Cannon and Ball - Everything2.com Cannon and Ball by Ashley Pomeroy Thu Oct 11 2001 at 13:28:42 Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball (real names: Thomas Derbyshire and Robert Harper) are a British comedy duo whose greatest fame was during the 19 70s (clubs) and the 19 80s (television). They were part of the last generation of comedians to emerge from constant live performance in working men's clubs ; with a few exceptions (such as Hale & Pace and, curiously in this company, Vic Reeves ), any new comedians who show promise on the live circuit tend to be quickly snapped up by television. After coming last in 1968 's season of Opportunity Knocks , the duo - who had been performing together since the early 1960s - slowly built up a following over the next decade before ITV found them. Of the two Bobby Ball was short, and had a moustache and curly hair, and Yuppie -style braces which he would 'twang' whilst saying 'Rock on, Tommy!', his catchphrase.

Tommy Cannon did not have much hair and always seemed miserable but otherwise had no comedic mannerisms. As 'Cannon and Ball' - thus making them one of the few comedy double acts to be named after medieval military equipment - they were extremely popular in the 1980s, selling out the London Palladium several times and appearing in a top-rated ITV variety show from 1979 to 1988, filling a gap vacated by Morcambe and Wise , to whom they were often compared (unfavourably, most of the time; as with Keith Harris , Cannon and Ball were often held as one of the reasons for the success of alternative comedy ). There was even a film, 'The Boys in Blue', which received very bad reviews. ( Leslie Halliwell : "Village policemen catch art thieves.

Horribly incompetent remake of 'Ask a Policeman' with a totally untalented star team.") After a hyped, expensive and disastrous game show ('Cannon and Ball's Casino') and an equally short-lived sitcom called 'Plaza Patrol' (in which our heroes were security guards at a shopping centre), they vanished from television into the world of pantomime, where apparently they both discovered God and became born-again Christians . As with The Krankies , they are still there... lurking... waiting... Cannon & Ball.Com - Cannon and Ball Biographies Location: Boundary Park Hospital, Oldham, Lancashire School: High Crompton Secondary, Shaw, Oldham Married: To Yvonne since 1971 Children: 3, Joanne, Robert & Darren Grandchildren: 9 Lives: In Lytham St. Annes Briefly: Bobby was born in Oldham and tentatively dipped his toe into show business as a child. As he got older he thought he should maybe get a "proper job" and so that's exactly what he did. He went to work in a factory to work as a welder and it was here that he met his future partner, Thomas Derbyshire.

Bob did some singing on the weekends and asked Tom if he would like to go with him one weekend. From there their act developed gradually. By this time Bob had two sons Robert and Darren from his first marriage to Joan which ended in 1968. He then married Yvonne in 1971 and to complete the family, their daughter Joanne was born. Robert and Darren also have their own comedy/musical duo and work all over the country as The Harper Brothers. Their Facebook Page can be found by clicking here. By the end of the seventies Bobby and Tommy had toured the pubs and clubs enough to be in the right place at the right time to end up with their own TV Series. From then on, the sky was their limit, success followed and everyone in the country knew who Cannon and Ball were. They were living the high life. By 1985, Bobby was seeing parts of himself that he didn't like very much. Whilst starring in pantomime in Bradford, he spoke to the theatre chaplain, Max Wrigley about his life and his worries. He told Max that he felt as though he had everything, yet had nothing. He felt empty inside.

As much as he had never seemed enough. He was drinking heavily, spending a lot of time with different women and getting into a lot of fights. Basically, he knew that he wasn't a very nice person to be around and he felt dirty. Max spoke to him, talked his worries through and passed on some reading material. Bobby read a copy of Journey Into Life, he prayed and decided that this was the path for him. He realised that what was said and what he read made sense to him and decided to give his life over to Jesus and became a Christian. People around Bob at the time thought that this was a passing fad and that it would pass but Bob proved them wrong and stuck fast with his faith. To this day it is something very important to him. Bobby now takes 4 months out of his schedule every year to tour with a gospel show and speak at various venues to spread the word. Bobby doesn't believe in preaching to those who have no interest, everyone has their own opinions on such matters but is happy to discuss his own experiences with those who want to listen.

If you would like Bobby to speak at your church/venue, please contact him by e-mail letting him know what you would like at bobby@bobbyball.info Bobby has recently re-discovered the pleasure of watching an American comedy duo named The Smothers Brothers who Cannon and Ball were compared to when they first went to work in America. If you'd like to know more about The Smothers Brothers please visit this page . School: Henshaw Secondary School, Oldham Married: To Hazel Children: 5. Janette, Julie, Zoe, Kelly-Anne and Luke Grandchildren: 3 Lives: on a farm near Selby, outside York Briefly: Tommy was born in Oldham and by his teenage years was working as a welder. Here he met Robert Harper and they became friends. Tommy went with Bob to his gigs, singing, on a weekend. Over time, he became part of the act which evolved from singing as a duo, a trio, and a musical act to what we know today, a mixture of the two. They can easily turn their hand to either one when necessary. The balanced product is what we all love about seeing Cannon and Ball, anything could happen!

Tommy names as his comedic influences, Abbott and Costello, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and he also loved Morecambe and Wise and Tommy Cooper. Tommy was married to Margaret for 30 years and had two children, Janette and Julie. He later married Hazel and they then had another three children, Kelly-Anne, Zoe and Luke. Tom is a very private person and loves to spend as much time as possible with his family. Wherever possible, even when away on tour, Tom will drive home after each gig to ensure that he is at home with his children when they wake up each morning. Tommy wished Bobby well after he found religion in the mid 80s. He wasn't interested in it himself but knew that if it made Bob's life happier and healthier then it must have been the right thing for Bob. For seven years he watched on as Bob lived happily in his newly found faith. Whenever asked, he insisted that it wasn't for him. After this amount of time, he was attending a service in church with Bob's family and that weekend he and Hazel both felt that the time was right for them too to accept the Lord into their lives and also become Christians.

When speaking of his faith, Tom has stated that "We have a faith, it's nothing serious. We are basically very happy with our beliefs but it's not religious. We don't walk around with crosses around our necks." Tom lives happily in his idyllic home near Selby, outside York. He owns a farm and has in the past run an organic produce company. His farm includes plenty of land, he has horses and sprawling fields, a perfect setting to bring up your family in peace and quiet. Cannon and Ball It was the 1960's. Robert Harper and Thomas Derbyshire found themselves working at the same factory in Oldham, Lancashire, as welders. They got on well and as Robert had a sideline at the weekends of singing in local clubs, he invited Thomas to go along one weekend with him. Robert was singing under the name of Stevie Rhythm. They spent more time together and eventually Thomas became part of the act. The sang as a duo under the name of The Sherrell Brothers and later called themselves The Harper Brothers. They spent time as a duo and also a trio at times but later decided that they worked best as a double act.

They spent time concentrating on their vocal act but as Robert was naturally funny and as time passed, the smooth, natural rapport between them became apparent and they started to add small comedic parts to the act. It has been said that they saw that comedians received a tenner more per night and that's why they started to add comedy, but as we now know, they are just funny together so no doubt it would have evolved that way whether it was a conscious decision or not. As the act grew, they earned their stripes trawling the pubs and clubs of Lancashire and beyond. It was hard work. As any of the acts of the day will tell you now, they were not easy audiences to please and you had to be pretty thick skinned to make it through unscathed. They battled on and won over the audiences and grew to ensure they had regular work for quite some time. Towards the end of the 60s they decided that they were earning more money from their act than they were welding and they made the decision to give up their day jobs to concentrate on the act full time.

This way they could give the act the attention it deserved and they also liked the fact that they had the whole day to themselves and didn't have to turn up at the club for work until the evening time. They changed their name to Cannon and Ball and turned professional. The name worked. Can you imagine them as anything else now? It was perfect. Their first TV appearance came in 1968 when they entered Opportunity Knocks. This must have been terrifying for two working class blokes from Oldham. They gave it their best shot and hoped for the best but their dreams were shot down when they came last in the competition. They plodded on though and kept working as they had done beforehand. Not all of their attempts would end the same way. On May 18th 1974 they appeared on an episode of the variety show, The Wheeltappers And Shunters Club. Set in a working men's club environment, their act stood out showing a glimmer of what was hiding beneath the surface waiting to jump out and take the world by storm. Tommy came out wearing a swanky brown suit and gold platforms, suave and sophisticated singing a song, full of confidence.

Bobby was sat in the audience, baggy suit, timid looking with a wicked centre parting in his thick bush of hair. He jumped up, shocked to see his friend on stage performing and began trying to get his attention. He eventually got up on the stage to the amusement of the audience and involved himself in the act. Classic Cannon and Ball, a career built on this concept and one that we never tire of seeing. Many people hold this performance in high regard and deservedly so. In 1978 Cannon and Ball were asked to film a run of sketches to be shown on the current Saturday night event of the time, Bruce Forsythe's Big Night. Sadly, the sketches were never used but their performances lead to them being spotted by the powers that be at ITV and they were offered their own TV show. The first series was shown in 1979 and went down with audiences brilliantly. Within months of their failed Brucie appearance, they were topping the bill in Blackpool. Their popularity grew and grew. Throughout the 1980's they had annual TV series, Christmas Specials, Summer Seasons, a film (The Boys In Blue), musical albums and pantomimes.

They were truly the most sought after act around at the time. No one could touch them. Someone lit the blue touch paper and their careers soared. In 1982 they booked a 6 week run at The Dominion Theatre in London and before the show even opened every seat for every night had been sold out. They spent time working in America and were the only British double act to ever have played the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. Their 1988 season at The London Palladium broke all box office records and theirs were the largest takings in the theatre's history. They had made the almost instant transition from ï¿½20 per week welders to ï¿½50,000 per week performers. In 1985, their Summer Season outsold Bruce Springsteen's British Tour, that puts into perspective how big things had become. Cannon and Ball were the hottest act around but as is true of anything, the hotter it is, the more chance there is of getting burned! Popularity, fame and fortune were to take their toll. These two normal northern lads were flung from their quiet lives into a life of hustle and bustle, money, vices and adoration.

It had to have some effect. Who is there to counsel people when things like this happen? Who is there to help keep their feet on the ground? It's everyone's dream to suddenly be able to have everything you ever wanted, to have people scream your name and love you. When it happens though it must be terribly difficult to deal with. Who wants to know you for you? Who wants to know you for who you are and what what you can give them? Who just wants to be associated with the name? How does an everyday bloke deal with that? Well, a lot of the time, they don't! Bob and Tom lived the celebrity lifestyle to the max. They bought cars, boats, houses, football clubs, nightclubs. Loved the adoration they received from their fans of which there were countless numbers. It took it's toll heavily on their family lives. They weren't at home much. they were out partying, they were drinking, women were throwing themselves at them and life got thrown up into a whirlwind of excess. The lads went through a really low patch where they were so caught up with their own lives and their own demons that they didn't want to be around each other any longer.

They still worked but apart from that time that they spent together, they didn't see each other and they didn't speak for a number of years. Things were at an all time low. The high living and the way that they were being pulled in all directions tore these everyday lads from their roots and they didn't know what had hit them. Bob admits that he was lost. He was drinking heavily, he was womanising, and he was becoming violent, getting into fights when he was out, looking for any excuse to start a fight whenever he felt like it. It was not the person he had ever been and not the person he wanted to be. He has said in the past that as much as he had, it never seemed to be enough and the more he filled his life with these things, the emptier his life felt, he felt dirty and ashamed. Times were changing with regards to work too. Work was drying up. The tide was turning on the comedy circuit and people weren't looking for the same old acts that they had enjoyed for the last decade. Alternative comedy was taking over.

The likes of The Young Ones, Alexei Sayle and Ben Elton and their sharp, brash way of expressing their comedy was what they young audiences were wanting to hear and the television schedules changed to accommodate such feelings. Cannon and Ball's last TV series was shown in 1991. The lifestyle pulled at them as people. They weren't behaving the way they had always done as they were being pampered and fussed over everywhere they went. Everything was being done for them, they never had to lift a finger. Anything they wanted was theirs and all they had to do was click their fingers and there it was, they were losing the ability to do anything for themselves. They got used to having money very quickly. They were spending it as quickly as it was coming in and they admitted that they did it a lot of the time, simply because they could. They didn't need the things that they were buying, they were buying things for the sake of buying something, anything. It had become a habit. Neither of them wanted their lives to carry on the way that they were. Bobby knew that he was behaving badly and was wracked with guilt.

He wasn't being a good friend, a good husband or a good father to his children and he knew something had to change. Whilst doing a stint of pantomime in Bradford, he met up with a friend of his, the theatre chaplain at The Alhambra where the pantomime was being performed, Max Wigley. He talked to Max at some length about his life and his problems. Max listened, helped Bobby discuss what he wanted to do to sort his life out and gave him some reading material. He gave him a copy of Journey Into Life and Bob went away and read it. One thing Bob remembers is that Max said to him, " God loves you you know, no matter what!" Bob heard this, prayed and broke down in tears. He knew at that moment he had been touched by the Lord and that this was the path for him to follow to get his life back on track and give it purpose and meaning once again. A new start for Bob and Tom was to come when after his realisation, Bob approached Tommy at The Alhambra and made amends.

He explained what had happened to him, he told Tommy that he had become a Christian and that he knew that things had to change and a fresh start was made from then. In the years that have followed, the pair have become closer than they ever were. A new bond was formed and grows stronger year on year. Everyone around Bobby thought it was a phase he was going through and would wear off as fads do but it was something that made a massive change in his life ad he stuck with it. So happy to see this change in Bobby was his wife Yvonne. She had bore the brunt of his past behaviour at home. When Bob was drinking he was very selfish and she had to live with the man she loved changing before her very eyes. She became agoraphobic and needed to take pills in order to be able to sleep. She had to bring the children up and explain to them where their dad was and why he wasn't at home, it was a lot to deal with alone. To this day, Bobby knows that he was lost and that he became desperately close to losing Yvonne. He says he didn't deserve her to stay and forgive him but he will be eternally grateful to her that she did.

Two months after seeing the difference it had made to Bob's life, Yvonne too decided to become a Christian and both have been so ever since. The high living years didn't let Tommy escape untouched either. As with Bobby, he enjoyed the superstar lifestyle for a while until anyone could see that it had become too much. His family life suffered as he whilst working, he began an affair with a dancer in one of their shows, again in Bradford. This lead to his 30 year marriage to his wife Margaret breaking down. He built his life back up though and pulled through the bad times. He and Hazel are still together and married to this day. They live happily with their children on their farm and love their settled family life. Tommy is a very devoted dad, he has five children in all (two with Margaret and three with Hazel) and will drive home after each gig to be sure that he is there every morning when his children wake up. After Bob gave his life over to Christianity, he spoke to Tommy about doing the same thing many times. He tried to explain what a difference it had made to his own life and even though Tommy could see the difference in Bobby, he insisted that it wasn't for him.

He held out for seven years until he was at a service with his own and Bob's family both in attendance. He was invited by Bob's daughter Joanne to attend her son's dedication to God. Tommy was asked if he and Hazel would like to have their own small son done at the same time. They at first refused but some days later changed their minds. That weekend something touched him and both he and Hazel became Christians and haven't looked back since. He has said of his faith, "We have a faith, it's nothing serious. We are basically very happy with our beliefs but it's not religious. We don't walk round with a cross around our necks." Everyone has a different level of faith and if you find one that suits you and it makes you comfortable then what more can you wish for? Both Bobby and Tommy now take four months per year off from their comedy performances to tour with their gospel shows. They have also produced gospel books, videos and CDs. Look out for them speaking at a church near you, their gospel shows run countrywide and there are lots coming up soon. Even though they haven't had their own TV Show on air since the early nineties they have never stopped working.

They still work approximately 45 weeks out of the year and are constantly touring with their own comedy shows, Summer seasons, plays, and pantomimes and they are constantly making personal appearances and guesting on other television programmes. Both have had roles in shows such as Last Of The Summer Wine and Heartbeat. Bobby spends some of his time giving laughter master classes at a drama academy and other such activities such as judging the Search for A Star competition in Blackpool. In recent years their profile was raised when they both entered the jungle on top ITV show, I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. They have since done comedy tour after tour, pantos , a tour of the stage play Big Bad Mouse and headlined the second Best of British Variety Tour. Both Bobby and Tommy along with their friends have starred in plays written by Bobby in 2014/2015 and continuing into 2016. Rock Off, Tommy was the first one, the one continuing into the current year is The Dressing Room, also starring Kate Robbins, Johnny Casson and Stu Francis. Keep an eye out for it at a theatre near you! The picture below was taken backstage at The Best Of British Variety Tour in Bradford at St.

Georges Hall in 2008. Both Bob and Tom spent some time with us, had a chat, took some piccies and the atmosphere was brilliant, we knew it was going to be a good show. The guys were given a presentation record of this site as it was when it was first launched. They can keep them to refer back to as this site will hopefully expand and grow as the years go on. ** Bob and Tom, *Thanks so much for making the night special, we appreciate it. You don't have to take time out of your busy schedule to do these things for us but the fact that you do stands you apart from other acts out there who enjoy the adulation, the fame and the attention but forget about the people who give them their standing. You deserve every bit of the love that those audiences throw your way.* Andrea x ** Right: Tommy and Bobby both with their website presentation records. Bob shows his to Ian Krankie and Brotherhood of Man as well as others not seen in the picture.

Thanks for the photo Roz x The next few months are sure to be taken up touring the country with The Dressing Room, their own show, gospel appearances and repeat performances of the shows at Blackpool Viva, alongside The Harper Brothers. We'll update the the Live Shows page for details as and when they are verified. Cannon and Ball are the longest running comedy double act in Britain today and deserve the title The Kings Of Comedy. There are still a good few of the old style acts touring from the 70s and 80s but in my opinion, none can hold a candle to Cannon and Ball. No matter how many times I watch those sketches they always make me smile the same way as the first time I saw them. The way they are performed is special and that's why so many people still love them as much today as they have for the past four decades. Long may they continue. I, certainly will be watching them perform with their zimmers as they have said many a time they are looking forward to being able to do. Back to Links Welcome to the Officiall Cannon and Ball Website - Here to celebrate everything Cannon and Ball - Rock On Tommy!

- Please sign our guestbook to let us know that you were here or send in a message for Bobby and Tommy to read on our Fans/Messages page - Let's show them that they really are Britain's best loved duo - Home | Biographies | Chat Room | Forums | Galleries | Visual Media | News | Upcoming Shows | Merchandise | Links | Fans/Messages | Guestbook | Contact No copyright infringement is intended by displaying anything on this site. All copyright of any material shown here still belongs to Cannon and Ball or any of the owners of the copyrighted material. Anything shown here is simply done to celebrate the work of Cannon and Ball over the years. If there's a problem with anything shown please contact me and I will do my best to right the situation. Tommy Cannon - Biography - IMDb Tommy Cannon Jump to: Overview (2) | Mini Bio (1) | Trivia (1) Overview (2) Thomas Derbyshire Mini Bio (1) Robert Harper (Bobby Ball) and Thomas Derbyshire (Tommy Cannon) were both born in Oldham. They met in the early 1960s while working as welders in the same factory.

Becoming friends, they formed a club act known as Bobby and Stevie Rhythm, which became the Sherrell Brothers then The Harper Brothers. Initially they were a vocal duo, but over time started to introduce more comedy into their act. They turned professional in the late 1960s, and eventually changed their name to Cannon and Ball. Their first TV appearance was on Opportunity Knocks in 1968, where they came last. Other early TV work included appearances on Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club during the 1970s. However, during this time their work remained predominantly in clubs and theatres. Their last TV series was in 1991, by which time tastes had changed and they were no longer 'fashionable' on TV. Despite this, they continued their theatre summer seasons and pantomimes, where they still drew large audiences. Guest appearances on TV shows have also continued. Although things seemed to be going well in the 1980s, things off-stage looked much bleaker. Over the years they had gradually grown apart, to the extent that they no longer spoke to one another except when work demanded.

Bobby was drinking heavily, womanizing, and had gained a reputation for violence. In 1986 Bobby became a Christian, and Tommy followed in 1992. During the 1990s and 2000s Cannon and Ball have continued working, with theatre tours, summer shows, pantomimes and TV appearances keeping them busy. They now also perform regular Christian concerts and 'evening with...' shows where they talk about their life story and their faith. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Darren W Trivia (1) About: Cannon and Ball About: Cannon and Ball An Entity of Type : person , from Named Graph : , within Data Space : dbpedia.org Tommy Cannon (born Thomas Derbyshire, 27 June 1938) and Bobby Ball (born Robert Harper, 28 January 1944), known collectively as Cannon and Ball, are an English comedy double act best known for their comedy variety show The Cannon and Ball Show, which lasted for nine years on ITV. The duo met in the early 1960s while working as welders in Oldham, Lancashire.

They started out as singers working the pubs and clubs of Greater Manchester and switched to comedy after being told comics earned an extra £3 a night. Property Bobby Ball - Biography - IMDb Bobby Ball Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (2) Overview (3) 5' 4" (1.63 m) Mini Bio (1) Robert Harper (Bobby Ball) and Thomas Derbyshire (Tommy Cannon) were both born in Oldham. They met in the early 1960s while working as welders in the same factory. Becoming friends, they formed a club act known as Bobby and Stevie Rhythm, which became the Sherrell Brothers then The Harper Brothers. Initially they were a vocal duo, but over time started to introduce more comedy into their act. They turned professional in the late 1960s, and eventually changed their name to Cannon and Ball. Their first TV appearance was on Opportunity Knocks in 1968, where they came last. Other early TV work included appearances on Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club during the 1970s.

However, during this time their work remained predominantly in clubs and theater's. Their last TV series was in 1991, by which time tastes had changed and they were no longer 'fashionable' on TV. Despite this, they continued their theatre summer seasons and pantomimes, where they still drew large audiences. Guest appearances on TV shows have also continued. Although things seemed to be going well in the 1980s, things off-stage looked much bleaker. Over the years they had gradually grown apart, to the extent that they no longer spoke to one another except when work demanded. Bobby was drinking heavily, womanizing, and had gained a reputation for violence. In 1986 Bobby became a Christian, and Tommy followed in 1992. During the 1990s and 2000s Cannon and Ball have continued working, with theatre tours, summer shows, pantomimes and TV appearances keeping them busy. They now also perform regular Christian concerts and 'evening with...' shows where they talk about their life story and their faith.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Darren W Spouse (2) How we met: Tommy Cannon & Bobby Ball | The Independent How we met: Tommy Cannon &amp; Bobby Ball 'If he's a bit down, I'll give him a clip and say: Come on, cock' Sunday 24 December 2006 00:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Online Born in Oldham in 1938, Tommy Cannon (real name Thomas Derbyshire) met his comic partner Bobby Ball while working in a welding factory in the 1960s. After years on the club circuit, the duo became household names when they were given their own TV show, which ran from 1979 to 1991. Married twice, he has five children and lives near York with his wife Hazel. We first met in a welding factory in Oldham. He was the first person who spoke to me out of 500 men - he came in late for work and said, "Hiya, mate." Maybe he felt sorry for me.

Bob used to sing at the weekends, and one night he said, "I'm singing at a working men's club, would you like to come along?" Perhaps in my younger days I wasn't bad looking. I don't know if I had that good a singing voice. We ended up as a trio, with a guy called Stan on the keyboard. Stan didn't want to take it on full time though. Perhaps if we'd all three stayed together we'd have kept going as a singing act. In 1969 we went on Opportunity Knocks. We did the comedy and came last. But things like that shouldn't put anybody off. Michael Grade eventually saw a clip of something we'd done and he turned to the execs and said, "Give these two lads their own show." That was after 15 years slogging up and down to working men's clubs. Of course Bob and I have fallen out. We fell out in the 1980s for a time. But most double acts don't like each other at all. We've got a very close relationship, like brothers. My wife often listens to me and Bob, and doesn't know what we're talking about.

We've known each other for 45 years. I know when he's low or when he wants to be left alone. The way you do fall out is if you don't give and take. We do both have a Christian faith, but my faith is very personal to me. I have a one-to-one relationship with Jesus and it's not something I talk about. Bobby had a faith about seven years before I did, and it happened to me about 15 years ago. People thought we were crackers. We're on equal terms, nobody is stronger than the other. I sometimes feel I need to step in and take care of him, but I don't really; he can take care of himself. After so long together, you can't sum it up in words. We've been through trials and tribulations - I've helped him and he's helped me. I hope we remain together for the rest of our lives. When I was voted out of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here last year, Bob looked pretty lonely for a day or so. You do feel like you've lost one of your arms when you're separated. I wouldn't want to be a solo act.

I'm possibly one of the shyest people in show business. After so long in the business, you become classical comedy - like vintage wine, it gets better. We'll always be a double act. As part of the longest-running double act in Britain, Bobby Ball (real name Robert Harper), 63, continues to perform in summer shows, pantomimes and Christian concerts. Married twice, with three children, he lives with his wife Yvonne in Lytham St Anne's, Lancashire. I met Tommy at work. It's like with anything else, when you start a new job, it's daunting. I was always late, so when I came in I said, "How are you, cock?" I suppose he felt relieved. We became friends and I asked him to come along to a club where I was singing. I've always done show business since I was a kid. I said to him, "If you can get a set of drums, I'll teach you." And that's how it started. We had a jazz trio, we played weddings. He did have a great singing voice, but he used to be very nervous. He used to be sick before he went on.

One of us had a red silk shirt and one of us had a green one, I can't remember which was which. I said, "We look like traffic lights." It wasn't really funny, but it got a little titter and it felt quite good. And we realised that at the clubs, comedians got more money than singers. I've never really wanted to be by myself as a performer. I did want to have a rock band when I was younger, but I enjoyed comedy so much, I didn't really think about being solo. Tommy's the best straight man in the business. I'm happy with my lot. The best performers have worked their way up to the top: Morecambe and Wise, Bruce Forsyth... Sadly today we're in the world of the celebrity. I read about a guy called Preston who said that he didn't want to be a second-rate celebrity and do panto. I thought, "You need to learn your craft, son." Every double act goes through a stage of not getting on. It's like a marriage. If anyone who's married ever tells you that they never fall out, they're lying. But old married couples get through it, and it's better.

That's what we're like. We're lucky. We can talk if something is bothering us We don't harbour grudges or anything. We're very blokeish; we wouldn't tell each other how much we care about each other or anything like that. But now and again we'll just clip each other, give each other a little hug, and we'll know what it means. If he's a bit down, I'll give him a clip and say, "Come on, cock." We need our time apart. When we're together, we're together 24/7. I'm on the road now and I won't see my wife for a week. It's funny having to talk about our relationship. It makes me realise. It's a marvellous thing we've got. He's always looked after me in his own way. There was no need to, but he's protective. We've become really like brothers now. It's sad to say, but I'll bury him or he'll bury me.

Cannon and Ball appear in 'Dick Whittington' at Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea until 7 January (tel: 01702 351 135, ) And there's more... The new alternative comedy | The Independent Features And there's more... The new alternative comedy Politically incorrect humour was meant to have died in the 1980s. But sexist, racist jokes are alive and well on the Best of British Variety Tour. Jonathan Brown went along to hear the catchphrases that time forgot Tuesday 26 August 2008 23:00 BST Click to follow And there's more... The new alternative comedy 1/6 5/6 6/6 An almost balmy night at the height of the summer season at Blackpool's Opera House and an excited sell-out crowd is standing to attention to the patriotic strains of God Save the Queen. Families with children, pensioners and people in wheelchairs are clutching their bulldog-emblazoned programmes and waving Union flags in happy anticipation of the evening's entertainment.

Standing before the red, white and blue of the national flag that fills the entire stage, 83-year-old Belfast-born comedian Frank Carson, veteran of The Comedians, Opportunity Knocks and The Good Old Days and still a stalwart of the live comedy circuit as far afield as Australia, prepares to put the audience through its paces, poking fun at a variety of targets that many of us haven't laughed at – in public at least – since the Ford Capri ruled the road. Among his victims tonight will be gays, lesbians, and a selection of hapless foreigners including a linguistically challenged oriental gentleman whose inability to pronounce the word "comedian" gets one of the biggest laughs of the night. But Carson also brings his act up to date with a poke at the radical cleric Abu Hamza and women in burqas – a routine which sees him speaking to one veiled caller through the letterbox of his front door. "See how you like it?" he says.

It may be the best part of two decades since they were the highest paid stars in television, but the acts taking part in this summer's Best of British Variety Tour 2008, packing in audiences around the country, say that demand for their unchanging brand of entertainment has never been higher. As ticket sales at the Edinburgh Fringe, with its line-up of achingly hip modern comics, show a 10 per cent decline – the first in eight years, the decision to put the Variety tour together this year is already proving a smart one. Featuring on the bill, and fresh from capacity shows in Southend-on-Sea and Skegness, are performers many in the Big Brother generation will never have heard of. Among them are some of the titans of 1970s and 1980s light entertainment, Cannon & Ball, Paul Daniels, Jimmy Cricket and The Krankies. Music is provided courtesy of 1976 Eurovision Song Contest winners Brotherhood of Man. To prove there is a ready market out there for nostalgic sing-a-longs and retro-laughs they are about to set off on a gruelling month long tour of the rest of Britain. Many of the shows are already sold out.

Speaking before the show as long time partner and fellow former Oldham welder Bobby Ball struggles to park his Bentley in the Opera House car park, Tommy Cannon says he believes that the world is once again waking up to the old-style allure of traditional British comedy. "This tour has shown all people in TV – at least I hope it has – that this is what is lacking nowadays," he says. During their 13 years on prime-time television, Cannon & Ball commanded audiences of up to 18 million, the kind of ratings schedulers can only dream about today. Some might recall their 2005 appearance on I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! which – aside from cameos on Last of the Summer Wine – provided their most high-profile small screen exposure since that extraordinary run came to an end in 1991. Cannon & Ball, real names Thomas Derbyshire and Robert Harper, are like many who fought their way up through the working men's clubs in the 1960s. They have little time for some modern mores and continue to find ready audiences, performing about 40 shows a year. "You should be able to make a joke about anybody without them taking offence.

That's what's wrong with comedy now it has gone too politically correct," said 70-year-old Cannon. "But now you can eff and blind all you want," adds Ball, 61. "Everything starts at the beginning. It is like a circle – it all comes back again. Eventually someone comes along and they find these things in the archive and they say, 'this is all right, this'," Ball says. The magician Paul Daniels says demand for his particular brand of conjuring and comedy remains high. "I have done more television in the past 12 months than when I was the BBC's 'brightest discovery'," he says. "I have done so much television it is not true. I don't think any of us has ever not been in work. But there is that peculiar belief that if you are not on television you must be starving," he says. "I suspect that today's breaking news that there are more people over the age of 80 than we have children hasn't filtered through to television executives who have come from media studies rather than actually doing something. When I say this, people say, 'he wants his show back on'.

But I don't because it was damn hard work." Later he makes a sideswipe at the cult of the reality show and its irrepressible appetite for cookery and property programmes, telling the audience: "People ask me why I'm not on telly any more. I tell them I can't do magic while I'm cooking or painting a house." Daniels believes there is a deep vein of patriotism that runs through the British people that television ignores. "If they are not patriotic why the hell have we got the Olympics," he says, urging anyone interested in his views to log on to his blogsite. He also refuses to be cowed by political correctness: "If I don't do a joke about an Indian, a black fellow or a Chinaman it is racist to leave them out." The Krankies, husband and wife Ian and Janette Tough, have been coming to Blackpool since the 1960s. In their heyday they could pack out the theatre twice a night. The couple met at the Glasgow Pavilion Theatre at the age of 17 and as inheritors of the Jimmy Clitheroe tradition, have been touring their act for the past 43 years.

They had their own television show for 12 years, appearing on Crackerjack in the early 1980s, a time when playgrounds and workplaces up and down the land reverberated to the cry of Janette's "fandabidozi" catchphrase. But they admit times have changed and variety performers appearing in often dilapidated theatres have struggled to meet the challenge of more modern forms of entertainment. "We are the last of the line of the Vaudeville performers," said Ian Tough. "There has been no variety on television for the past 10 years, it has just been reality. What is sad is that people have never seen a juggler or a balancing act. They have never heard the street comic, they might have heard the university comic, but not the comic who learnt his act on the street. Comedy became the new rock'n'roll and kids decided they didn't want to laugh at what their mums and dads were laughing at," he added.

Janette, now 61, concedes that four decades spent impersonating a "wee boy" might not be to everyone's taste, especially as she has got her own bus pass, something she produces proudly on stage, but believes there are benefits for performers still out there. "Audiences have got easier than they were in the Seventies or Eighties. There was so much competition then. But everyone has not got the same taste and people have the right to like what they like," she says, admitting that television programmes such as Britain's Got Talent have delivered a boost to the industry. The couple have cut down their regular cruise line shows and now spend four months of the year in Australia recovering from each pantomime season, enjoying the golf and the ocean. But they don't anticipate hanging around indefinitely. "When the public don't want you, the worst thing you can do is hang on. It is important to get out gracefully," says Ian. For Brotherhood of Man, it has been 32 years since the group's Eurovision triumph in The Hague with "Save Your Kisses For Me" but the moment remains indelibly etched in the memory of anyone over the age of 40.

"It is very rare for anyone to get to win a gold medal for their country. Athletes do it but singers don't often so it is a great honour to be doing this best of British," says singer Martin Lee. As the UK's answer to Abba, the foursome notched up 26 platinum, gold and silver discs during their career worldwide. Today, with the same line-up and still singing the same songs, they continue to perform full time and count all the other members of the tour as personal friends. "We have known everyone from the beginning. We all came up the same way," says brunette female vocalist Nicky Stevens. "We are working all year round but when people find out I am with Brotherhood of Man they say, 'whatever happened to them?'" she says. But they have never gone away. As well as regular live shows with fellow Eurovision winners Bucks Fizz, they also perform a popular musical review of the events of the 1970s. "Everybody ends up in our dressing room after the show. It is like the Green Room. We have so much fun," says Lee.

"If someone had said to us when we wrote 'Save Your Kisses For Me' that people would still be singing it in 32 years' time I would have been very happy with that. Fans bring their kids along and I can remember when they were 10 years old with their mums and dads. It is a bit frightening." By the end of the three-hour show the audience are once again on their feet, this time applauding headliners Cannon & Ball's strangely moving version of "The Wind Beneath My Wings", a show-closing number added after the pair, now both born-again Christians, reconciled following years of personal antipathy. But there is just time for one last rousing chorus of Rule, Britannia! before the audience spill out into the Blackpool night, with many left wondering why it is they never see their heroes on the box any more. You've got to be joking... Doctor: "Mr Krankie, your little boy's willy has fallen off. And I think he's going through the menopause." Krankies: "What do you find in Ancient Greece? Ancient chips." ************** Jimmy Cricket: "Come here. I rang up the optician. He's no good.

He couldn't see me. He said have your eyes ever been checked? I said no, they've always been this colour." ************** Frank Carson: "I went into a toilet and there was a sign saying: "beware of homosexuals." When I came out there was another one saying the same thing. Then I saw a sign attached to the skirting board. I bent down to read it. It said: "You've been warned twice." *************** Cannon: "I've got a beautiful house a beautiful swimming pool, all in its own grounds. Ball: I've got my own beautiful house, all in its own grounds with two swimming pools – one with water, and one without water." Cannon: What's the one without water for? Ball: Me friends that can't swim." More about:

Question: Thomas Derbyshire and Robert Harper are the real names of which British comedy duo?
Answer: Cannon and Ball