I used to watch the FRANCIE & JOSIE TV show back in the 1960s. They were massive superstars in Scotland at the time, and even when they amicably went their separate ways, the duo were held in high esteem and fond affection by the Scots public for years afterwards. In the '80s & '90s, they got back together for a couple of 'farewell' performances, the final one being from which this extract comes. It's in the tradition of music hall acts of a bygone age, but no less funny for that - so enjoy!
11 comments:
Kid, thanks for showing these 'cause I'd never have known about them otherwise. A bit of googling shows that although I don't know them as a double act I do know Rikki Fulton - in fact I've seen him in quite a few things.
There's a post on the blog somewhere, Col, which recounts my meeting Rikki Fulton 32 years ago.
I used to love Francie and Josie, hard for those not living in Scotland (or Northern Ireland wher eit was also big) at the time to understand how iconic they were (are) a bit like the "Still Game" crowd of today, especially Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, (who outsold U2 tickets at the same event 10-1) Of course Rikki Fulton went on to create "Scotch and Wry" and become a Scottish legend (and a darn good actor) Now all we need is a wee clip of "Glen Michaels cartoon Cavalcade" an I may not e return from 1967...sigh
I was chatting away to Greg Hemphill a few years ago, McScotty, in (the now vanished) Scotsmann Models in Parnie Street - nice bloke. Before that, I'd once seen Greg and Ford Kiernan sitting outside The Ubiquitous Chip in Ashton Lane, but they didn't appear to speak a word to each other. (This was around the time of their alleged spat.) Good to see that they've resolved their difficulties - if indeed they'd ever actually had any.
I think they did admit to a spat but that seems to be all it was and more over creative differences rather than a big fall out, glad they made up especially after the tragic news of Fords young son
Ah now - "Still Game" I do know as it was shown on BBC2. It's about two pensioners - told you I knew. I tried to persuade my father to watch Rab C. Nesbitt as it was set in Glasgow but he wouldn't watch it, I don't know why. It might have been because he didn't like the stereotypical image of the drunken Scotsman - he very rarely drank alcohol himself. Well, I always liked Rab anyway.
Yup, that was a shame, McScotty - just how does one deal with something like that?
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I didn't care much for Rab C either, Col. Nothing to do with stereotypes, more to do with caricatures rather than real people. And it just wasn't very funny in my view.
McScotty's comment about Still Game outselling U2 was interesting, as one of the big publicity points for Francie & Josie was that their telly appearances were rating better in Scotland than Coronation Street, which in those days was a tremendous achievement in itself. It probably wouldn't be anywhere near as popular outside Scotland, but it shows how a local show with characters specific to a particular place can capture the affections of people, in a way that big international acts can't quite manage.
Sadly, GB, all the shows seem to have been destroyed - either in a fire or via the tapes being wiped for re-use. I remember one scene (which I seem to recall as taking place in a buffet car of a train, but may have been in a cafe) which went something like this: Francie - "Hey, Josie, pass the bu'her." (Butter, but pronounced the lazy Glaswegian way without the ts). Josie - "It's not bu'her - it's butter - b-u-t-t-e-r - BUTTER." Francie - "Sorry, Josie - will you please pass the butter?" Josie - " That's be'her!" (Better, but pronounced, well - you know the rest.
And remember that a lot of the material was originally written to be performed on stage, and a lot of the humour comes from the interaction between performer and audience, so you can imagine that a Glaswegian crowd would lap that stuff up. Stanley Baxter said that he was originally worried that Parliamo Glasgow might not play as well outside the town itself, but he was delighted when it proved popular all over the country. What were they thinking when they wiped all those tapes back then?
That's the trouble, GB - they WEREN'T thinking. Add this bracket ) to the end of that last sentence in my previous comment.
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