50 years ago yesterday, the talent show Opportunity Knocks was the last programme to be broadcast from ABC's studios in Didsbury, a Manchester suburb, before the company merged with Rediffusion to become Teddington-based Thames Television, home to Hughie Green's show for a further ten years.
One of Hughie's final guests was Freddie "Parrotface" Davies, whose 1964 debut on the show had catapulted him to overnight fame. I can't say for certain whether I saw Freddie's first appearance, as a disgruntled pet shop customer, but I do know that when I saw him clowning around with Hughie in 1968 I was already familiar with his Samuel Tweet persona.
It's a pity only the audio has survived (the image above actually comes from the final Thames show) - but the moment which stayed with me over the years was when, towards the end of his spot, Freddie sat down, removed his homburg and came out of character to speak about how he'd miss the atmosphere of the Didsbury studios.
I wasn't quite ten but I still recall the intimacy of that moment, a sense that he had made himself vulnerable; if I had only seen Freddie on children's television up till then he would have been Tweet throughout with no indication of the de-zanied human underneath.
I had no idea that four decades later I would, in effect, be restaging that moment many times, seated across from Freddie and hearing him talk in intimate detail about his life and career. That's because in 2011 I wrote a piece about him which ultimately led to our working together on his autobiography, which was published on the fiftieth anniversary of his first Opportunity Knocks appearance.
The response from readers has been gratifying, although I knew from the moment Freddie first extended his invitation that this was a book I simply had to write, regardless of its reception; it felt as though I was being given a chance to say thank you, not just to him but to that wider fraternity of comics who had brightened my childhood.
Assembling and writing the book was hard work. I had some experience of playwriting but none of biography - though I had always loved reading comedians' stories. Transcribing interviews is painful but it can't be entrusted to someone else. (Voice recognition software? Fuggetaboutit.) Weaving together the different elements - interviews, Freddie's own bits of writing, research materials - into a coherent whole wasn't easy but I was guided by imagining the sort of book I would have wanted to read about Freddie, and I know he is pleased with the result. Odd to think it all started with a momentary glimpse, fifty years (and one day) ago of the real man behind the "Parrotface" mask.
Audio of that final Opportunity Knocks broadcast is available on the Transdiffusion website here. Freddie's clowning really demands to be seen - there is obviously some business with chairs - but it's better than nothing. And while the impact is lessened without the facial expressions you can certainly hear the sudden change in tone at the end of the two minute spot. Freddie can be heard about 23'10" in, supposedly mistaken by Hughie Green for a stagehand ("A thtagehand?!!!") who is meant to take away the chair used by the previous act.
You can buy Funny Bones from amazon or direct from Leeds-based Scratching Shed Publishing .
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