The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Showbiz legend Des O’Connor was in on the jokes, says Dundee drummer.
Des O’Connor was the butt of many jokes, mocked mercilessly for his allegedly “terrible singing voice” and fake tan.
But a Dundee drummer who played alongside the legendary entertainer believes he was a talented crooner who took the gags on the chin – the sign of a consummate professional.
Ron Cooper was at the helm of his own self-titled 18-piece big band – The Ron Cooper Band – when he first encountered Des in the 1970s.
The band regularly performed alongside big names such as Les Dawson, Bruce Forsyth...and Rod and Emu.
“Des had a fine voice,” says Ron, 75.
“People wouldn’t have made fun of him if his voice was really bad.
“His voice has sold a lot of records. The sheer volume of sales says it all – people l i ke it and he delivers songs well.”
Ron’s band played for Des at a theatre club in Derby called The Talk Of the Midlands.
“Des was always 100% spot-on when it came to singing,” says Ron.
“He never forgot his words – he never ever made a mistake.
“He was a real gem of a man and he really enjoyed working with my band.
“He was a really nice, kind, genuine person who had time for people.
“After shows, he would change out of his showbiz gear and spend time chatting with people, doing autographs and getting photos taken.
“He absolutely loved kids, and he was delighted to be pictured with my two daughters, Debbie and Leslie.”
Grandfather-of-three Ron admits he’s never bought any of Des’s records but he remains one of his biggest fans.
One of Ron’ s most hilarious showbiz memories is of working alongside Rod Hull and his mute, psychotic puppet Emu.
“Oh my goodness, Rod Hull was off the wall!” exclaims Ron.
“There was not a thing he would not do with that emu – it was sometimes unbelievable to watch.”
Rod met a tragic end in 1999 when he fell from the roof of his home after trying to fix the TV aerial.
Comedy legend Les Dawson was another person to take the mickey out of Des but Ron says he was “fantastic” to work with on The Talk of the Midlands.
“He liked my band and we got on great. I recorded three tunes with my 18piece band in the studio for him.”
Ron’s father was also part of the big band that provided the backing music for performances.
“My dad did the arrangements and L es wanted the recordings to let his TV company hear them,” he says.
“Les was a good pianist himself and a well read man.”
However, Ron says he considers Sir Bruce Forsyth to be “the greatest performer to ever walk this planet” and enjoyed playing alongside him at the Derby club.
Ron was brought up in Hamilton in South Lanarkshire.
He moved to Dundee aged 10 when his musical dad, Bert Cooper, was headhunted by Andy Lothian, father of Beatles promoter Andi Lothian.
Bert was a professional trombonist, playing alongside the likes of Hughie Green, and Andy wanted him to join the house band at Dundee’s Palais on South Tay Street, then known as “Dundee’s top pop spot”.
Ron quickly discovered that he too had a natural talent for music and took up the drums.
“My dad bought me a drum kit and I was hooked. I also played the full range of percussion instruments, from timpani to glockenspiel.”
Ron joined a series of bands but most famously, he played drums for Dundee act The Honours in the 1960s.
The band travelled the world and appeared on TV shows galore.
However, when Ron became ill, he stepped back from the band and became a percussion teacher, tutoring music students across Tayside.
After a few years, he got fed up teaching and when he was offered a position with the Mike Miller Band in Derby – who played jazz – he jumped at the chance.
It was during his stint at The Talk of The Midlands that Ron encountered Des and other big names.
“It was a bit like a circus. I had to play all the bangs and crashes!” he says.
Perhaps best known as a TV host, Des O’Connor released 36 albums over the course of his career.
He had three top 10 hits between November 1967 and May 1968.
Careless Hands reached number six, and 1- 2 - 3 O’Leary charted fourth.
I Pretend spent 36 weeks in the top 50.
All three of his biggestselling records were sad ballads, and this helped to establish a sympathetic, self-deprecating, likeable image that lasted throughout his career. As far back as the 1950s, Eric Morecambe cultivated an on-stage joke about Des.
Almost every episode of The Morecambe and Wise Show featured a joke about him and jibes included: “Des has just done a oneman show. Let’s hope two turn up next time”.
Another began with Wise declaring: “I’ve got some great news ,” and Eric Morecambe replying: “What? Has Des O’Connor got a sore throat?”
Des was also part-Irish in an era when racist jokes about Irish people were a staple of English comedy.
While Des’ s chief tormentors were Morecambe and Wise, others, including Russ Abbot and Les Dawson, regularly joined in.
However Des later admitted he was in on the jokes and actually wrote many of them himself.
The TV star, who lit up screens with shows like Today With Des And Mel and Des O’Connor Tonight, died in hospital at the age of 88 on Saturday.
Des presented his own prime-time TV shows for more than 45 years and he also hosted Countdown with Carol Vorderman.
He first fronted his own show in 1963 while the success of his singing career saw him sell 16 million records and spend 117 weeks in the top 10.
The four-times married star appeared on stages around the world, including hundreds of shows at the London Palladium.
He had his own US TV programme and his chat show Des O’Connor Tonight was a British television staple for a quarter of a century.
At 72, the chat show host became a father again with fiancée Jo die Brooke Wilson. The couple later married when Des was 75 and Wilson was 38. He had four daughters from three previous marriages.