Coronation Street and the Music Hall by Rod Taylor
This article was first published in The Call Boy in Summer 1994 (Vol. 31 No.2 page 11).
Back in 1968, when Granada’s light entertainment department consisted of just Johnnie Hamp and myself, the then producer of Coronation Street, HV (Harry) Kershaw came to us and asked for help in preparing the celebrations for Minnie Caldwell’s birthday. We proposed and he agreed that she should have an outing and cross the border from Salford into the rarely explored territories of Manchester. For Minnie, in those days, Rosamund Street was about the furthest she ventured.
To this end, a nightclub set was built in the corner of Granada’s studio 2 and we booked Randolph Sutton to be the star cabaret attraction. The birthday girl Minnie (Margot Bryant) with Ena Sharples (Violet Carson) and a couple of other cronies from the Street, dolled herself up for her celebratory night on the town. Randolph Sutton, immaculate in tail suit, sang ‘On Mother Kelly’s Doorstep’ to her and her alone.
The association between the Street and stars of the Variety stage goes back to the very beginning. The first line ever spoken on the programme in December 1960 was delivered by Welsh entertainer Maudie Edwards in the character of Elsie Lappin as she prepared to hand over the corner shop to Florrie Lindley (Betty Alberge). Also in that first episode, of course, was Violet Carson, a long-established radio star. Auntie Vi, as she was to me then, began her professional life in the 12-piece orchestra at the Ambassador Cinema, Pendleton. There, every Friday night was variety night and Violet was called upon to do everything from impersonate Gracie Fields to play a piano concerto. Years later, when asked how she managed to accompany all those would-be singers on ‘Have a Go’ she merely said: “After the Ambassador, I could do anything!”
She auditioned for the BBC at Piccadilly, Manchester in the late 1920s singing ‘All Round My Hat I Will Wear A Green Willow’ and was booked for a 15 minute spot, ‘Songs At The Piano’. Through the 30s she made hundreds of broadcasts with Muriel Levy and Doris Gamble as The Three Semis – Songs in Harmony. Violet turned out to be the first great star of Coronation Street and is remembered with warm affection by colleagues and viewers alike. Others from variety passing in and out of the storylines at that time included Nosmo King’s son Jack Watson who, as Bill Gregory, gave Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix) her first on-screen kiss. Len Marten was briefly a cast member as Tom Hopwood, Doris Hare played Alice Pickens, Stan Stennet was Norman Crabtree and Pearl Hackney portrayed Ethel Bostock. In the 1970s, comedian Jack Platts appeared as Alredo, Keith Clifford was a hospital registrar and Mo Morland, of Mighty Atom and Roly Polys fame, cropped up as an unnamed customer in the corner shop. Dickie Arnold had two bites of the cherry, first in 1976 as George Benton and the following year as Tony Stubbs. Paul Shane also played two roles. In 1977 he was Dave the Rave and in 1979 the slightly, but only slightly, more genteel Frank Roper. Both the ‘Four Hands at the Piano’ Gaunt Brothers took their places in Weatherfield, Bert as Bert Tilsley and Fred as Police Constable Bell.
With Ethel Bostock written out, Pearl Hackney returned in 1978, this time as Daisy Hibbert. Max Wall made several appearances as Elsie Tanner’s one-time boyfriend Harry Payne while four other comedians made their mark to a greater or lesser degree towards the end of the decade. They were Bobby Pattinson as Don Elliott, Dave King as Bernard Lane, Joe Black as Herbert Cook and Bobby Knutt as Ron Sykes.
Bill Tarmey, who is a fine singer and known to everyone today for his portrayal of Jack Duckworth, first appeared in the Street in 1978 as the long-forgotten character Jack Rowe. Bill’s career has worked in reverse to all those so far mentioned in that he became a Coronation Street star before scoring as a hit singer, unlike Betty Driver who enjoyed one of the greatest singing careers of the dance band years and found her non-singing niche behind the bar of the Rover’s Return as Betty Turpin. Although she does not sing at all these days, Betty’s vocal talents are preserved for all to hear both on record and in the 1939 film ‘Let’s Be Famous’ in which she starred with Irish comic Jimmy O’Dea.
Tom Mennard had spent a lifetime on the boards and on the wireless spinning his lugubrious yarns of his adventures with his mates Charlie, Harry and Fred in the fictitious pub, The Goat and Compasses, and was living in semi-retirement when Coronation Street plucked him from exile to create Sam Tindall, a character who was just coming into his own when Tom’s health and subsequent death prevented the development of what might have been another Albert Tatlock. Incidentally, Jack Howarth who played Tatlock was a life-long fan of variety and whenever I was in another studio working with performers from that world you could be sure Jack would creep in to stand at the back and watch. He was also a tireless worker for show business charities, and I have fond memories of his functions at Manchester’s Midland Hotel in the company of Sandy Powell, Hetty King and Hylda Baker.
They’ve crossed the Pennines too, these variety turns. Lynne Perrie flogged her way round every club in Yorkshire as a singer and was a firm favourite at the famous Batley Variety Club in its heyday. But it was the Street that brought her fame and fortune when she landed the part of Ivy Tilsley, later to become Ivy Brennan. But the Lancastrians still dominate. Bill Waddington, who plays Percy Sugden, reminded viewers of his years of experience as a stand-up comedian during Granada’s contribution to the 1988 ITV Telethon. He treated the regulars in the Rover’s to his cloth cap routine complete with all the old props and gags. His old sparring partner in the show, Phyllis Pearce, is portrayed by Jill Summers, a comedienne with as many years’ service to the variety stage as Bill himself.
I suppose one of the reasons for so many artists trained in the halls finding a comfortable nest in Coronation Street is the high quality of the writing which depends so much on fluency and timing for the optimum impact of its wit and comedy. Roy Barraclough was well prepared to play Alec Gilroy by his seasons of acting as foil to Les Dawson. Kenneth Cope brought to his portrayal of Jed Stone a feel for delivering comic lines finely honed as a regular team member on ‘That Was The Week That Was’. Former dancer Amanda Barrie garnered vast experience alongside some of the all-time great comedians before tackling the demands of playing Alma Sedgewick.
In its turn, Coronation Street has also originated some superb characterisations which, in former times, would have slotted comfortably into music hall sketches. I think particularly of Arthur Lowe’s Leonard Swindley, the only Street character ever to have his own spin-off series, ‘Pardon the Expression’. Ken Morley’s recent decision to leave the cast and thus abandon his alter ego Reg Holdsworth might have been salvaged by just such a spin-off series placing Holdsworth in his own situation with, of course, wife Maureen whose playing by Sherrie Hewson cannot have been hampered by all those shows in which she appeared with Benny Hill.
No actor and no character is bigger or more important than Coronation Street itself. I hope the link between Britain’s most successful television show of all time and the world of music hall and variety, fostered by aficionados such as Tony Warren, Cecil Bernstein, Harry Kershaw and Jack Rosenthal, will continue as long as there are vaudevillians trained to have something to offer towards Weatherfield life.
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Rod Taylor was educated at Bury Grammar School and joined Granada Television after leaving University. He became a Light Entertainment Producer and continued to work for Granada from 1964-1972 and 1977-1980, going freelance from 1980 until his retirement. After retiring he became an after-dinner speaker.
