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Try
It The Other Way Round
Our Joe Won't Be With Us Much Longer
You're Seeing Too Much Of
The Telly
Our Maggie's Going To Get Married |
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Al
Read was born in Salford on 3rd March 1909, but
he would be in his forties when he began his showbiz
career. After leaving school he joined the family
business - a very successful meat processing company
his grandfather was. the first man to pack meat
in tins. By the time Al was 23 years old, he was
a director of the company and thanks to his "sales
patter" he started to give after dinner speeches.
These "performances" became very popular due to
his unique style. Al was the first of what you would
call "observational comics", commenting on everyday
things in much the same way as Billy Connolly and
jasper Carrott do. He was a great observer of everyday
life and he called his sketches '"pictures of life".
As his reputation spread he also became a writer,
penning The Artist Sketch' for Sid Field.
During the nineteen forties Al nearly broke into
showbusiness as he was spotted giving a performance
in a Blackpool bar. His nerve failed him however,
despite a well received week at the Grand Theatre
in Bolton, and he returned to the family concern
saying that "the sausages seemed like old friends".
He continued with his speech making though and was
spotted a few years later by the BBC producer Barker
Andrews, who was very impressed with his sketch
The Decorator'. L was booked for a spot in the influential
show called 'Fanfare' (the name was later changed
to 'Variety Fanfare'). This show - "heralding variety
in the north" - featured such artistes as Betty
Driver, Robb Wilton, Cyril Fletcher and Cardew Robinson
- and became a breeding ground for new talent* Al's
first broadcast took place on I Oth March 1950.
It was at this show that he was introduced to producer
Ronnie Taylor who teamed up with Al and was involved
with all of his shows from that day on. It was only
a matter of time before Al was given his own series.
The first 'Al Read Show' was broadcast on 18th September
1951, and he went on to make three series up to
1955. They were called "occasional series" as the
BBC allowed him to do just one show a month in order
for Al to continue his business commitments (in
the same way Kenneth Home had done). The first two
series had five shows each and the third had fourteen,
His sharp observations, along with his gallery of
unforgettable characters such as the Johnny know-all,
the bus conductor, irksome kids, nervous types and
drunks, hit a comic nerve with the population and
Al became a star. He even performed at Windsor Castle
for the Royal family at Christmas in 1951 which
led to the King requesting a recording of one of
his sketches. The show was also voted The Most Promising
New Programme' at the Daily Mail National Radio
Awards in 1951. His catchphrases "Right Monkey"
and "You'll,be lucky" also caught on and soon he
had an audience of 35 million!!! In 1956 he sold
his business and joined the entertainment world
full time.
With Al now being a full time performer, the BBC
made his show a weekly one and moved him to a regular
Sunday slot. He made five more series, comprising
fifty four shows in total. He wasn't as prolific
as many of the other radio stars of the day, preferring
to record quality rather than quantity. For instance,
there was a gap of six years between series two
and three. He was an amazing performer, giving voice
to up to three characters in the same sketch and
being able to switch from one to the other in a
flash. He rarely needed other performers, although
there were the occasional guests cropping up. The
success of the radio show also transferred to the
stage. He had a sixteen week run in Blackpool in
1951 with 'Right Monkey', a year long run at the
Adelphi in London in 1954 with 'You'll Be Lucky'
and a similar run in 1957 with 'Such Is Life' (named
after his signature tune).
Al made television appearances throughout the nineteen
sixties, but he was never really happy on TV. He
made two more Radio series, one in 1976, and the
last - the autobiographical 'Such Is Life' - in
1985. This last was a series of ten minute shows
probably broadcast in conjunction with the publication
of his autobiography "It's All In The Book - The
Story of my Life" published by W.H.AIIen.
Al Read died on 9th September 1987, aged 78.
MARTIN HUTCHINSON
JULY 2004
( From
the CD insert of 'Right Monkey'
) |
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