RIP Ken Dodd

Sadly the death has been announced of The Great Ken Dodd. certainly the funniest man I have ever seen, a great entertainer of the old school. Ken will be missed by millions. RIP Doddy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43367267

I first saw the Squire of Knotty Ash in the early 70s in a shed on Skegness Pier. I still remember the smell of his makeup and the powder he put in his hair. In those days I was convinced that Knotty Ash was pure fiction, who knew there really was a place where Diddymen mined for jam butties?

In subsequent years I saw him at Birmingham Hippodrome a few times. Being at a Ken Dodd show is like being on a rollercoaster, once he starts you can't get off and you think you are going to die. The jokes start off gently but as time goes on they get funnier and funnier until it becomes difficult to breathe, you can't stop crying, every chuckle muscle in your body is aching and you just want it to stop. It does stop of course, eventually, just after you can't take anymore, then his variety show would give you a rest before the final bout which always ended around an hour later than you expected.

He could sing as well of course, very much better than many recording stars of today. Tears and Happiness being two of his most memorable songs. He would sing the Italian verses in one operatic song then get a piece of paper out of his pocket to remind him of the words for the English verses. His records (CDs) were always for sale in the foyer, it never failed that if I played any Ken Dodd songs in my van or on work sites, fifty percent (that's almost half) of the other blokes would be whistling them all day.

RIP Sir Ken Dodd, we will be discomknockerated for some time to come.

It has been said today that Kens funeral will be on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and probably finish sometime Saturday

It was today.

"Sir Ken Dodd: Fans turn out for comedian's Liverpool funeral"