Richard Lance Keeble
Steve Barclay, the celebrated comedian, pantomime dame and proud member of the Grand Order of Water Rats, gave a wonderfully entertaining talk at Withcall’s St Martin’s Church on Thursday 17 September.
You name them: Max Wall, Eddie Grant, Harry Worth, Bob Hope, Bing Crosbie, George Formby, Jim Couton (together with Rex, his singing dog), Hyida Baker, Ken Dodd, Danny La Rue, Tessie O’Shea – Steve had a fascinating (often amusing) story to tell about them.
Now settled in Nettleham, he spoke about growing up near Manchester, star-struck with the glamorous television presenters: Blue Peter’s Valerie Singleton and Magpie’s Susan Stranks. Auditioning when only 14 for Yorkshire Television’s Junior Showtime, his first joke he remembers was to imitate Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who, when asked: ‘What are you going to do with the little man?’ replies: ‘I’m going to get him a little woman.’
For the next two years, he was a regular on the show and toured the country in the follow-up Stars of Junior Showtime. Not surprisingly, at school he was a celebrity and would even be asked for his autograph. Later he appeared on Yorkshire Television’s Stars on Sunday, produced by Jess Yates (where he remembers singing ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’) – and from there he moved into the entertainment business.
Dressed in a snazzy jacket, smart black trousers and perfectly polished brown leather shoes, Steve (original name Stephen Hutchinson) told his anecdotes always clearly through a mic – often with a cheeky, friendly smile on his face. And suitably equipped with loudspeakers and computer-assisted musical backing, he treated us to a rendition of ‘Two Ton’ Tessie O’Shea’s ‘I left my Heart in San Francisco’ and (with great finger dexterity on his ukulele) George Formby’s ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’.
Having spent many years treading the boards as a supporting comedian to top TV and theatre celebrities, Steve Barclay (now that’s a name you can bank on) paid tribute to his ‘comedy heroes’ in a memorable talk that captured all his love and enthusiasm for his chosen profession.