Cannon and Ball

[Sydward Lartle]

Tommy Cannon with a 'tache looks like Charles Bronson with a skinhead. Bobby without a 'tache looks like a sad lion.

EDIT BOOM! New page. You really 'aaaate me Tommeh!

[JoeyBananaduck]

Dare I ask, have any of the L&L enthusiasts here stumped up for a copy of Syd's Christian themed comedy tome 'A Little (see, that's his name that is. Good eh?) Heavenly Humour'?

[Sydward Lartle]

Dare I ask, have any of the L&L enthusiasts here stumped up for a copy of Syd's Christian themed comedy tome 'A Little (see, that's his name that is. Good eh?) Heavenly Humour'?

I'll get around to it, but if it's anything like the Winebibber, Syd can stuff it up his arse and fuck off while he's doing it.

Then there's this little number...



Billy Graham with red braces. Rock on, Jesus!

[Black_Bart]

A mix of Abbott & Costello & Martin & Lewis, for the british working class.

[Gulftastic]

Watched them as a kid, but never really loved them. In 1986 went to see them doing panto in Bradford, and Bobby Ball was hilarious. I remember nearly crying with laughter. Always had a soft spot for him since then.

Tommy Cannon always seemed a bit sinister to me. The sort of chap who'd try and shag your other half whilst you were in hospital.

[checkoutgirl]

Bobby Ball was hilarious. I remember nearly crying with laughter. Always had a soft spot for him since then.

I reckon out of Little and Large and Cannon and Ball, Bobby Ball was the one who had something that could be described as talent. A bit of stage presence. A smidge of razzamatazz. To hear someone with a straight face saying Syd Little had more talent than anyone on Earth, let alone Bobby Ball, is quite shocking. The one thing I thought CaB agreed on was the utter lack of talent in Supersonic Syd Little.

Some people just have to be different.

[Glebe]

Tommy Cannon always seemed a bit sinister to me.

Security guard with a dark past.

And I do mean MURDER.[nb]Just kidding, Tommy![/nb]

[Sydward Lartle]

To hear someone with a straight face saying Syd Little had more talent than anyone on Earth, let alone Bobby Ball, is quite shocking.

B...b...but Syd played the guitar! That's enough, isn't it?

No, you're quite right.

[Keebleman]

The thing is, Little and Large seemed to exceed the success due to them by about 1000%, whereas I always felt Cannon and Ball were somewhat unfilfilled.  If they'd had better material and been more willing to leave their comfort zone they could have developed their talents, both solo and as a pair, in really interesting directions.  They had the potential for it, Ball especially.

This sketch hints a little at what they could have achieved.  It also shows that, at this stage in their career at least, there was a genuine warmth between them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy7yXy9Yyco

[Sydward Lartle]

I thought the spontaneous corpsing and shared laughter when one of Bobby's braces snapped off was funnier than the 'completed' sketch which followed it, which just provided more of the same old 'I'm gonna nut 'im Tommeh' comedian-as-attack-dog bollocks.

[yesitsme]

For me the Christian thing seems totally cynical and calculated.  I bet the charisma vacuum that is Tommy Cannon believes in NOTHING and Bobby would rob you blind if you left him alone for thirty seconds.

Despite my initial keeness on the little one with the 'tache who went 'Rock on Tommy!' I think all that faux-corpsing got boring pretty quick.  I'd watch 'em if they were on but I wouldn't enjoy it.

Don't know how it was for those of you who grew up outside Granadaland but they did a few adverts.  I'm not sure if they did 'Walk Tall at Tommy Ball's' although I think Stuart Hall might have but I certainly remember them (rightly or wrongly) hawking carpets.

[Sydward Lartle]

I remember them doing adverts for Safestyle but that's about it.

Something I drew for the 'MS Paint celebrities' thread...

[Sydward Lartle]

Bobby would rob you blind if you left him alone for thirty seconds.

I know someone who works in a hotel in Lytham (Blackpool's relatively upmarket little brother) and she grew up in the world of yer Dawsons, yer Grumbleweeds, yer Doddys and the rest of them knockin' 'em dead at the end of the three piers. Naturally I asked her about Little and Large, and she pretty much confirmed what I found out from the hour or so I spent in their company back in the nineties - Syd is pretty much the world's nicest man (albeit decidedly low on talent / charisma / stagecraft), Eddie's alright in small doses, though he may conceivably have mellowed a bit since his heart troubles. I asked her about Cannon and Ball, and she described Tomm-eh as 'a human void', which wasn't too bad, but when I mentioned Bobb-eh - Jesus Christ, the gloves were off. The phrase 'horrible little shit' barely seems adequate. What can you say about a man even Jim Davidson hated the sight of?

[DrunkCountry]

C&B were on Celebrtity Antiques Roadtrip t'other day.

Legendary comedy duo Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball hit the antiques trail. Hilarity ensues as they shop around North Yorkshire, and the competition hits fever pitch as they converge on the auction in Harrogate.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06qbchx

[wosl]

Hilarity ensues

The phrase that sets your teeth into a rictus clamp.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

The phrase that sets your teeth into a rictus clamp.

One of those cliches like 'titters and mirth a-plenty' on a kids' comic cover.

[Sydward Lartle]

Someone sent me a couple of Cannon and Ball badges for Christmas as an 'ironic' present. They were in the bin on Boxing Day morning. I'm surprised it took me that long to throw the fucking things away.

[DrGreggles]

I remember them doing adverts for Safestyle but that's about it.

Something I drew for the 'MS Paint celebrities' thread...

Ross Kemp and the drummer from FGTH?

[Sydward Lartle]

Pedro Gill's ears must be burning right now.

Awful thing, that tinnitus.

[royce coolidge]

I sat through boys in blue,my only real memory is that Suzanne Dannielle made me feel very strange tinglings in my 11 year old knackers.God what a woman !
I always thought Tommy was a little like Ted Rogers,a very thin layer of "showbiz" masking a murderous rage.

[Sydward Lartle]

Bernard Manning on the Boys in Blue - "I hope their next film's a comedy!"

You can watch the whole film here.

[DrGreggles]

2 words: theme tune

[Sydward Lartle]

2 words: theme tune

A woo woo woo!

[Keebleman]

You can watch the whole film here.

Directed by Val 'Quatermass Experiment, Day the Earth Caught Fire, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Confessions of a Window Cleaner' Guest though.

[Glebe]

You can picture Tommy mowing his lawn and popping to the bookies. Then going to the pub and having a game of darts. And doing a bit of golf on the weekend. In a sensible jumper with a nice watch.

Meanwhile, Bobby is secretly murdering children and burying them on the heath.

[Sydward Lartle]

I seem to remember a recent(ish) magazine interview with Bobby Ball where he listed his favourite film as Dead Man Walking, which is the story of a convicted murderer seeking forgiveness before he's executed.

No smoke without fire...

[Glebe]

I seem to remember a recent(ish) magazine interview with Bobby Ball where he listed his favourite film as Dead Man's Shoes

[Alternative Carpark]

Wasn't "The Boys in Blue" effectively a remake of the 1930s Will Hay comedy, "Ask A Policeman"?  Which Val Guest had also worked on.

[JoeyBananaduck]

A woo woo woo!

Get on the motorbike, kick an old granny.

[Glebe]

Weirdly, another Hammer stalwart, Peter Sasdy, directed both Adrian Mole series in the '80s.