AGES OF RS’ RE E IES
HA A
peak ss ce
THOMAS AND FRIENDS
Eighty years of The Railway Series
WHEN HULL LET ITS HAIR DOWN VE Day on H
PA L L ES
Ol ew hn and the Bee Gees
ROB LEDO
English football’s first overseas star
UP, DENNIS POTTER
NO TPLAYI NG DR ES S-UP
WhenIf rstmet my wi fe, Iwas in school un iform. No,Iwasn’tatone of thoseadu lt school di scos,where then ig ht ends with ever yone da ncingtot he Grange Hi ll themet une, we’vejustk nown each ot herfor alongt ime.
Before we gottoget her, we hadn’t seen each ot herfor awhi le,a nd it wa sTe Rock yHorror Pict ureShowt hatreu nited us when we both at tended an outdoor screen ingoft he fl monPeterboroug h Emba nk ment.Teseevent sa re usua llya chance to meet up with people youhaven’t seen forsomet imea nd as well as my wi fe, Ibumpedi ntoCardi na lCox who, from thecostu me he wa swea ri ng ,i sclearly a dedicatedfan of thef lm.
From thever yearly days of Te Rock y Horror Show,whenitwas performedi n theTeatreUpsta irsatt he Roya lCou rt Teat re,where Ch ri sPeach ment ,my predecessora seditor, wa sstage ma nager, therehas been acer ta in levelofaud ience pa rt icipat ion. It mayhavesta rted of
with theaud iencesingi ng alongtot he soundt rack (somet hi ng that is frow ned upon du ri ng more ma in st ream mu sica ls) butended up with spoken interjec tion s, ther ustl ingofnewspapers, thespray ingof waterpistols andt he th rowi ng of rice and toilet rol l.
Perhapsone of the“shadow ca st ’s”props hitt he in fatablescreen, as at hi rd of the wayt hrough thescreeni ng ,t he screen defated. Tose in cost umewereadm it ted into thenea rbyKey Teat re to watcht he rest of thef lm,whi le themoresoberly (for Rock yHorror, anyway)d ressed of us headed to foat ingpub Char ters to drow n ou rsorrows.
It wa sn’t thef rstt imet hatI hadbeen stoppedf romwatch ingTeRocky Horror Pict ureShow, however. When Iwas 15,I went to buyacopyonv ideo.Teperson behi nd thecou nter didn’t believet hatI wa s15a nd refu sedtosel littome. Clea rly, HM Vhad amuchstric terapproachto agerestric tion st ha nt he ba rsta fofTe Sham rock Club whereget tingholdof bott lesofNewca st le Brow nA le never seemed to be aproblem AndI wa sn’t even in school un iform.
ADVENTURES IN LU NCHT IM EA ND SPACE
Cardinal Cox on hislinks to theworld of Doctor Who
WhenIf rststa rted watchi ng Doctor Who, my dadmusthavebeen al most 20 yearsyou nger than Ia mnow.I’vebeen luck yenoug htohavemet afew people associated with theshowovert he years. When Iwas at school,at heat re company ca me to putona play onen ig ht and Wi ll ia mRussell Enoch(Ia nC hester ton) wa spar tofit. Tatmusthavebeena round 15 yearsa fter he’d been in theshowa nd (whenI asked) wa ssur prised that an oldseriesf romh is erawas then being repeated.
Ioncesha redacar with JonPer twee andproducerBarry Lett sf roma ra ilwaystation to ahol iday ca mp whereaconvent ionwas beingheld. Teyrem in iscedabout ba sict ra in ing du ri ng thewar in such establ ishments Irememberedmydad haddoneh is ow n trai ni ng in such acampont he Isle of
Ma n. (Per twee wa sa lwaysret icenttot al k abouth is wa r, he is supposed to have been in Nava lI ntel ligenceu nder Ia nF lemi ng). When Imet TomBaker,Iremembered that oneofmyf riends hadoften sa id that Ji mMorri sonoft he Doorswas supposed to have been af riendofTom’s.Ia sked hi mi ft hi swas tr ue andhesaiditwasn’t, though it wouldhavebeenmar vellou s if he had. AndwhenImet Ma ry Ta mm (t he frst ac tresstoplayt he Ti me Lady Roma na), shek issedme. Ihavea lways thoughtt hatt here areonlyfou rrea sons fora woma ntou nexpec tedlyk issyou. 1) Teya re an au nt enteri ng or leav ing theroom. 2) Youhavewon (a sMonopoly mightput it)secondplace in abeaut y pageanta nd arebei ng presentedw it ht he prize. 3) Teya re drun k. 4) Teyhave been da redto. Either wayyou shou ld not reciprocate.
Af ri en dw an gl ed us th eo pp or tu ni ty to be ex tr as in al ow-b ud ge t, di re ct-t o-
vi de op ro du ct io n, Th eZ er oI mp er at ive. Wh en we we re ne ed ed ,b ot hC ol in Ba ke ra nd Sy lves te rMcC oy we re th er e be in gf il me d. Be twee ns ce ne s, th ey re ga le du sw it ht al es of Do ct or Wh o’s pr od uc ti on .
Ia lsooncehad apintw it hA rt hu r Da rv il l(whoplayedcompa nion Rory). Ihad then on ly ju st seen thef lm Sex& Dr ugs&Rock&Rol l, aboutIan Dr ur y, that he wa si n, andhetoldmet hathe andt he rest of thei n-fl mversion of the Blockheads (heplayedkeyboardi st Mick Ga llag her) rehearsedw it ht he ac tual Blockheads.
As Isaid, my dadwas youngert ha nI am nowwhenI st ar tedwatch ing. It wa sn’t made forh im,a nd Ig uess it ’s notbei ng made forme. Whet herornot Il ikeiti s neit herherenor there. Hopefu llyt houg h thek id siti smadefor st ill enjoyit.
Next issue: Spangles
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Aselec tion of recent gems anda previewofauc tionstocome.
memories.
42 Window on thePast Memories of ofcialopeningsfromThe FrancisFrith Collec tion
Postcard from Ox fordshire
Thestory of TheRocky Horror Show.
We talk to ac tressAngelaBruce.
to actress Angela Bruce.
A tribute to the legac y of 1960s
Atribute to thelegac yof1960s singer MalcolmRober ts
Theearly days of oneofthe UK’s frst fast-food chains
The early one of the UK’s chains.
Can you guess how it’s wor th?
guesshow much it ’s worth?
on Humberside.
Cover: Patricia Quinn, TimCurry andLit tle Nell in ascene from TheRocky Horror PictureShow.
Photograph:20thCentury Fox/Shutterstock
Ri of Iron
Rin f I n
Quoits,a game once played in ever y villageand town in theUK.
Quoits, a once village and town in the UK.
George Robledo, thefrstoverseasstar of Englishfootball.
the frst overseas star English football.
52 GottaLot ta Bottle
Milk marketingcollectables.
54 No Doubting Thomas Eighty yearsofThe RailwaySeries.
58 TheRoadtoRuins
Thejoy of exploringarchitectural remains.
60 London’s Eiffel Tower
Thelong-lost GreatTower of London
62 StandUp, Dennis Potter
Remembering thecelebratedT V dramatist.
64 Face to Face
Theparallellives of Olivia Newton-John andthe BeeGees.
66 ShapeUpand Dance
Keepingft80s st yle.
68 Eclectic Eltham
Therichand varied histor yof Eltham Palace.
70 Puz zlePageand Cr ypticCrossword
Teatimeteasers
74 Bookshelf
This month’sgoodreads.
76 Out& About
Things to seeand do in May.
82 Back in Time
Doctor WhostarColin Baker remembers.
Postbag
TheEditorwelcomeslet ters forthissection.Pictures areappreciated.Let ters maybeeditedsothatwecan includeasmanyaspossible
AGhoulishReminder?
Dear Simon,
Youmay well think this is tooghoulish to publish, but I oferitasa curiosity.
Having alongoverdue clear-out at home,Icame across this receipt foragrave siteinWoodgrange Park Cemeter y, London.
It seems my grandmother boughtthe plot when her husband wasburied,ready forher futuredemise In the event, she passed away manyyears laterin another par tofLondon and she wasburied nearus instead
Iwas leftwith this ghoulish reminder of an unfamiliarcommerce and unspoken questions about the ethics of selling cemeter yspaceto agrieving widow.
With best wishes, Susan Batten
Back to Bathampton
Dear Simon,
An interesting ar ticle,Break ingthe Mould (April),with background on Plasticine’s inventor,William Harbutt
Acouple of yearsago,I “accidentally ”cameacross hisgrave in Bathampton’s St Nicholas’ churchyard. Iwas researching another of the churchgraveyard ’s incumbents, Ar thur Philip.
Philip wasthe captain thatled theexplorator yFirstFleet expedition to Australia in 1787/8; finally landinginSydney Cove on 26 Januar y(nowk nown asAustraliaDay)and settingupacolony.
As achurchyard bonus,Ialso foundWalterSicker t, the German bornBritish painterwhosenamewas theorised as linked to Jack the Ripper
Best regards Barr yStone
Club Class
Dear Simon,
Iw as in te re sted to see Sharon Haston’s co mmen ts o nm ail order ca talogu es in the Ap ri li ssue (YesterdayR emem bered: In the Club Bo oks). Wh en old co pies arep er used to day, these ex te nsivevolu mes p rovi de af ascina ting windowi ntoB ri tish lifei n a par ticular per iod due to their cove ri ng so manya spec ts of it .
It used to be possible to obtain DVD scans of whole catalogues on eBay,although these no longer seem to be available. The original bulkyitems arenow quiteexpensive andare another example of items of the past thatwerethrownawaydue to being so common and of no value,which arenow sought-after, just like so manyof thethings featured in Treasures in theAttic Al lt he best , Ma rt in Broadrib b
Musingsfroma Hospital Bed
Dear Simon,
Iamwatching the most beautiful sunrise through the window. Thesky is purple with agolden ribbon spread across the horizon. Thesun has yettocreep over the edge but is gettingcloser.The purple is turning to hazyblue as the gold intensifes.Aplane has scribbled acrack across the onceper fect skywhile twogeese fewby. Asingle star, hanging like abauble,dares to twinkle above the horizon as the sun gets closer and closer. Suddenly,the sun has risen in ablazeof brilliance, peeping through the branchesofa starknaked tree.Whataglorious spectacle to behold.Another dayhas begun.
Adoctorwas tr ying to insert acannula into the back of my hand but he madesuch amess of it.Blood spurtedonto thepristine whitesheets like afountain. Itold the nurse he obviouslyneeded morepractice, but not on me
Afrail tinylady in her 90s layinthe bed oppositeme. She had the thinnest of arms, sinewyhands and hollowedcheeks.She had no visitors but from under the warmth of her covers suddenly emerged her teddy bear She placed him firmly on her chest andspoke to him. As all good teddies do,helistened intently.Iwept quietly as Isilently witnessed this momentinher life’sjourney.Thenshe kissed him, cuddled him and,tucking him back under thecovers,she went to sleep
“Can Ihavesomemoreblood?” asked the nurse sweetly.“ What more?” Iasked.Can you say“No”? Ithink they must be selling it online but Istill have afew drops left. “Will youleave me any?” “Just atad,” wasthe response.
Athin old maninjazzypyjamas stopped me in the corridor, Zimmer to Zimmer “Hey ”, he said: “Did youhavethe toast this morning?” Ishook my head. “Itwould be bettertorip the coveroff ahard-backed book,smother it in marmalade and eatthat.”
Thelittle old lady of 92 in the next bed had her nose firmly stuck into abook a fewinches from her face. Iasked if she was enjoying her book.She replied it wasthe histor yofWorld WarOne and felt she should learnmoreaboutit. She told me thatwhen she wasnine,she watched the German army march into her village in the Netherlands,so she knew all about WorldWar Two.
Such characters we meet,and their stories areunexpectedand remarkable.
Iwenttosleep forawhile andwhen I awoke,myZimmer frame of fivedayshad disappeared.The nurse searched high and lowwithnoluck. Then apatienttold her she had seen one abandoned in the bathroom. She quickly retrieved it andcleaned it, lowereditand it wasmine.Itethered it to my foot withmydressing gown cord thatnight in case it strayed.
“Nurse!” the plaintiff cr yechoed across the dimness of the ward mournfully.“Nurse!”.Her
call button had fallen to the floor.She cried again weakly,and Ireached outtopushmy button forher.Welooked aftereach other. Theaction wasnon-stop,the organisation amazing by multi-nationalstaff,all working together with one common goal,to make the patients as comfortable as possible to help recovery.Somanydifferentuniforms, differenthairstyles,smiling faces,caring hands dealing with such sick people,aged people,frail people,distressed people,never stopping,alwaysalert. My experiencewas heartwarming,healing and therapeutic
“Thank you, nurse.” Andindeed:“ Thank you, NHS.”
Sheila Harris Shirley,Solihull
On theRoadA gain
Dear Simon,
Yo uwerek ind en ou gh to publish my letter, Ge tting Back on the Ro ad,concer ning the buildin go fmym odel bus ki ti nt he Au gu st edition of Be st of Br itish.
Ih ad star te d mak ing the ki ts ome time ago but failin g eyesigh ta nd old age preven te dm ef ro m co mpleting it .Ia sked if anyread er co uld help me.
Bo Bc ame up trumps when Keith Se ar le re sponde d. Keit hi sn ot only an outst anding modelmaker,b ut also aLondon bus en thu sia st wh oh ad scr atch-built am odel bus of the same ty pe as mine.K ei th offered to finish my model.I t is nowcom pletea nd is super b; Ic annot thank Keith enough .I have put the model in as treet scene dior ama adding fur ther re alism. Lo ok ing at it takes me back to my busspotting days in the la te 1940s an de ar ly 50s
Thank you, Best of British, forputting me in touch with Keith and mak ing it all happen.
John Fr yer Brentwood,Essex
Ho g’sB ac kto th eFut ur e
De ar Simon,
Onceagain, Ihavebeen transpor ted back in time by Best of British, this time reading BobBar ton’sPostcardfrom Surrey in the Januar yissue.Overthe years Ihavehad lots of memoriesofthis area. When very young,Iwould visit Farncombe with my parents and sister to staythe weekend with my uncle and auntie.Mysister and our cousins would walk along the RiverWey and seethe American soldiers playing baseball on the green at Godalming
Alittle while lateroninlife, my friend and Iwouldc ycle fromEgham to Guildford. Aftergoing into the museum, we went to aver ysmall churchcalledSt Martha’s,just on the Hog’s Back.When married,mywifeand Iwenttosee her cousinwho at thattime lived on a houseboatonthe RiverWey.AsIhave already mentioned in aprevious letter,I worked at BACatWeybridge.
Also,asyoungsters,wethoughtwe were going upmarket if youcaughta Green Line Coach instead of anormal bus.This wasbecause it did not stop at ever ybus stop,soitwas faster.My grandfather also lived in thatareafor a while,soalot of memoriesfor me
Yours,
BobbyKnottley
Newthorpe Common, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
TheBill Thrilled
Dear Simon,
I’ve been enjoying watching TheBill this year cour tesy of the television channel U&Eden, which has been running ever yepisode from the beginning of series one.I’veseen all the episodesshown so far on previous occasionsbut it is still areal pleasureto watchThe Bill when it wasatits very best, beforeitwas turned intoasoap opera.
Even though Ik new whatwas going to happeninthe series six episode Trojan Horse,the shock wasthe same as it wasback on the evening of the original broadcast on 22May 1990 when astolen car exploded in theSun Hill car parkand PC Ken Melvin caughtthe full force of the blast.Hewas my favouritecharacter, and Iwas devastatedwhen it wasrevealed during the episode thathehad died
In morerecenttimes,Ilearned fromexcellent TheBillPodcast that actorMarkPowley hadvolunteered to be the characterwritten out in the explosion (deemed necessar ytoexplain thetransformation of Sun Hill station, which in realitycame about because of achange of filming location) but that he had then gone awholeyearwithout anyworkatall. IrealiseMarkPowley has had plenty of actingcredits since, but PC Ken Melvin is still theonly characterI have seen him play.
My new favouritecharacterwas PC Tony Stamp and it ’s been really interesting to see howactor Graham Cole made the transition from an extrainthe hour-long episodes of thefirstthree series to afully-fledged memberofthe cast at the star tofthe half-hour episodes at the star tof series four.Vik ki Gee-Dare( WPC Sue Ford)and Gail Abbott (WPC Michelle Hughes) were latertomake thesame transition but without the longevity of Graham Cole
TheCID team in series six, with VivMar tella leavinguniformtojoin DI Frank Burnside,DSTed Roach,DSAlistair Greig,and DCs Mike Dashwood, JimCar verand Alf“ Tosh”Lines,was theabsolutebest. Andthank you, Simon, foryour excellentinter view withAndrew Mack intosh (Fitting the Bill,July 2023), who playedGreig fornine years.Such ashame thatCID, and TheBill as awhole,was watered downastime progressed
Jon Harris
KevinLloyd as TheBill’sDCToshLines.
Canyou help?
I am look ing fo rrela ti ve s of men/women who wo uld have ser ve do n the Wo rl dWar Twog un and searchligh tb at te ry, In ner Frow ardPoin t, near Br ix ham, De vo n. Any infor ma tion gl adly re ce ived. Ch ris Ma rt indill,Flat4 , Harden Ho use,Tre lissic k Road,Paignto n, Devo n TQ 33 GJ Te l: 01803 525483.
Tr ying to traceBrian Knight, last seen in Pendeen, Cornwall,and employed at the Summercour tGuest House in Pendeen owned by Mr and MrsTorrance. We were guests theremid-70s Thelast we heardabout him wasthathehad gone back home to Lutonwith his two daughters,Eve and Dawn, if Irecall.I twouldbeniceto talk to him. He would have knownusasthe Gees Le sG ee,E mail: lesgee45 @ hotmail.com
Iamtrying to fnd aJef Green, my frst husband’s brother,fromWok ing in Surrey.Myfrst husband (Les) andhis other siblings areall deceased as far as I know,but it would be nice to catchupwith Jefifheis still around,presumably no longer in Woking.Hewas married to Jenny, with at least twochildren, butIk now they were divorced(in the 1970/80s) and he remarried some years later. Would be in his early 70s,Ithink.Iwas then Doreen Green.
Dee Go rd on, 34 Wate rs Ed ge,S ho re field Road, We stcliff -o n-S ea SS0 7RH Email: deegordon@ btinte rnet.com
Iwoul dl ike so me penfr iends to wr itetow ho like cl assic re ggae,c alypso, sk aa nd wo rl dm usic.I ’m aged 60 and wo uld also like to wr itetop eopl ew ho like classic te levision, dr ama and co medy films,a nd like listening to Ra dio Ca ro line Co lin Gr iffiths,5C haston Place, Ke ttering, No rt hamptonshireN N16 9TF
Is thereanyone out there who took par tinthe Essex Senior Scout 4th European Expedition to Germanyin the summer of 1959? If so,I would love to hear from you; Ihavea number of photos but no other paper records of our frst ever visit abroad David Sa nsom, Email: davidwsansom@yaho o. co.uk
Do es anyo ne have any infor ma tion of aD utch fo otball te am called KMVZ, ac lub from Am sterdam. In par ticul ar,t herew as a to ur hosted by KMVZ and including my lo cal te am, Bar ki ngside FC, in 1966, along with Wi tney FC. Any infor ma tion on KMVZ and this to ur wo uld be grea tly apprecia te d.
Rob Meye rs,1 23 As hurst Dr ive, Ba rk ingside,I lford, Es sexI G6 1HA
Requestsfor information, friendsand family searches andreunion announcementscan be included here free of charge.Sendany requests,written as conciselyaspossible,toCan YouHelp?, Best of British, MortonsMedia GroupLtd,Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle,Linconshire LN96JR or by emailto info@bestofbritishmag.co.uk
Like aWhirlwind
Dear Simon,
Theprize foraGrocery Trade (1980) National Competition wastwo tickets to watch the WorldSnooker Championship fnal at the Crucible TheatreinShefeld.Myson Roy came with me and we enjoyedthe best seats and wonder ful snooker. We also had an invitation to visit the players’lounge at the halfway break.
We were sitting at atable therelook ing out of alarge plate -glass windowatthe crowdalongside forashor tspell, with some well-k nown faces from the worldofsnooker Aside door opened,and awoman came uptoour table withatrayof thetiniest sandwiches we had ever seen, alongwith hot coffee.However,beforewecould move,the father of snooker aceJimmyWhitecamein and helpedhimself to all of thesandwiches, tak ing them off in anapk in to acorner.
My son and Ilooked at each other but Mr Whitesaid: “Don’t worr y–someone will be alongwith some more.” It neverhappened. Almost immediately,wehad to returnto our seats as playwas aboutto star t. It wasa thrilling final wonbyCanadian player Cliff “The Grinder ”Thorburn, who defeatedAlex Higgins by 18 frames to 16
We really had enjoyed agreat dayout and seen some greatsnooker.Wehad witnessed some fast clearances take place,for sure, but thebest one wasthe clearance of all the sandwiches by JimmyWhite’sfather.
Colin MacLeod Beauly,Inverness
Snap Happy
Dear Simon,
Going back through last year ’s Best of British magazines,Iremember reading Michael Lawrence’sarticle about his photographyjob at Butlin’s Pwllheli (King of the Camp,June) and his subsequentletter (Postbag: Good DaySunshine,August), in which he also mentions the Yesterday Remembered ar ticle by TimKir ton(Sunny Disposition, June) about Sunshine Holiday
Camp on Hayling Island at which Michael rana photographic concession fortwo summers in the mid-1970s
Th ep ic turep ubl ished w ith the letter wa so fM ich ael wit hh is assistan tC hr is, from 1975 or 76. Th ey wo uld go around the bar in the evening and Chr is wo uld sit on men’s kn ees to have their photo taken by Mi chael (but as he po in te do ut , yo up ro bably wo uldn’t get aw ay with tha t now). Th ep hotos,w hen developed,were displ ayed usuall yn ear the re ce ptio na re a and co uld be purchased,i fw an te d.
Ih avee nclosed twop hotos.The first is of the same thing th at Mi chael Lawrence descr ibed in his letter,ayou ng wo man sitting on my kn ee whil et he photow as taken (in te rr upting my cardg ame with my fr iend Fr an ka nd se ve ra lp eople we had met there) which, as yo uc an see,I bough t.
Th es econd photo, the same we ek we we re there, we managed to get ou rselves picked fo rt he judging panel with ot hers and the To rb ay Ca rn iv al Qu een to judge the beaut ycon te st (do they still have beaut ycon te sts at the moder nh olid ay camps of to day? ). I’mi nt he mi ddle with my fr iend Fr an ktot he le ft of the car niv al queen. Th is all to ok placea tt he Po nt ins St Ma ry ’s BayH ol idayCamp,B ri xham, De vo n dur ing the summer of 1970. So me grea t times in yo unger days at these camps
Keep up the good work,a great magazine
Chris Martindill Paignton, Devon
ARight RoyalYarn
Dear Simon, Ihaverecently put on adisplay of postboxes in theNewport and CarisbrookeCommunity shopinthe High Street,Newpor t, Isleof Wight.
My displayshows postboxesfromall seven monarchs and mayjustpossibly be the first time all have appeared together in public. Readers mayrecall me making up apostbox forK ing Charles IIIlastyear (Postbag:The RoyalBox,August) over the frustration of nothing appearing that far. Thereare nowapproximately threepillar boxesand four similar smallboxes on the street in the UK .
But Ithoughtitwouldbeagreat adver t foranupcoming eventatthe IsleofWight Postal Museum. Ihavebeen approached by somelovely ladies thatwish to knit bomb all my pillar boxes. Of course onecannot refuse theladiessoweagreedtohaveanopen weekend at the museum on 24-25May
Allare welcome and we have called it The RightRoyal Yarn forthe KnuttyKnitters
Regards,
Ar thur Reeder Isle of WightPostalMuseum Newpor t, Isle of Wight (07976 274071,postalmuseum.co.uk)
TheCheek ySheet
Dear Simon,
We hear non-st op these da ys about scams ,h er e’so ne If el lf or It wa sa ro und 196 4a nd Iw as on So uthampt on Co mmon fo r the annual East er fair.Wit ht he big wheel ,b umper cars and a bo xing ri ng ,m ost tast es we re ca te re df or
Am ong all of this we re stall holders selling all sor ts .A nd , no,Id id not co me home with a goldfish.
I’ds av ed up some of my pape r ro und money,a sIh ear dM um tal ki ng about the need fo rn ew bedsheets fo rm yr oom.
So,Ih ear in ab ro ad co ck ney ac ce nt :“Co me up ladies and gen tlemen, al ittl ec loser,Ih av e
her eap ai ro ft he ve ry finest Eg ypt ian co tt on she ets ,y ou cannot ge tt his qualit yi nt he shops .I ’m not as ki ng £5, not £4, nor £3, but only £1 10 s 6 d .”
We ll ,w ha tab ar gain ,Ib ough t ap air,g ot home s oe xc it ed to te ll Mu m, she thanked me but seemed cautious al th ough they fe lt t hick .A nd we fo und out wh y, on the first wa sh which sh ed id pr ior to use ,a bout half pound of st ar ch came out
Af te rt ha tt hey looked like cheap netting .Yes ,s cams ar ea s old as t ime itself
Kind regards
BobBicker GulfHarbour,Auckland,New Zealand
Bunter ’s Back
Dear Simon,
Ia mw ri ting to yo uo n behal fo fThe Fr iars’ Club,al ong-standing organisa tion dedica te d to ce lebr at ing the wo rk s of Fr an kR ich ards,a uthor of the Bil ly Bu nter and Greyfr iar sS ch ool s to ri es
Last year an exciting find wasmade in the attic of the home of our president, PennyTweedie, the author ’s great-niece; namely the discover yofa collection of unpublished stories written by the greatman himself.
Wi th his customar y perspicacit y, Ri chards
fo re te lls the dangers of AI in arem ar ka ble stor yw ri tten manyyear s beforei ts adven t.
Th es to ri es aren ow being publ ished in our jour nal,The Fr iars’ Chronicl es and make fo r both an in te re sting and fascina ting re ad, We do hope to meet anyn ew members at on e of our upcoming even ts
Yo urs sincerely, John Le ster
Se cretar y, Th eFri ars’ Club,j ohnstuar tlester@ hotmail.co. uk
The Retr oTVTimes
Classic television on Freeview,Satellite, Cableand Online
Talking Pictures TV talk ingpicturestv.co.uk
SKY328 |FREEVIEW82 FREESAT306 |VIRGIN 445
Come Back Peter(1952) (Thursday1May,8.05am)
Comedy.Director: Charles Saunders. Starring: Patrick Holt and PeterHammond.Pandemonium is createdina home when various relatives come to stay.
Notorious (1946) (Thursday1 May, 4.30pm)
Drama. Director: Alfred Hitchcock.Starring: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains.The daughterofa convictedGerman spyisasked to spyona group of Nazis in South America, but howfar will she have to go?
AHome of Your Own(1965) (Friday2 May, 2.05pm)
Comedy.Director: JayLewis. Starring: Ronnie Barker,Richard
bbc.co. uk/iplaye r
TheSinging Detec tive
Briers,Peter Butter worthand BernardCribbins.Awordless,satirical look at British builders as they attempt to build ayoung couple’s dream home
TheRescue Squad (1963) (Saturday3May,10.30am)
Family.Director: Colin Bell.Starring: Christopher Brett, Shirley Joyand PeterButter worth. Agroup of children attempt to retrievetheir toy plane from the topofanabandoned tower.
TheCassandraCrossing(1976) (Saturday3May,9.05pm)
Drama. Direc tor: George PCosmatos. Starring: Sophia Loren, RichardHarris, AvaG ardner,M ar tin Sheen and Bur tLancaster.After passengers on aEuropean train areexposed to adeadly disease,the train is rerouted across a derelic tbridge, the dangerously unsound Cassandra Crossing
Last Holiday(1950) (Sunday4May,6pm)
Drama. Director: Henr yCass. Starring: Alec Guinness,K ay Walsh, BernardLee and Wilfrid Hyde -White. Asalesman who learns he has months to livecashes in his savings to live in afanc yhotel
Dennis Potter ’s classic drama serial with music, about apulp thriller writer whosememories,1930s-stylegumshoe fiction and debilitating sk in disease weavehim an altered reality.
TuesdayDocumentar y
Engines Must Not Enter the PotatoSiding First transmittedin1969, this film looks at ahandful of the280,000railwaymenwho work in Britain, especiallythe men whoworkedonthe former Midland and GreatCentral routes,asthey reflect on their changing industr y.
RedDwarf Parallel Universe
Red Dwar f
Parallel Universe Holly devises afaster-than-lightdrive that immediately goes wrong,sending the crew into aparallel universe
BadGirls
Forthe female prisoners and their guards at HMP Larkhall,life lurches from one crisis to another.Watch the battle to sur vivein this secret world.
Labyrinth (1986)
Amagical fantasy starring DavidBowie andJennifer Connelly
When a16-year-old tries to solvealabyrinth afterher brother is taken by agoblin, nothing is as it seems.
Hammer House of Horror
CharlieBoy Ayoung maninherits an African voodoo doll from his late uncle. Aftera harrowing incidentwith amotorist,he unwittingly releases its power.
FREEVIEW41, SKY148, FREESAT137, VIRGIN 149
TheBusiness (2005) (Friday2May,10.55pm)
Frank ie (DannyDyer) is ayounglad on the run from the high-rise ghettos of south Londontoanew lifeinMalagawith nothing but abiscuit tin stuffed full of cash in his handluggage.Hehas no idea thatthis deliver ytothe super-suave playboyand ex-con Charlie (Tamer Hassan)will change his lifeforever.
Journeytothe Center of the Ear th (1959) (Monday5 May, 2.30pm)
Scottish professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) accidentally discovers amap of sor ts with directionsonhow to reach the centre of the Ear th through an Icelandic crater.Whenthe professor looks to his colleague Alec McEwen (Pat Boone) to verify his discover y, Alec turns on him and the twoengageinaracetosee who will reach the centre of the Ear th first
Imposter (2001)
(Thursday8May,9pm)
Setin2079, afamous weaponsdesigner (Gar ySinise) is accused
SKY110, VIRGIN 124, TALKTALK 310, NOWT V
Porridge (Tuesday6 May, 6.20pm)
Men Without Women When Fletcher assumesthe role of agony aunttohis fellowinmates, he ends up writingletters home to their lovedones
Bottom Live: TheBig NumberTwo (1995) (Friday9May,10.20pm)
TheQueenisattendinga parade in Hammersmith, and Richie and Eddie (Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmonson)planoninviting her to jointhemfor supper –but their plan goes wrong
Classic Bergerac
(Saturday3 May, 10am)
FREEVIEW/YOUVIEW/BT/ TALKTALK 20, SKY143, VIRGIN 130, FREESAT158
TheLast Interview Jim Bergerac wonderswhy he hasbeen given the job of protecting aretired well-k nown television journalist.But it seems he’s not just in Jersey foraholiday
Eldorado (Wednesday14May,2pm)
An explosion rocks LosBarcosinthe final episode of the shor tlived Spanish-set soap
of being an alien designed replicantand goes on the run from the authorities.This sciencefiction psychological thriller is based upon the 1953 shor tstory Impostor by Philip KDick
ThePoseidon Adventure(1972) (Monday26May,2.35pm)
An all-star cast thatincludes Gene Hack man, Ernest Borgnine, Roddy McDowall,Shelley Winters and Leslie Nielsen heads this acclaimed film thatset the standardfor disaster movies.When the world’slargestocean liner is capsized by atidal wave,only 10 passengers sur vive.
Now, the race is on forthem to make their way from the capsized topofthe ship up to the bottom beforethey drown.
HowToBuild aMotor Car
(Saturday3May,4pm)
FREEVIEW/YOUVIEW/BT/ TALKTALK 27, SKY155, VIRGIN 129, FREESAT159
Land RoverDefender We followthe 35-hour buildofanew Defender,whereover3,300 individual par ts and 70 years of innovation come together to create avehicle forany terrain.
James May’sMan Lab (Saturday3May,7pm)
James May continues his epic quest to resk ill the modernmale by reuniting a former teenage rock band fortheir first concer tin20 years,felling atree, and hunting ghosts
WatchD ave, U&W, U&Yesterdayand U&Drama shows on demand with U(u.co.uk) andcatch up on your favouriteprogrammes.
Channels maybeunavailable in certain regions.Ifyou arehaving trouble viewing channels,gotofreeview.co.uk/ freeview-channel-checker or call the Freeview Advice Line on 03456 50 50 50 (Mondays to Fridays,9am-5pm).
BRITAIN NOW
TOPICAL SNIPPETSFROM AROUND OUR NATION
ARoofWith aView
Aphotographtaken of thequeue to enterBlenheim Palace (01993 810530,blenheimpalace.com) on itsfrst dayofpublicopening in 1950 hasbeenrecreated to mark its75th anniversary.Originallyopenedto fund repairsto thecentral roof areas, work whichisnow life expired, the Unesco WorldHeritageSiteiscurrently undergoing a£12m roof restorationproject.Ahighlight of theanniversary celebrations wasthe ofcial unveilingbybroadcaster anddesignexper tKevin McCloudofthe Roof topV iew plat form,which will ofer unbeatable panoramicviews of theCapabilit yBrown landscape andbeyondwhile therestoration takesplace.A spar tofthe celebrations, Blenheim Palace is also showcasing a7ft foraldisplay, whichprovidesthe perfec tbackdropfor commemorative visitorphotos.
Life’s aGas Blue Order
Anew public park hasopenedin Edinburghaspar tofthe £1.3bn regeneration of GrantonWater fronttobecomea new environmentallyfriendlycoastal town.The Gasholder1 Park sits within thecompletelyrestoredgasholderwithviews over theFir th of Forth. Theentranceofthe park is marked with large Hollywoodstyle lettering making it more visiblefor localpeople andothersvisiting to enjoyits open greenspace andplay equipment. It hassix diferent zonesincluding threeplayareas with awiderange of play equipment. Thereisplent yofoutdoor spacetoexplore andaninner ring walk goinground theouter edgesofthe framewitharange of places to sitand rela x. An outdoorexhibitionhas also been created whichshowcases the histor yofGranton gasworks as well as therestoration process.
Theescapades of therecord- breaking Campbell family have been givena newlease of life at theL akelandMotor Museum in Back barrow,Cumbria (015395304 00,lakelandmotormuseum. co.uk).Anexhibitiondedicated to theracingcareers of Sir Malcolmand Donald Campbell hasrecentlyundergonea £10,00 0renovation. Alongwitha newaudio -visualdisplay,the exhibition features full -sized replicas of the1967Hydroplane Bluebird K7,1939PowerboatBluebirdK4and 1935 Bluebird Car. More modern examples of record -break ingattemptsbythe family includethe original 1996 Bluebird Elec tric 1, which, in 1997,broke theBritish speedrecordfor an elec tric vehicle, when it wasdrivenbyDon Wales, grandson of SirMalcolm Campbell
Visitors andthe localcommunity came together to recreate thefamous queuephotographtaken on Blenheim Palace’s openingday 75 yearsago.
Rock Aroundthe Clock
An exhibitioncelebrating thepioneering menand machines of themodernrailway hasopenedatHopetownDarlington (01325 4050 60,hopetowndarlington. co.uk).Running until22June, Railway Pioneers –Celebrating theRailway Rock starsofthe Past showcasesthe advancements of rail technology andthe engineeringinnovationthatled to the openingofthe Stockton andDarlington Railway, theworld ’s frst public railwayto usesteam locomotives.
As well as displays relating to railway pioneers such as engineer George Stephenson andthe businessman Edward Pease, thereare maps andplans of theStocktonand Darlington Railway’s development, audiovisualdisplaysand therecentlyrestoredpainting George Stephenson in Darlington,1823by Alfred Rankley. Taking prideofplace in the exhibition hall is Locomotive No 1, thefrst locomotive to runonthe Stockton and
In the June Issue of Best of British
Darlington Railway; alongsidereplicas of theRichard Trevithick-designed Penydarren,which made theworld’s frst authenticated journeybyasteam locomotive;and SteamElephant, which wasdesignedbyJohn Buddle andWilliam Chapmanfor the Wallsend Waggonway.
RailwayPioneers is part of S&DR20 0 (sdr20 0.co.uk), aninemonthinternational festival taking placeacross Durham andthe Tees Valley to mark the200 th anniversar yof thefrstpublicrailway journey.
Objectsondisplay at RailwayPioneers–Celebrating theRailway Rockstarsofthe Past include Locomotion No 1, andreplicasof Penydarren andSteam Elephant.
Sp read across a7.5 -a cre site that in co rp or ates he rita ge railwayb uildin gs in clu ding Darlin gton’s or iginal st atio n buil ding ,h om etothe No rthR oa d St atio nMus eum, an dSke rn eB rid ge –the ol dest railwayb rid ge in th ewor ld still
NEXT MONT H
MadProfessors
Brighton’s forgotten pier divers
TheNeedfor Steed Remembering TheAvengers’ PatrickMacnee
SonicBoomBoy
in co ntinuo us op er atio n– Ho pe town sh owcasesDar ling to n’shis to ry of engin ee ring ,i deas an dinventi on .O th er S& DR 20 0eve nt sthatw illb et ak in gp la ce th ereinclu de ST EA Mtothe Fu ture,an ex hibiti on taking placef ro m11J ul yto5 Oc to be r, whichf ollows th es to ry of th e railway’sear ly histor yand lo ok stothe fu tureofr ailtrave l.
Behind the scenes with Boom Radio’s David Lloyd
TheSutton Trust
The charitythat began with homes
REGULA RS
Your letters and memories in Postbag and Yesterday Remembered, Treasures in theAttic, Food and Drink, Window on the Past, Back in Time With Colin Baker and loads more
On sale from 29 May
Question time
HorneAgain
QIn theMarch issue, DerekLamb’sarticle Horneramacelebratedthe Kenneth Horneradio showsBeyond OurKen and Roundthe Horne. Ican remember listening to aprogrammebeforethat, whichIhave forgot tenthe nameof, with Richard Murdoch. Iknowitwas funny, andall thefamilylistened to it.Could youtellmemoreabout it and what happenedtoRichard Murdoch?
Maisie Dance, Purley,Surrey
Best of Britishsays: Whileserving with the RAFduringWorld WarTwo,Kenneth Horne formed aconcert party, which, in early1942, wasbroadcast in an editionofAck-Ack, Beer-Beer–the BBCForcesProgramme's show foranti-aircraft andbarrage balloon stations. Invitedtobecomethe programme’s regular quizmaster and, later, oneofits comperes,Horne wouldalsowrite forand appear on otherradio shows. Whileworking with theOverseasRecordedBroadcasting Service, whichproducedprogrammesfor troops stationedoverseas, Hornemet Flight LieutenantRichardMurdoch
Knownas“Stinker”,Murdoch frst ac tedas amemberofFootlights andappearedon the West Endstage in severalmusicals. However, he wasbestk nown at that pointas Ar thur Askey’sco-star on theradio comedy Band Waggon
Sharinga similar senseofhumour, Horne andMurdoch gotonwelland,after Murdoch advised Horneofa squadron leader vacanc y in hissec tion of theAir Ministry,they became colleagues
In Januar y194 4, Horneand Murdoch were invitedtoappearonEnsaHalf- Hour,a week ly radioprogrammefeaturing ex trac ts from Ensa showsfromacrossthe countr y. Here,theyper formed asketchset in the fc tional RAFstation of Much -Binding -inthe- Marsh. Feelingitcould be expanded into asitcom, thepairsentascriptto radio producer Leslie Bridgmontwho likedit enough to letthemper form it as part of
Merry-go- Round, avariety show aimedat theser vices.
Like thearmy-themed StandEas yand the navalHMS Waterlogged, Much -Binding -inthe- Marshwould,fromJanuary 1947,get its ownstandaloneseries. Nowset at MuchBindingCountry Club,which hadbeenbuilt on thesiteoftheir former RAFstation,Horne andMurdoch’s demobbed charac ters were suppor tedbythe likesofSam Costa, Maurice Denham,NicholasParsons andDoraBryan, alongwithsingers andmusicians including theSquadronaires, theBBC Men'sChorus andDoris Hare.
Although it hadbeenthe most popular radiocomedyafter It ’s That ManAgain, listenershad startedtogrowtired of the programmebyits fourth series in 1950.The BBCdecided to endthe show,which wasthen picked up by RadioLuxembourg. However, af terone series in early1951, thecastreturned to theBBC at theend of theyearwithOver to You, whichfeaturedadditionalmaterialby future Carr yOnwriterTalbotRothwell.
ReturninginJuly1953, underthe name Much Binding, theactionwas nowset in theofces of newspaperThe Week ly Bind. Despitethe up date,the show felt oldfashionedcomparedtothe likesofTakeIt from Here andwasn’trenewed
The show ’s popularity in Australiasaw Horneand Murdochapproached to make a20-week variet yseriesfor theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation. Horne’sbusiness commitments(he wassales director with TriplexSafet yGlass)prevented himfrom commit ting to afullrun,leaving Murdoch to appear in hisown Much Murdoch, with Hornelater fyinginfor ahandful of programmes.The suppor ting cast included RayBarrett,NevaCarr- Glyn,G eorgie Sterling andDouglas Channell,withmusic from the ABCDance Band andRhy thmQuintet. Horneand Murdochwould continue to work together on radiountil theend of Horne’slife, appearinginthe likesof Variet yPlayhouse,Music-Halland thefrst series of panelshowManyaSlip, while
ThecastofMuch-Binding-in-the-Marsh, pictured in 1950:Richard “Stinker”Murdoch, DianaMorrison, BarbaraLeigh,Sam Costa, KennethHorne andMaurice Denham.
television appearancesincludedthe travel documentar yseriesLet ’s Imagineand the game show Face theMusic
FollowingHorne’s deathin1969, Murdoch continuedtoworkonthe radio, starring alongside Wilfrid Hyde -White (and,later, Deryck Guyler)incivil servicecomedyThe Menfromthe Ministry
From thelate1970s onwards, Murdoch ac tedregularly on television,appearing in episodes of TheNew Avengers,The Professionalsand Hazell amongothers. ThenarratorofThe Moomins, he wasLord Halifa xinWinston Churchill: TheWilderness Years, Lord Ross in TheBlack adderepisode Witchsmeller Pursuivant,and Worshipful Wizard in theStanley Ba xter comedy Mr Majeik a.
However, Murdoch’sbest- known television role wasasTC“ UncleTom”Rowley, theoldestmemberofchambers, in Thames Television’s Rumpoleofthe Bailey.Uncle Tom’sfnalepisode airedon25November 1991,justovera year af terRichard Murdoch’s death, aged 83.
ASKUS! If you’ve gotaquestion, theBestofBritish staf will do itsbesttofnd theanswer. Occasionally we getstuck andlookto ourreaders for assistance.Whether you’ve got somethingtoask ,can provideananswer, or want to addtothe information provided, please emailinfo@bestofbritishmag.co.uk or writetousatMor tons MediaGroup, MediaCentre, Morton Way, Horncastle LN96JR .
Let's Do t he Ti me War p( Ag ain)
ChrisHallam explores thelongevity of TheRocky HorrorShow
Onwhathas alreadybeena very unusua lnight,Brad andJanet canonlyrecoi l in horror as thehunched, depraved fgurestanding before them star ts to sing.“It ’s astounding,” theser vant,R if Ra f, begins.“Time is feeting. Madnesstakes itstol l…”“But listen closely, notfor very much longer,” hisscarcelylessweird sister,Magenta adds in herrichTransylvanian accent.R if Ra f goes on:“I’ve gottokeepcontrol…” So begins Time Warp,p erhaps the most famoussong from Te Ro ck y Horror Show.O ver thepasthalf centur y, it ha sb eenestimate dthatthe show –whichalsoincludesthe song sSwe et Trans vestite, Dammit Janet, and IC an MakeYou aMan –has be en perfor me d in 20 diferentlang uagesand se en by 30 million pe ople globally.It ha sb ecomea ma ssive popculturephenomenon with manyaudiencesoften attending stage productions or show ing sofTeRocky Horror Picture Show flm fully dresse d in theoften sexually provo cative garb of their favour itecharacters and actively
shouting linesand resp onses at certain points in thestory.
None of that would have be en possible without theone man who played the or ig inal RifR af :R ichard O’Br ien. Born in Cheltenham in 1942, O’Br ien had returned to theUKin1964 af terspending much of hise arly lifeinNew Ze aland Te next de cade sawhim working as a stuntman on Carr yOnCowboy(1965) and appe ar ingonthe West End stage in productions of Hair and JesusChr ist Superstar
It wasadifcult time. “I alwaysfelt that Iwas living in no man’s land,”he said later. “I ne ver felt that Ibelonged anywhere.”Hewasn’tjusttalking about physical geography. In 2009, he openedup publiclyabout hislifelong confusion over hisgender identity.Today,heconsiders himselftobe70% male and 30% female but stillusesmale he/him/hispronouns .His struggle is refected in manyofthe themes of hismostfamous work.
It wasatthispointwhile “resting ” between jobs that he wasasked to provide entertainment forthe Christmasstafparty
at EMIFilm Studios.Hewrote asong forthe occasion: ScienceFiction/Double Feature, awitty tune packed with references to 1950s cinema.Hethrew in afew jokes and ultimately brought thehouse down. But theexperiencegot hiscreative juices fowing .Richard ultimately turned thesong into theprologuefor anew musical he had decidedtowrite to keep him occupied during thewinternights.
Richardmay have been unemployedat this point, but he wasalsowellconnected. He presentedanearly draft of themusical, at this pointentitledTey Came from Denton High, to hisfriend, theAustralian directorJim Sharman, who he had met while working on Hair.Sharman lovedwhat he read and helped him getwhatbecame Te RockyHorrorShowonthe stage. Te play premiered at theRoyal CourtTeatre in Sloane Square,London on Tuesday19 June 1973.
Top: From left:Lit tleNell, Patricia Quinn, TimCurry andRichardO’Brien starred in theflm adaptation,The Rock yHorror PictureShow, whichwas released in 1975
been estimatedthatthe stageproductionhas been performedin20diferentlanguages andseenby30million people globally
It is theoldeststory in theworld.Bradand Janetare Adam andEve, andFrank-N-Fur ter’sthe serpent.
Butwhatexactly wasit? RichardO’Brien had createda unique and incredible musical whichbrought together manyof his interestsranging from old sciencefction B-movies,glamrocktohis curiosityover theongoing popular fadfor bodybuilding , all with astrong sexual undercurrent.
Te stor yopens,muchlikeany 1950s B-movie with theintroduction of Brad and Janet, anewly engaged, clean-cut“square” couple who fnd themselvesstopping of at amysteriouscastleafter their cardevelopsa fattyre, one dark and stormy night.Inside, they encounterall manner of bizarreand unusualcharacters,notably Dr Frank-NFurter,apansexual, cross-dressing mad scientist who ultimately hashis waywith both of them.
Tisunforgettable characterwas originally performedbythe young British actorTim Currywho O’Brien hadalso workedwithonHair.Curry originally intendedtoplaythe part as amore traditional, white-coatedscientist with peroxide blonde hair and aGerman accent Te look changeddramatically at Sharman’s suggestion and, over time, hisaccentevolved too, from German to American to acutglass English accent reminiscentofQueen Elizabeth II herselfwithelements of Curry’s mother’s “telephone voice” thrown in. Te efectwas electric.Jim Sharmandescribed Frank as “the man everywoman wanted to be and thewoman everyman wanted to be.”
Te Doctor is served by two siblings with an unusually closerelationship: Magenta,ayoung woman dressedin thegarb of asexyFrenchmaid, played originally by theNorthernIrish actress, Patricia Quinn, and herbrother,Rif Raf, who, as already mentioned, wasfrstplayed by O’Brien himself.
O’Brien had writtenthe play purelyfor hisown amusement,but from itsopening night at theRoyal CourtTeatre’s60-seat Teatre Upstairs in 1973, RockyHorror begantocasta strange spelloveraudiences.
“Itreally wasastonishing ,” thewritersaid later. “Ithappenedorganically,the way theaudiencefound it.Ithad itsown legs, and it continuedthe journeyonits own, without my guiding it.Wenever had to sell it in anybig way, didn’t have to go out and convincepeople to spend alot of money on advertising .Fromday one of thetheatre upstairs,oncewordofmouthhit,itwas out of my hands.”
Te show eventually ran for2,960 performances in London, thevenue constantlychanging to accommodate
THEROCKY HORROR SHOW ON TOUR
05 -10May 2025
Stoke- on -Trent,RegentTheatre 19 -31May 2025 * Manchester,Palace Theatre 02-07June2025*
Leeds, GrandTheatre 09 -14June2025*
Swansea, SwanseaArena 16 -21June2025
Torquay, Princess Theatre 23 -28June2025
Truro, Hall forCornwall
30 June- 05 July2025
Wimbledon,New Wimbledon Theatre 07-12July2025
Canterbury,Marlowe Theatre 14 -19July2025
Hull,New Theatre 21-26July2025
Belfast, GrandOpera House
28 July- 02 August 2025
Norwich, TheatreRoyal 04 -09August2025
Nottingham,Theatre Royal 18 -23August2025
Derry,MillenniumForum 01-0 6September 2025
Croydon,Fair feld Halls 08 -13September 2025
Dunfermline, AlhambraTheatre 15 -20September 2025
Inverness, Eden Cour t 22-27September 2025
Coventry,BelgradeTheatre 06 -10January 2026
Edinburgh,Playhouse Theatre 26 -31January 2026
Ipswich, Regent Theatre 19 -23May 2026
Eastbourne,CongressTheatre 01-0 6June2026
Cardif, NewTheatre 08 -13June2026
Glasgow, Pavilion Theatre
JasonDonovan will performt he role of Frank- N- Furter on datesmarked *(except 26 Mayand 9-10 June). For furt herinformation andtickets,goto rock yhorror.co.uk
Left:Ithas
Right: Born in Cheltenham in 1942,Richard O’Brienreturnedtothe UK in 1964 af terspendingmuchofhis earlylifeinNew Zealand.
an ever-expanding number of eager theatregoers .Manyofthe original cast , including TimCurry,then took theshow to LosAngeleswhereitenjoyedaver y successful runatthe famousRoxyTeatre. At this point, howe ver,thingsappeared to stall. On Broadway,the production receivedpoorrevie ws and closed after only threepre viewsand 45 performances at theB elasco Teatre
Even worse, aflm version, Te Ro ck y Horror Picture Show,opene dand fopp ed.O ’Br ien attende dascreening in theAmer ic an Midwest with JimShar man and one of theflm’s starse arly inthe af ternoonand found thecinemav ir tually empty.Teyearw as 1975 and it se emed as if thestrange stor yofTeRocky Horror Show might already be coming to an end.
Happily,thisprove dto be an illusion. Forone thing ,out side theUS, the Ro ck yHor rorphenomena continued to grow from streng th to streng th with ne wpro ductions op ening in diferent countr iesyearonyear. Foranother,in Amer ic aand else where,b oththe stage version and scre en versions gaine da ne wlea se of lifethroughacombination oflate-night show ing sand theg rowing phenomena of Ro ck yHor ror’s“shadow ca st ”a saudience participationb egan to re achunparallelled le vels .
Tislastdevelopment did not prove entirelyuncontroversial.“Iusedtoobject when, say, 20% of theaudience were attending aparty that therestofthe audiencehadn’t been invitedto,”O’Brien hassaid. “I wanted theshow to be for ever ybody, not an elitegroup.…Iamglad that it’s still there, but Iamgladit doesn’t drownout theperformance.”
Te colossal success transfor me dthe livesofe ver yone whohelpe dcre ateit. ForTim Curr y, Frank-N-Fur teropene d thedoortoalong care er play ing ar ich assortmentofunusual characters ranging from thehor ne ddemon Darknessin Ridle yS cott ’s fantas yflm Legend (1985), to theter rify ing Pennyw isethe clow n in the1990 tele visionser iesofStephen King’sIt.
Now aged83, RichardO’Brien has long sincecome to accept hiscreation, possibly thebiggest cult classicofall time, no longer trulybelongstohim but to its fans .“It’s an eternalfair ytale,”he hassaid. “Itis timeless .Itisthe oldest stor yinthe world. Brad and Janetare Adam andEve, and Frank-N-Furter ’s theserpent .Tat will ne ver date... it’s ariteofpassage.”
Ha ir andNow
The opport un it yfor an aspi ri ng ac tortobei nv ited to getupf romt he audience to join aproduct iononstage, andt hengoontou rw it h it ,sou nd sl ikea drea mcomet rue. For Angela Br uce, it wa srea lity,eveni fshe hadn’t prev iously ha rbou reda na mbit ion to ac t.
“I wasraisedinamining village and my mother expected me to be anurse, follow in my sister ’s footsteps. But Ididn’t do well in theexams forthat. Like most students ,Itookthe opportunity to party,” explains Angela
“I wa sw orki ng in cate ri ng in a ho spit al, and Ic ame ba ck home, and sawacom m erci al fo rHai r. I’dn ev er