0:00:17 > 0:00:19Blackpool.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Get off with you! THEY LAUGH
0:00:33 > 0:00:38There is that many stars played Blackpool, you could not count them.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39There's that many played Blackpool.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43When I leave my house, to come to Blackpool to do a show,
0:00:43 > 0:00:48my heart's beating, because I know I'm going to have a good time.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52I love the smell of Blackpool, in the morning, it smells like...
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Comedy.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Yeah.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58On top of all that, my dear wife, after years of bliss,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01she ran away last week with the fella last next door. I do miss him.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04LAUGHTER
0:01:04 > 0:01:07This is what makes it so nostalgic to come to Blackpool.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09I met the wife in Blackpool on the Pleasure Beach.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11In the Tunnel of Love. She was digging it.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12LAUGHTER
0:01:12 > 0:01:15# Downtown, things will be great
0:01:15 > 0:01:18# When you're downtown,
0:01:18 > 0:01:20# No finer place for sure
0:01:20 > 0:01:24# Downtown Everything's waiting for you
0:01:24 > 0:01:28# Downtown
0:01:28 > 0:01:31# Downtown. #
0:01:31 > 0:01:33By Jove, what a beautiful day.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36What a beautiful day for jumping off the top of Blackpool Tower,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38holding your granny's corsets over your head,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40and saying, "How's this for hang gliding?"
0:01:40 > 0:01:43It's so crowded at Blackpool,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45the corporation had to send to Morecambe for more, new seagulls,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48more seagulls! Ha-ha!
0:01:48 > 0:01:50- Hey!- What?- You'll do.- Who?- You.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51- For what?- For me.- Oh, right!
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Oh, sit down!
0:01:53 > 0:01:55How long have we been in the amateurs now?
0:01:55 > 0:01:5712 years you've been in the amateurs.
0:01:57 > 0:01:5912 years.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05You know, I can always tell if an audience is going to be good or bad.
0:02:05 > 0:02:06Good night.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08LAUGHTER
0:02:08 > 0:02:09Hup, hey, hop?
0:02:09 > 0:02:10LAUGHTER
0:02:10 > 0:02:14In its day, you did get all the top stars.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Everybody came and played at Blackpool.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Oh, it was everything. It was the capital of entertainment.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Morecambe and Wise, I remember Morecambe and Wise.
0:02:23 > 0:02:24Summer seasons on North Pier.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27The Opera House.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29The biggest acts in the business
0:02:29 > 0:02:31were here in Blackpool doing summer seasons.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34- TV COMMENTATOR:- Here's holiday entertainment for the whole family.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36The Morecambe and Wise Show,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40starring Eric Morecambe, Ernie Wise,
0:02:40 > 0:02:41an all-star company.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44This fabulous show is on the stage for the summer season,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47at the ABC Blackpool, from the 5th of June.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53The Morecambe and Wise Show is presented twice nightly
0:02:53 > 0:02:55at 6:10pm and 8:45pm,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58in the comfort of Europe's most luxurious theatre.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Blackpool was hugely important to Morecambe and Wise.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04It was the foundation of their careers.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07And they shipped up there for the first time in 1953.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09That was their big break.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11And they never really looked back after that.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14That was the beginning of an incredible career.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to play you Monti's Csardas.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Three Blind Mice.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20LAUGHTER
0:03:20 > 0:03:22- Pardon?- Three Blind Mice, it's harder.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Because I play it backwards.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Monti's Csardas. We're going to play Monti's Csardas.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29- All right then.- Are you ready? - Oh, well, up to you.- Here we go.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31One, two.
0:03:41 > 0:03:42LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:03:48 > 0:03:52- That was marvellous, wasn't it. - Where were you?- I couldn't get in!
0:03:52 > 0:03:55- With one stick, too.- One stick, you did it. And it was on fire as well.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57I've never seen hammers go like that before.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02- You're supposed to come in halfway through.- Ha-ha. I'll remember that.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04When Eric and Ernie were in town, they were such heroes.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08They even got to judge the Miss Blackpool beauty pageant.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11- TV COMMENTATOR:- Who better than comedians Albert Modley
0:04:11 > 0:04:14and Morecambe and Wise, to make the very best of a good job?
0:04:14 > 0:04:18It's very odd to see people like Eric and Ernie
0:04:18 > 0:04:20involved in that kind of scene.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23But, I think back in the day, comedians were glamorous.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26They were right at the top of the professional entertainment tree.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30And, that meant flash cars, pretty women.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33And it was of the time.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Eric always loved Blackpool.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38What he used to say was, compared to everything,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Blackpool was really the only one worth playing.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44The only thing that he didn't like doing, he said, in all honesty,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46was the North Pier,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48because it was so far out into the water.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50If the weather changed, it became seriously lethal
0:04:50 > 0:04:53getting to the dressing rooms and performing.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55- TV COMMENTATOR: - No less than three piers
0:04:55 > 0:04:58for those who feel the need for a different one each day.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Theatres, sun loungers, and orchestras
0:05:00 > 0:05:01are to be found on all of them.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05The largest of the three is the North Pier,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08710 yards in length, including the jetty.
0:05:08 > 0:05:09Thousands stroll here each day,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12thousands more relax in the sunshine.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15His friend, the late singer Matt Munro, worked with them many times.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18He was walking to perform one night along the front.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21A big wind got up, blew him over, and he broke his arm.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23So, it kind of made sense in the end
0:05:23 > 0:05:28that maybe the North Pier was a bit dangerous on a bad night!
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Let's do it one more time.
0:05:32 > 0:05:37If you played the North Pier in the autumn, October,
0:05:37 > 0:05:45you were liable to get some quite lively wind, storms, and rain.
0:05:45 > 0:05:51And, sometimes, even the Central Pier used to rock in the bad weather.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Sometimes, you wondered whether you were going to finish the night
0:05:53 > 0:05:55halfway into the Irish Sea.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59I remember being in that pier, in October.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02And the waves were coming up underneath,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05you could see them under your floorboards in your dressing room.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07It was like being on a ship.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11And you'd walk, it was a quarter of a mile to the end of this pier.
0:06:11 > 0:06:16And there you'd be, with 1,100 people in the audience.
0:06:16 > 0:06:17It was a great atmosphere.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20You could see the steam coming off the people,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22because they've had to walk down the pier!
0:06:22 > 0:06:24- HE LAUGHS - It was great.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27But they didn't seem to mind, didn't seem to care.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30I've looked out on to the audience when we've had bad weather.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33They're sitting there in wet clothes.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36You could see the steam coming off their clothes.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39But they're still having a good time. They're still laughing.
0:06:39 > 0:06:40They forget about it.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Because, when you walk in any of these theatres,
0:06:43 > 0:06:44you see a comedy show.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47You're laughing so much, you're having such a good time.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49You don't realise how wet you are
0:06:49 > 0:06:51till you get back out of the building.
0:06:51 > 0:06:52It was a hell of a walk down there.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55And you have to have an act, a ten-minute act.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Because people sat in their deckchairs,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02they were already shouting at you, "Hello!" I used to be so shy.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05"All right, Mr Large?" "Oh, yeah, all right."
0:07:05 > 0:07:09"Any free tickets?" "Ooh, I don't think so."
0:07:09 > 0:07:11I followed Frank Carson down, one day.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14And they were shouting at Frank: "Mr Carson!"
0:07:14 > 0:07:17"Hello, there, love. By the way, hard luck in the Miss World competition.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21"Good luck next week in the Horse of the Year Show, ha-ha." And he's off.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24And I'm following him, and someone else. "Any free tickets, Mr Carson?"
0:07:24 > 0:07:28"Aye, for every £9 you hand over, you get a free ticket! Cracker."
0:07:28 > 0:07:31And he's off. And I'm thinking, I'm going to do that, Frank.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36That's easier than putting the dark glasses on and the scarf.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41There's no other seaside town with three piers.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45Tell me, whatever taste you've got, that you don't like wandering out
0:07:45 > 0:07:48into this amazing thing that mankind has made.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Where mankind conquers the sea.
0:07:50 > 0:07:56The South Pier was famous because it was Al Read's first debut.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01When you're on your holidays, to enjoy yourself, aren't you?
0:08:01 > 0:08:03You see, there's no holiday for us married men.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06We go through it with you wives. You put us through it, you watch us.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09You watch us! Never mind "ha-ha", I heard that!
0:08:09 > 0:08:11LAUGHTER
0:08:11 > 0:08:14You won't let us out of your sight.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17You've only got to think about going for one on your own with the lads.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19"Where are you going again, without me?"
0:08:20 > 0:08:23His father was quite a wealthy man, so was Al.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27They'd booked the South Pier one Sunday night.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31He put his own show on, with Al Read the star.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33And, after the show...
0:08:33 > 0:08:35I'm telling you a little story here,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38because you never ask your family what they thought of the show.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Never. Because they'll tell you!
0:08:41 > 0:08:43And, after the show, they're coming down the pier.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46He said to his dear old grandma,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49"What did you think of the show, Gran?"
0:08:49 > 0:08:54Big mistake. His granny looked and says, "Well, Al, you looked clean."
0:08:54 > 0:08:56And that was it.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Welcome to Blackpool.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59I know why you're here, you always go,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01"I'm a lovely colour," don't you?
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Blue, with a red nose full of snot!
0:09:03 > 0:09:06LAUGHTER
0:09:06 > 0:09:08When I first came here, somebody liked me,
0:09:08 > 0:09:12and they said, "Right. Will you do a show on the pier?"
0:09:12 > 0:09:16I said, "Hmph, family entertainment, you don't want me there.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18"Every other word's F."
0:09:18 > 0:09:20"We're putting you on at 12 o'clock!"
0:09:20 > 0:09:23All right. So I'm going to be talking to myself!
0:09:23 > 0:09:26And, strangely enough, it was packed at 12 o'clock.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31- But you got a lot of that... - DRUNKEN MUTTERING
0:09:31 > 0:09:35- HECKLING - Ah, thank you very much!
0:09:35 > 0:09:36Why are you being so nasty?
0:09:36 > 0:09:39You were so gentle in the toilet half an hour ago!
0:09:39 > 0:09:42LAUGHTER
0:09:42 > 0:09:45I was 19 when I first came to Blackpool to work the summer season.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Let's face it, if you got a summer season at Blackpool,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50you were going to be a star, or you were a star.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52It was tremendously important to say,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54"Where are you working this week? What are you doing?"
0:09:54 > 0:09:58"Well, I'm at the Miners Welfare in Heckmondwike. What about you?"
0:09:58 > 0:10:02"Er... I'm at Winter Gardens in Blackpool."
0:10:02 > 0:10:03"Oh."
0:10:03 > 0:10:07"Yeah." I mean, it was real kudos. Real feather in your cap.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10You'd tell as many people as possible.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13ORCHESTRA PLAYS
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Where do you come to? I came to Blackpool.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28To live in Blackpool, because it was the Mecca of show business.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31I thought, eventually, I'll get a summer season here. And I did.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36The first season I did was 1966, then I did one in 1968.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39DRUM ROLL
0:10:39 > 0:10:41And here is an English comedian.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44RIPPLE OF LAUGHTER
0:10:44 > 0:10:45Freddie Davies.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47APPLAUSE
0:10:55 > 0:10:59HE LISPS I say!
0:10:59 > 0:11:02I say!
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Come here, parrot face.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08You know that budgie you sold me yesterday?
0:11:08 > 0:11:09Look at it.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13LAUGHTER
0:11:13 > 0:11:16I stuffed 17lb of bird seed in it, and it still wouldn't bounce!
0:11:18 > 0:11:19LAUGHTER
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Isn't it about time you sold me a decent budgerigar?
0:11:23 > 0:11:25I'd like a nice little talker.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Something that speaks with its beak.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37And I don't care what colour it is, as long as it's blue.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41There was a certain thrill about coming to Blackpool.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44It was a special always a special occasion.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46- TV COMMENTATOR: - Playground spectacular.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50Playground extraordinary. Blackpool, known to millions of Britons
0:11:50 > 0:11:52and millions from overseas.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54They built Blackpool.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56It was designed, it doesn't happen organically.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59And they get Matcham, the great architect in,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03who builds these wonderful pleasure dromes for the working classes.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06The Grand, of course, is the most beautiful theatre.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Which is a Frank Matcham theatre.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Frank Matcham was the great theatre architect,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12and the Grand is a beautiful,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16the most beautiful Frank Matcham theatre, I think.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20And it's a great theatre for a comedian, for comics,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24because the audience are there, right in front of you.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29The piers along the sea front were developed in the late 19th century.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31When the workers arrived in Blackpool, with their families,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35it was a week-long Dionysian, Bacchanalian revel.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47- TV COMMENTATOR: - Now, here's an added treat.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52Appearing in her very first summer show: Cilla Black!
0:12:52 > 0:12:56Hey, isn't it marvellous? 16 weeks in Blackpool, with The Bachelors.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58You will come and see us, won't you?
0:13:03 > 0:13:07# I never cared much for moonlit skies
0:13:07 > 0:13:11# I never winked back at fireflies
0:13:11 > 0:13:14# But now that the stars are in your eyes
0:13:14 > 0:13:18# I'm beginning to see the light. #
0:13:18 > 0:13:21My dad would queue up on the Monday. We'd get here on the Sunday night,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25he'd queue up on the Monday, in fact, all day, to every box office,
0:13:25 > 0:13:26to get tickets for the show.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29And we would see a different show every night.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31And sometimes even two shows in one night.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33And the first thing you'd do,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35you'd go on a tour to all the box offices,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38three piers, South, Central, North,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42ABC, Grand Theatre,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44the Opera House, the Winter Gardens,
0:13:44 > 0:13:46and you'd get as many tickets as you could for the week.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Because, if you didn't get them then,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51you wouldn't be able to get in the shows.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Because every show would do sell-out business.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58You'd got the ticket, you'd queued, you got it.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I can remember as if it was yesterday,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03getting in to see Tommy Steele.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07I just, I'd actually got in, I was on my own!
0:14:07 > 0:14:13My dad would say, "We're going to go and see a variety show tonight."
0:14:13 > 0:14:16"What's that then, dad?" "Oh, you'll see.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19"You'll probably get a plate spinner. You know.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22"And then you'll get a woman on a saxophone.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26"And a bloke that told jokes. And a lady that whistled."
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And, oh, I thought it was fantastic.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33And, getting in to the theatre was the magic.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Because, you knew, when you walked in
0:14:37 > 0:14:42that big, dark, warm, inviting place,
0:14:42 > 0:14:47you were in another world. You were just in another world.
0:14:47 > 0:14:48We saw Jimmy Clitheroe.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52And the routine with Alfie, and the bit of carrot in the goldfish bowl.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54And every audience,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58comedy then, they only had to do eight minutes, 10 minutes.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01And he would take the carrot out of the bowl and eat it.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Of course, the audience thought it was a fish.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07And the likes of my father thought that was hilarious.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10HE SQUEALS NONSENSICALLY
0:15:10 > 0:15:14- Take it away.- Ohhh!
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Why did you want to go and do that for?
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Taking my mouth for a hanger, is what you're doing.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22I wasn't doing anything with it, what did you go and do,
0:15:22 > 0:15:27- you go and get them... - HE BLUBBERS HYSTERICALLY
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Even as a little boy, and my mum and dad were in showbusiness
0:15:30 > 0:15:32so they wanted to see every show.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34And I wanted to see the shows with them.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37One of my greatest places that I loved was the circus,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Blackpool Tower Circus, with Charlie Cairoli.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Such a wonderful building.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44I used to sit there and think,
0:15:44 > 0:15:48one day, I'd love to be on that circus ring and do something.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50I thought, possibly, a clown, I wanted to be a clown.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- You are a clown.- "You are a clown." Thank you!?
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Don't speak when I'm speaking, ha-ha.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57- You're not that good. - Yes, thank you!
0:15:57 > 0:16:01TV COMMENTATOR: The Tower Circus is internationally famous.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03As clever as a cart-load of monkeys,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07this box of chimpanzees is the bring-the-house-down part of the show.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16My name is Mooky the clown, and I work at the Blackpool Tower Circus.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19And I'm a clown, um, hence the clown face.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22And, my name is Mr Boo, I'm the straight man,
0:16:22 > 0:16:24I make sure he doesn't cause too much trouble.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28- And I work at the Blackpool Tower Circus as well.- You do?- I do.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31- TV COMMENTATOR:- Charlie Cairoli, almost a fixture at this circus,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34puts the finishing touches to his make-up.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41My name is Charlie Cairoli. Named after my father.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Well, he was actually called Carletto.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46But, it's Charlie, when it's translated.
0:16:46 > 0:16:52He was the clown at the Blackpool Tower from '39, to '79.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54I joined my father in 1970.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Great man.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Never gave me a lesson.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Never sort of showed me how to do anything.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04I just watched, and learnt.
0:17:08 > 0:17:09- Where is it?- Here.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Where?
0:17:12 > 0:17:14LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Blackpool Tower Circus, the greatest show on Earth.
0:17:24 > 0:17:29I think it started 118 years ago, it's been there every single year
0:17:29 > 0:17:33without missing a summer season, ever. Even through the war.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35It's been 118 years.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38There was a lot of shows going on. The circus was the different one.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40There were a lot of twice-nightlies, and the stars,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Bruce Forsyth, Morecambe and Wise, things like that.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47But, the circus was the totally different one.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50- TV COMMENTATOR:- Holding hands, or rather holding tails.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Another kind of slow traffic moves across the promenade.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56The circus elephants, taking their daily exercise.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01It was wonderful that the elephants came out on the beach,
0:18:01 > 0:18:05holding, trunk to tail. It was part of what you were involved in.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08You felt as though they were our elephants.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13Because they were part of our showbiz environment.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18And something you'll never forget. It was like being in the Serengeti.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20The elephants had loved it in the sea.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23One day, the elephants wouldn't come out, they missed a show,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27they were out there, and they couldn't get them out at all.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31If you look way back to people like Frank Randle,
0:18:31 > 0:18:36the working man's comic who, I think, was earning £1,000 a week,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39all those thousands of years ago.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43# That's what it's all about. #
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Frank Randle was a very unique entertainer.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47He was known as the King Twist of Blackpool.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50You could, in a way, say that he owned Blackpool.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53In fact, owned the hearts of a huge amount of people who came here.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56- By the way, what is your name? - Just have a guess.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Hm. I should say, Frozen Fanny.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03- You almost amuse me, you do, really. - Why? Isn't that your name?
0:19:03 > 0:19:06I don't mind, if you like it that way.
0:19:06 > 0:19:07Ooh, I like it anyway.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10- How about a dance with a gentleman? - Er... Bring him to me.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12- I mean me!- You?- Yes.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14Oh, dear, I could almost laugh.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17I wouldn't do that, you may ladder your stockings.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20I met one of my idols, one of my heroes.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22I didn't actually work with him.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25But he came on the pier late in life, Frank Randle.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28HE IMITATES HIM MUMBLING
0:19:28 > 0:19:30"Ooh, hello." He talked very posh like that.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32He wore a lovely actor's overcoat.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37"Hello, hello, Ken, are you having a nice season, haw-haw, hee."
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Yes, he's a wonderful, wonderful clown.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45With Frank Randle, he was like mega comedian,
0:19:45 > 0:19:46he was here every year, I think.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50And he used to have this boat moored off the end of the pier.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53He had his own yacht moored off the North Pier, the Nomura.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57Which Laurel and Hardy sailed around the bay with him in that.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01They had to be brought back by what passed for air sea rescue then.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Because Frank liked a drink,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06and couldn't quite skipper his own yacht.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09But, at the peak of his game, which was the 1940s,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13every summer season was played here in Blackpool. Sell-out houses.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17He was billed as "star of stage, screen and magistrates court".
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Of course, one of the biggest names associated with Blackpool was
0:20:20 > 0:20:21George Formby.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25Tiny, little, bucktoothed man but the king of Blackpool
0:20:25 > 0:20:28and it was almost as if he had the keys to the city. It was his empire.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31He could to know wrong whatsoever.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33All right, I'm going to sing a song
0:20:33 > 0:20:35called My Little Stick Of Blackpool Rock.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37This being in Blackpool, we'll have it filmed as well.
0:20:37 > 0:20:38OK, Ernie.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48# With my little stick of Blackpool rock
0:20:48 > 0:20:52# Along the promenade I stroll
0:20:52 > 0:20:55# It may be sticky but I never complain
0:20:55 > 0:20:58# It's nice to have a nibble at it now and again. #
0:20:58 > 0:21:02I saw George Formby at the Opera House.
0:21:02 > 0:21:08What I loved about him was he had a great stage presence.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11# One afternoon the band conductor up on his stand
0:21:11 > 0:21:15# Somehow lost his baton, it flew out of his hand
0:21:15 > 0:21:18# So I jumped in his place and then conducted the band
0:21:18 > 0:21:22# With my little stick of Blackpool rock. #
0:21:22 > 0:21:26Randle and Formby are kind of the yin and yang of British comedy.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Now, the one thing about Randle,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32which in those days would set you back,
0:21:32 > 0:21:36was that he was illegitimate and Beryl Formby,
0:21:36 > 0:21:42who had pretensions, loathed and despised illegitimate people.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44They weren't proper.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46So, Jack Taylor was going to put a big show on in Blackpool
0:21:46 > 0:21:50and Formby and Randle were sharing the bill.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52I think this was the Taylor Made Show.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55And Beryl stormed into Taylor's office and says,
0:21:55 > 0:21:56"There is no way that my George
0:21:56 > 0:22:01"is going on a bill with that mongrel."
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Another occasion, Taylor managed to get them
0:22:03 > 0:22:06on the same bill again and it was a charity do.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08And it was decided, again by Beryl,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10that George would be top of the bill
0:22:10 > 0:22:14and the story goes that Frank got a load of 2 x 4,
0:22:14 > 0:22:19nailed the dressing room door shut, George is trapped inside,
0:22:19 > 0:22:20goes on stage and goes,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23"Ladies and gentlemen, the management have decided that
0:22:23 > 0:22:26"George Formby is a better man to entertain you
0:22:26 > 0:22:28"so let's see him get on with it."
0:22:28 > 0:22:30And he walked off and went to the pub,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33leaving the audience totally bewildered.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38# Sitting on the top of Blackpool Tower
0:22:38 > 0:22:42# When the evening shadows fall
0:22:42 > 0:22:46# There you'll find me hour after hour
0:22:46 > 0:22:51# While the seagulls up above drop messages of love
0:22:51 > 0:22:54# We have a fortune teller in the Tower, bear in mind
0:22:54 > 0:22:58# She said to one fat lady, "Don't think that I'm unkind
0:22:58 > 0:23:03# "I'd like to tell your future but your future's all behind."
0:23:03 > 0:23:06# Sitting on the top of Blackpool Tower. #
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Every star wanted to come to Blackpool
0:23:09 > 0:23:10and play Blackpool.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14That was the ultimate aim - "Let's go and play Blackpool."
0:23:14 > 0:23:16This chap coming along the promenade now -
0:23:16 > 0:23:19so suave, so elegant, so debonair.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23That's him, it's Terry-Thomas inhaling Blackpool's bracing air.
0:23:31 > 0:23:32Oh, good show.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Blackpool. The busy holiday resort prepared itself
0:23:38 > 0:23:41for yet another beauty contest. But this one with a difference.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Master of ceremonies, Bruce Forsyth.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Also officiating was the mayor of Blackpool.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51For being baby of the year, Julianne won £500 and a crown.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55But she didn't seem to want either.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Everybody in the business wanted to work Blackpool.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02They wanted to come here because Frank Sinatra came here.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04He only did the London Palladium and Blackpool.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06That's why people wanted to work Blackpool.
0:24:06 > 0:24:07Judy Garland worked in Blackpool.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Everybody wanted the prestige of doing Blackpool.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14We turn now to something,
0:24:14 > 0:24:15a song that I did here in 1950
0:24:15 > 0:24:18when I appeared here
0:24:18 > 0:24:20at the Opera House.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22Frank Sinatra was a big hit in Blackpool.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25About 1950, Frank Sinatra came over.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Actually, his career was in a bit of a wane in the States.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31It had gone down slightly, not as popular.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34But when he got to Blackpool and he saw the crowds
0:24:34 > 0:24:36and the crowds cheering and clapping him,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39jumping on the bumper of the Buick, bouncing it up and down,
0:24:39 > 0:24:41banging on the windows, he said,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44"They love me, this town, don't they?" I said, "Yes, they do, sir."
0:24:44 > 0:24:47He said, "I could become mayor." I said, "Yes, you could."
0:24:47 > 0:24:51# Why not take all of me? #
0:24:53 > 0:24:55And so to the playground of the North -
0:24:55 > 0:24:57warm, crowded, pulsing Blackpool,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00where the royal couple attended a special gala performance
0:25:00 > 0:25:02in their honour, staged at the Opera House.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08CHEERING
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Councillor Ogden, Blackpool's civic head waited to greet them.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18After the show, the Queen and the Duke met many of the performers.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23Introduced by Jack Hylton, here are Alma Cogan and Arthur Askey.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26It was a brilliant, absolutely brilliant, brilliant place.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28There were nothing you couldn't do or see here.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30That's why we loved Blackpool. It's alive.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33If you come into the town, even now, you can feel a vibe.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36A lot of seaside places, you can't feel that.
0:25:36 > 0:25:37You can feel it in Blackpool.
0:25:47 > 0:25:48You felt that, here,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51every day something exciting was going to happen.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55You might bump into Frank Randle, you might bump into Max Bygraves,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57you might bump into Ken Dodd in the street.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00You thought these things were possible.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07You'd get off the train and you'd walk through those backstreets
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and then, suddenly, ka-pow!
0:26:10 > 0:26:12You're hit with the light.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16And the light goes like a diamond bullet through the mind
0:26:16 > 0:26:20and turns you on to all these exciting things that are on offer.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Who can resist a candyfloss when it's surrounded by neon?
0:26:30 > 0:26:33- SPEAKS UNWINESE - Good evenly, dear peetlouters.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Now, you'll be wondering how this great complicare with
0:26:36 > 0:26:39the acrobatty and the scintillating rotatalights works.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Now, really, here we start with the nervy end with do a deep
0:26:43 > 0:26:47trickly how for rotators of the commutade.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Now, with a sparkitten in the one hand,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52rate through to the nerve end on the other and you can't,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55unless all the oxengy-vacuua from every little bulbit and bulbit
0:26:55 > 0:26:58throom and all the brrr-tickedy-tock flim-flom
0:26:58 > 0:27:02howdly-hoes all after a syncopale insofar as glockamusey with
0:27:02 > 0:27:05contemplet with gives for a great illuminade
0:27:05 > 0:27:06which Blackpool gave for it.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09The illuminations have always been something magical.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12It starts off, you know, if you're from within reach of Blackpool,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15it starts off as something that you learn about as a kid that you
0:27:15 > 0:27:18talk about at school, that you are promised somebody within
0:27:18 > 0:27:21the family, whether it's your mum, your dad, your grandad,
0:27:21 > 0:27:25your grandma, your uncle, somebody will take you to the illuminations.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Female impersonator Danny LaRue is there to switch on the lights,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29which first went on 60 years ago.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Obviously Danny, like everyone else, really enjoys himself at Blackpool.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Danny LaRue - a wonderful, wonderful entertainer.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42I think he sang Mother Kelly's Doorstep, I think.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46And it was like a magic wand. It was like somebody waving a magic wand.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48I've never seen anything like it. The effect of his -
0:27:48 > 0:27:53he had such charisma that I thought that audience absolutely were...
0:27:53 > 0:27:57They were absolutely enthralled.
0:27:57 > 0:27:58He was a great artist.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02# On Mother Kelly's doorstep
0:28:03 > 0:28:06# Down Paradise Road
0:28:07 > 0:28:10# I'd sit along o' Nelly
0:28:12 > 0:28:15# And she'd sit along o' Joe. #
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Jayne Mansfield arrives in leopardskin to
0:28:18 > 0:28:22turn on the lights and turn all the men on as well at the same time.
0:28:22 > 0:28:29Ladies and gentlemen, autumn is here again
0:28:29 > 0:28:33and with it comes the Blackpool illuminations.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40It's pretty obvious that she is better known than most folk who've
0:28:40 > 0:28:48been here to do this job to...to do this job as it's been done.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58I have now very great pleasure in asking Miss Jayne Mansfield
0:28:58 > 0:29:02to switch...to switch on
0:29:02 > 0:29:07the autumn illuminations of 1959.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Now, I understand you...
0:29:14 > 0:29:16CHEERING
0:29:18 > 0:29:21It's completely breathtaking. I'm without words.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28To switch the illuminations on is mega. It's mega.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30And we were asked to do it
0:29:30 > 0:29:33and it's the first time ever that the North Pier allowed
0:29:33 > 0:29:36a car down to get us off cos we couldn't get off cos the pier
0:29:36 > 0:29:38were rammed with people.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40- That's right. - We couldn't get off the pier.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42We were stuck on the pier so they had to get a car and the car
0:29:42 > 0:29:45drove through the people, otherwise we would never have been able to...
0:29:45 > 0:29:50- Not over them.- Well, no. But drove towards them, yeah.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52When it comes to entertainment, Blackpool has
0:29:52 > 0:29:56just about everything and its latest show place is the new ABC.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59A glittering example of contemporary theatre design
0:29:59 > 0:30:02and to match its glossy exterior, a spectacular stage show
0:30:02 > 0:30:06starring some of the top names in the world of popular entertainment.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10MUSIC: "Summer Holiday" by CLIFF RICHARD
0:30:11 > 0:30:14# We're all going on a summer holiday
0:30:14 > 0:30:18# No more working for a week or two. #
0:30:18 > 0:30:20I worked at the ABC Theatre with
0:30:20 > 0:30:25Larry Grayson, Grayson's Scandals, and that was a great show.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27APPLAUSE
0:30:34 > 0:30:36I'm worn out.
0:30:36 > 0:30:37LAUGHTER
0:30:37 > 0:30:40Do you know, I keep going limp?
0:30:40 > 0:30:43I do. I think it's the rhubarb. Do you know, the other day...?
0:30:43 > 0:30:45People absolutely loved Larry.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49The audience loved him because he had that warmth and when he
0:30:49 > 0:30:53spoke to the audience, you thought he was talking to you personally.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55You know, he used to say,
0:30:55 > 0:30:57"I love you very much. I love you all. Oh!" You know.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00He actually, Larry actually thought he was Judy Garland.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02He really thought he was Judy Garland reincarnated
0:31:02 > 0:31:03and he told me that.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07I had someone at my door. I said, "Who could it be?
0:31:07 > 0:31:10"Who is at my door? Is it the milkman, Sterilised Stan?
0:31:10 > 0:31:14LAUGHTER
0:31:15 > 0:31:19Trying to force his yoghurt through my letterbox.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21LAUGHTER
0:31:21 > 0:31:24"Come in," I cried. It was Everard. He came flying in.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26He said, "Have you seen my snorkel?" I said, "Not for a long time."
0:31:26 > 0:31:28LAUGHTER
0:31:28 > 0:31:32It's very different now. You had to call them, as well...
0:31:32 > 0:31:33You respected the top of the bill,
0:31:33 > 0:31:38you called them Mr Grayson, Mr Morecambe, Mr Wise.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40It was never, "All right, Larry?"
0:31:40 > 0:31:42It was very, very different.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46You respected your peers in those days and that's how it was.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49There was the ABC, there was the Winter Gardens.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51There were two theatres and the Winter Gardens.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55There was the Grand, there was three piers. Every theatre, ten-piece band.
0:31:55 > 0:32:00Ten, 12 dancers, a special act, singers, comedians.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03- Everywhere packed. You couldn't get in. It was amazing.- Unreal.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05- Atmosphere was amazing.- Unreal.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15It's so wonderful to be back in Blackpool again.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19You know, you hear such wonderful conversations here in Blackpool.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21"But, Henry, that isn't our baby."
0:32:21 > 0:32:23"Shut up, it's a better pram."
0:32:23 > 0:32:25LAUGHTER
0:32:25 > 0:32:29I always remember Tommy Cooper coming out and standing
0:32:29 > 0:32:34and doing nothing for what seemed like ten minutes and I thought,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37"Just imagine being able to do that."
0:32:37 > 0:32:41He had an umbrella on his arm, bowler hat and a gaberdine mac buttoned up
0:32:41 > 0:32:43and he just came and stood
0:32:43 > 0:32:48and stared us out until the whole theatre, at the Winter Gardens,
0:32:48 > 0:32:52here, was in absolute hysterics.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55All he'd have to do then was just go...
0:32:56 > 0:32:59Just a twitch and off we'd go again.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03And I used to think, "Oh, that's wonderful. The power."
0:33:09 > 0:33:12I don't know why I did that.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14I don't. There's no reason.
0:33:18 > 0:33:19What?
0:33:19 > 0:33:21What do you mean come off? I've just come on.
0:33:27 > 0:33:33To come and see it and see these geniuses of comedy,
0:33:33 > 0:33:38these giants at the top of their game, doing what
0:33:38 > 0:33:42they were doing to audiences was a magical experience, to me.
0:33:42 > 0:33:47I remember going on a day trip to Blackpool once and I went to
0:33:47 > 0:33:51see Morecombe and Wise, Eric and Ernie, at the ABC first house.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53Then I came out of there, walked across the road to
0:33:53 > 0:33:58the Opera House and saw Ken Dodd doing the second house.
0:33:58 > 0:33:59It was absolutely brilliant.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01This morning I was having my usual morning dip.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04I always have a dip every morning. I dip my bread in the egg.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06I was down on the beach and a beautiful girl came up to me
0:34:06 > 0:34:07and she said,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10"Hello, handsome, can you tell me the way to the opticians?" So, I...
0:34:10 > 0:34:12LAUGHTER
0:34:12 > 0:34:16Ken Dodd's done summer season in Blackpool for about 400 years
0:34:16 > 0:34:21and he's still there every Sunday at the Grand and it's still sold out.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Ken Dodd and he is 85 years old now, Ken.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27And he's just as funny now as he was then.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29She said, "Do you know what an erogenous zone is?"
0:34:29 > 0:34:31I said, "I know you can't park there after six o'clock."
0:34:31 > 0:34:33LAUGHTER
0:34:33 > 0:34:35"Have you ever tried an aphrodisiac?"
0:34:35 > 0:34:37I said, "I went out with a Norwegian girl once."
0:34:37 > 0:34:39She said, "Do you believe in safe sex?"
0:34:39 > 0:34:43I said, "I've got a hand rail round the bed.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46"and I always try to keep one foot on the ground."
0:34:46 > 0:34:48She said, "What about your libido?"
0:34:48 > 0:34:50I said, "I'm going to swap it for a Sierra."
0:34:50 > 0:34:55When I first played Blackpool, the first season in 1955,
0:34:55 > 0:34:56it went 22 shows.
0:34:56 > 0:35:0122 shows from Fleetwood to Lytham St Annes,
0:35:01 > 0:35:06employing probably near enough to 3,000 people - musicians,
0:35:06 > 0:35:11dancers, singers, jugglers, comedians.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14My Auntie Nelly, my big Auntie Nelly, she was down on the beach.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17And the man from Blackpool Corporation, he said,
0:35:17 > 0:35:21"Missus, would you mind getting off the beach, please? The tide's waiting to come in."
0:35:21 > 0:35:22Big!
0:35:22 > 0:35:27To me, Blackpool has been a wonderful, wonderful place
0:35:27 > 0:35:32to live, love and work.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34First of all, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say
0:35:34 > 0:35:37how tickled I am, how tickled I am by all this goodwill.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41What about you, missus, have you been tickled by goodwill?
0:35:41 > 0:35:42Good old Willy.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44On every street corner there was, you know,
0:35:44 > 0:35:47a theatre putting a great show on.
0:35:47 > 0:35:50And sometimes two or three shows on each pier.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53From one end of the pier as you stepped on it to the other
0:35:53 > 0:35:55end of the pier and a kids show in the middle.
0:35:55 > 0:36:02For my first big summer season, and I think it's got to be 1986,
0:36:02 > 0:36:04the Hi-de-hi stage show.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06Because, obviously, David Croft, God love him,
0:36:06 > 0:36:07who has now, you know, left us,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10and Jimmy Perry, they always had the foresight that
0:36:10 > 0:36:14whenever they had what appeared to be a really popular TV show,
0:36:14 > 0:36:16of course, straight away they said,
0:36:16 > 0:36:18"Come on, we can make this into a fabulous stage show."
0:36:18 > 0:36:22So, you first arrive and there is a meet and greet and then you
0:36:22 > 0:36:26get the guys from the council, two or three ladies but mostly guys.
0:36:26 > 0:36:33And, well, "We'd like to welcome you to the Winter Gardens Blackpool
0:36:33 > 0:36:38"and we really, really hope you have a lovely season with us."
0:36:38 > 0:36:40CLEARS THROAT
0:36:40 > 0:36:42There is a lot of throat clearing
0:36:42 > 0:36:45and feet shuffling cos they're a bit, you know.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48"Anyway, anyway, help yourselves to tea and biscuits.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51"We got some Jammie Dodgers and things like that."
0:36:51 > 0:36:54It was so lovely because it was something like,
0:36:54 > 0:36:56"There'll be can-APE-s for you."
0:36:56 > 0:36:58You know, canapes, I call them can-APE-s.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02So, straight away you go, "Bless them. They're going to be great.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04"They speak everybody's language."
0:37:09 > 0:37:10I was very fortunate
0:37:10 > 0:37:14because I used to have to go up just for the weekend, from Thursday to
0:37:14 > 0:37:18the Sunday, to rehearse a television show called Blackpool Night Out,
0:37:18 > 0:37:22in which Mike and Bernie Winters starred.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Thank you very much. Thank you. Good evening.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29Well, good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to
0:37:29 > 0:37:31the ABC Theatre Blackpool for our last show this...
0:37:31 > 0:37:33CHEERING
0:37:33 > 0:37:35APPLAUSE
0:37:41 > 0:37:44- Was that you humming?- Eeeee!
0:37:44 > 0:37:47I was always in the opening number with my girls.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53And then the producer or director said, "Lionel,
0:37:53 > 0:37:55"we've got The Beatles coming up to do a show."
0:37:55 > 0:37:57And I went, "Oh, fantastic."
0:37:57 > 0:38:02Well, here they are, ladies and gentlemen, the fabulous Beatles.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05MUSIC: "Ticket To Ride" by The Beatles
0:38:09 > 0:38:15# I think I'm gonna be sad I think it's today, yeah
0:38:16 > 0:38:22# The girl that's driving me mad is going away... #
0:38:23 > 0:38:29We were on duty outside the ABC to keep the crowds away cos
0:38:29 > 0:38:31they got mobbed wherever they went.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34There were lots of us to keep the crowds away
0:38:34 > 0:38:37while they arrived in cars at the ABC.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41Once we got them into the ABC Theatre, it was my job to
0:38:41 > 0:38:44stay with them all day and guard them throughout the day
0:38:44 > 0:38:46ready for the show at night time.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48And I did just that.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50I was with them from probably 8am
0:38:50 > 0:38:55until five or six in the evening and I went to them at one stage,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57after about an hour, to ask for their autographs.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01They were standing in an aisle apparently talking to each other.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04And I asked for their autographs and John Lennon said,
0:39:04 > 0:39:05"We're rehearsing."
0:39:05 > 0:39:07And I didn't realise but they were
0:39:07 > 0:39:11actually in a group, head to head, singing all the numbers.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13And this went on all day.
0:39:13 > 0:39:18But then they got their instruments out on they played
0:39:18 > 0:39:21Hard Day's Night and they had apparently written
0:39:21 > 0:39:27Hard Day's Night to release it on television that night.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29And they played the chord,
0:39:29 > 0:39:32just in the aisle of the theatre,
0:39:32 > 0:39:34and I was six feet away.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40It's hard to describe this but, 50 years on, I remember the note went,
0:39:40 > 0:39:42"Boing!"
0:39:42 > 0:39:47And the place vibrated and then, # It's been a hard day's... #
0:39:47 > 0:39:52And 50 years later, that's still ingrained in my mind, that chord.
0:39:53 > 0:39:58- Well, thank you very much, everybody.- Blackpool.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00Blackpool and all that. It's lovely to be here.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02MUSIC "Hard Day's Night" by The Beatles
0:40:02 > 0:40:09# It's been a hard day's night and I've been working like a dog... #
0:40:09 > 0:40:13It was television history, Blackpool Night Out, it really was.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32During my sojourn through this vale of tears,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35many sights have thrilled me.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38Dawn flushing the sepia sky over Kowloon,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41processions of faith along the banks of the Ganges,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44a sunset streaking across the Caribbean,
0:40:44 > 0:40:46but they all pale into insignificance
0:40:46 > 0:40:49when compared to the excitement I felt
0:40:49 > 0:40:51when I first saw Blackpool Tower.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00You always associated Les with Blackpool.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04Whenever we worked in Blackpool, we used to see him a hell of a lot.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08Used to have a golf day so I'd play golf with him.
0:41:08 > 0:41:12Him and Frank, they were just part of Blackpool. Like the Tower.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14Almost on the same level.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16If you go to Blackpool, you will see Les Dawson, Frank Carson.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18Oh, yeah, and the Tower.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21We'll start off with that golden oldie Side By Side
0:41:21 > 0:41:23so let's hear those tonsils rattle. Are you ready?
0:41:23 > 0:41:27PLAYS: "Side By Side" by Gus Kahn & Harry M Woods
0:41:27 > 0:41:31That's it. Now, come on, don't be shy. Let yourself go. Come on.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34We're all people under this canvas sauna so let yourselves go.
0:41:34 > 0:41:35Are you ready?
0:41:36 > 0:41:37# Oh, we ain't got a barrel of money... #
0:41:37 > 0:41:39That's it.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42# Maybe we're ragged and funny... #
0:41:42 > 0:41:43PLAYS WRONG NOTES
0:41:43 > 0:41:47# But we'll travel along Singing this song
0:41:47 > 0:41:50# Side by side... #
0:41:50 > 0:41:52Try to keep together if you can.
0:41:52 > 0:41:53Les was fantastic. Always funny.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57But he did like to eat his burgers cos you could
0:41:57 > 0:42:00smell from my dressing room, which was next door to his,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03you'd go in and you'd go, "What's that smell? Oh, burgers."
0:42:03 > 0:42:05And his wife, Tracy, would be there cooking the burgers on this
0:42:05 > 0:42:09little stove they'd got and he's be stuffing his face with the burgers.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12- AS LES DAWSON:- "Come and have a burger, son. You'll like this."
0:42:12 > 0:42:13It was great.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18On the show we have found two Blackpool landladies
0:42:18 > 0:42:20with great big personalities.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23Please welcome Sissy and Ada.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26APPLAUSE
0:42:26 > 0:42:30Tell me, Sissy, have you got many visitors booked in for the season?
0:42:30 > 0:42:33Oh, Ada, look, I can't tell you. The way the bookings are going,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36- we are going to need a stacker truck to get them all in.- Very nice.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38- It's been like that since Easter. - I didn't know that.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41I think it's because we've changed the name.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44- We've changed it from Bide-a-Wee To Ocean Lean.- Very nice.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47Of course, we are attracting a much better class of person now.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50- You know, they're coming from Macclesfield.- Macclesfield?
0:42:50 > 0:42:54- Yeah, not to mention Didsbury.- Ooh!
0:42:54 > 0:42:58Used to have a landladies night when you came into summer season.
0:42:58 > 0:42:59They did, didn't they?
0:42:59 > 0:43:04And it was called Landladies Night and all the landladies
0:43:04 > 0:43:09from all the guesthouses, hotels all took up the first 10, 15 rows.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12- And you knew... - Most important night.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Most important night of all because them ladies would go back
0:43:15 > 0:43:19and sell the show to the people who are coming into the town who
0:43:19 > 0:43:20stayed at the guesthouse.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22So if you didn't do a good show,
0:43:22 > 0:43:24you knew about it cos the place would be half empty.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27It didn't matter about what the critics said, really.
0:43:27 > 0:43:28It was what the landladies said.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31Cos they used to go in their houses so they'd talk to them, you see.
0:43:31 > 0:43:32Yeah, arriving...
0:43:32 > 0:43:35You got more nervous when the landladies were in
0:43:35 > 0:43:38than when you did on an opening night.
0:43:38 > 0:43:39Because they come to judge.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42They don't come to laugh, they come to judge.
0:43:42 > 0:43:47When we first set our large, big summer season Hi-de-hi,
0:43:47 > 0:43:51they very cannily got a lot of bed-and-breakfast
0:43:51 > 0:43:54landladies in there.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57They came in their droves and they left in their droves going,
0:43:57 > 0:44:01"Oh, fantastic. We're definitely going to recommend this."
0:44:01 > 0:44:04So that's how they got to sell their shows as well.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07Landladies were extremely important, you know.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10Dinner at five o'clock, breakfast at nine o'clock
0:44:10 > 0:44:13and everything is in the same place as it was last time.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17That was the folklore of Blackpool. What the landladies said counted.
0:44:17 > 0:44:18They would come and see the show
0:44:18 > 0:44:21and people used to stay with these landladies.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23The general public used to stay with them and they'd say,
0:44:23 > 0:44:25"What's the best show in town?" And they'd say,
0:44:25 > 0:44:30"Ken Dodd, Frankie Warren," and they'd go out and book the shows.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34The best publicity, of course, is recommendations. Word of mouth.
0:44:34 > 0:44:40And if you can please landladies... IF you can please the landladies...
0:44:40 > 0:44:44IF you can please the landladies.
0:44:44 > 0:44:45..you're in.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58I remember arriving and seeing the trams
0:44:58 > 0:45:02and there was people advertised on the tram,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05like Cilla Black and Val Doonican, and you think,
0:45:05 > 0:45:08"Well, you've arrived when, you know,
0:45:08 > 0:45:11"you've got your name on a tram. This is incredible."
0:45:11 > 0:45:12When the next-door neighbour ran in
0:45:12 > 0:45:16he said, "How many rolls of wallpaper did you take to do your living room?"
0:45:16 > 0:45:20I said, "12." He was in a week later.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23He said, "I've got two rolls left over." I said, "So have I."
0:45:23 > 0:45:25LAUGHTER
0:45:25 > 0:45:27I remember, once, doing the South Pier and I actually saw it
0:45:27 > 0:45:31and I said, "That's my name on the tram. I must get on here."
0:45:31 > 0:45:34The famous trams go past with your name on it -
0:45:34 > 0:45:38Keith Harris and Orville starring at the Grand Theatre.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40It's a wonderful, wonderful feeling.
0:45:40 > 0:45:46I was sat in the Queens Hotel. I was in the coffee lounge.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50It was 1987
0:45:50 > 0:45:53and I was having a coffee and I looked at the window
0:45:53 > 0:45:55and a bus passed and it said,
0:45:55 > 0:45:59"The legendary Roy Chubby Brown. Come and see at the South Pier."
0:45:59 > 0:46:06And I looked and I went, "Hey, that's my name." Nobody told me.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08Then, of course, after that, people saying,
0:46:08 > 0:46:11"Saw you on a bus yesterday."
0:46:11 > 0:46:13"Did you? Was I sat down?"
0:46:13 > 0:46:15"No, you were on the side."
0:46:15 > 0:46:20I remember seeing a tram pass and it had "Little And Large" on it. Wow.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Done it. Got it. You know?
0:46:23 > 0:46:25To think we had gone there as teenagers
0:46:25 > 0:46:28and wandered down the Golden Mile and wandered down the North Pier
0:46:28 > 0:46:31and all of a sudden your name's up there and you're top of the bill.
0:46:31 > 0:46:32Great feeling.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34It's a shock, really,
0:46:34 > 0:46:40when it happens because we only ever saw, as kids,
0:46:40 > 0:46:44if you like, these big stars on posters and stuff
0:46:44 > 0:46:48and then to think that we came and travelled that same journey,
0:46:48 > 0:46:51if you like, and when we hit Blackpool...
0:46:51 > 0:46:55- What were it, 1979/80 season?- Aye.
0:46:55 > 0:47:01..the town was just splattered with Cannon And Ball over the buses,
0:47:01 > 0:47:05North Pier, the biggest sign we've ever seen of us in lights
0:47:05 > 0:47:09and, you know, it was just... To be honest, we couldn't take it in.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12And then, of course, to switch the lights on the same year as well
0:47:12 > 0:47:15was like, "What else can happen?" You know.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27Well, apart from being the Mecca of show business,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31lots of theatrical people lived in and around the area.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33This one-man gig, for me,
0:47:33 > 0:47:37actually begins here in this very quiet residential avenue
0:47:37 > 0:47:41in Blackpool, which I suppose is the home of entertainment
0:47:41 > 0:47:44and where ever entertainer loves to come to.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47It was the oldest aircraft I'd ever been in. It had an outside lavatory.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50LAUGHTER
0:47:50 > 0:47:52There was an old parish priest beside me.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54He said, "Mr Carson, are you nervous in an aircraft?"
0:47:54 > 0:47:57I said, "I'm very nervous, Reverend Father." He said,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00"Have a nice glass of wine." He gave me this lovely glass of wine.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02I said, "That's beautiful, strong wine, isn't it?" He said,
0:48:02 > 0:48:04"Yes, the Pope drinks that."
0:48:04 > 0:48:07I said, "No wonder they carry him about in a chair."
0:48:07 > 0:48:09That's a cracker, that one.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12Oh, Frank Carson, yeah, he loved Blackpool.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15I mean, he would have worked there every year if he could have done.
0:48:15 > 0:48:17I think he just had a little spell away
0:48:17 > 0:48:19when he went to live in Ireland in Balbriggan.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23He became the mayor of Balbriggan, as only Frank can.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26But the lure of Blackpool brought him back
0:48:26 > 0:48:29and I think he was at his happiest in Blackpool.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33I've worked two summer seasons at the south end of the resort
0:48:33 > 0:48:35and I think every young comedian dreams of playing Blackpool.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37I know I did when I was young.
0:48:37 > 0:48:42There is a donkey on Blackpool beach with an IQ of 146.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45And none of the other donkeys will talk to it.
0:48:45 > 0:48:47Nobody likes a smart ass.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49LAUGHTER
0:48:49 > 0:48:51That a cracker, isn't it?
0:48:51 > 0:48:52I said to a fellow in Blackpool,
0:48:52 > 0:48:54"Who is the funniest man you have here?"
0:48:54 > 0:48:56He said, "Les Dawson at the Opera House."
0:48:56 > 0:48:58I went and there was a large crowd.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00I said to this fellow, "What's the comedian Les Dawson like?"
0:49:00 > 0:49:02He said, "He's the funniest man in Britain."
0:49:02 > 0:49:05"Have you ever heard of an Irish comedian called Frank Carson?"
0:49:05 > 0:49:07He says, "Yeah, he's rotten."
0:49:07 > 0:49:08I said, "I'm Frank Carson."
0:49:08 > 0:49:10He said, "I'm Les Dawson."
0:49:11 > 0:49:15It's interesting how many comics have retired to Blackpool
0:49:15 > 0:49:16or set up home...
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Les Dawson hadn't retired, he lived just down the road in St Anne's.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23Frank Randle moved from Wigan to Blackpool.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26George Formby moved from Warrington to Blackpool.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28So many entertainers are still here now.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32Famously, Hylda Baker lived in Blackpool and, of course,
0:49:32 > 0:49:36her stage persona was this sort of little, doddery, sort of mad
0:49:36 > 0:49:40old lady but in real life, when she lived in Blackpool,
0:49:40 > 0:49:44she sort of did the whole showbiz lifestyle thing.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46She had a monkey, a flash car
0:49:46 > 0:49:49and she'd drive around like the queen of Blackpool.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53Really quite extraordinary and to be much admired, I think.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56Yeah, she had a pet monkey, yeah.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59She used to take it to her digs and a little kid.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03Very small, it were, and it used to pinch things.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05She used to give it nuts.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08She went in the theatre and she'd take it in the theatre with her.
0:50:08 > 0:50:09If you'd go in her dressing room,
0:50:09 > 0:50:13this monkey would be jumping all around, you know.
0:50:13 > 0:50:19Hylda Baker was one of the queens of Blackpool.
0:50:19 > 0:50:20Is everybody happy?
0:50:20 > 0:50:22AUDIENCE: Yes.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24Good. Cos...
0:50:24 > 0:50:27# Everybody likes you when you're cheerful... #
0:50:27 > 0:50:32We got a nursing home for her near Blackpool
0:50:32 > 0:50:35and my number two, Rod, took her there
0:50:35 > 0:50:41and they got off the train, got into a cab and drove,
0:50:41 > 0:50:45just by chance, down the Golden Mile to get to the nursing home.
0:50:47 > 0:50:53And Rod said it took an hour because the minute the first person
0:50:53 > 0:50:56saw it was Hylda Baker, they stopped the cab.
0:50:56 > 0:51:02They were pulling down the windows for her autograph.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06You see, Blackpool loves its own.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10There were comedians that were colossal in Blackpool
0:51:10 > 0:51:14and none bigger than Hylda Baker.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17She knows, you know.
0:51:20 > 0:51:25Me and him had been going 18 years when we got on telly.
0:51:25 > 0:51:30And the first time we topped a bill was at the pier, the North Pier.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33We came over from Oldham and we parked our cars
0:51:33 > 0:51:37and we're walking to the North Pier and we see this queue going
0:51:37 > 0:51:41out of the North Pier from the box office, halfway up the front.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44Big queue - three or four deep, like that.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47says to him, "Look at that. I wonder who's on besides us."
0:51:47 > 0:51:50And I looked and said, "What do you mean besides us?
0:51:50 > 0:51:52- "It's me and you they've come to see."- "I think it's for us."
0:51:52 > 0:51:55- I can't tell you the kick we got out of that.- It was unreal.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58To make it in your own territory is fantastic, isn't it, really?
0:51:58 > 0:52:00One, two, three, four.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02All right. Hey!
0:52:02 > 0:52:04HE MOUTHS
0:52:04 > 0:52:07# Whoa, the path runs deep and wide
0:52:07 > 0:52:10# From footsteps leading to a cabin... #
0:52:10 > 0:52:11Rock on!
0:52:11 > 0:52:14# Above the door there burns a scarlet lamp... #
0:52:14 > 0:52:16Rock on!
0:52:16 > 0:52:18Reggae, reggae.
0:52:18 > 0:52:23- I'm sorry, I'm sorry. - Rock on!- I'm sorry.- Rock on!
0:52:23 > 0:52:26- Hey!- Reggae. Rock on! - What are you doing?- Rock on!
0:52:26 > 0:52:28What are you doing? We've only just come on.
0:52:28 > 0:52:32- Rock on!- For God's sake. - Rock on!- Rock off.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38- We get 18 weeks, six nights a week. - Two shows a day.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41Two shows a day and we sold out every one of them.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44Bobby Ball we knew before Blackpool
0:52:44 > 0:52:49but Blackpool proved that he was a comic genius and Tommy Cannon
0:52:49 > 0:52:53is perhaps the great underrated straight man of modern comedy.
0:52:53 > 0:52:55Together they were dynamite.
0:52:55 > 0:53:02Lord Delfont were doing the North Pier and it was full
0:53:02 > 0:53:05and he owned the piers and it was full.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07He came up to the little stage door and they said,
0:53:07 > 0:53:11"I'll tell you what, Mr Delfont, you can't come in." He said,
0:53:11 > 0:53:12"Why's that?" He said, "It's full."
0:53:12 > 0:53:15Lord Delfont said, "That's fantastic. I'll stand at the back."
0:53:15 > 0:53:17"No. You're not allowed to stand at the back."
0:53:17 > 0:53:20He said, "But I own the pier." He said, "I don't care.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22"You're not coming in here and spoiling this show."
0:53:22 > 0:53:25And he wouldn't let Delfont in and he never forgot it.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28- See you, Tommy.- OK.- See you, Tommy. - OK, I'll see you around.
0:53:28 > 0:53:33- See you, Tommy.- This is our second visit...- See you, Tommy.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36- Look after yourself, Tommy. - I will, I will, Robert.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38You'll do for me. You'll do for me, Tommy.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43- Robert.- You'll do for me.- And you'll do for me.- You'll do for me.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46- And you'll do for me. - Hey.- What?- You'll do.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49- Who?- You.- For what?- For me. - All right, go and sit down.
0:53:49 > 0:53:50LAUGHTER
0:53:50 > 0:53:53See you, Tommy.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56The most amazing season that I was ever associated
0:53:56 > 0:53:59with in Blackpool was when Cannon and Ball returned
0:53:59 > 0:54:02two years later to play at the Opera House.
0:54:02 > 0:54:07Cannon and Ball at the Opera House - 3,000 seats, twice nightly,
0:54:07 > 0:54:136.30 and 8.30, six nights a week for 22 weeks. Sold out.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18That's 36,000 people a week
0:54:18 > 0:54:22watching one show repeated six nights
0:54:22 > 0:54:25a week twice nightly.
0:54:25 > 0:54:26That is awesome.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28Get hold of one of the stools and bring it in the middle
0:54:28 > 0:54:30- while I talk to you here. - Talk to me?
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Obviously you need talking to.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Now get a stool and come here.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38Drop you off on the motorway but you find your way here.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40LAUGHTER
0:54:43 > 0:54:44Well, get mine.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51Get your own!
0:54:51 > 0:54:53LAUGHTER
0:55:02 > 0:55:08When we walked on here, when we walked on, you've got to think,
0:55:08 > 0:55:11"Who else has walked on this stage? Who else has done this?"
0:55:11 > 0:55:14It's the pinnacle of the comedy entertainment world.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18Especially for a Northener. When you come here, everybody's been here.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22I've done the South Pier, the middle pier, the North Pier, all the
0:55:22 > 0:55:26top hotels, the Winter Gardens, the Ballroom and now I'm on the Grand.
0:55:26 > 0:55:28If you were in the entertainment business,
0:55:28 > 0:55:31what you want to do is you want to end up on the Grand.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35Cos when I stand on that stage, I know Bob Hope's been there,
0:55:35 > 0:55:42Gracie Fields, Nat Jackley, Hylda Baker, Tommy Trinder,
0:55:42 > 0:55:44Tommy Cooper, Dickie Anderson.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48Everybody who's anybody in the entertainment world has
0:55:48 > 0:55:49stood on that stage in the Grand.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05Nothing will epitomise more the esteem that Blackpool's
0:56:05 > 0:56:11held in than the choice of the Opera House for the Royal Variety.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15My proudest moment in Blackpool, undoubtedly, was bringing
0:56:15 > 0:56:20the Royal Variety Show to Blackpool in 2009.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24To have Her Majesty the Queen travel up to Blackpool to see
0:56:24 > 0:56:27a show in that theatre, in the Opera House.
0:56:27 > 0:56:33I went there and you could feel, in the town, the buzz.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37The whole town was out to see the Queen, to see the stars coming in.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39It was like old-time Blackpool.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43Welcome to the most prestigious variety show in the world.
0:56:43 > 0:56:44SHOUTING
0:56:44 > 0:56:46Thanks, love.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49To the Royal Variety 2009.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51CHEERING
0:56:51 > 0:56:52From Blackpool.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55CHEERING
0:56:55 > 0:56:59The entertainment capital of the world, ladies and gentlemen.
0:56:59 > 0:57:05And to be there when we have Her Majesty the Queen and Lady Gaga
0:57:05 > 0:57:07in the same building
0:57:07 > 0:57:10on a wet November night is a very special feeling.
0:57:13 > 0:57:18Oh, Blackpool, I love you.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21If you snap me in half, I'll have Blackpool written right
0:57:21 > 0:57:25through me cos I love it here, and I always will.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28- I like it, don't I? - Oh, he loves Blackpool.
0:57:28 > 0:57:34I have never seen or heard people enjoy themselves by just
0:57:34 > 0:57:37being in a place as you found in Blackpool.
0:57:37 > 0:57:40# Da, da, da-da-da, da-da, da, da, da. #
0:57:40 > 0:57:42Ta-dah!
0:57:44 > 0:57:47It's got this DNA running through it, which is glamour,
0:57:47 > 0:57:49which is entertainment, which is excitment.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51Blackpool is exciting, full stop.
0:57:51 > 0:57:53There was just a magic about the place.
0:57:53 > 0:57:55Just absolutely magical.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57We love Blackpool, as you can tell.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Blackpool was the star of stars. Numero uno.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17There's only one Blackpool. There only will ever be one Blackpool.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24# So we end our TV show
0:58:24 > 0:58:27# Pack our bags and off we go
0:58:27 > 0:58:31# Bye, bye, Blackpool
0:58:33 > 0:58:37# It's a show we won't forget. #
0:58:37 > 0:58:40- Have we been paid?- Not yet.- Not yet.
0:58:40 > 0:58:45# Bye, bye, Blackpool #
0:58:47 > 0:58:52# Goodbye to the beach farewell the Tower
0:58:53 > 0:58:58# How we're gonna miss this Sunday hour. #
0:58:58 > 0:59:00APPLAUSE
0:59:00 > 0:59:04Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to thank all the artists who've
0:59:04 > 0:59:06appeared on Blackpool Night Out during the series.
0:59:06 > 0:59:08Yes, we'd like to thank all the artists who've
0:59:08 > 0:59:10appeared on tonight's show.
0:59:10 > 0:59:11APPLAUSE Put the lights out!
0:59:11 > 0:59:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd