The RX-8

Tommy Cooper
person. Then he let slip it
was his exercise bike.
The very last time I was with
Lennie was a little scary. It
was at Warner’s Bembridge
Coast Hotel. He asked me to
light a cigarette and put it in his mouth. This was completely alien
to me and my hand was shaking. In the end – it all went up in
smoke, anyway. I still keep in touch with Di Lee (the other half of
Peters and Lee) and her husband Rick Price, one of The Move and
Wizzard.
Bob Monkhouse was a star’s star. He had such a tremendous
reputation amongst other performers. So clever at everything he did
and he could turn on the TV charm in an instant. Off stage he was
also such a lovely guy with a fund of stories and quips. He could
change his act every night to include fresh jokes. I was so thrilled
that he wrote the forward to my book, I Was A Stage Door Johnny.
The first time I met Bob I picked him up from the ferry and took
him to the Hotel Ryde Castle. After I dropped him I noticed
chocolate all over the car seat. My two youngsters had made rather a
mess earlier in the day. He had a marvelous suit on but I could never
buck up the courage to ask him if it was covered in chocolate. A year
or two later I was giving him a lift from IW Radio to the Swainston
Hotel, at Calbourne. He asked if he could do a little shopping in the
then David’s store in Carisbrooke. He came out clutching his Spar
carrier bag.
My mother’s favourite singer was always Ruby Murray and she was
so thrilled when I had Ruby on my radio show. Ruby was a true
megastar in the 50s. In one epic week she had five records in the
same Top Twenty. Not even the Beatles could match that. Sadly, she
had been fleeced by people around her and had to sell her home to
pay off huge bills. It meant she never had the money her talents
merited. The first time I met her she was hoping to win money on
the Sun Lottery. By rights, she should have been living in a huge
mansion and not working small holiday camps.
When Ruby appeared live on my radio show she held on to my arm
for the whole broadcast, as she was naturally very nervous. Her
singing son, Tim also came along as a surprise guest.
Island Life - www.islandlifemagazine.net
JOHN HANNAM
The 2005 death of John Peel was such a great shock to so many
people. He was a disc jockey with no ego and was genuinely
surprised by his following. There was no way he was full of his own
importance. What he did for unknown bands was quite remarkable.
I visited his Suffolk home on two occasions and he was a perfect
host. Eating a meal with the great Peely and his lovely wife Sheila is
still a wonderful memory. Being in the same cottage as twenty six
thousand vinyl records was also another milestone. It was just as
well that the Peels provided a taxi service to and from the station. It
really was out in the sticks – and he loved it. London was not his
cup of tea and he could never relax there.
Back in 1989 the much-missed local agent Sylvia Thorley, who smiled
her way through any problems, rang me up and invited me to her
end-of-season lunch party at the Lincoln Hotel, on Shanklin
seafront. It was to thank all the entertainers who had worked for
her on the Island during that summer season. Sylvia hinted Benny
Hill might be coming over as a surprise guest. Sylvia had provided
Benny with one or two fabulous local girls who became part of the
famous Hill’s Angels television group. Low and behold he turned up.
Ruby Murray
Benny Hill
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