33 years after outselling Bruce Springsteen, Cannon and Ball are ready to rock on (Tommy) in Las Vegas...
LAST BID FOR GLORY BY COMEDY VETERANS
At the height of their fame Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball would cruise through the neonlit entertainment Mecca in matching gold Rolls-Royces.
They were the hottest entertainers in the land with an army of knicker-throwing female fans and a £20million fortune to splash on beachfront homes, yachts and wild partying.
In 1985 their summer season outsold a Bruce Springsteen tour and fans queued round the block for autographs.
In a few short years Cannon and Ball went from £20-a-week welders to comedy kings and sex symbols.
“Everyone in the country knew who Cannon and Ball were,” says Bobby, the short, curly-haired one with the twanging braces, fidgety leg and “Rock on, Tommy!” catchphrase.
“The sky was the limit – we could have whatever we wanted.”
“Aye,” says Tommy, the tall, slim, smouldering one with the sharp suits.
“We couldn’t get enough of it. We were like gods back then.”
Before comedy tastes changed and their fortunes foundered, Cannon and Ball lived a Las Vegas lifestyle – except on Blackpool’s illuminated prom, rather than the Nevada Strip.
But like all entertainers they dreamed of cracking Vegas, performing one of those grand casino shows like Liberace, Streisand, or Sinatra and the Rat Pack.
And now they have – thanks to a brilliant new ITV series.
Tommy, 79, and Bobby, 76 – Britain’s longest-running comedy double act – joined seven other British variety stars of the past to put on a spectacular show, for one night only, in Sin City.
Singers Anita Harris, 75, and Kenny Lynch, 80, former pop idol Jess Conrad, 82, Hi-De-Hi star Su Pollard, 68, and pianist Bobby Crush, 64, all starred.
CWhen I got the call, I rushed out in the street – I’m going to Vegas BOBBY BALL ON HEARING NEWS OF THE VEGAS SHOW
ompleting the troupe were comedians Mick Miller, 68, and Bernie Clifton, 81, with his ostrich. They lived and rehearsed together, mentored by legendary Vegas showman Frank Marino.
And all the fun, tension and tears were captured on camera for Last Laugh in Vegas. Unsurprisingly, Bobby, who lives in Lytham St Annes, Lancs, was “dead excited”.
“When I got the call about this I rushed out into the street ‘I’m going to Vegas!’,” he grins, jiggling his leg in glee. “I felt like crying. Tommy and I had done everything in showbiz, but not VEGAS!”
Tommy, from Selby, North Yorks, explains: “We started rehearsing in a warehouse in Wigan and they flew Frank over to meet us. And when he walked in... wow, he was Mr Vegas. Glittery jacket, silver belt, hair all bouffant.
“He was brilliant, but he didn’t pull his punches – he meant business. We knew all the other stars but sharing a house was still a bit daunting at first.”
Bobby went on: “No one really got on my nerves. Apart from Bernie’s ostrich – or the chicken, as Frank called it.
“Bernie got the thing out on the flight over to Vegas – he was going up and down the aisle on the plane.
“And he had its beak about an inch from my ear. I said to Bernie ‘If that ostrich pecks me, I’m going to break your arm.’
“So he didn’t bring it out in the house. “Tom and I were fine of course – we’ve spent 54 years together.”
Things weren’t aways so cosy between them though. The fame, adoration and £50,000-a-week earnings had gone to their heads they were splurging cash on flash cars, sunshine isle homes, boats and business ventures.
Bobby ploughed half a million quid into a nightclub called Braces and Tommy bought Rochdale Football Club.
“We got arrogant and full of ourselves,” Bobby admits. “I was drinking too much and womanising and went completely off the rails. I liked to get into a fight and I even fought Tommy.
“I was lost – I didn’t like myself.”
Tommy, too, was struggling with the “whirlwind of excess”. And the legacy of those days hit home last year when he went bankrupt over an £800,000 tax bill.
But fans had no idea that, at the pinnacle of their success, Bobby and Tommy had fallen out, and didn’t speak to each other for three years, except while on stage, obviously.
It was only after Bobby turned to a theatre chaplain and found God that they healed the rift.
Bobby’s wife, Yvonne, forgave him, and Tommy and his second wife, Hazel converted to Chris- tianity seven years after Bobby. And they’re closer than ever, as is clear hearing them banter about Vegas. And they are every bit as funny as when they shot to fame 44 years ago on TV’s Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club variety show. Tommy says: “You’ll have to wait to see the full show but it went really well. We were a bit apprehensive but once we went on, showbiz took over.” But how did US audiences take to their Lancashire accents and catchphrases like “That’ll do for me cocker!”, and “You’ve got me skin!” “Oh, it were fine,” says Bobby. “We’ve performed in Florida and did the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville once, so we just have to slow down... talk more like Hilda Baker.” Some of their fellow stars did encounter language barriers though. One local had a bit of a shock when he asked Bobby Crush what he did. “I’m sorry... you say you’re a penis?”, he asked, baffled. “No, no – a pianist,” the former boy-wonder explained. But the pair reveal that their Vegas dream almost fell victim to a terrible tragedy. On October 1, in the middle of filming, gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers opposite the Mandalay Bay Hotel killing 58 people and injuring 851.
Tommy recalls waking up to the news: “No one spoke, we were shocked. We talked about scrapping the show, but we all said ‘No, we’ve to go on, it’s what audiences expect’, so we got on with it.”
But there were more laughs than tears during their stay in the States
“We had great fun in our spare time,” Bobby says. “I went proper cowboy riding – brilliant – but Tommy went pole dancing with Su Pollard.”
“I was a natural,” says Tommy, who turns 80 in June.
“You should do more of your pole dancing, Tom,” chips in Bobby. “Go round all the old folks homes in Lytham – you’d make a fortune.”
And he grins: “I don’t have a fitness regime. Apart from sex – once a year.”
What about all the groupies though? “I still get loads, but not Tom, says Bobby. “Back in the day they used to throw their knickers on stage at us.”
Thankfully, they don’t get that in panto – a favourite annual outing.
“It’s Jack and the Beanstalk at Crewe this year,” says Tommy. “We love it. Kids of seven or eight come up afterwards with nan for an autograph.
“They go, ‘Why aren’t you two on the telly? You’re really funny’.”
A new generation of TV viewers will now enjoy the Cannon and Ball experience. And Tommy and Bobby really will have the Last Laugh in Vegas.
Last Laugh in Vegas starts on April 3 at 9pm on ITV.