mick2me 3,033 Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Welcome pheasr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pheasr 0 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 This is a great book about Dick Pleasant a comic who was a regular performer at the variety club Radford Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pheasr 0 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Another book re Dick Pleasant best read together with 'Reach For The Big Time' Available on Amazon for a few pence but is a must for all who remember Dick. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radfordred 6,284 Posted March 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Your right it is available on Amazon for a penny + £2.75 postage! 'Reach For The Big Time' my Dad would like that he was a great admirer of Dicky Pleasant's act not sure he as ever read a book? Don't look like it will be standing much longer ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radfordred 6,284 Posted May 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 I also remember a great comic Dick Pleasant at the Variety Club From L to R - Barry St Ives Dick Pleasant Ronnie Stewart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philby 21 Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 i first saw barry st ives at the horse and jockey at basford crossings, however i did see him loads of times at the variety, including the time he got blasted with shaving foam, and nearly chinned the bloke who did it then stormed out because he was going straight on to another club! as for the varity itself i took these a couple of months ago- Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted May 4, 2010 Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Thanks for that Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radfordred 6,284 Posted May 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2010 Looks like it's been done up ! What a difference a few years make . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radfordred 6,284 Posted May 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radfordred 6,284 Posted May 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radfordred 6,284 Posted May 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulus 541 Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 Bloody hell, the old bu99er's still going.......................... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Booth 7,364 Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 I can remember Barry St. Ives playing in the pubs and clubs in Nottingham. If I remember rightly he always wore a sparkly, glittery jacket. One of the places he appeared at was the 'Log Cabin' at Watnall. Can anyone remember that place?. Regarding the Variety Club, I only went there once and what an experience it was. I never normally go for a drink at lunchtimes but some members of my close and outer family decided to go to the Variety Club one Sunday lunchtime. One of them had been told by a work colleague that it was a great place with singers, comedians and Bingo like you've never heard before. This particular Sunday I showered and, being a club, decided to wear a dark pinstriped suit, white shirt and a tie. When we all met up outside the club I was the only one dressed up with the others all being in casual clothes. They all had a laugh and joke about my appearance before we went into the club. As we stood in the queue to get in I realised I'd made a big, big mistake. There were people with bones through their noses and tattoo's on their faces and others in leather Hells Angels gear...and the men were just as bad. We went in and got a pint and I told the others that I wanted to stand near the back, as far out of the way as possible. I'm a pretty hard guy but that Sunday lunchtime I felt very vulnerable stood there looking like a tailors dummy. How wise I was to stand at the back because a stripper came on stage and shouted that she was looking for someone to 'assist' her. Oh, no!!! she's bound to spot me and drag me by the neck onto the stage. This chap, who looked as if he'd been a boxer (and lost every one) asked me why I was crouching down behind his legs and I quickly told him I'd dropped my lighter, even though I didn't smoke. When I heard the scream I knew the stripper had got someone to 'assist' her. I stood up to see the poor chap trying to lift her tits up from her waist with the help of some cream. Next on was a comedian who made Bernard Manning and Roy 'Chubby' Brown seem like angels. Despite that he was hilarious and I thought at the time that in a place like that you had to be to get out alive. Next came the Bingo and it was so funny. The caller would call out a number and include every swear word he could think of and get into a slanging match with the audience. The banter would last for ages before the next number was called. Then it started all over again with the next number. I remember thinking in the taxi going home, 'That was an unbelievable experience, but one I'll laugh about for the rest of my life'. Also, if I ever go to one of them places again I'll definitely leave the suit on the hanger. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulus 541 Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 There was nothing else quite like the Variety club (ask Radford Red for details of the Bingo caller, it's his dad), Amber Vandella & her whip + boobs in a bucket, I remember losing my tie in there once..................the stripper borrowed it, to floss with!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 Michael Booth Good job you went on one of the quieter days Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Booth 7,364 Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 Nice one,mick2me. If that was a quiet day then I dread to think what would have happened on a busy day...lol. Paulus, if it's true what you say about radfordred's dad being the Bingo caller then all I can say is that he was wasted at the Variety Club. He could have been a successful comedian doing the club circuit. I'll bet it was a laugh a minute at radfordred's house. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted May 6, 2012 Report Share Posted May 6, 2012 Probably still is Quote Link to post Share on other sites
radfordred 6,284 Posted June 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 spent far to long this morning playing some old recordings from the variety club (i have hours & hours of it) here's a taster - I'm only putting it up for a few days see what the reaction is ? later of to work ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
taxi ray 170 Posted June 21, 2012 Report Share Posted June 21, 2012 I enjoyed listening to that, the atmosphere in the old clubs like that will soon be a thing of the past. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Booth 7,364 Posted June 21, 2012 Report Share Posted June 21, 2012 You're right about the atmosphere, taxi ray. When I went to the Variety Club in Radford the atmosphere was what made the visit so special. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 I remember seeing Bernard Manning in the 70s live at that large pub up the top of St Anns Well Road. There was a mix of races in the pub. And though Manning's material would today be considered racist, all of the audience laughed at his jokes. I remember the pub being in uproar, as a Jamaican guy walked across the front of the stage in front of Manning. "Hello sunshine, did you manage to park your canoe OK" That laughter included the guy himself, who gave Manning some back, and raised further laughter..You would never see that today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Talking of Bernard Manning. Not for those of sensitive nature... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Manning was not as racist as people would believe. Bernard Manning - Telegraph "He had happy relations with his black neighbours, sent a sick Asian child he heard about locally on a no-publicity trip to Disneyland, gave money privately to anti-racist groups and was a major benefactor of Jewish charities in Manchester." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
painterman 0 Posted January 5, 2013 Report Share Posted January 5, 2013 whoa,,,, that title made me jump ! Being a Barry living in St Ives,,,,,,,, Rad',,, have you got a better/bigger picture ? My old mate - Kluck - and I used to knock about with a couple of guys in the mid/late 60's in the town centre pubs. One of them was called Barry,,,, and either he, or his mate had a chinesy look about him. Every pub we went into, Barry would just stand at the bar, turn around to the drinkers, & launch into 'an act'. After a pint,,,, on to the next pub, & another 'act',,,, and so on. No act was ever the same, so this guy had quite a big repertoire. Can't recall him being 'blue' tho,,,,,, My first visit to a Chinese restaurant was with these guys. It used to be at the bottom of Derby Road somewhere. The very best Chinese Pork I have ever had. yeh barry yer prob got the right bloke,i was born an bred in broxtowe and such good times,now living in looe,cornwall Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted January 5, 2013 Report Share Posted January 5, 2013 Welcome Painterman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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