41 > 0:30:45And he said, "He wants to know if you'd like to come and have a drink with him."
0:30:45 > 0:30:49# Hop into the taxi, but I haven't got the fare.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53# If I hitchhike on a lorry Well, it might'nt go past there... #
0:30:53 > 0:30:55'He said to me,'
0:30:55 > 0:30:59"How would you feel about doing Sunday Night At The London Palladium?"
0:30:59 > 0:31:02I really...I nearly fainted.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04# If I don't get back tomorrow
0:31:04 > 0:31:09# Come looking for me, please. #
0:31:09 > 0:31:11'Up to then, I just could not
0:31:11 > 0:31:15'get anybody interested in making records. They didn't want to know.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18'The next day, three record companies wanted to sign me up,'
0:31:18 > 0:31:22and I think they wanted to sign me up not because they thought I was brilliant,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25but they thought I was going to be popular.
0:31:25 > 0:31:26Good evening!
0:31:26 > 0:31:29# Ladies and gentlemen
0:31:29 > 0:31:33# Welcome to Sunday Night At The London Palladium... #
0:31:33 > 0:31:34It was the plum job,
0:31:34 > 0:31:36the biggest job on television
0:31:36 > 0:31:39was to be the host of Sunday Night At The Palladium.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41# Hip-hip-hooray... #
0:31:41 > 0:31:44'I was working in this terrible theatre at Eastbourne.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47'A cast of ten, an orchestra'
0:31:47 > 0:31:49of two pianos and drums,
0:31:49 > 0:31:50and I came to that -
0:31:50 > 0:31:53'the 30-piece orchestra going as I arrived,
0:31:53 > 0:31:57'and then looking out at that vast...you know,
0:31:57 > 0:31:58this empty theatre,
0:31:58 > 0:32:02wondering what it would be like with 2,500 people in there.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05# I used to hold you, baby
0:32:05 > 0:32:06- # So tight... # - LAUGHTER
0:32:06 > 0:32:08# Each night, that's right
0:32:08 > 0:32:11# I kind of hoped that maybe you might
0:32:11 > 0:32:14# Fall for me
0:32:14 > 0:32:18# Why, oh, why, do voices say to me
0:32:18 > 0:32:20# Sit and cry, that this was meant to be?
0:32:20 > 0:32:22# Love's unkind and love's untrue
0:32:22 > 0:32:26# Oh, why did love pick out you for me?
0:32:26 > 0:32:27- # Poor me - Poor me
0:32:27 > 0:32:29- # Poor me - Oh, oh
0:32:29 > 0:32:30- # Oh, oh - Poor me
0:32:30 > 0:32:33- # Poor me - BOTH: Poor me. #
0:32:33 > 0:32:37'The bills changed, the top of the bill changed, the acts changed -
0:32:37 > 0:32:39'the host was the glue that held it together'
0:32:39 > 0:32:41from week to week to week.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45And getting that job made you a star.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47- Oh? - HE CHUCKLES
0:32:47 > 0:32:49LAUGHTER
0:32:50 > 0:32:51I love you too.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57Within two or three months, I was one of the biggest names in the country.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59Are you really?
0:32:59 > 0:33:01Yeah?
0:33:01 > 0:33:04- Well, we're going out tonight, aren't we? - LAUGHTER
0:33:04 > 0:33:07I hope we are.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11I'd go into restaurants and they'd give me a meal on the house.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Before, when I was starving for a meal,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17no-one even gave me a loaf of bread and some water.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20But that's...that's so-called stardom for you.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24It will be wonderful tonight, it really will.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26We'll go to the same old place.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37October the 27th, 1963. That one appearance
0:33:37 > 0:33:39totally changed my life.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Totally, and that's this theatre that does that,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44because it is the most famous theatre in the world.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47Between you and me, don't you think marriage is wonderful?
0:33:47 > 0:33:51Between you and me marriage would be ridiculous.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55I'd had George Raft on the show, who was a very famous gangster film star,
0:33:55 > 0:33:58and he'd gone back, he was a pal of Sinatra's and said,
0:33:58 > 0:34:02"There's a kid in England who looked after me great, Jimmy Tarbuck."
0:34:02 > 0:34:06And I was in Florida and a guy said, "The man wants to meet you."
0:34:06 > 0:34:08I said, "The man?" He said, "Frank."
0:34:08 > 0:34:11I said, "Frank who? Are you kidding?" And there I was,
0:34:11 > 0:34:16I was sat with him. And it was like a film set. He stood up and said, "How are you, Jimmy?"
0:34:16 > 0:34:19I said, "Hi, Mr Sinatra." He said, "Frank."
0:34:19 > 0:34:22He said, "I believe you're at that beloved Palladium."
0:34:22 > 0:34:25You just knew that you are witnessing something that was live.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28It wasn't pre-recorded or edited afterwards as shows are now.
0:34:28 > 0:34:32And that frightened a lot of your favourite performers,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35your mum and dad's favourites.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Just that one word. They couldn't say, "Stop that, I'll do it again."
0:34:43 > 0:34:49The energy that that generated, well, it was... You could almost taste it.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51It was fabulously exciting.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57What would happen, at five minutes to eight, "Ready, sir?"
0:34:59 > 0:35:03You could hear it out there, the buzz. The warm-up comic would be on.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07And then they'd say, "You've got 30 seconds, sir.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10"We're approximating tonight we're going to have 17 million viewers."
0:35:10 > 0:35:14You had to hear that just before you went on and then you'd hear this...
0:35:14 > 0:35:17It was most wonderful. There was one chord, it went whoosh,
0:35:17 > 0:35:18# Da-da-da-da-da! #
0:35:18 > 0:35:21And you think, "Here you go, you can't go home now."
0:35:26 > 0:35:28# Pretty woman Walking down the street
0:35:28 > 0:35:32# Pretty woman The kind I'd like to meet
0:35:32 > 0:35:36- # Pretty woman... # - Ha-ha!
0:35:36 > 0:35:38Should've seen your faces. "There's Roy!"
0:35:38 > 0:35:42# Pretty woman, won't you pardon me?
0:35:42 > 0:35:43# Pretty woman
0:35:43 > 0:35:46# I couldn't help but see Pretty woman... #
0:35:46 > 0:35:49Your battle is won before you start
0:35:49 > 0:35:52because the theatre gives you everything you need.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56It gives you the guts, shall we say, to go out there and do your act.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58MUSIC: "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison
0:35:58 > 0:36:00HE GROWLS
0:36:00 > 0:36:02'Because it had been so successful for me,
0:36:02 > 0:36:07they then put me into the pantomime.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Our pantomimes, of course, were very famous.
0:36:19 > 0:36:20Doors on the left.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Doors...
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Oh, they were enormous. They were musicals, really,
0:36:27 > 0:36:28they were mega-musicals.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35We always opened on Christmas Eve
0:36:35 > 0:36:40and we played twice daily right through to Easter Saturday.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48We're used to one, two stars, maybe, playing in pantomime.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53The Palladium would have maybe six, seven stars, who in their own right could top a bill.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Frank Ifield,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58Tommy Steele did pantomime.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02Engelbert Humperdinck did Robinson Crusoe and as the ship went down
0:37:02 > 0:37:07at the close of the first half, he stood on the stage and sang There Goes My Everything,
0:37:07 > 0:37:10which got a round of applause and a good laugh.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29Somebody at the Grade office had been in Las Vegas
0:37:29 > 0:37:33and seen this act, Tanya the Adorable Elephant,
0:37:33 > 0:37:37and it was a baby elephant with its trainer, Jenda Smaha -
0:37:37 > 0:37:39the name is engraved on my heart.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47'She'd have to pass my dressing room'
0:37:47 > 0:37:50so her trainer brought her by, and very often he'd say,
0:37:50 > 0:37:53"Can we come in?" And I'd go, "Yeah."
0:37:53 > 0:37:57And she'd come in, and there was a little round-backed chair with red velvet
0:37:57 > 0:38:01and he'd say, "Sit, Tanya, sit." And Tanya would just lean on it like this.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04And it was just...just fantastic.
0:38:10 > 0:38:15Tanya was pretty cunning. I have no idea why she took a dislike to the wardrobe mistress.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24After she'd left the stage, she walked past my dressing room
0:38:24 > 0:38:27'and then she had to go outside the stage door
0:38:27 > 0:38:32'and there was a ramp leading up, and the wardrobe mistress leaned back towards the wall'
0:38:32 > 0:38:36and she stopped beside her and slowly learnt on her like that
0:38:36 > 0:38:38and the woman was going, "Oh, oh!"
0:38:43 > 0:38:47This cunning way of just standing there almost just...
0:38:47 > 0:38:50not really looking but squashing this lady.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53Oh! Thank heavens nothing happened!
0:38:53 > 0:38:56Great days, those were. Classy theatre.
0:38:56 > 0:39:02# God save our gracious Queen... #
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Last Monday, I had the honour of appearing in a show
0:39:05 > 0:39:08which the business rightly regards as the highlight of the year.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12The Royal Variety Show is at its best and at its most natural
0:39:12 > 0:39:14when it's at the Palladium.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18# Send him victorious... #
0:39:18 > 0:39:24There is an emotional relationship between the Royal Family, there's an emotional relationship
0:39:24 > 0:39:31between the audience and the stars that are on that stage and the combination of being at the Palladium
0:39:31 > 0:39:36for a performer and doing a Royal Variety Show is a double whammy.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41Welcome to the one part of tonight's Royal Variety Show
0:39:41 > 0:39:44that the audience here at the London Palladium won't see.
0:39:44 > 0:39:49It's those few moments of excitement and tension that build up backstage.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14And on tonight's show, the ice-breaker is Des O'Connor who's just over here.
0:40:14 > 0:40:15I've just found out, by the way,
0:40:15 > 0:40:19that it's a bit nearer than we thought and I'm going to have to hurry this, I'm sorry.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Oh, really?
0:40:22 > 0:40:26- I've just had a signal, the Royal Car has arrived.- Oh, I'm off! I'll see you later.- Good luck, Des.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28- Bye-bye, - Don't forget, enjoy yourselves.
0:40:28 > 0:40:33Good evening, it's a fast show, I'll advise you to fasten your seat belts.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35I told my mum and dad I'm doing the Royal Show
0:40:35 > 0:40:36and I'll try and get you tickets for that.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39"Oh, we don't want to see that." I said, "Well you always do."
0:40:39 > 0:40:41"No, we want to come and see YOU in your show."
0:40:41 > 0:40:44# If you want to get a thrill, if you want to see the sights
0:40:44 > 0:40:47# Jump right in
0:40:47 > 0:40:50#I got an unidentified flying object
0:40:50 > 0:40:52# Let's go for a spin... #
0:40:52 > 0:40:56So I booked them seats for the next night, the Monday night, which was the straight show.
0:40:56 > 0:40:57The red carpet was left there.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59They were put in the Royal Box.
0:40:59 > 0:41:02# Nobody will believe their eyes. #
0:41:02 > 0:41:06They'd seen me working in the working men's clubs and here we were at the Palladium.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07It was just a magic moment.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12And then when she came through she was all excited, she said it was fantastic.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15I said "What, the show?" "No, I got to use the Queen's loo!"
0:41:17 > 0:41:20# You don't have to say you love me
0:41:20 > 0:41:22# Just be close at hand
0:41:22 > 0:41:28# You don't have to stay forever, I will understand. #
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Oh, can you imagine doing a Royal Variety Show
0:41:30 > 0:41:33in the London Palladium?
0:41:33 > 0:41:38It's those showbiz little dreams, and I'm a sucker for it.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40# Close at hand
0:41:40 > 0:41:45# You don't have to stay forever, I will understand. #
0:41:45 > 0:41:51You know, you're in your best bib and tucker, you come out and perform and you meet the Queen.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Those are kind of the highlights of a career.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03# Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?
0:42:03 > 0:42:08# Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me? #
0:42:08 > 0:42:14The Pussycat Dolls there, singing to Prince Charles, don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Brave choice, girls.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22See you in the Tower.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26The rules that you had about the Royal Family were that you never
0:42:26 > 0:42:31looked up to the box to see what their reaction was.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33If you've got any sense, you don't want to look, no!
0:42:33 > 0:42:36You do glance, of course you do, yeah.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39Now and again you might sneak a little glance, see if they're laughing.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41You never addressed anything to them.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44I mean, they wouldn't allow me, I had a great opening gag.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48And you never referred to them directly.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51I came on with a crown on, walked in and went, snap.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54Under no circumstances, they said, can you do that.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58You went on stage and you did your act and at the end of the act,
0:42:58 > 0:43:05you bowed once to the front, once to the Royal Box, once to the front and then you went off.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08You're told desperately not to overrun.
0:43:08 > 0:43:13And that was absolutely adhered to and people were rehearsed and that was what they were supposed to do.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16"We've overrun", they said. "Cut."
0:43:16 > 0:43:18I said, "No." "You will."
0:43:18 > 0:43:20I said, "Don't tell me what I'll do.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23"All those Yankee comics had been on here and overrun, no."
0:43:23 > 0:43:27So I went on and had a go and scored heavily but it had overrun.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30And our blessed lady was not pleased.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34And she's come down the line and it would be my, I don't know,
0:43:34 > 0:43:39sixth, seventh, eighth, whatever I've done and she said, "You've done a lot of these now, Mr Tarbuck.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41"How many of them have you done?"
0:43:41 > 0:43:45I said, "Four more than you, Your Majesty," laughing and she went,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48"It certainly seemed like it tonight."
0:43:48 > 0:43:51So Tom Jones had his hand out and he got, good evening, and off.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53And he went, "Well thank you very much," he said.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57"You got me, I never got a chat, all down to you," he said.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59So I was put in my place, quite rightly so, I suppose.
0:43:59 > 0:44:04Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr Larry Hagman. Would you please.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08I was backstage there for some reason,
0:44:08 > 0:44:10probably just being nosey, you know.
0:44:10 > 0:44:15But we're looking along there and it was the year that Larry Hagman was a surprise guest.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20And I'm standing in the wings there, waiting for this
0:44:20 > 0:44:26next to Larry Hagman's mother who was the great musical comedy star, Mary Martin.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30# Cheating at poker to win me some dollars
0:44:30 > 0:44:34# Twisting the ear of a kid till he hollers
0:44:34 > 0:44:38# Scaring young girls with lascivious grins
0:44:38 > 0:44:43# These are just some of my favourite sins.
0:44:43 > 0:44:48They went into a parody that they'd written and he blew the line.
0:44:48 > 0:44:53# My garden's a pasture for greenhorns and suckers
0:44:53 > 0:44:57# I rear 'em and shear 'em and skin 'em alive
0:44:57 > 0:45:00# Er la la la, and I forgot that particular lyric
0:45:00 > 0:45:04# Rum tee ti ti day day di di di di
0:45:04 > 0:45:10And she said, " My God, he's blown it." So he tried again.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14Can we start again on the "one pound of given", or can't we do that sort of thing?
0:45:14 > 0:45:18I knew we would panic. My daughter's in the audience, you know how this happens.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20Start off anywhere you want to.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27He blew it again and she said, "I'll do this." And she ran out.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36And afterwards they said to Larry Hagman, "Don't worry, we'll cut out that."
0:45:36 > 0:45:40He said, "No fear. The old girl saved my bacon. Keep it in." And they did.
0:45:40 > 0:45:48# A hundred and one hands of fun, that's my little honey bun. #
0:45:48 > 0:45:53# Get a load of honey bun, la-la. #
0:45:54 > 0:45:58Mesdames et Messieurs, Miss Josephine Baker.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Josephine Baker made an appearance like you've never seen in your life.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06Hi, everybody, hi.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09Come on, say hi to me, make me feel at home.
0:46:09 > 0:46:10AUDIENCE: Hi.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13I feel at home, thank you very much.
0:46:13 > 0:46:18There was this lady in a turquoise diamante suit
0:46:18 > 0:46:21and a 5 ft plumed headdress.
0:46:21 > 0:46:29# Quand il me prend dans ses bras
0:46:29 > 0:46:31# Il me parle tout bas
0:46:31 > 0:46:35# Vie en rose. #
0:46:35 > 0:46:42She went out and stayed outside for well over an hour, signing autographs and speaking to people.
0:46:42 > 0:46:47# ...Ca me fait quelque chose. #
0:46:47 > 0:46:53I always remember a vivid memory of this elderly couple and this young boy.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55And she said to this boy,
0:46:55 > 0:46:58"You shouldn't be here tonight.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02# It's very late, you should be at home in bed.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06# Does your mummy know you're out late?"
0:47:06 > 0:47:09And he said, "I think so."
0:47:09 > 0:47:15And I presume it was the grandmother spoke to her and said, "No, we've brought him out.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18# Sadly, his mother's in a hospice
0:47:18 > 0:47:20# and we're looking after him."
0:47:20 > 0:47:25And she immediately turned round, went back into the theatre
0:47:25 > 0:47:31and came back with a stage hand holding this huge basket of roses.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37And she said to this little boy, "You take those to your mummy tomorrow
0:47:37 > 0:47:39# and tell her they're from Josephine."
0:47:41 > 0:47:43Just amazing.
0:47:46 > 0:47:53# ...mon coeur qui bat. #
0:47:58 > 0:47:59Voila!
0:48:01 > 0:48:06A good night out is to go to a ravishingly beautiful theatre,
0:48:06 > 0:48:12which the Palladium is, and then feast your eyes on something wonderful happening on stage.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16GONG
0:48:16 > 0:48:21There's only certain shows that can be put into the Palladium.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24When producers think of the Palladium, they think of
0:48:24 > 0:48:26big production values.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Royal Princes and Princesses...
0:48:36 > 0:48:41The modern tradition of the Palladium hosting big family musicals
0:48:41 > 0:48:48started in 1979 when Louis Benjamin persuaded Yul Brynner to come over and appear in the King and I.
0:48:48 > 0:48:49Come!
0:48:59 > 0:49:04This was the first opportunity for British people to see
0:49:04 > 0:49:08the huge sort of megastar that Yul Brynner was.
0:49:08 > 0:49:14# Getting to know you, getting to know all about you. #
0:49:14 > 0:49:16Oh dear, oh dear.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20# Getting to like you, getting to hope you'll like me. #
0:49:20 > 0:49:24I don't want to swear in this programme, and I would have to.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29But it was not a happy time.
0:49:31 > 0:49:39Out of 20 years, that was the only time that I felt really down.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43I did everything possible, but you couldn't please Mr Brynner.
0:49:43 > 0:49:47Anybody else would appreciate whatever you did, not him.
0:49:47 > 0:49:52I am in the business, I am a manager, I am relatively successful.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56I could no more have called him Yul than fly to the Moon.
0:49:56 > 0:49:57He was Mr Brynner.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00And he had that aura about him.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02He WAS the King of Siam.
0:50:02 > 0:50:09# I close my eyes, drew back the curtain
0:50:09 > 0:50:13# To see for certain
0:50:13 > 0:50:16# What I thought I knew. #
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Nobody thought of the Palladium still as the great place where
0:50:19 > 0:50:22you occasionally had musicals but not really
0:50:22 > 0:50:24as a first run West End musical house.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27So putting Joseph in there was a bit of a gamble.
0:50:27 > 0:50:32# Any dream will do. #
0:50:32 > 0:50:37When I first heard of Andrew Lloyd Webber I thought he made barbecues,
0:50:37 > 0:50:44so it took a long time for me to realise the true currency of the Palladium.
0:50:44 > 0:50:49It's not just a brush of pop, the Palladium.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52It's not just about the one-hit wonder.
0:50:52 > 0:50:57The first night was astonishing.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00I've never in my life been more terrified.
0:51:00 > 0:51:07You're in the number one dressing room of the Palladium where just about everybody has been.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11I felt like an impostor, like some sort of pretender.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15And as we got closer and closer to the show and the flowers were
0:51:15 > 0:51:19arriving, I was getting good luck messages from other West End shows.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22And all this was so alien to me as a TV person.
0:51:23 > 0:51:28Joseph starts in front of the black screen and you're behind in the dark,
0:51:28 > 0:51:34and you're on a little hydraulic platform and they lift you up through the dry ice in the dark.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39And I can hear the show starting in front, thinking, "What am I doing here?
0:51:39 > 0:51:44"This is the worst mistake I've ever made in my whole life or the best move I've ever made."
0:51:44 > 0:51:47And I could hear the show and I lifted up in the dark
0:51:47 > 0:51:50about 10 feet off the stage, so there's no hope of running away.
0:51:50 > 0:51:57And I looked up and there was a lamp, dimmed right down, and I was on my own.
0:51:57 > 0:52:01And as I looked up, about to make my West End debut,
0:52:01 > 0:52:04a little hand came round the front of this lamp
0:52:04 > 0:52:06and did the thumbs-up sign.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09And that was my only connection with any humanity at all.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12And then the curtain went up and there it was,
0:52:12 > 0:52:15there was the audience, there was the Palladium,
0:52:15 > 0:52:17there was the band and that was it.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20It was "Get this right or they'll remember this for a long time."
0:52:20 > 0:52:25The day the circus came to London Town, the Big Top was pitched not on our Broadway equivalent,
0:52:25 > 0:52:27Shaftesbury Avenue, or even down Drury Lane,
0:52:27 > 0:52:31but perhaps more suitably at the London Palladium, which must, over the years,
0:52:31 > 0:52:34have balanced its books with a greater variety of
0:52:34 > 0:52:37jugglers, tumblers and high-wire acts than any other theatre.
0:52:37 > 0:52:41I was walking past Liberty's and I looked up the street and I could see
0:52:41 > 0:52:47"Michael Crawford in Barnum", and my face, I was just glowing.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52And then the fear factor set in of what it meant, the responsibility.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57The opening night was
0:52:57 > 0:53:01unbelievable, to see and hear this crowd.
0:53:01 > 0:53:07And so truly one of the greatest experiences of my life was playing on this stage.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16The Palladium created a sort of, I don't like the word credibility,
0:53:16 > 0:53:21but it sort of made people look at me a little differently.
0:53:21 > 0:53:27My grandmother suddenly started to say, "Oh, he's such a good boy, you know."
0:53:27 > 0:53:32Suddenly I'd sort of arrived in a lot of people's minds.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36You do think about
0:53:36 > 0:53:40other people who've been through that door.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42When you're in Number One dressing room, you think,
0:53:42 > 0:53:46"Who else has sat in this chair and looked in this mirror to do their make-up?"
0:53:46 > 0:53:48And there's something about that.
0:53:48 > 0:53:53It's a sort of spiritual quality, really, that you, as a singer, you
0:53:53 > 0:53:57kind of absorb the fact that you're in this historic place.
0:53:57 > 0:53:58And it makes you perform better.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00It makes you sing out of your socks.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03You don't dream of those things happening in your lifetime.
0:54:03 > 0:54:08I shouldn't think there are many performers that dream.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10You want to act, you love to act,
0:54:10 > 0:54:15but you never dream that you'll see yourself in that position.
0:54:15 > 0:54:23And then, when you get to the point I'm at now, you're just terrified of being in any position like that.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25When I'd finished the show,
0:54:25 > 0:54:28we had a big after-show party at the Langham Hotel.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30And Mike Smith and Sarah Greene,
0:54:30 > 0:54:37who had recently had the terrible helicopter crash that they had, said, "We'll run you up to the hotel."
0:54:37 > 0:54:40So I said, " OK, fine." So we came out of the
0:54:40 > 0:54:42street and turned left.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44I said, "You're going the wrong way. It's right."
0:54:44 > 0:54:47They said, "No, no, we've got something we need to do first.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50"This night has been so amazing we've got something we need to do first."
0:54:50 > 0:54:54And we drove down to Westminster Bridge. You're |not allowed to stop.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59And they said, "When we had our helicopter crash, we were so pleased to be alive we stopped
0:54:59 > 0:55:03"on Westminster Bridge, we looked at London and we shouted, just shouted.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06"The sheer exuberance of being alive.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10"And tonight you've got to do it because it was such an incredible moment."
0:55:10 > 0:55:13So we stopped on Westminster Bridge and we opened the car door, and we stood and looked out.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17It was dark and there was St Paul's and it was a beautiful night, shouting.
0:55:17 > 0:55:22And within a second a police car arrived and the copper got out and walked up to us.
0:55:22 > 0:55:25And he looked at me and went, "How did it go?"
0:55:25 > 0:55:29And I thought, "Now that really is, there's a moment for you."
0:55:29 > 0:55:31It was a special time, you know.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33It was a special time for me.
0:55:33 > 0:55:40I'm sure in the Palladium's history it's probably seen many Jason Donovans in its time,
0:55:40 > 0:55:44but it felt very special to me at the time.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50One of the best nights was the very first preview
0:55:50 > 0:55:54because they were still trying out the sound system.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01Andrew Lloyd Webber decided after the first few moments
0:56:01 > 0:56:03that he wanted to mix the sound himself.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05I do enjoy interfering.
0:56:05 > 0:56:11So by the time it got to Climb Every Mountain he was well on his way.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15I think it was like a demented Tommy, you know,
0:56:15 > 0:56:17on his pinball machine.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21And he was sliding things up and down, and there was this maniacal light in his eye.
0:56:21 > 0:56:27And the "climb every mountain till you find your dream,"
0:56:27 > 0:56:33when I heard that big top A at the end, I, honestly, fillings were dropping out in front of me.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35I could see there were teeth bouncing all over the place.
0:56:35 > 0:56:40In the Palladium you can do things that you can't in other theatres.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43And the chandeliers, the chandeliers I remember, they were rattling.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47I remember thinking, "Turn me down, for God's sake!
0:56:47 > 0:56:52"What are you doing, Andrew, you mad fool?"
0:56:52 > 0:56:57She knew what I was up to, and it is quite fun. Look, I mean,
0:56:57 > 0:56:59when you go into the Palladium, you smile.
0:56:59 > 0:57:05# Till you find
0:57:05 > 0:57:11# Your dream. #
0:57:27 > 0:57:31The Palladium is part of my childhood,
0:57:31 > 0:57:34it's part of my career, it's part of my heritage.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36It's just a shrine for me,
0:57:36 > 0:57:41and I still get the same feeling walking in the theatre that I did the first time.
0:57:41 > 0:57:46Just coming here to do this interview, you know, it's the Palladium.
0:57:48 > 0:57:53The Palladium to me is everything that ever made me want to be in showbusiness.
0:57:53 > 0:57:56Everything anybody really ever wants out of this business
0:57:56 > 0:58:00is wrapped round, one way and another, with the Palladium.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06It just enabled me to do things I would never have been able to do,
0:58:06 > 0:58:10so I am grateful to this place more than anything.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15If I was down to my very, very last absolute everything,
0:58:15 > 0:58:20I think the one thing, even, in a way, above my copyrights of my music,
0:58:20 > 0:58:22I think I'd want to keep the Palladium.
0:58:22 > 0:58:24That's how special it is.
0:58:24 > 0:58:31Anybody who was anybody has performed here and done well.
0:58:33 > 0:58:36And to have been part of that just for a few months,
0:58:37 > 0:58:40it really was heart-stopping.
0:58:46 > 0:58:49# The guy who was waving the flag
0:58:49 > 0:58:53# That began with the mystical hand
0:58:53 > 0:58:57# Hip hooray! The American way
0:58:57 > 0:58:59# The world is a stage
0:58:59 > 0:59:06# The stage is a world of entertainment. #
0:59:06 > 0:59:09Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:09 > 0:59:12E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk