Bobby Thompson: The Little Waster who was a massive hit in the clubs

Bobby Thompson’s stage act thrived on the two Ds – dole and debt.

Dole and debt were Bobby’s favourite topics

He was a stage genius and his albums sold umpteen copies, often becoming a must-have Christmas gift.

Bobby was known as The Little Waster and he was loved by people in the region.

Wor Bobby existed in days before trendy comedy clubs yet he still was famous enough to make it into a Channel 4 documentary 42 years ago this month.

He earned his crust in the smoke-filled workingmen’s clubs of the North East.

On stage from when he was 11

He began entertaining audiences when he was 11, but it wasn’t until the early 1950s that he achieved wide acclaim on the popular BBC radio variety show Wor Cheor Geordie.

He was the starring act at the Odeon in South Shields in late 1956 in a show called The Merry Magpies Revue.

Advance booking was advised to ‘avoid disappointment’ and tickets were 4/6 or 3/6 for the circle, or 4/6, 3/6/ and 2/6 for the stalls.

Cult status with his flat cap and cigarette

Later in life, he enjoyed cult status for his creation of the flat-capped, cigarette-smoking ‘Little Waster’.

Bobby’s great skill, people said, was to make people laugh with his clean humour – all of it in that broad North East accent.

He would have audiences in stitches with jokes such as;

‘I wish ah was a bit taller!’

“The Queen came up tiv us with a plate of cakes. “Bobby, would you like a scone or a meringue?”. Ah says, “Nah ya quite right, ah’ll have a scone.

“Ah cannit sleep for debt. Ah’m up to there. I wish ah was a bit taller!”

Tell us if you saw Bobby performing in South Tyneside.

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