FRANKIE HOWERD CLASSIC 78 " THREE LITTLE FISHES " UK HARMONY A1001 EX+

	£		17
	$		23

 AN EXCELLENT COPY OF THIS MEGA RARE UK HARMONY LABEL 78 FROM THE INIMITABLE MR FRANKIE HOWERD

THREE LITTLE FISHES   b/w  I'M NOBODY'S BABY

Frankie Howerd - Three Little Fishes

Frankie Howerd was born the son of a soldier, Francis A. W. Howard in York, England, in 1917 (not 1922 as he later claimed). He was educated at Shooters Hill Grammar School in Woolwich, London. His first appearance on stage was at age 13 but his early hopes of becoming a serious actor were dashed when he failed an audition for RADA. He got into entertaining during World War II service in the army. Despite suffering from stage fright he continued to work after the war, beginning his professional career in the summer of 1946 in a touring show called For the Fun of It.

He soon started working in radio, making his debut at the start of December 1946 on the BBC Variety Bandbox programme with a number of other ex-servicemen. His fame built steadily throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s (aided by material written by Eric Sykes, Galton and Simpson and Johnny Speight). In 1954, he made his screen début opposite Petula Clark in The Runaway Bus, which had been written for his specific comic talents, but he never became a major film presence. The film was so low budget that because they could not afford scenery, background and such, they used a fog generator so that little was visible other than what was being filmed. The film was an immediate hit.

When he began experimenting with different formats and contexts, including stage farces, Shakespearean comedy roles, and television sitcoms, he began to fall out of fashion. After suffering a nervous breakdown at the start of the 1960s, he began to recover his old popularity, initially with a season at Peter Cook's satirical Establishment Club in Soho in London. He was boosted further by success on That Was The Week That Was (TW3) in 1963 and on stage with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963–1965), which led into regular television work. In 1966 and 1967, he did a 90 minute xmas show called The Frankie and Bruce Christmas Show with Bruce Forsyth, featuring many top acts of the day. He was awarded an OBE in 1977.

THIS IS ONE OF FRAKIE HOWERDS RARE EARLY ATTEMPTS AT SINGING!

'Three Little Fishies' was a song he decided to adopt after realising the comic potential in this otherwise rather tedious children's tune that began:

Down in the meadow in the little bitty pool
Swam three little fishies and a mama fishie too
'Swim' said the mama fishie, 'Swim if you can'
And they swam and they swam all over the dam

The crescendo to the Frankie Howerd interpretation would be a spluttering, rasping explosion of various sounds, described by him as a 'refined raspberry', and usually a mournful look to the audience, followed by the comment, 'I'd like to win the Pools - I'd pack this bloody lark up!'

The song was recorded several times by Frankie during his career and was always present at his live shows, where audiences in the front row were directed to avoid the spray by wearing their coats!

Disc Details

UK HARMONY A 1001 10" 78rpm SHELLAC  1949

CONDITION: - EX/E-  (LIGHT SCUFFS BUT PLAYS GREAT)

Mega-rare

DON'T MISS OUT - BUY NOW!!

 10" 78 RPM RECORDS NEED CAREFULLY PACKING, AND I CLAIM TO HAVE THE BEST PACKAGING IN THE WORLD FOR DISPATCHING THEM!!

THE GREG'S GREAT'S SYSTEM CONSISTS OF A SPECIALLY DESIGNED INNER BOX MADE OUT OF 1" THICK POLYSTYRENE, WHICH THEN GOES INSIDE A DOUBLE CORREGATED STIFF OUTER CARDBOARD CARTON. THE BOXES CAN TAKE UP TO 21 RECORDS,

USUALLY FOR MAILING OVERSEAS, I RECOMMEND NO MORE THAN 7 IN A BOX, OTHERWISE IT GOES OVER THE AIRMAIL SMALL PACKET MAXIMUM WEIGHT OF 2Kgs WHICH CAUSES A LARGE HIKE IN POSTAL RATES.

I SEND OUT ON AVERAGE ABOUT 30 PARCELS A WEEK AND DISPATCH IS NORMALLY DONE ONCE A WEEK - SO IF YOU REALLY HAVE AN URGENT REQUIREMENT FOR THE RECORD - BIRTHDAY PRESENT, WEDDING, FUNERAL etc PLEASE TELL ME I WILL DO MY BEST TO GET IT OUT FOR YOU QUICKLY.

IF A RECORD ARRIVES CRACKED OR BROKEN DESPITE MY BEST EFFORTS WITH THIS FANTASTIC PACKAGING I WILL REFUND THE MONEY IN FULL. - JUST SEND ME A QUICK SCAN - IF IT IS A VERY RARE RECORD I MAY ASK YOU TO SEND IT BACK OTHERWISE IT WILL BE YOURS TO KEEP OR DISPOSE OF.