With the March 15th return to the stage for Lucifer’s Love Child approaching like a speeding train, our manager, Rupert, has the band doing the rounds for media promotion.
Yesterday we were in the delightful studios at Penistone FM for a chat with David Higgins
Take a listen to us below…. it includes me doing the weather!
Just wanted to take a break from learning lines and let you know I’ll be on stage March 15th, in a new play, The Boys Are Back Int’ Tarn, written by local legends Lee Pollard and Paul Athorne.
Lucifer’s Love Child are back!
30 years after they last performed together, Yorkshire based rockers: Jimmy, Malc, Briggsy and Gordon are planning a new album and world tour.
After their 1980 s hit single “You Make it Hard to Love You” was used in a popular Viagra commercial, the band have attracted a new generation of fans. All they must do now to enjoy their second chance at fame is set aside dodgy prostates, chiropodist’s appointments and even an adopted Gorilla and they’re on their way.
Join us as the band return to the recording studio accompanied by their long-time manager Rupert and Thomas, the mysterious new sound engineer. What could
possibly go wrong?
It’s ONE NIGHT ONLY, Friday 15th March. 7.30 pm, at the PENISTONE PARAMOUNT – Tickets £14.
It’s a great cast, and we are having lots of fun bringing these rockers to life, so grab a ticket, get out your old Rock T-Shirts, and come along for the ride.
A couple of weeks ago, whilst learning some song lyrics, I found myself speaking them in the voice of Sir Ian McKellan.
Now Sir Ian is trapped in my vocal chords. Along with Sir Patrick Stewart. And don’t even mention Brian Blessed…. Surely the work of a very powerful wizard!
I need voice work, NOW!
If anyone wants a personalised message in the style of Sir Ian, let me know!
Crikey, it’s March and my last update was back in August last year.
My apologies dear reader. It’s sort of a mix of there being no news, and too much news, so I will try and update a bit. So – Work first – then my life….
WORK
Winter is generally a quiet time in my line of work, as TV and Film tends to wind down a bit.
I did some theatre in September, with Dead Earnest Theatre, in a production of The Ratcatcher, part of the Festival Of The Mind in the Spiegeltent in the centre of Sheffield.
I’ve done some voice work too, on a wonderful series for VanitasArts, a new jazz based audio drama series titled Persons of Interest– four audio drama podcasts based on the lives of prominent jazz artists who are Black and Queer: Gladys Bentley, Josephine Baker, Ken Snakehips Johnson and Ada Bricktop Smith. You can listen to these as they’re released here, or through your favourite Podcast sources.
My voice has also featured on a new story on the Geostories App: Freyda Skald of Jorvik.
The Jorvik GeoStory is about magic, myth and mystery as a young woman’s life is transformed after an encounter with a legendary Viking Seeress, Gudrun. Developed in partnership with The Jorvik Viking Centre and supported by Arts Council England, the story begins in Coppergate, York.
Launched at the 2023 JORVIK VIKING FESTIVAL in February, it features Augmented Reality images that come to life as you are transported back to Jorvik in the Year 960 and into magical Viking Realms.
Freyda Skald of Jorvik is free to listen to and can be accessed in the GeoStories Library by downloading the GeoStories app on the App Store and Google Play or by scanning the QR Code on the flyer below.
LIFE & LOVE
2022 ended wonderfully. I met an amazing woman.
Just when you feel like there is no one out there for you, that you should just maybe give up on the idea of romance. That a hand blindly fishing around in the Quality Street tin for a wrapped chocolate may be the most exciting thing to happen over Christmas.
Beverley is much nicer than a Quality Street Strawberry Cream or a Purple One.
She’s an author, writer, coach, entrepreneur, single mum, and much, much more – and things are quite lovely. We laugh, sing, cuddle, and kiss a lot.
You can find her here or at The Writers Workshop.
Or read her latest Grief blog update here – Swimming Through Clouds: A journey of love and loss. I am mentioned in the latest update.
The Writers Workshop is an amazing resource for you writers out there, with workshops, motivation sessions, mentoring, live events, retreats, masterclasses, and much more.
It’s very affordable, and the sessions are either in person or online. Take a look
Inspired by being with this amazing Writer Woman, I have started writing more myself, and I’ve even dug out some older pieces to tinker with. I will share some of my new stuff at the end of this update.
BIRTHDAY
My birthday arrived in January. It wasn’t unexpected of course.
I decided on a trip to Edinburgh for my birthday treat, as I’d never visited before.
So it was the Castle, Royal Mile, Haggis Neeps and Tatties, Deep Fried Mars Bars, and a walk up Arthur’s Seat.
And I slipped walking back down from Arthur’s seat, hurting my own seat, a bang on the Coccyx. It’s still painful now.
VISITORS
My Brother John and his daughter Modena visited from Canada in January. Our birthday’s are 4 years and a day apart. So it was lovely to catch up, have family time, and a drink or two with old friends.
COVID HITS Damn! After avoiding the lurgy since the very beginning, Covid hit the house at the end of January.
Mum and I are both fully vaccinated, so it could have been worse.
I was pretty miserable with it for a few days, but bounced back.
Mum is 90, so it has hit her harder. Though now testing negative, she has ended up in hospital, but we hope she will be home again soon. Keep everything crossed.
WRITING
As I mentioned, Beverley has inspired me to write more. And to be public about it.
So here’s a couple of recent pieces.
BIN DAY
It’s bin day
Wind day
Bins blown over everywhere
Regardless of colour Black, brown, blue
On it’s side, lid flapping like a puppet mouth
Spewing garbage like a politician Pizza crusts
Used wipes
Eeeeuw I don’t even know what that is
But it’s not nice Dogs try to sniff. No!
Home we rush with chilled ears through streets awash with flotsam and jetsam Bin day
Wind day
It’s Bin Day again
Wind day again Blue Bins put out to stand street-side
Like Bobbies in a row
Guarding our road like sentry’s on duty
But blue bins are slender
Thinner than Grey and Brown
And with contents of cardboard and paper
There’s no weight to hold it down So blue bins blow, off they go
Like drunken revellers
Until they trip off the kerb
And they’re down, rolling around, regurgitating contents Prescription copies, old bills, egg boxes, dozens of Amazon cardboard envelopes, pizza boxes, cardboard sleeves off yogurt containers, magazines, newspapers Almost no bins left to empty now
Contents blow freely
Twisting and turning Escaping down the road
Hiding in gardens and under cars Bin lorry comes, empties the few still standing, then blue bins left on the pavement Empty now, lighter and giddy, they wheel around
Throwing themselves down once more
They roll around like pigs in muck
It’s bin day again Wind day again
A man down the road has a DeLorean.
A man down the road has a DeLorean.
Yes, that sporty stainless steel car made famous in the Back to the Future franchise. On our road. Just parked there on the street. Under a tree. Hardly ever moves it, it sits there, falling blossoms gathering at the base of the windscreen. Which must block his air intakes because he often puts a sheet of plastic over the air vents in autumn. That fancy rear cover over the engine compartment. Tied down with a length of tatty rope. And what of the owner? No Marty McFly or Doc Brown here.
A mild mannered chap, dresses conservatively, slacks and sweaters. Silver framed glasses, greying blonde hair parted to one side. His other car, his daily drive, parked behind the DMC – a silver Ford Focus. Seen him in the paper shop. Buys two loaves. Appears to be single. And heard Linda in the shop ask about his mother. So why? Why a DeLorean? The dream car of the 80’s, sitting outside a Sheffield semi? He hardly ever moves it. If he does then it’s MOT time, though he did park it around the corner for a few days when they repaved the street. I often stand beside it when I’m walking the dogs. They seem to have a fascination with it, they sniff the alloy rims and custom rubber tyres. Where has it been to gather smells so interesting to canine olfactory organs?
Then, this morning, walking back from the paper shop, the rumble of an engine. Not a normal rumble. He’s sat in the drivers seat – on the left of course, it’s American – giving it an occasional monthly turnover to keep it running, circulate the juices that keep the beast alive. Or is he? Is there more to Mr Normal. Is he actually from the future? Holding out on Holdings Rd, keeping watch over the steel city, his DeLorean the Time Machine that brought him here, and his lifeboat to return him home. Are those “sitting there running the engine” times really to keep it roadworthy? Or perhaps he’s generating some time clock energy, rewinding us all to correct something that shouldn’t have happened. But I still remember you. And what we said last night. That can’t be rewound by Mr Future. So, we are good. No objection raised by the Time Panel, no temporal anomaly created, we can go on. And how can we say no to the future?
So, I think that’s just about all the interesting stuff.
There’s more of course, but my instagram and Twitter Feeds may fill in the gaps for you.
Wishing you all love, prosperity, and the fall of this evil Tory government.
We’re almost finished January, and about to blast into February with a LIVE show!
That’s real LIVE people performing in front of a real LIVE audience!!!!
But Fear Not! There’s a LIVE STREAMING option those who aren’t yet ready to mingle.
The show is SKETCH UP! Written by the FABULOUS Rachel E Thorn, the Queen of Improv, and Witty Skit Writer Extraordinaire. Playing Friday Feb 4 at the Leicester Comedy Festival.
Rachel’s comedy has been heard on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland and performed by impressionists including Rory Bremner, Alistair McGowan and Christina Bianco. Rachel also performs improvised comedy shows nationwide and is the winner of The Phoenix Remix Act Of The Year 2019.
Rachel has put together a group of fun professional performers for her Sketch Up Crew, and at her cry of “SKETCH UP ASSEMBLE!” we all fall into place. We’ve been recording and performing Rach’s sketches for a few years now (except the last two obvs) and its brilliant fun – mainly because they’re so well written and full of wonderful characters we’d never get asked to play otherwise!
On stage for this performance, besides our Wonder Woman Rachel, we have Melanie Crawley, Gerard Fletcher, and myself.
A fabulous voiceover artist, having narrated over 40 audiobooks including An Unknown Woman by Jane Davis and The River Through Rome by Nicholas Nicastro. She is Joy in The Age of Love, the podcast based on artist Pete McKee’s characters, and starred in the UK tour of Tannie & Tannie.
One of the best voiceover actors in the business. My favourite facts are that he presents Screwfix’s YouTube channel and he’s the on-hold voice of DPD, The National Trust and Halfords!
TV includes Sherwood, Get Even (BBC/Netflix – 5 EPs), Emmerdale, Happy Valley” and Girlfriends, where he and I first worked together, sharing a scene with Zoë Wanamaker and Miranda Richardson.
He has performed in radio dramas for BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra. His voice can be heard in ads on TV and most independent commercial radio stations worldwide and he’s narrated audio books and documentaries for BBC, ITV, Channel 5 Paramount and History Channel.
Sketch Up at Leicester Comedy Festival is being live-streamed by Next Up on Friday 4th February at 8pm. It should also be available to watch on demand afterwards. To watch, you’ll need a Next Up account, which is either £7 a month with no long-term commitment or £24 for a whole year’s subscription. This gives you access to a bajillion live comedy shows from the UK’s most famous comedians – and us too!
As the artist, we take 50% of the revenue generated by people watching our show. Anyone who signs up for Sketch Up can watch Rachel’s dark comedy Sex, Lies & Improvisation on Friday 18th February at 9pm for no extra cost! Here’s the Link to sign-up!
IN OTHER NEWS….
I loved my couple of Corrie episodes, Jan 12 & 14, what a treat to work on those famous cobbles. Here’s a clip of my scenes – NOTE ***SPOILER ALERT***
Here’s hoping Corrie ask Gordon back for more! Maybe send them a tweet if you want to see him return?
AND FINALLY….
I’ve walked a lot throughout January – as part of the RUN THE MONTH Fundraiser for PROSTATE CANCER UK.
I covered 52.67 extra miles of brisk walking for the challenge, a double marathon.
My knees didn’t enjoy running, so I walked as fast as my legs would carry me.
And the good news? I raised £300 for Prostate Cancer UK. My Fundraiser Page is still live, so please take a look if you would like to add a donation. And special thanks to all who have already given.
Right, this blog update, like the month of January, is almost done – Stay safe, stay warm, and hope to see you LIVE in Leicester, or streaming the show online!
Ey up from the Steel City!!! Hope you’re all doing okay, staying warm and staying safe.
I write this on the 39th day of Lockdown 3. It just goes on and on doesn’t it?
But, thankfully, I have something to tickle your funny bones on these cold nights.
I’m a member of Sketch Up! – a group of Actor’s, Writers and Voice Artists, that got together to record comedy sketches, directly from the mind and nimble fingers of Rachel E. Thorn
We were due to perform these LIVE!!! Yes, LIVE!!! with an audience, at the renowned Leicester Comedy Festival. But, alas, a Global Pandemic thwarted our bid for Global Sketch Comedy Stardom.
Live comedy’s loss is, however, your gain…
Thanks to the power of T’interwebs, you can enjoy our sketches in the comfort of your very own home/car/van/tent/workplace/ears… via the Leicester Comedy Festival – until Feb 21.
We’ve already had a 4-STAR REVIEW (“a delight…with a bit of bite!”) and lots of lovely feedback which is great. Its free to listen (you bloody old misers) online – 45 comedy sketches – listen all in one go or individually.
They range from the surreal to the domestic and sometimes incorporate a bit of both but nowhere will you find even the vaguest reference to the dreaded pandemic!
Last weekend was a happy/sad one… My eldest son Benjamin turned 19. He lives just outside Blackpool, and with Lockdowns and Tiers, etc, we haven’t seen each other in person since last August.
Sadly Benjamin, my daughter Sophie and my youngest son, Joseph, lost their mum, my ex-wife Jane, to Covid just before Christmas. It’s such a difficult time for everyone. And it’s really hard not seeing my children, when all I want to do is hug them.
I posted a link to my Ko-Fi account in case anyone wanted to send Benjamin a bit of birthday love. And many of you did, thank you so very much! It made his day!
Benjamin has now created his own Ko-Fi Page, so if you’d like to check it out and send him the price of a a coffee, cake, or even more, the link is here….
A reminder, I post daily Twitter and YouTube Lockdown Log updates, featuring 2 Minute 20 Second updates on the boring minutiae of my Lockdown life. Really selling that, aren’t I?
Here’s the YouTube Playlist…
Sorry, there was a YouTube error.
Thanks for dropping by! Subscribe to this blog at the bottom of the page, or follow any/all of my socials, top of the right hand column!
During this last lockdown we’ve recorded it, made a video, and now released it just in time for the Festive Season. And we’re using it to raise funds for Yorkshire Children’s Trust. 100% of the funds raised will go straight those who need it and what’s more, it’s serving families in this region! – To donate, click here – https://bit.ly/36plAaE
The Video is below – The single can also be downloaded on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music!
Here’s the Blurb for it..
The U.K’s favourite Singing Plumber, Paul BALLO Ballington always has an annual Christmas song available… But this year it’s something a bit special.
As the nation struggled through the Covid Pandemic, Paul joined up with his mates from “The Yorkshire Teabaggers,” John Atherley and Dave McClelland, to reassure families that Santa would still be calling on them this Christmas.
Recording a song, and shooting a video, isn’t easy when you can’t be in the same room as your bandmates, but the team used technology to put it all together remotely, and the final video is like joining a Zoom call with a bunch of Yorkshire mates. And even Santa himself joins in the call!
And it became a family affair with Paul’s daughter Lana, and John’s wife Maria joining in, along with a cameo from actor Andy Whitaker who plays Policeman PC Swirling on ITV Soap Emmerdale (as Andy Moore) .
The lads wanted to help families who are struggling through the Covid Crisis – and the Yorkshire Children’s Trust seemed like the perfect partner to raise funds for. 100% of the funds raised will go straight those who need it and what’s more, it’s serving families in this region! – To donate, click here – https://bit.ly/36plAaE
The single can also be downloaded on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music!
Catch up on MOCKDOWN! for Sunday Aug 30th, as I chat with my guests about lockdown life – and coping with the new normal.
This week… Film Director Jack Spring, and Star Trek Yorkshire’s Joshua Note!!
JOSHUA NOTE – Actor, writer, presenter – formed a Star Trek Yorkshire fan group that’s now helping people struggling during this global pandemic through the Sick Bay…
JACK SPRING – Film director, former hot-tub salesman and part time international warlord. Made his directional debut aged just 19 with ‘Destination: Dewsbury‘ (I was in it) – we’ll find out what he’s up to now…
Actor, Extra, Model, Influencer, Writer / Director, Other Film & Stage Crew, TV Presenter, Radio Presenter.
Joshua Note has written children’s fiction since he was a child, and has finally decided to send his work out into the world with the help of his editor.
He used to work in tech, and still designs apps and new concepts for fun things.
He’s working on a video game design with his colleagues from Australia and The United States.
He also used to interview people across the whole spectrum of the arts on his podcast The Note Show, and has just relaunched it.
He is a mental health advocate, and supports Bipolar UK by fundraising and raising awareness of the condition.
He’s deeply interested in Psychology, Music and Games.
Formed Star Trek Yorkshire – an online fan group that is already helping people struggling through pandemic through the Sick Bay.
JACK SPRING Film director, former hot-tub salesman and part time international warlord.
Jack is one of the World’s most exciting feature emerging film directors. Having made his directional debut aged just 19 with ‘Destination: Dewsbury‘. After becoming one of WME’s youngest ever directorial signings, Spring is currently working on his second feature film; ‘Three Day Millionaire’, which is due to shoot in late 2020. He is also due to shoot his debut two TV projects throughout 2020. Spring is based in London, UK but is regularly floating in foreign bars.
An eccentric director known for his ‘big, hyper-real characters’ and ‘fast paced, all you can eat’ style, Spring’s work stands out as some of the most amusing in British Cinema.
“Jack Spring represents the next generation of superstar British directors.” — DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD “The humour is crass and the jokes come faster than a pubescent teens first hand job.” — ALEX CLEMENT, CRITIC
MOCKDOWN! streams live on Sunday evenings at 8pm (UK) on my Actor Facebook Pageand on my YouTube Channel. There are also occasional Mockdown Confidential shows on Tuesday evenings.
Previous shows are on my Actor page, and are also available as a Playlist on YouTube
MOCKDOWN! sometimes features video clips which are not owned by myself, they are found on YouTube, etc, and are used during the show to demonstrate my guest’s work. No infringement is intended.
Had a great MOCKDOWN show Sunday night, with three fantastic guests…
Emmerdale actor TONY AUDENSHAW, was here to chat about how his shed kept him busy during lockdown…
Actor, writer, singer, social media star, and Lockdown SitCom creator FANNI COMPTON…
And we travelled to France to chat to my friend DOMINIC RAINFORD – he’s done panto, opera, Scooby-Doo and Shakespeare – now he’s entertaining the crowds at Disneyland Paris.
IF THE VIDEO ABOVE IS NOT AVAILABLE – PLEASE WATCH ON FACEBOOK LINK BELOW…
Back next Sunday for more! Stay safe me hearties!
D x
GUEST INFO:
Tony Audenshaw attended Guildford School of Acting, Tony enjoyed a few years acting and directing T.I.E. and filling multiple roles at Thorpe Park, theme park in the summers.
A few pantos at Oldham Coliseum and a load of commercials for the likes of Barclays Bank, Quorn and Tetleys Beer led to bits on Brookside and parts in other popular telly and the films Going Off Big Time and Ken Loach’s Raining Stones. And he’s played Bob Hope in Emmerdale since 2000.
A lover of variety and light entertainment he was thrilled to do Stars in Their Eyes twice (Kenny Rogers and Roy Wood) and appear on the likes of Blankety Blank, Family Fortunes, Harry Hills TV Burp, The Chase and Celebrity Mastermind.
He’s been singing with the covers band White Van Man since 2001, contributing regularly as ‘Tony’s Trials’ to the Running Podcast Marathon Talk, is a keen birdwatcher and helps run a weekly community quiz in his hometown New Mills, Derbyshire. Guest Links: Tony Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonysTrials Tony In The Shed YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTzmZ05_P-3yK6PGUbR-Lyg
Fanni Compton is an Actress, Writer, Social Media Creator & Recording Artist based in the North West. Her dreams of becoming a prima ballerina were dashed when she was told that her ankles were too weak.
She then tried her hand at varying jobs, but it didn’t take long for her to realise that she was on the wrong path– graduated Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in 2010. Since then he’s done hundreds of sketches and monologues for Social Media, started her music career andhas a Television Comedy Pilot in post production entitled Nowhere Close. And she’s made full use of the 2020 Pandemic to develop an Online Sitcom called Lockdown Lifeline. Guest Links: Fanni Music website: www.fannicomptonmusic.com Fanni YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCJU6ZsSSC22CyM2hQ43B7Dw
Dominic Rainford – Raised in Blackpool, Dominic trained in Musical Theatre at LSMT (London School of Musical Theatre). Since then he’s had a varied career going from Panto to the English National Opera. Scooby-Doo to Shakespeare. Dungeon creature to Drag Queen and has now swapped one tower for another as he’s living and working in France at Disneyland Paris. Guest Link: Dominic Twitter: @DommyPoppins
MOCKDOWN! streams live on Sunday evenings at 8pm (UK) on my Actor Facebook Pageand on my YouTube Channel. There are also occasional Mockdown Confidential shows on Tuesday evenings.
Previous shows are on my Actor page, and are also available as a Playlist on YouTube
MOCKDOWN contains video clips which are not owned by myself, they are found on YouTube, and used during the show to demonstrate my guest’s work.
No infringement is intended.
You need HOPE in this time of global pandemic – and this week I have Bob Hope, Emmerdale actor TONY AUDENSHAW, here to chat about how his shed kept him busy during lockdown…
I have actor, writer, singer, social media star, and Lockdown SitCom creator FANNI COMPTON…
And we’ll travel to France to chat to my friend DOMINIC RAINFORD – he’s done panto, opera, Scooby-Doo and Shakespeare – now he’s entertaining the crowds at Disneyland Paris.
They’ll be here to chat about their lockdown experience – and what they have coming up next…
MOCKDOWN! streams live on Sunday evenings at 8pm (UK) on my Actor Facebook Pageand on my YouTube Channel. There are also occasional Mockdown Confidential shows on Tuesday evenings.
Previous shows are on my Actor page, and are also available as aPlaylist on YouTube
MOCKDOWN contains video clips which are not owned by myself, they are found from YouTube and used during the show to demonstrate my guest’s work. No infringement is intended.