But it didn't really seem to matter. I must admit I never thought I'd be quite so impressed. Yet, after running through the niceties of his catchphrases, Dodd quickly hit his stride. Certainly, plenty of the material seemed old-fashioned, rather than just plain old. Dodd relies on the audience sharing his common comedic language of the saucy seaside postcard or Carry On film as a kind of accepted shorthand.
Women are busty beauties or sour battleaxes, vicars are easily shocked prudes - that sort of thing.
And there was plenty of knob and tit gags in thinly disguised double entendres. Which, I'm ashamed to say, worked very well. Other references, too, dated him. Demis Roussos's fame didn't outlast 1976, yet he still made an appearance. The variety element didn't help either.