Review: Ken Dodd at the Prince of Wales Centre, Cannock

Ken Dodd

Prince of Wales Centre, Cannock

Review by Hannah Webster

Comic legend Ken Dodd revealed how much he loves his life as a performer as he stayed on stage into the wee hours of this morning in Staffordshire.

The veteran comedian, affectionately known as "Doddy" by his many adoring fans, performed to a sell-out crowd at the Prince of Wales Centre in Cannock town centre last night.

Dodd is 84-years-old and extraordinarily energetic, with his show last night lasting four-and-a-half hours.

"It's traditional and it's mainstream," he said, "I leave the satire and the political jibes to people who ought to know better. It's such a self-destroying form of humour. Satire and insult humour will only alienate your audience."

And as he poked fun at himself ("I got my ears pierced – I didn't mean to, I was walking past the dart board in the pub") and funny things he had noticed ("There's a nudist camp in Lichfield, I have seen the sign it says 'Pay and Display'") and sang his songs, the audience giggled and guffawed their way through his performance as if they were all old friends.

Indeed, that is a large part of the appeal of Doddy. He is an institution for the simple reason that he gets a kick out of cheering up his audience.

"I'm enjoying myself, even at my age," he said. "Doing a job I love doing. Everybody wants to be happy and people who come to my shows are people who share one thing – they love to laugh.

"I live a wonderful life. I only see people when they are laughing or smiling, I don't see them when they are worried or stressed out or fed up. I spend my life dealing with happy people."

And his fans certainly did not disagree.

Mary Jenkins, 80, of Cannock, and Delys Bird, 75, of Burntwood, came to the show together and have been fans for years.

Delys said she had been to see him all over the Midlands, adding: "My father was a fan and he died in 1966, so that gives you an idea of how long I have been watching him.

"Somehow or other you can't sit there with a straight face, all glum. It's just as if you've never seen it before every time."

Jackie Cottrell, 48, of Cannock went to the event with husband Michael, 68, and mother Pamela Rochelle, 76, of Great Wyrley.

She said: "We have his DVDs and he is just a really funny guy. He's not too modern."

With Doddy's usual marathon effort lasting about five hours, one can not help stopping to consider the mind-boggling amount of his life he has spent on stage in total.

"But I don't do long shows," he protested when asked about his stamina, "I do good value."