Warm Black Country welcome as Sir Lenny returns to Dudley Town Hall - review

The Black Country comedy legend was back on home turf for the local leg of his 'Who Am I Again?' UK tour, named after the book he released last month.

And Dudley Town Hall was packed out to listen to the 61-year-old old reflect on his life from birth in Dudley in 1958 to being on New Faces in 1975 and his first appearance on Tiswas in 1978.

Sir Lenny was in rich form throughout the evening, describing how his mother almost became a preacher in the USA before moving to Dudley in 1958, where she encountered some early struggles..

He had the audience laughing throughout with impersonations of his mother, a vivid description of life in a Jamaican household in the 1960s and the tale of how he nearly burnt his house down - a story where he described running down Blackacre Road to the Bush Inn and joked “I can’t be this descriptive anywhere else except Dudley!”

Sir Lenny also addressed how his mother told him and his siblings to go out and start “H'integrating” with the locals and spoke fondly about his teenage years with the Gorsebrook crew, his life-long friends who he met in the 1970s.

Funny stories about playing football in the park, avoiding 'Gerald the pervert' and dancing at the Queen Mary Ball Room in an attempt to pull women were counterbalanced with touching stories about meeting Albert Green, the man who he eventually found out was his real father and the racism he encountered from Steven, a boy he had previously been friends with.

The first half concluded with the details of how he passed the audition to get onto New Faces and then had to perform it in front of his family in order to be let back into the house.

In the second half, Sir Lenny was interviewed by his friend, broadcaster and author Jon Canter, who asked him questions about subjects such as the social change growing up, how his mother ended up being a guest on Tiswas, how his studies led to him getting a PHD in Media Arts, how he ended up playing Othello and his experiences working with Tommy Cooper, who was still cracking jokes while seriously ill.

All the way though he kept up the steady stream of humour which left the audience rocking with laughter, while also touching on his lead role in tackling diversity issues in TV and film and how he found that humour was the perfect way to fight racism and bullying at school.

At the age of 61, Sir Lenny shows no sign of slowing down.

Funny, sharp and with a keen sense for how to use his heritage to tell funny stories, he is one of the country’s greatest comedians and his Dudley Town Hall show was a great example of that.

• Sir Lenny is at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre on Wednesday November 27.

Sir Lenny welcomed back to Black Country

People from all over the Black Country came to see Sir Lenny at Dudley Town Hall.

There was an anticipation in the air, with audience members keen to talk about the pride they felt at seeing the comedy legend return home to perform.

Jackie Cupper lives in Dorset but grew up in Tipton in the 60s and visited Dudley on a regular basis, sometimes ending up in the Town Hall.

She said: “I haven’t been in this building since I was 18 and the last time I was here, he was here, but as a kid that nobody knew.

"He was a character though, very extroverted and, rumour has it, everyone knew how good he was at his impressions.

“I’m just so proud of him. He’s become something more than a jack-the-lad comic and is very loved in the Black Country for his humour and everything he has achieved, so it’s wonderful to see him here tonight.”

Elaine Taylor from Netherton was in the crowd with her husband Malcolm and said she was proud of Sir Lenny and what he's achieved.

She said: “He’s a local lad, so we should be supporting him. He’s not just an entertainer, he’s been an advocate for charities abroad and ones at home, so he’s a well-respected young man from Dudley and a great ambassador for Black Country humour.”

Paul Johnson, who grew up opposite Sir Lenny on Douglas Road in Dudley and now lives in Stourbridge, said: “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him, so to be able to see him finally is fantastic.

"What he’s done for Dudley is amazing and he is a legend and a gentleman who’s never forgotten his roots and takes any opportunity to speak very highly of Dudley.”