The Good Old Days? I Should CoCo

By Jamie McLoughlin on Oct 23, 08 01:16 PM

THIS lady and this gentleman are due to appear at Southport Theatre on Thursday, October 30, with a good old Cocker-nee knees-up singalong show called Roll Out the Barrel.

But, you may ask, what connects this singing twosome with Le Concert of Song? (We knew you were asking, we could hear you).

Don't worry. We are going to tell you.

The gentleman to the right of singing lady Sussie Arvesen is singing man Terry Bradford.

Terry now tours the country with the lovely Sussie with their extra successful nostalgia-tinged experience.

However, let's roll back the clock 30 years.

It's 1978, it's Paris, and here we can see Terry Bradford in a costume which defies description, as part of the line-up of CoCo, the UK representatives at that year's Contest with the song The Bad Old Days.

You're not seeing things. That is Cheryl Baker dressed up as both Superman and She-Ra at the same time.

CoCo finished 11th in Paris, which was a disaster for the UK after 11 top-five finishes on the trot. We blame the French sound team, who managed to make the vocals sound as though they were actually coming from Belgium.

Stephanie De Sykes, one-time favourite of Angus Deayton, co-wrote this tune (goodness, Boom Bang a Blog is full of useless trivia today) - and isn't it a smashing piece of irony that Terry has gone from The Bad Old Days to a show that's a carbon copy of BBC's The Good Old Days?

If you wish to see this former British representative in action, Roll Out the Barrel is at Southport Theatre on October 30 at 2.30pm.

Tickets are £9.50. Book on 0870 607 7560 or have a click on www.SouthportTheatre.org.uk