JOHNNY’S RISE TO STARDOM
All-round entertainer turns spotlight on his rise to stardom
A NEW book has hit the shelves telling the life story of one of Wales’ most prolific entertainers of stage and screen.
Johnny Tudor is something of a rare breed these days, an all-round entertainer, who can turn his hand with ease to singing, dancing, acting, comedy or compering.
He has performed in every major theatre in the UK and also performed in Monaco, Australia Africa, as well as cruise ships during his glittering career.
Born in Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taff, the 77-year-old has written plays, musicals, television shows and has now turned the spotlight on himself in a semi-autobiographical book about his childhood and his rise to stardom.
It details his steps into the limelight and his long career – which he isn’t ready to take a bow and pull the curtain down on just yet.
Johnny has worked alongside legends such as Tom Jones, Bruce Forsythe, Dick Emery, Harry Secombe and Gene Pitney.
Not forgetting Carmarthenshire-born singer Dorothy Squires – Johnny wrote both a stage play and book in her memory. In the 1970s he performed several shows with her at the London Palladium.
It is no surprise that Johnny came from a showbiz family.
His dad was a piano player and his mum was a dancer who toured the Welsh club scene, as a result, his early years up until the age of eight were spent on the road.
The book – called Peg’s Boys – which mixes fact and fiction sees Johnny finding unusual solace amongst the characters, most significantly in the home of flamboyant Peg and sons, Pip and Frankie who became lifelong friends of Johnny’s – although those are not their real life names.
Over a summer of adventure, discovery, the book details his childhood, before ploughing headlong into his successful career – and what a career it has been.
As a teenager Johnny performed with his father, earning a wage, but more importantly learning how to work an audience and honing his talent.
Johnny said: “I could tap dance and my dad said I needed to learn to sing because if I just danced my career would be over by the time I was 30. So I said ‘I can’t sing though’, he said ‘you’ve never tried’, so I tried, and I could!” Having learnt his craft, he soon found himself winning the TV show Opportunity Knocks four times in a row in 1969, before a special show at the Knokke Song Festival in Belgium where he won an award for best solo performance.
This resulted in a five year recording agreement with President Records.
Venues and theatres would become his life, not least a lifelong friendship with Dorothy Squires who he first met walking down the street in London with his dad Bert.
He would spend time again with Dorothy in the days before her death in 1998 which prompted him to write a play alongside leading Welsh playwright Meic Povey about her life.
The pair had become good friends over the years and Johnny wanted to tell her story.
The show was called Say It With Flowers and unveiled in 2013 and staged by Sherman Cymru in Cardiff – recounting the life of one of Britain’s biggest stars of the 1950s, who ended up bankrupt and living with a fan in the Rhondda.
The show went on a successful tour of the UK and Johnny later wrote a book on Dorothy’s life in 2017 entitled My Heart is Bleeding.
His own career tales alone could fill several books, let alone one.
For Gavin and Stacey, fans will know Johnny as the bingo caller, the DJ at the wedding and Marco, the Barry Island cafe owner.
“I originally auditioned for the part of Dave Coaches but they decided I didn’t look much like a coach driver”, he laughed, “but as I was leaving they mentioned the DJ part, so I say ‘aye I can do that’.” “I loved it, being part of that show which became huge, and then I had a call again to be the bingo caller in the second series where I had some great lines with Rob Brydon and Steffan Rhodri.
“Then I was lucky to be called back for the third series in 2009, where I was Marco in the cafe.” Johnny said he would jump at the chance to return to the smash hit series, if of course another series is ever made.
“Yeah, of course I’d do it, but I don’t think there will be another series”, he said.
On the other side of the camera Johnny also wrote and starred in the BBC Wales sitcom Arrivederci Rhondda, alongside Ruth Madoc and the late Windsor Davies.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has meant Johnny has not stepped foot on stage for the best part of a year – having shelved a UK tour – that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy at home in Cardiff.
“It’s been a tough 12 months for the industry and I feel for the younger ones, I’m lucky as I’ve had a long career but lets hope things can improve this year.” “But I’ve been busy with the book writing and now talking about it all.” His most recent project is a podcast with fellow Welsh musician, Swansea-born composer and broadcaster Mal Pope.
Aptly titled The Mal & Johnny Show! The pair sit down over a Zoom webcam call to regale listeners with stories featuring some of the biggest names in entertainment, as well as some of the smallest venues in the business.
■ The podcast, which has just launched with its first episodes, can be found at www. them al and johnny show. com/
■ The book Peg’s Boys is out now, published by by Silver Wood Books.