THE UK CABARET CLUBLAND PAGE
Registered charities and many more informal fundraising events have done well from the Clubland sector looking way back. There is still scope for community social clubs in the 21st century to help those less fortunate. Although a caveat should perhaps be added that, in business terms, many of the clubs themselves could be even worse off then some of the worthy causes some of them try to help, writes Mark Ritchie.
By no stretch of the imagination could the average club-goer by labelled parsimonious. Thousands of people put hands in pockets for charity on a regular basis. These days, times are hard and friends are few for many, but back in the Clubland heydays, many of us put the hard-yards in and saved the bacon of many of those approaching with needy hands outstretched.
One particular impresario came to mind for me recently, whilst I was trawling one of the many social media show business nostalgia sites. Peter Bellamy was a butcher by trade and I knew him and his lovely girlfriend/partner Chriss quite well for a long well.
Batley Variety Club was approached it seems for Peter back in the 1970’s, to ask if they would be willing to stage one of his ‘Peter Bellamy Presents’ charity events. The club owner at the time was the late and great Jimmy Corrigan, another man I knew for a while, towards the end of his life.
The cast of acts involved evoked so many memories. The bill comprised the following Clubland acts and stars in a show dubbed ‘The Annual Celebrity Ball’: Stan Richards- Jack Platts- Danny James, Bryan Jones- Bonnar Coleano- Peter Black- Beeba- Shirley Wilson-Lena Storm- Carol Anne Jones- Huff & Puff- The Tropicano’s- Keith Hollome and Compere Billy Diamond.
Organist Don Sykes and drummer Norman Hemsley’s services were borrowed from the neighbouring Carlinghow Working Men’s Club, which I remember well, having worked there on a few occasions. My main memory of the venue was that the carpets in the concert room did not just go wall to wall. They also went right up the walls!
The show was produced by the agent Claude Hunter, a fascinating man who was rock hard on the outside, but had a surprisingly soft centre for those of us fortunate enough to have got to know him. Claude used to curse his own bad feet and as a result he rarely wore shoes, instead Claude schlepped around wearing carpet slippers.
Both Batley Variety Club and Carlinghow Working Men’s Club are long gone, but the memories linger.
Of the acts on the bill, I featured four of them in my 2025 book, 100 Heroes of UK Comedy and Me! They were Huff & Puff, Danny James, Stan Richards and Bonnar Coleano. Many of my best comedy memories are contained within the book. Not read it? Give me a call and I’ll send you a copy. I’ll even sign it!
We are always on the lookout for Clubland people who would like to write something of their own experiences for this page. If you have a Clubland story to tell, or if you would care to contribute a little more regularly, we want to Hear from you. Please e-mail the editor at mark.ritchie@ukcabaret.com
