Frank Carson still going strong at 84

He may be 84 but Frank Carson is showing no signs of slowing down just yet.

At an age when many are happy with a comfy pair of slippers and a good cup of tea, the Northern Irish comic is currently on a nationwide tour, which last night took him to Dudley Concert Hall aongside other comedy favourites from years gone by Duncan Norvelle and Cannock born Ian 'Sludge' Lees.

In fact his lust for life is as strong as ever — evidenced by the fact he has lined up 22 shows across the country as part of this tour and another 14 for another show shortly after.

And even though he has 60 years in show business under his belt, it seems he has no plans to quit anytime soon.

"It is the very fact I enjoy hearing people laugh, I have spent my whole life since I was nine-years-old doing it," he said.

The crowd may have been somewhat on the small side at around a couple of hundred or so last night but it was at least an impressively varied age range and the stars seemed to go down a treat.

Their appearance came hot on the heels of a sell-out performance by Jason Manford at the venue last week and there was no doubt in the mind of some members of the crowd who they preferred.

"We went to see Jason Manford last week and we thought this was a lot better," said local government worker Rachel Deakin from Sedgley.

She went along with her colleague Carla Roberts who added: "It was really good, we have never seen them before but used to watch them on The Comedians."

For those that weren't around in his heyday, Frank Carson was one of the nation's best known comedians back in the 1970s and 80s winning the talent show Opportunity Knocks and appearing on The Comedians alongside Bernard Manning, Mike Reid and Jim Bowen.

He has connections to the Midlands as he is a director at Chasetown FC after chairman John Donnelly asked him to get involved. "I still look forward to seeing them," he added.