The Hippodrome was all red plush inside, very comfortable, very warm. On a Wednesday night regular, me and me pal would go in a box, it was only three shillings. We used to talk to the chorus girls who were only a few feet away on the stage. Our box was that close. We used to make funny remarks and they would have the giggles. It was a lovely theatre. Just after the war, after visiting the Hippodrome we would have a lovely meal for about 1s.9d by where the trolley buses used to turn around. Chips and hamburger, steak and chips or something like that. I saw a lot of the artists at Dudley Hippodrome, but they also came to Wolverhampton on the circuit.

A programme from 1953.

I was on the stage one Tuesday night doing an impersonation of Jimmy Durante. I was sat at a grand piano and had a large false nose with glasses attached and a straw boater. I was waiting for the music to start so I could begin to sing “The lost chord”. The music wouldn’t start for what seemed a long time, I suppose it was about 20 seconds. You couldn’t see the audience beyond about the second row because of the bright lights. Voices of discontent could be heard from the audience. One gentleman said “What’s he going to do with that piano? Gonna play it or ate it?” The music eventually started and I used to do all of the actions, miming it and would pretend to sit on the keys and that’s how I found the lost chord.