00:00It's hot, glove, ready for the Lindy and crowd. It's going to be a good night. Ah, what's
00:22missing? Come on boys, get ready. They had a ride the other night and I think they just
00:31got off on the wrong foot. In good form they are. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome
00:37all the way from Ballygo backwards, the legend it is, Jimmy Clements!
00:42The other morning I was eating my breakfast and it was going snot, crackle and pop, which
00:55surprised me, it was a kipper. My relationship with Blackpool goes back to 1969 because I
01:05came to be a red coat at the Metropole Hotel and Blackpool was awash with summer seasons.
01:12I mean you had Val Doonigan and Arthur Askey at the Winter Guards, you had Cilla Black up
01:18at the ABC. You had Harry Worth, actually the North Pier. I would look out of my hotel room
01:26and see Harry's name on my day off. I would go to all these shows, I would buy a ticket,
01:32you know, I was a punter. This is wonderful, you know, to be part of that. And I managed
01:37when I did get a break in the early 80s in a TV talent show to do pantomime with both Harry
01:43Worth and Cilla Black on the same bill. So, you know, dreams can't come true.
01:49And there's more. He said I told you to set the alarm for seven. I said there's only me
01:55in the bedroom. I did a couple of seasons at the South Pier, which were nice, but obviously
02:04as it gets into October, it gets a bit windy. And well, there's Mrs Cricket was coming down
02:12once and she nearly flew off the edge coming down. But luckily the manager of the theatre
02:17sort of grabbed her. But throughout the year you do your act. It's a concert situation.
02:22You do your hour. And each time I made my appearance through the show, there'd be less
02:27and less people. Because down there they really didn't have the heating.
02:34And I remember by the time I got to do my main spot at the end, there was quite a lot
02:39of empty seats. And there was a Northern Ireland guy from where I come from.
02:43And he would sit like this, you know, and he went, could you open the door and let the
02:50heat in? Which is a great line, you know.
02:54Because of the price of postage, I'm not sending any Christmas cards out this year.
03:01How many people say that, who even became stars, that their mum and dad had a guest house or
03:12a hotel in the forties. And so they grew up like, I think John Inman off the top of my head
03:17I did pantomime. And John, his parents ran a hotel in Blackpool. So he saw, and of course
03:24the summer seasons then were all thriving.
03:36There's something about Blackpool that keeps reinventing itself. Because you could be driving
03:41down on a cold January night and the lights will be on and there'll be music emanating
03:46and there'll be laughter coming from it. And that's Blackpool. Other resorts have sort
03:51of gone to bed, unfortunately. The hotel owners are like entrepreneurs. They've got to be
03:58creative all the time to get the people coming back and to get new people coming in.
04:03Another bird impression. Carrier pigeon.
04:13I think the main word I'm looking for, I think for any comic and for young comics, is
04:18adaptability. Vital for the younger singers to learn their trade. It's imperative that
04:27they get their experience in these places. It's trial and error. Learn, get a notebook,
04:32write, try and avoid a get rich quick thing. A TV talent show with a hostile environment
04:39isn't good. Without even saying it, you know. Anything's worth having is worth working for.
04:55I was going to say, we're talking about my favourite subject.
04:58You've got one.
05:01You've got one.
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