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Post by smokie on Mar 31, 2017 8:16:19 GMT
For those of you who are not aware, Cannon and Ball were/are a British comedy duo who were very popular back in the 1980s.
As with a lot of things, looking back, it's hard to imagine why 
Anyway, I used to love watching this but not sure what to make of it now.
Hope this plays OK!
P.S. The reason that I used to watch this was to see Rick playing "live". Loved that bit. The rest of it leaves me cold and I've never been a fan of Marguerita Time.
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Post by snakelady on Mar 31, 2017 8:31:53 GMT
Yeah, these days you watch stuff like this and wonder what on earth were they thinking ?  We've had these sketches during Disco and watching them now - none of it was remotely funny .. |
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Post by smokie on Mar 31, 2017 9:58:43 GMT
I realise why they have always gone on these type of popular entertainment shows and that's because they can reach a mass audience in 5 minutes but I've never understood why they go on and then make clowns of themselves.
David Walker received a lot of criticism due to the "stunts" that the band participated in whilst he was manager and Simon Porter has, rightly or wrongly received stick too but this was pre either of them being in charge.
Who was the manager that thought that this was a good idea? Iain Jones?
No matter which programme that they were on, I just felt (and feel) that they should just go and play their song with no gimmicks.
Still cringe thinking about the Les Dawson "Not At All" appearance. That was dire. |
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Mar 31, 2017 10:42:51 GMT
It was around this time I started to wonder what was going on. "Cannon and Ball" was followed by "Des O'Connor Tonight" (or something), Les Dawson, Noel's House Party and all manner of Saturday night light entertainment. The antithesis of what I EVER watched on TV. I don't now and I didn't then. Its not snobbery; i just don't like it. Naff dancers, naff music and naff jokes badly packaged and usually a tacky vehicle for the presenter. But each to their own. As they say. I can also appreciate how popular it was; still is. I can appreciate the how. The why is a different question. Daytime TV has taken its place for Quo these days. As a rule that is. They remained regulars on The One Show but recently would turn up on things like Alan Titchmarsh in the afternoon or Good Morning Britain. Rick, of course, appeared on Mr & Mrs. I mean, what possessed him?? I've seen some very dodgy stuff from Germany and Holland as well since the advent of the internet. The UK was NOT alone with Quo appearing on this sort of drivel. They didn't do it in the 70's. It was in the 80's that they began to parody themselves on TV. And on record if the brutal truth be told. Its not all fun and games being a Quo fan of some vintage. |
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Post by I Ain't Complaining on Apr 4, 2017 10:17:05 GMT
Was Colin Johnson still the manager in the early 80's?
You've got to remember, that watching something 30 years later, it's very difficult to have an objective view, as time, fashion, humour has moved on. Yes it was probably still naff then, but people obviously found acts like Cannon and Ball funny or they wouldn't have been so big.
Looking back though, you can see that by the 80's Quo probably already looked out of place with their hair and clothes; and their 70's music (had they kept producing it) would certainly have been out of place on TV (had they needed to promote it on TV). So they'd changed to fit in.
They probably started doing this sort of programme in the 80's because the records weren't selling 'naturally' like they were in the 70's so they needed more promotion. The songs/albums weren't as good (weren't as Quo) as they had been in the early 70's, some of the Quo Army had probably stopped buying the records, they possibly didn't get as much airplay on the radio as they had previously; so you have to do something else (TV and chat shows) to show publicise your product to a big audience. |
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Post by gogs on Apr 4, 2017 13:25:17 GMT
The unavoidable fact is that the light entertainment shows they went on got huge audiences. Why? Because in those days there were only 3, latterly 4 TV stations and whole family groups watched in prime time. Thus blanket exposure. It may not sit well with Quo fans, but those shows were probably the most efficient vehicle to expose new material. And by the time they did the Des O' Connor show to promote Fun, Fun, Fun, Radio 1 had dropped them and Radio 2 was still in transition from MOR to AOR. Do our German friends hold light entertainment shows (Wetten Das etc) in the same low regard as UK Quo fans hold eg Cannon and Ball?
Can't actually remember when the Quo management change Johnson/Walker took place, but I'm pretty sure that both of them oversaw such bookings.
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Apr 4, 2017 13:37:39 GMT
The unavoidable fact is that the light entertainment shows they went on got huge audiences. Why? Because in those days there were only 3, latterly 4 TV stations and whole family groups watched in prime time. Thus blanket exposure. It may not sit well with Quo fans, but those shows were probably the most efficient vehicle to expose new material. And by the time they did the Des O' Connor show to promote Fun, Fun, Fun, Radio 1 had dropped them and Radio 2 was still in transition from MOR to AOR. Do our German friends hold light entertainment shows (Wetten Das etc) in the same low regard as UK Quo fans hold eg Cannon and Ball? Can't actually remember when the Quo management change Johnson/Walker took place, but I'm pretty sure that both of them oversaw such bookings. All very reasonable points. Like I said, I appreciate how popular these shows were. And still are (Ant & Dec for example which I think they also appeared on briefly). I found it quite difficult to stomach back in the 80's. These, for me, were THE worst shows on television apart from the soaps. I think I might have found it easier to tolerate if the music had remained as good but I don't think there's a Quo fan around who would say that it did. Marguerita Time on "Cannon And Ball" or Fun Fun Fun on "Des O'Connor Tonight" might have been good for business but it was bloody torture for some of us. The thing is, the "Cannon and Ball" appearance was only a year after the NEC gig. A gig which showed what Quo were really all about and which was broadcast also at more or less peak time. Its all water under the bridge now. Its what they do and have done for about 35 years now. I rarely see them on TV these days. They're always on shows I'd never watch. But they're not aiming these 'appearances' at me. They already have me. Or am I just getting grumpy? |
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Post by smokie on Apr 4, 2017 14:26:06 GMT
As I said earlier, I understand WHY they went on these shows but I just do not understand why they then proceeded to make clowns of themselves.
A case in point is the Les Dawson appearance (I'm not putting that up here, the above one is bad enough) complete with a pneumatic drill which he then went on to use whilst they performed Not At All.
I suppose it could be to detract from the material that they were promoting..
Hilarious?
Meandering again. It didn't feel like it at the time but from Piledriver to 1+9+8+2 in ten years and then Back to Back a year after that?
Ten Years. |
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Post by quodlibet aka granny on Apr 4, 2017 15:13:01 GMT
The unavoidable fact is that the light entertainment shows they went on got huge audiences. Why? Because in those days there were only 3, latterly 4 TV stations and whole family groups watched in prime time. Thus blanket exposure. It may not sit well with Quo fans, but those shows were probably the most efficient vehicle to expose new material. And by the time they did the Des O' Connor show to promote Fun, Fun, Fun, Radio 1 had dropped them and Radio 2 was still in transition from MOR to AOR. Do our German friends hold light entertainment shows (Wetten Das etc) in the same low regard as UK Quo fans hold eg Cannon and Ball? Can't actually remember when the Quo management change Johnson/Walker took place, but I'm pretty sure that both of them oversaw such bookings. Status Quo didn't demean themselves half as much as Cannon and Ball did in a live show I was unfortunate to have seen a few years ago. I went with a group not knowing who or what I was about to be subjected to. The duo kept emphasising that they had become 'born again Christians' and you can imagine how much comedy they could extract from that - none! I think they they were trying to emulate C**** R******s and get the evangelicals to increase the number of bums on seats. At least Quo never went down that route. :haha: |
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Post by gogs on Apr 4, 2017 19:23:11 GMT
quodlibet aka granny . That must have been an evening of absolute torture. Although I'm fairly sure that their faith is genuine, it certainly wouldn't make for comedy or even entertainment. Yuck.
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Post by gogs on Apr 4, 2017 21:15:52 GMT
The unavoidable fact is that the light entertainment shows they went on got huge audiences. Why? Because in those days there were only 3, latterly 4 TV stations and whole family groups watched in prime time. Thus blanket exposure. It may not sit well with Quo fans, but those shows were probably the most efficient vehicle to expose new material. And by the time they did the Des O' Connor show to promote Fun, Fun, Fun, Radio 1 had dropped them and Radio 2 was still in transition from MOR to AOR. Do our German friends hold light entertainment shows (Wetten Das etc) in the same low regard as UK Quo fans hold eg Cannon and Ball? Can't actually remember when the Quo management change Johnson/Walker took place, but I'm pretty sure that both of them oversaw such bookings. Or am I just getting grumpy? No, realistic. I think we all feel the same or very similar.  |
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Post by The Lord Flasheart on Apr 4, 2017 21:55:11 GMT
The weird thing is without that guest apperance on the C&B show I doubt I would be a Quo fan now. It was seeing this that kick started my love of the band, as I found it funny. OK I was 7 years old but it made an impression on me as I had heard The Wanderer, Caroline and Mystery Song and really liked them as songs. After seeing this I wanted to explore them more so my mum and dad bought me EOTR and that was it. Granted though I was dissapointed heating MT after the inital muck about part.
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Post by smokie on Apr 5, 2017 5:22:20 GMT
The Lord Flasheart, I was seriously doubting if anything good or positive could become of that appearance and you prove that something did. If that was your gateway into the band and you're still a fan all these years later, then that is definitely a positive.
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Post by snakelady on Apr 5, 2017 6:43:48 GMT
The unavoidable fact is that the light entertainment shows they went on got huge audiences. Why? Because in those days there were only 3, latterly 4 TV stations and whole family groups watched in prime time. Thus blanket exposure. It may not sit well with Quo fans, but those shows were probably the most efficient vehicle to expose new material. And by the time they did the Des O' Connor show to promote Fun, Fun, Fun, Radio 1 had dropped them and Radio 2 was still in transition from MOR to AOR. Do our German friends hold light entertainment shows (Wetten Das etc) in the same low regard as UK Quo fans hold eg Cannon and Ball? Can't actually remember when the Quo management change Johnson/Walker took place, but I'm pretty sure that both of them oversaw such bookings. That had me going back in my mind wondering if we even had that kind of show ? Comedy - yes, silly and very popular comedy - yes, but with non-comedian guests ? I don't think so, not Quo in any case. Anybody remember Klimbim or Nonstop Nonsense ..  ? What was very popular back then were sketches (of varying quality) in all kinds of shows. I used to love Peter Frankenfeld as presenter in Musik ist Trumpf - I won't ever forget his Überzieher performance  among many others: Wetten Dass ? was the biggest entertainment show for decades, even after all the private broadcasters had arrived, but it was about bets (see name) from stars and whether the guys performing some incredible feat were able to really do it or not with some added high profile musical entertainment between bets. Quo appearing there and repeatedly was down to Gottschalk being a huge Quo fan and it definitely helped to keep Quo in the public eye. I've told it before, but I remember when they were the second musical act after Madonna, who had performed earlier and Thomas introduced them with 'now Madonna might be a nice girl, but these are my musical heroes'. That put her in her place .. So no, can't remember any pouring of sticky or 'funny' stuff over their heads or suchlike 'jokes' on any show. Concerning management - Colin Johnson was long gone when David Walker appeared on the scene. Colin and Bob out and Ian Jones, Alan Crux and whoever else taking over was the main reason the band nearly went bankrupt at the time, despite selling millions of records and tickets. There was a lawsuit and a settlement that included the band were not to talk about what had really been going on, so I doubt we'll ever know. The only obvious consequence fans noticed were the lyrics in LOAI changed from 'Cruxie's gonna be there soon' to 'Someone's gonna be there soon'. Had they not been so coked out of their heads, they might have noticed sooner though and David Walker appearing on the scene would never have been necessary - maybe .. ? |
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Post by smokie on Apr 5, 2017 7:52:51 GMT
The last time I saw Colin Johnston involved was in the "Rollin' Home" video. He was in the jeep type thing in a shot when they were driving through the desert, I think.
I think during the 80s/90s/00s, Rick sung a variation of "Cruxie/Patti/Frannie/someone gonna be there soon" depending on the state of relationships at the time.
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Post by smokie on Apr 5, 2017 8:04:45 GMT
The unavoidable fact is that the light entertainment shows they went on got huge audiences. Why? Because in those days there were only 3, latterly 4 TV stations and whole family groups watched in prime time. Thus blanket exposure. It may not sit well with Quo fans, but those shows were probably the most efficient vehicle to expose new material. And by the time they did the Des O' Connor show to promote Fun, Fun, Fun, Radio 1 had dropped them and Radio 2 was still in transition from MOR to AOR. Do our German friends hold light entertainment shows (Wetten Das etc) in the same low regard as UK Quo fans hold eg Cannon and Ball? Can't actually remember when the Quo management change Johnson/Walker took place, but I'm pretty sure that both of them oversaw such bookings. Status Quo didn't demean themselves half as much as Cannon and Ball did in a live show I was unfortunate to have seen a few years ago. I went with a group not knowing who or what I was about to be subjected to. The duo kept emphasising that they had become 'born again Christians' and you can imagine how much comedy they could extract from that - none! I think they they were trying to emulate C**** R******s and get the evangelicals to increase the number of bums on seats. At least Quo never went down that route. :haha: That must have been grim!
I have nothing against anyone who is religious and if it works for them, then great.
What I don't like, is when those that are, call unsolicited and try to "convert" you to their cause.
I remember staggering down the stair one Saturday morning after a Friday night out, opened the door to be met with a smartly dressed elderly gentleman who asked, "have you thought of God recently?"
"Not for a while" was all I could muster. Think he was a JW but can't really remember but I did buy the leaflet thing that he had but just to get rid of him really.
I've gone of tangent. Again.
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Post by The Lord Flasheart on Apr 5, 2017 8:29:47 GMT
Status Quo didn't demean themselves half as much as Cannon and Ball did in a live show I was unfortunate to have seen a few years ago. I went with a group not knowing who or what I was about to be subjected to. The duo kept emphasising that they had become 'born again Christians' and you can imagine how much comedy they could extract from that - none! I think they they were trying to emulate C**** R******s and get the evangelicals to increase the number of bums on seats. At least Quo never went down that route. :haha: That must have been grim!
I have nothing against anyone who is religious and if it works for them, then great.
What I don't like, is when those that are, call unsolicited and try to "convert" you to their cause.
I remember staggering down the stair one Saturday morning after a Friday night out, opened the door to be met with a smartly dressed elderly gentleman who asked, "have you thought of God recently?"
"Not for a while" was all I could muster. Think he was a JW but can't really remember but I did buy the leaflet thing that he had but just to get rid of him really.
I've gone of tangent. Again.
This is how you deal with them. |
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mortified
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Post by mortified on Apr 5, 2017 12:45:38 GMT
The weird thing is without that guest apperance on the C&B show I doubt I would be a Quo fan now. It was seeing this that kick started my love of the band, as I found it funny. OK I was 7 years old but it made an impression on me as I had heard The Wanderer, Caroline and Mystery Song and really liked them as songs. After seeing this I wanted to explore them more so my mum and dad bought me EOTR and that was it. Granted though I was dissapointed heating MT after the inital muck about part. The upside and 'justification' for it. Nice one. However, as you were only 7 years old it sort of emphasises what some of us went through. From a cool, iconic rock band to a dodgy light entertainment act in the space of a year. Francis maybe never bothered about 'image' or street cred (was he ever in the right business?) but this 20-odd year old did!  I think it just took me longer to grow up. I admit it |
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? What was very popular back then were sketches (of varying quality) in all kinds of shows. I used to love Peter Frankenfeld as presenter in Musik ist Trumpf - I won't ever forget his Überzieher performance 
sorry I mean 64 
