WHO AND HIS AMAZING TV CAREER
we were watching Glitter come on stage in those great big platform boots and I swear nobody had realised. “He came on and went whoosh on the water from the melted ice and sprained his ankle. Anyway b ****** s to him now.” Bradley hit the big time after supporting singer Leo Sayer in 1985. He was spotted during a summer season in Blackpool and was invited on The Des O’connor Show, where Shirley Bassey, Robin Williams and Julio Iglesias were also on the bill. From there he toured with Dame Shirley, including four nights at the Albert Hall. After that he did the Royal Variety performance. He looks back on his first Royal Variety with affection as it was in 1993, just before his father died. He recalled his dad’s reaction when he said he was going to be a comedian. Bradley said: “He said, ‘You what? Are you mad? A comic? What?’ I told him I was going to learn to do comedy, do impressions and go on the road.
“He told me, ‘Comics are ten a penny, son. What is the matter with you? Stay in the factory, the aircraft industry’s the future. That’s the way.’”
Bradley also remembers how his first Royal Variety left him in stitches after comedy legend Frank Carson drunkenly urged the Queen “to get a move on” at the post-show reception.
He said: “Carson’s p***ed and swaying across the line. It is now 11.30pm. He has been standing there since 8.30pm or 8.45pm drinking brandy and is absolutely smashed.” Today, Bradley hosts the hit ITV series Tonight at the London Palladium. And it was a rare spot singing on the famous stage that led him to record his 2016 solo album Chasing Dreams, which topped the charts. He recalled: “Two days after the show at the Palladium we were sitting having a cup of tea on The Strand and Sony said “Would you like to make an album?” We shook hands and that was a three album deal.” Future albums may be on the cards but Bradley admits his next step in music could be to open a jazz club near his home in Epping, Essex. “It will be close to pals Sir Rod Stewart and his old mucker Ray Winstone.”
Gary Glitter sprained his ankle on stage on ice from my act