JIMMY TARBUCK
Why me and my pal Sir Tom have given up the booze
ANYONE happening upon two legends of show-business on a recent night out on the town would have been left rubbing their eyes in disbelief… could that really be Sir Tom Jones and his pal Jimmy Tarbuck OBE sitting quietly, sipping soft drinks?
Tarby confirms it was the case, adding: “He’s totally off the booze and I’ve been told to give up everything so we were both on the alcohol-free beer. I was helping him out of the car and he was helping me into the car. It was hysterical.
“But he’s magnificent, still singing brilliantly and I’m still selling out shows. There’s life in the old dogs yet.”
The ageing process might mean a few compromises but don’t get the wrong impression. Jimmy, who celebrated his 78th birthday this year, is not about to hang up his microphone.
In fact he is about to embark on a nine-date tour with another old stager, Des O’Connor, who is eight years older.
The pair first encountered one another back in the Fifties, when a star-struck Jimmy Tarbuck knocked on the stage door of the Liverpool Empire and asked for the autograph of Des, who was appearing with skiffle star Lonnie Donegan.
“We’ve got more than a century in showbusiness between us but don’t even go there,” laughs Tarby.
The tour, starting in Folkestone early next month and ending in Southampton in November, is their third.
“It’s not so much a two-man show, it’s a party,” he says.
“We are two old pros enjoying ourselves, reminiscing and having a great giggle. Des is so easy to work with – he’s done everything and is the ultimate professional. Mind you, they are only putting his name first on the bill because it’s easier to spell!”
DESPITE Jimmy’s habit of reversing telephone charges when speaking to journalists (see panel), he’s not short of a few bob.
Yet there are no thoughts of retiring to spend even more time on the golf course near his mansion in south-west London.
Jimmy had a health scare in 2006, which forced him to quit Strictly Come Dancing. Diagnosed with a rapid, irregular heartbeat he had two stents fitted and was soon back performing.
“Being on stage is life-affirming and don’t let it stop, please,” he says. “When I get up there and hear the crowd I get a huge adrenaline buzz. Laughter is like a drug and I don’t want to give it up.
“I know when I’ve done a good show and I also don’t need telling when I’ve done a bad one. When it’s not going so well it’s just a matter of working that little bit harder to win the audience round. I never take success for granted and still feel a bit apprehensive before I go on stage.”
He’s grown up with many of the greats of stage and television and been fortunate enough to count many as close friends. Sadly, he’s lost a few over the past few years including Cilla Black, Ken Dodd and, of course, his great buddy Sir Bruce Forsyth.
Jimmy recalls his final visit to Sir Bruce, at his Wentworth home, about a month before his death in August last year.
“The brain was still ticking away at 90 miles an hour, although he wasn’t very mobile,” says Jimmy, who was accompanied by the entertainer Kenny Lynch. “Bruce was still fighting and talking about getting back on stage, still punching. I never imagined it would be the last time I saw him. He was lively, we talked about the past and there were roars of laughter.”
Jimmy was about to step on stage in Great Yarmouth when the sad news of Bruce’s passing filtered through.
He says: “There was only one way to start the show. I just said, ‘It’s nice to see you,’ and the whole audience came back, ‘To see you, nice’. Then I asked for a round of applause for him. I thought Brucie was immortal, but it comes to us all.” It was Sir Bruce who introduced a very nervous 23-year-old Tarby when he made his debut at the London Palladium in November 1963.
Jimmy says: “Bruce gave me a wonderful introduction and at the end he just grinned at me and said: ‘Well done, son’. He was always very generous. I had a wonderful evening and a friendship started that night. There were many other stars who were kind to me, like Eric Morecambe, Tommy Cooper and Frankie Vaughan, and others who would make it awkward. I won’t mention them by name but envy is a terrible thing.”
Sir Bruce and Jimmy shared a passion for golf and he still enjoys
a couple of rounds a week. Away from showbusiness his other love is Liverpool Football Club and at one stage it seemed that was the direction Jimmy’s career was heading.
As a young man he was signed to Brighton And Hove Albion. He played football by day and went on stage by night.
“The comedy became easier than the football,” says Jimmy. “I’ve no regrets about that.”
He moved back to Liverpool and began making his name as The Beatles were doing the same.
Tarby, who already knew John Lennon from their days together at the city’s Dovedale primary school, says: “I used to bump into them at The Cavern Club, where they’d do these lunchtime sessions. I even got called the fifth Beatle because I came from Liverpool, had the haircut and the suits were similar.”
His big break came when he was invited to perform at the London Palladium and later became almost a permanent fixture at a time when the West End venue was at its peak.
He says: “The Palladium changed my life, totally.
“When I see some of the young lads starting out and making me smile it takes me on a memory jog. I used to know a young man who bounced on stage like that. It’s been a great adventure but of course there have been disappointments.
“I got to reach the last two [to star in] a Walt Disney musical called The Happiest Millionaire but Tommy Steele got the part.
“But that’s just life. I can’t believe some of the highs, such as 16 Royal Command Performances, meeting stars such as Bob Hope and being introduced to a US President, Gerald Ford. I just think, ‘Jimmy, you lucky boy’. It’s been a joy.”
The entertainer also takes great pride in his family. He’s been married to Pauline for almost 60 years and they have three children, including radio presenter Liza Tarbuck, and five grandchildren.
“Pauline has seen it all and we’ve shared some great memories, like going out to dinner with Sinatra,” he says. Asked to put the finger on the reasons for his longevity in the tough old world of showbusiness he struggles for a moment, then says: “I use the word ‘likeability’, which is probably one factor.”
Professionalism is another word that keeps recurring and Jimmy adds: “You look at all the stars who have managed to stay at the top and apart from their talent they have one thing in common. They are all total professionals who work hard and I try to be like that.
“Whenever I do a show I get there an hour early before I go on. Being a diva is not my style.”
And anyone attending a Tarby show knows that they won’t be left squirming as the air turns blue, something that, perhaps, explains why so many of his audiences contain different generations of the same family.
“There’s no effing and blinding in my shows,” he says. “It’s just how I’ve always worked and you have to remember, bad language wasn’t allowed when I was starting out.
“It’s different away from the stage – believe me, there’s plenty of swearing when I play golf badly!”
The autumn tour of Des O’Connor And Jimmy Tarbuck: Two Legends Of Show Business And Television Live On Stage starts at Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone, on September 14. For other venues and ticket information visit brianshaw.org. uk/des-o-connor-jimmy-tarbuck