ROSS OWEN'S BLOG

Rare Interview with Laurel & Hardy - Copenhagen 1947

2011-03-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

Interview with Les McKeown: August 9th 2010

2010-08-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

On Mon August 9th 2010, our guest on Black Sky Radio was Bay City Rollers legendary frontman Les McKeown. Les spoke with presenters Nightmare & Jenna about his amazing life and career and he answered your questions from the studio chatroom at http://tinychat.com/blackskyradio.

You can listen to the full UNEDITED interview on the player below.

If you want to catch up with Les and what he's doing in the future, you can find him on Facebook.

INTERVIEW WITH HOLLYWOOD ACTOR JEFFREY WEISSMAN

2010-04-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

Pale Rider, Back To The Future 2 & 3, Twilight Zone The Movie

Ross Owen and Nightmare talk to actor Jeffrey Weissman. Recorded live on Thursday 22nd April 2010 on Black Sky Radio.

Click here to listen to the interview in full:

(to download, right click and save this link: http://bit.ly/9O4Hza)

Jeffrey's website can be found at http://www.jeffreyweissman.com/

Earthquake during live show with Kevin Pollak and Henry Winkler

2010-04-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

and the fonz STILL keeps his cool

One man died and scores of others are feared trapped in the rubble of their homes after a powerful earthquake struck on the US-Mexico border.

At the time of the quake I was at home in Scotland watching Kevin Pollak's Chat Show live on the internet with special guest Henry Winkler (The Fonz from Happy Days). Below is a clip from yesterdays live broadcast of the show when the earthquake started.

The 7.2 magnitude tremor set high-rise buildings swaying in Los Angeles and San Diego and was felt across Southern California.

Rescue teams with dogs and digging equipment are on their way to Mexicali, which was near the epicentre of the quake, where reports are emerging of people trapped in the ruins. A man died when his home collapsed just outside Mexicali.

The tremor struck at 3:40 pm (22:40 GMT) on Sunday in Baja California in Mexico, about 19 miles southeast of Mexicali, according to the US Geological Survey. The area has been hit by smaller magnitude quakes all week.

The earthquake was the largest in the area for 18 years and three strong aftershocks were reported within the hour, including a magnitude 5.1 jolt in the desert east of San Diego.

The major quake was felt as far north as Santa Barbara and east at Palm Springs.

The quake was felt for about 40 seconds in Tijuana, Mexico, causing buildings to sway and knocking out power in parts of the city. Families celebrating Easter ran out of the homes, with children screaming and crying.

In LA chandeliers swayed and wine jiggled in glasses during Easter celebrations. Water sloshed out of residential swimming pools, the city fire department went on "earthquake status" and some stalled elevators were reported. Rides were temporarily closed at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim.

In San Diego, there were reports of shattered windows, broken pipes and water main breaks in private buildings, but there were no reports of injuries.

USGS seismologist Lucy Jones said: "It sounds like it's felt by at least 20 million people at this point."

Rare Audio Interview With Stan Laurel

2010-01-23T09:01:00.000-08:00

Recorded August 14th 1957, just 1 week after Oliver Hardy died.

Arthur B Friedman talks to Stan Laurel
(listen to the complete interview below - over 1 hour long)

Dr Arthur B. Friedman interviews Stan Laurel for Turning Point on August the 14th, 1957, only a few days after the death of his comedy partner, Oliver Hardy. In this 74 minute interview Stan talks about many things including: Oliver Hardy’s death; his beginnings in a juvenile pantomime company; working for his father in his theatres; how and why he became a comic; understudying Charlie Chaplin in the Fred Karno Troupe; the hardships, good times, partnerships and professional jealousy of his vaudeville career; his family; The Stan Jefferson Trio; costumes; his early film career with Larry Semon, Bronco Billy, and Hal Roach; how he became a gag writer and director after struggling to find a comic character; how he was teamed with Oliver Hardy and his return to films; early film making techniques, where gags come from and off the cuff shooting techniques; his relationship with Oliver Hardy and how their characters developed; silent, talkie and feature length films; the worldwide appeal of Laurel and Hardy; his retirement, hobbies, health and fan mail.

Celebs show their support for our Song For Haiti

2010-01-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

I'm delighted to tell you that we have some special guest singers on board including...

Rowetta:
Best known for Happy Mondays, X Factor and dance tune BE/Reach Out sampled by the Black Eyed Peas on Boom Boom Pow.

Carol Kidd MBE:
Legendary jazz vocalist whose admirers included the late Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.

Coby Koehl:
Amazing vocalist from New York recently discovered by Boy George who said "Coby Koehl is the best singer I've heard since Amy Winehouse"!

THE STORY OF HOW A CAPTAIN BIRDS EYE LOOKALIKE RIPPED ME OFF IN LONDON

2009-10-26T00:40:00.000-07:00

A lesson learned.

DON'T BE AS GULLIBLE AS ME
It was 1989 and I was 21 years old. I was working on the production team of a daily TV show called Jameson Tonight, hosted by Derek Jameson and Shane Ritchie which was recorded at the famous Windmill Theatre in London's Piccadilly.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON

As the weekend approached, I remember thinking, "After my outgoings, I'll have about £75 quid left from my wages". 20 years ago that was like having £200 quid to play with. I'm now thinking to myself, "I'll go home to Scotland for the weekend and have a nice time with my friends and family". The man in the booking office at the bus station tells me there's only 2 buses per day from Kings Cross to Glasgow, one in the morning and one which travels through the night. I opt for the morning one and pay £14 quid for my bus ticket. So now I'm down to £61 quid. My bus leaves the next morning at 11am.

FRIDAY MORNING
I'm running late and my bus leaves in 5 minutes. I get to the bus stop and no-one else is there. I arrive with 2 suitcases... one was my dirty laundry, c'mon I was young and thats what mums are for isn't it? Inside the other case was... actually I've no idea, I honestly can't recall, but it was bloody heavy. So there I was at the bus stop, on my own with my two cases. I looked at my watch and suddenly realised it was 11.05am. As I muttered a few expletives to my myself, I heard a familiar voice from behind. "You just missed it son". Now when I say it was a familiar voice, what I actually mean is, it was a familiar accent. It was Scottish! I turned around and there was a little bearded man. I remember thinking he was the spitting image of captain birds eye with his snow white hair and big fluffy beard, except he was wearing one of those green, army style, wooly jumpers. The ones with the black leather shoulder pads.

"The bus just left" he said. I politely thanked him. Now, normally at this stage, one would be cautious when approached by a stranger in a big city like London, however this friendly little Scottish guy looked totally harmless. He also seemed slightly concerned for me. "Where exactly in Scotland are you going?" he asked. I told him "Airdrie" and to my total surprise he immediately blurted out "Airdrie? Do you know Willlie Mutch who owns The Snug bar in Stirling street?" Well as it happens, I DID in fact know Willie Mutch and I knew the pub well. I used to work in it as a DJ when I was 18, so now the friendly stranger has really got my attention. We chatted for a little bit and he went on to tell me he was a lorry driver and that he was heading to Perth in Scotland with a consignment of Whisky. He even pointed to a lorry parked at the side of road and said "That's my truck there." He then suddenly went quiet and looked me in the eye with his head tilted to the left, as if sizing me up. After a few seconds he then broke into a big grin and said, "I'll drop you off in Airdrie! I'm passing through it anyway." Now If I tell you that I accepted his offer, you would probably think I'm mad, but this guy knew people I knew, he had a likeable grandfather way about him. Anyway, without realising what I might be letting myself in for, I hastily accepted his offer of a lift.

He went on to explain that he had to go to his depot first, he told me he gets free bottles of whisky from his consignment. The deal is that he pays £6 per bottle at the London depot and gets his money back when he arrives at his destination. At that point, I immediately asked, "Can you get me a bottle at that price?" He replied with a yes but said I wouldn't have to pay. He said I could have a freebie. As far as I remember the depot was somewhere around Oxford station and we had to walk. As I struggled with my suitcases, he was kind enough to offer to carry one of them. We passed a little cafe and he asked if I was hungry. I was actually starving because I had been running late and had missed my breakfast so we went in. He ordered a full breakfast and I ordered ham and eggs which in Scotland is bacon and eggs, however, I was handed a plate with cold meat and eggs on it. That was the day I found out ham was different from bacon. After we finished our breakfasts he went to pay for both of them. I of course couldn't let this happen, after all this man was giving me a free lift, getting me free whisky and was even carrying one of my cases. The least I could do was buy him breakfast in return. It cost me £8. So now I'm down to £53.

We left the cafe and started walking to the depot. It took us a good 30 mins but eventually we arrived. He explained to me that he wasn't technically allowed to carry passengers in his truck so I would have to wait outside the office while he went in to pay for his whisky. I stood there alone with my cases, about 200 yards away from the office as the old boy went in through the office door.10 minutes or so passed and he came back. "Have you got change of a £20 note"? he asked. "They've no bloody change in the office". I happily obliged by handing him two £10 notes. It didn't cross my mind that he hadn't given me the £20 note yet. Off he went back into the office. See the photograph below. This is how I remember the office.

10 minutes went past and there was no sign of the little guy. 20 mins later and still he hadn't appeared. I started to get suspicious that something wasn't right. I waited 20 more minutes and still no sign of him. By now I'm getting fed up so I went up to the door and knocked on it. No reply. Knocked again. No reply.

Eventually I opened the door and was shocked by what I saw...

A FECKING DESERTED YARD!

Yeah, thats right, there was NOTHING behind the door. The only part of the depot that actually existed was the front wall with a door in it. There was no interior, no side walls, no office inside and no captain birdseye lookalike, NOTHING!

That little bastard had conned me out of a breakfast and £20 quid AND left me standing in the middle of nowhere with my 2 cases. I was totally livid when I realised I had fallen for it. I was standing there with £53 quid left and wondering if there was any other way to get home to Scotland for the weekend. I jumped in a taxi to Victoria station (there goes another £15) and found out there was a bus leaving for Hamilton (a small town not too far from where I was going) at 1pm, so I decided to catch that one. Cost me £17 for my bus ticket. Between my taxi fare to Victoria and my new bus ticket I was now left with £11. My bus arrived and off I went. I finally arrived in Hamilton about 8pm. Jumped in a taxi from Hamilton to Airdrie and the fare came to £13. I actually had to borrow £2 from my sister to pay the taxi. So there you have it, that captain birds eye lookalike messed up my weekend visit. I'll never forget him. Little bastard!

The above story is 100% true.

GRANGE HILL CAST REUNION 2009

2009-10-19T14:05:00.000-07:00

Leicester Square, London

ROLAND BRINGS BACK GRANGE HILL:
October 8th saw the Grange Hill cast of 30 years get together for the first time. (video footage below). Erkan Mustafa (pictured right) who played Roland Browning in the show, organised the reunion and a great night was had by all at Sound Nightclub in London's Leicester Square. Familiar faces from all era's of Grange Hill turned up. Even cast from the very first episode were there, including Tucker Jenkins' best mates Alan Humphries (played by George Armstrong) and Tommy Watson (played by Paul McCarthy).

PICTURED BELOW: Gonch (John Michael Holmes) and Hollo (Bradley Sheppard) who were reunited for the first time in over 20 years.

Comedienne Francesca Martinez who played Rachel Burns.

Lee Macdonald who played Zammo.

Michael Cronin who played teacher Mr Baxter.

PICTURED BELOW: Ricky Simmonds, Lisa York, Erkan Mustafa, Simon Vaughn, Vincent Matthews, Fiona Lee Fraser, Carleen Beadle, Tracy Thomas, Colin Ridgewell, Rachel Victoria Roberts, Lynne Thomas and George Armstrong.

More images from the reunion can be found here

Proceeds of the event went to two very worthwhile charities. Cherry Lodge Cancer Care and a very sick little boy named Logan. Donations can still be made by going here.

Press play below to watch a series of videos from the reunion. Each clip will automatically start when the previous one ends. There are 6 videos in all.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF PROMS IN THE PARK 2009

2009-10-19T13:57:00.000-07:00

Hyde Park, London, 2009

BACKSTAGE WITH ONE NIGHT OF QUEEN
Scotland's Gary Mullen and The Works rocked the stadium at London's Hyde park on Saturday when they performed highlights from their One Night Of Queen show in front of a lively audience of 40,000 people for BBC Proms In The Park.

(backstage video footage below)

I had the privelage of being backstage for the day as guest of the boys. A great time was had by all and what a great bill. Hosted by Ken Bruce and Sir Terry Wogan, Gary Mullen and The Works performed alongside the cream of talent rubbing shoulders with top entertainers including The Counterfeit Stones, The Emperors Of Sound, Escala, Katherine Jenkins and international legend Barry Manilow who performed a terrific duet with John Barrowman.

Another guest of the boys was Grange Hill star Erkan Mustafa who played Roland Browning in the long running show. Erkan who's hosting a Grange Hill Cast Reunion in October said "I've seen Gary and the boys perform several times. After you've seen them perform live you're left in no doubt they are at the top of their game."

You can see some footage from backstage at Proms In The Park 2009 by clicking the play button below. There are 2 videos, part 2 will automatically start playing once part 1 is complete.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MATHEW HORNE

2009-10-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

Ross Owen talks to the star of Horne & Corden about his love of Laurel & Hardy

WE WANT TO PLAY LAUREL & HARDY
Ross Owen: Mat Can I begin by wishing you all the best of health. You had your fans worried for a while there. How are you now?
Mat Horne: Thank you. I am taking this rest period to recuperate and recharge and it is working.
Ross Owen: It was recently reported in the press that you are a fan of Laurel and Hardy, can you remember when you first saw them?
Mat Horne: As a very young boy. My brother was and is completely obsessed by them and I grew up with Laurel & Hardy. When I began my career it was in a double act and I am in one of sorts now and I attribute my love for Laurel & Hardy to that.
Ross Owen: Do you have a favourite Laurel and Hardy film?
Mat Horne: My favourite film is an odd choice, I think, but it contains a scene which I believe to be one of the funniest sequences I've ever seen. Also, I love the ultra-surreal aspects too. It's Blockheads. Stan pulling the blind down in the stairwell, that are only shadows, the cigar-smoking kid with the broken voice in the lift and of course the football down the stairs!
Ross Owen: What appeals to you about Laurel and Hardy?
Mat Horne: The skill as performers. The bravery of much of the surrealist material (for that era). The classic traditional qualities of both the stories and the relationship. I think it is their relationship which gave me an innate understanding of reacting, rather than acting per se, within a given situation/relationship with another character.
Ross Owen: Are you influenced by them at all in your act with James?
Mat Horne: Very much so. James and I are very different performers, as were Stan & Ollie. But they played to their strengths as performers, which unquantifiably complimented each other. I'd like to think myself and James do this.
Ross Owen: Is it true you would like to one day play Stan Laurel? There's certainly a resemblance.
Mat Horne: I'd love to play Stan, but I'd have to lose a bit of weight!! I think I'm a bit old now and it's been done on BBC4, so probably never going to happen!!
Ross Owen: The BBC4 play you are referring to was STAN by Neil Brand. It was a fictional account of the boys last moments together while Ollie was on his deathbed. A factual biopic about Laurel and Hardy has never been made, but it would have 2 life stories to tell, so in my opinion any such biopic would have to come in the form of a tv mini series. I know the fans would love to see this happen. How did you get into the world of showbusiness and what made you decide on a double act?
Mat Horne: I was a stand up, in a double act. I have always, because of L & H, been interested in collaboration and working with another as a performer.
Ross Owen: Who else influenced you?
Mat Horne: Steve Coogan.
Ross Owen: Comedy has changed so much in recent years. Do you think Laurel and Hardy should be back on television?
Mat Horne: Aren't the films repeated all the time anyway?! They always seem to be on on Bank Holidays and half term.
Ross Owen: Yes, they appear occasionaly on cable/sky TV but not so much on terrestrial TV as they did when we were youngsters. Do you have a question about Laurel and Hardy for us?
Mat Horne: How much sway do you have getting me to play him in a biopic?
Ross Owen: aha great question, one must respect anyone who takes on the role of an icon, because if they get it wrong, the fans are on them like a ton of bricks. However, we have discussed this topic on the Laurel and Hardy Forum and when you and James got suggested as contenders the response was very positive. Many top authors, writers and filmmakers visit the forum so, as we are home to 1000's of fans worldwide, indeed we may have a slight influence somewhere. If filmmakers value the opinion of the fans that is. OK, One final question Mat... What is your favourite scene in any Laurel and Hardy film?
Mat Horne: In Flying Deuces, where they're locked in the cell and Stan starts playing the bedsprings like a harp. Pure, surrealist genius. Oh and the Blockheads scene where the football is kicked down the stairs and it hits the hotelier in the face causing his hair to flop forward, again.
Ross Owen: Great choices Mat. The ball scene with hotelier Harry Strang (above right) is one of the most popular with fans too. Thanks for taking the time to do this little interview. It is our mission at the forum to keep the memory and the works of Laurel and Hardy alive, we thank you for your support. "A little kindness goes a long way." Both yourself and your brother will be made most welcome at the forum. Good luck with all your future projects.
Mat Horne: Thank you, it's my pleasure.

FATHER TED'S CONNECTION TO LAUREL AND HARDY

2009-10-19T13:51:00.001-07:00

Creator Graham Linehan sets the record straight

IT CROWD WRITER LOVES THE BOYS
I recently spoke to Irish writer Graham Linehan, co-creator of popular sitcom Father Ted. Graham received a BAFTA last night for his writing on the Channel 4 sitcom, The IT Crowd. The IT Crowd focuses on the exploits of a three-strong IT support team located in a forgotten basement of a British corporation in London. I asked Graham if the Father Ted series was influenced at all by Laurel and Hardy to which he replied "Ardal based Dougal on Stan Laurel and, er , me. So yes! I also based a scene in 'it crowd' on one in sons of the desert."

KENN DODD UNVEILS LAUREL AND HARDY STATUE

2009-10-19T13:49:00.003-07:00

After 17 long years the statue is finally a reality

KEN DODD UNVEALS THE LAUREL AND HARDY STATUE
It all began as a dream for the late Laurel and Hardy museum curator Bill Cubin, but 17 years later, thanks to the funds raised by the 'sons of the desert' the Laurel and Hardy statue has now been erected in Stan Laurel's home town of Ulverston in Cumbria. (VIDEO FOOTAGE BELOW)

Comedy legend Ken Dodd performed the unveiling ceremony and a great day was had by over 2000 fans from all over the world. Press and television coverage was full on and I was lucky enough to be given a place in the press area right at the front so here's some extended and exclusive footage from the day which you didn't see on the news. The sun was shining in Ulverston and I congratulate my fellow sons of the desert for this wonderful achievement. Bill Cubin would have been very proud of this moment which left us all with a lump in our throats.

A big thank you to Eric Woods for taking the bull by the horns and leading the campaign to raise the funds needed to make this possible and to Ken Dodd for unveiling the statue which was created by Graham Ibbeson.

FOOTAGE BELOW

WE MADE IT TO THE KEVIN POLLAK CHAT SHOW

2009-10-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hollywood star chooses us

ANOTHER NICE COMPOSITION
Our beloved Laurel and Hardy Forum got a nice plug from Hollywood actor Kevin Pollak on tonights edition of the Kevin Pollak Chat Show after I sent in a theme tune composition for the show. The intro I sent is a track by my good friend Billy Moffat, bass player with Gary Mullen and The Works who tour the world with their amazing One Night Of Queen show. To our absolute delight, Billy's compostion SUNSHINE which is available along with other tracks on itunes and at Billy's myspace page was chosen to be used as Kevin's theme tune.
I also challenged Kevin to link himself to Stan Laurel in 3 degrees - he did it. All can be seen on the video below.

Kevin Pollak appeared in Usual Suspects, A Few Good Men and many many more famous movies. The Kevin Pollak Chat Show airs every Sunday evening at 1am GMT - 5pm PDT and can be viewed LIVE at: http://kevinpollakchatshow.com

FRANK CARSON ON LAUREL AND HARDY

2009-10-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

It's the way he tells em'

WATCH MY INTERVIEW WITH THE IRISH COMEDY LEGEND
In this 12 minute interview recorded at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow on March 28th 2009, Irish comedy legend Frank Carson spoke to me about the time he met Laurel and Hardy in the street. He also reminisces about The Beatles, Brian Epstein, Johnny Hamp, Howard Keel and Mario Lanza. Frank is currently writing his autobiography.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW