Jimmy Cricket: 'You can have too much of a good thing - I don't binge-watch shows anymore'
Jimmy Cricket is one of Britain’s best-loved comedians and entertainers.
Born in Northern Ireland, Jimmy left school at 16, was working as a Butlins Red Coat in the mid-sixties, which lead to his own radio and TV shows. Jimmy, 79, is still pulling in the crowds on his current tour which comes to Yorkshire next month. He now lives in Lancashire with his wife, May.
I’m currently reading
Mostly biographies, and currently, it’s Bernie Clifton’s, a fascinating read. There’s a lovely bit in it where he reveals that, before he went into showbusiness, he was apprenticed to be a plumber, and back in those days, your apprenticeship lasted a full four years.
Then, as part of your final training, you were sent out on your own, to re-plumb a house or a business somewhere. Bernie reveals that, when the guy who was assessing his work turned up, there were tears rolling down his face.
He told Bernie that he was laughing so much because he’d never ever seen water gushing out of a 13-amp wall-socket before. Bernie turned to proper comedy instead.
I loved another book by the Wall Street financier Warren Buffett, who started off as a lad at the races – so many people put their money on a horse which didn’t come in first, and then threw their betting stubs away without realising that they might well get cash for it coming in second, or third.
So, Buffett and his mates would pick up all the stubs, hand them over to his aunt, who was of age to be able to go into a bookie, and get the rewards.
My first job was at a local bookie, and I used to practice all my gags on the punters. It was invaluable, but I also witnessed some very sad people who would bet on anything and everything, lose the lot, and never know when to stop.
I’ve been listening to
My wife May often sings in our shows, and she has a lovely voice. She also does road management, lighting and sound, so I couldn’t appear without her.
I saw the Beatles live at the Ritz in Belfast, and that was quite a night, but we are more the Frank Sinatra and Perry Como type of people. And I still write a lot of my own songs, a couple I do in the show.
I remember, many years back, being in a Royal Command Performance which specifically raised money for the NSPCC, and this gentleman came over and introduced himself – it was George Martin, the man who produced and arranged all the Beatles records.
I remembered that, back in time, he’d made a lot of comedy records with The Goons, and people like Bernard Cribbins, so I very cheekily wrote to him a few days later, and suggested a couple of my own songs for him, and I got a charming letter back, saying that times had moved on.
On TV, I’ve been watching
A lot of the Talking Pictures channel, and we see a lot of people up on the screen again whose talents have been, very sadly lost in time. People like the amazing Nat Jackley, Tessie O’Shea, Max Wall.
They’re even re-running the Wheeltappers and Shunters series at the moment – which I never did. Sheer nostalgia, and a lot of fun.
They also arrange live shows for their fans, in front of a live audience, and I’ll be appearing in one at Hebden Bridge, at their Picture House, in October.
The live performance I’d recommend is
Barry Manilow, whom I’ve seen a couple of times, a supreme and superlative performer. A brilliant entertainer.
Les Mis, whenever I see it, never ever fails to move me to tears, there are some shop-stopping moments. And just about any Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
What I do worry about, however, is the price that people have to pay for their tickets these days. Sometimes hundreds of pounds. Where on earth do they find the money?
My next boxed set or streamed series will be (or was….)
West Wing was fun, but I learned a lesson very early on in life that you can have too much of a good thing.
When Ulster TV first went on air, it featured live wrestling on Saturday and Wednesday, and I loved watching it, I never missed a programme.
And then, after about six months, I thought to myself ‘That’s it, enough is enough’, and I never watched again. So, binge-watching ruins shows for me, I’d rather have things a little bit at a time.
The App I couldn’t be without is
WhatsApp. For keeping in touch with our family and friends. Can’t be beaten. Who would have imagined, back when mobile phones were the size of two large house bricks, that you could hold so much informed technology in the palm of your hand?
What is right at the top of your “To do” Bucket list?
To have a full house, where-ever I go, and to keep on working, which I love.
Jimmy Cricket will be at Cast, Doncaster, on Tuesday, May 6and King’s Hall, Ilkley, Saturday June 25, in aid of Yorkshire Cancer Research. www.jimmycricket.co.uk