Cannon and Ball
Encyclopedia
Cannon and Ball are an English
comedy
double act
consisting of Tommy Cannon
and Bobby Ball
. The duo met in the early 1960s while working as welders in Oldham
, Lancashire
. They started out as singers working the pubs and clubs of Lancashire
and switched to comedy after being told comics earned an extra £3 a night.
before landing a performance on Bruce Forsyth's Big Night
, although their segment didn't make it to broadcast. In 1979, LWT
offered them their own series, The Cannon and Ball Show which premiered in ITV
on 28 July 1979. Further series followed each year through to 1988, along with Christmas and Easter specials.
In 1982, they appeared in a feature film
, The Boys in Blue
, based loosely on the classic Will Hay
film, Ask a Policeman
. The Boys in Blue was regarded critically as weak in comparison and was their only cinema outing. It surfaced on DVD in 2004.
They also featured in a comic strip Rock On Tommy, which was published in the magazine Look-in
.
Their popularity coincided with the rise of so-called "alternative comedy
", with its emphasis on more socially relevant and political concerns. As time passed, Cannon and Ball's popularity began to decline, though they were not the only comedy act to suffer as comic tastes shifted. During the 1980s, Greg Dyke
, the then Head of Programming at ITV station TVS
and later to hold a similar position at LWT expressed a concern that northern comedy shows may not suit southern tastes.
By the 1990s, the duo were seeking a change in direction and appeared in their own sitcom Cannon and Balls Playhouse, the spin-off series Plaza Patrol and their game show Cannon and Ball's Casino. Plaza Patrol saw them play security guards in a shopping mall. Despite relatively high viewing figures for a midweek sitcom no further series were produced.
In more recent times, they have continued to find success as a comic duo in theatre and pantomime
, along with numerous cameo appearances on TV. In late 2005, they appeared in the British reality TV series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.
In recent years, they have admitted that, during their hey-day of huge popularity in the 1980s, they were barely on speaking terms and would avoid each other completely when not on stage or rehearsing. These tensions - which lasted for years - were later resolved and the two are now extremely close once again.
The pair revived a touring version of the theatrical farce Big Bad Mouse
, originally a highly successful vehicle for Jimmy Edwards
and Eric Sykes
in the 1960s and 1970s. The latest incarnation of the show featured Cannon and Ball in the starring roles, supported by Allo Allo’s Sue Hodge
as Lady Chesapeake and newcomer Emily Trebicki as secretary Miss Spencer. The show opened in Hull
during May 2008 and toured six other cities, before ending in August at the Theatre Royal, Windsor
, to mixed reviews.
Also in 2008, the pair's career continued as they appeared again on TV as the faces of Safestyle UK
, a Bradford
based double glazing firm.
The pair are devout Christian
s and published a book called Christianity for Beginners. Ball became a born-again Christian in 1986 and Cannon in 1992, their conversion having a lot to do with the re-kindling of their broken friendship. They now regularly feature in their own gospel and "an audience with..." show in churches around the country.
In 2010, they were panelists on BBC Radio 4
comedy panel show Act Your Age
radio series.
Catchphrases:- "Rock on Tommy", "You little liar", "I piggin' hate you, Tommy", "Aww, look at it", "I'm all excited".
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
double act
Double act
A double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
consisting of Tommy Cannon
Tommy Cannon
Tommy Cannon is a comedian and the feed member of comedy double act Cannon and Ball, along with Bobby Ball....
and Bobby Ball
Bobby Ball
Bobby Ball is one half of the comedy double act Cannon and Ball, along with Tommy Cannon.He married his first wife, Joan, in 1964, with whom he had two sons, Robert and Darren , who are now a comedy double act in their own right, performing under their surname 'Harper'. Bobby and his first wife...
. The duo met in the early 1960s while working as welders in Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. They started out as singers working the pubs and clubs of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and switched to comedy after being told comics earned an extra £3 a night.
TV and film
Their first TV appearance was in 1972 in the variety show The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social ClubThe Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club
The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club was a British television variety show produced by Granada Television from 1974 to 1977. It was set in a fictional working men's club in the North of England and was hosted by comedian Colin Crompton. Also regularly featured was comedian Bernard Manning...
before landing a performance on Bruce Forsyth's Big Night
Bruce Forsyth's Big Night
Bruce Forsyth's Big Night was a TV show screened on ITV on Saturday nights throughout the autumn and winter of 1978. It starred Bruce Forsyth. A total of 12 episodes were broadcast between 7 October and 31 December 1978. A further one off special was shown on 4 April 1980.The show was made by...
, although their segment didn't make it to broadcast. In 1979, LWT
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
offered them their own series, The Cannon and Ball Show which premiered in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
on 28 July 1979. Further series followed each year through to 1988, along with Christmas and Easter specials.
In 1982, they appeared in a feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
, The Boys in Blue
The Boys in Blue
The Boys in Blue is a 1982 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring Tommy Cannon, Bobby Ball, Suzanne Danielle and Roy Kinnear. It is loosely based on the 1938 Will Hay film Ask a Policeman...
, based loosely on the classic Will Hay
Will Hay
William Thomson "Will" Hay was an English comedian, actor, film director and amateur astronomer.-Early life:He was born in Stockton-on-Tees, in north east England, to William R...
film, Ask a Policeman
Ask A Policeman
Ask a Policeman is a 1939 British comedy film directed by Marcel Varnel which stars Will Hay, Moore Marriott and Graham Moffatt. The title comes from the popular music hall song Ask a Policeman. The Turnbottom Round police force are threatened with dismissal by their Chief Constable and decide to...
. The Boys in Blue was regarded critically as weak in comparison and was their only cinema outing. It surfaced on DVD in 2004.
They also featured in a comic strip Rock On Tommy, which was published in the magazine Look-in
Look-in
Look-in was a long running children's magazine centred around ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior TVTimes". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994...
.
Their popularity coincided with the rise of so-called "alternative comedy
Alternative comedy
Alternative comedy is a term that originated in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era, and typically avoids relying on a standardised structure of a sequence of jokes with punch lines. Patton Oswalt defines it as "comedy where the...
", with its emphasis on more socially relevant and political concerns. As time passed, Cannon and Ball's popularity began to decline, though they were not the only comedy act to suffer as comic tastes shifted. During the 1980s, Greg Dyke
Greg Dyke
Gregory "Greg" Dyke is a British media executive, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing 'tabloid' television to British broadcasting, and reviving the ratings of TV-am...
, the then Head of Programming at ITV station TVS
Television South
Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK...
and later to hold a similar position at LWT expressed a concern that northern comedy shows may not suit southern tastes.
By the 1990s, the duo were seeking a change in direction and appeared in their own sitcom Cannon and Balls Playhouse, the spin-off series Plaza Patrol and their game show Cannon and Ball's Casino. Plaza Patrol saw them play security guards in a shopping mall. Despite relatively high viewing figures for a midweek sitcom no further series were produced.
In more recent times, they have continued to find success as a comic duo in theatre and pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
, along with numerous cameo appearances on TV. In late 2005, they appeared in the British reality TV series I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.
In recent years, they have admitted that, during their hey-day of huge popularity in the 1980s, they were barely on speaking terms and would avoid each other completely when not on stage or rehearsing. These tensions - which lasted for years - were later resolved and the two are now extremely close once again.
The pair revived a touring version of the theatrical farce Big Bad Mouse
Big Bad Mouse
Big Bad Mouse is a frequently revived 1960s British stage play and theatrical comedic farce that, although not specifically written for them, became famous as a loose vehicle for the many talents of the British comedy actors Jimmy Edwards and Eric Sykes and has constantly seen various revivals with...
, originally a highly successful vehicle for Jimmy Edwards
Jimmy Edwards
Jimmy Edwards DFC was an English comedic script writer and comedy actor on both radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in Take It From Here and as the headmaster 'Professor' James Edwards in Whack-O!-Biography:...
and Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
in the 1960s and 1970s. The latest incarnation of the show featured Cannon and Ball in the starring roles, supported by Allo Allo’s Sue Hodge
Sue Hodge
Sue Hodge is a British actress, best known for her role as the waitress Mimi Labonq in the BBC sitcom Allo 'Allo!...
as Lady Chesapeake and newcomer Emily Trebicki as secretary Miss Spencer. The show opened in Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
during May 2008 and toured six other cities, before ending in August at the Theatre Royal, Windsor
Theatre Royal, Windsor
The Theatre Royal, Windsor is located in the town of Windsor, Berkshire, England, directly across the road from Windsor Castle.The present building was opened on 17 December 1910 after the previous theatre had burned down on 18 February 1908, under the ownership of Sir William Shipley.With the...
, to mixed reviews.
Also in 2008, the pair's career continued as they appeared again on TV as the faces of Safestyle UK
Safestyle UK
Safestyle UK is part of the Style Group UK and is a provider of PVCu double glazed windows, doors, french doors, patio and sliding doors in the United Kingdom.-History:...
, a Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
based double glazing firm.
The pair are devout Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s and published a book called Christianity for Beginners. Ball became a born-again Christian in 1986 and Cannon in 1992, their conversion having a lot to do with the re-kindling of their broken friendship. They now regularly feature in their own gospel and "an audience with..." show in churches around the country.
In 2010, they were panelists on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
comedy panel show Act Your Age
Act Your Age (radio series)
Act Your Age is a panel game on BBC Radio 4 hosted by Simon Mayo. The series, created by Ashley Blaker and Bill Matthews , was first broadcast on 27 November 2008...
radio series.
Catchphrases:- "Rock on Tommy", "You little liar", "I piggin' hate you, Tommy", "Aww, look at it", "I'm all excited".