He was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity.
He continued to tour the UK in 2018 with The Ken Dodd Happiness Show before pulling out of his tour due to health issues.
Kenneth Arthur Dodd was born on 8 November 1927 in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, Lancashire, the son of a coal merchant, Arthur Dodd, and wife Sarah (née Gray). He had an older brother, William (1925–2011) and a younger sister. He went to the Knotty Ash School, and sang in the local church choir of St John's Church, Knotty Ash.
He then attended Holt High School, a grammar school in Childwall, but left at age 14 to work for his father. Around this time he became interested in show business after seeing an advert in a comic: "Fool your teachers, amaze your friends—send 6d in stamps and become a ventriloquist!" and sending off for the book. Not long after, his father bought him a ventriloquist's dummy and Ken called it Charlie Brown. He started entertaining at the local orphanage, then at various other local community functions.
He got his big break at age 26 when, in September 1954, he made his professional show-business debut at the now-demolished Nottingham Empire. A nervous young man, he sat in a local milk bar for most of the afternoon, going over and over his lines before going to the theatre. He later said, "Well at least they didn't boo me off". He continued to perform, and in 1955 he appeared at Blackpool, where, in the following year, he had a part in "Let's Have Fun". His performance at the Central Pier was part of a comedy revue with Jimmy James and Company. Also on the same bill were Jimmy Clitheroe and Roy Castle.[7] Dodd first gained top billing at Blackpool in 1958. He has guested on innumerable television and radio shows and made many appearances on BBC TV's long running programme, The Good Old Days.
Dodd had been described as "the last great music hall entertainer". His stand-up comedy style was fast and relied on the rapid delivery of one-liner jokes. He said that his comic influences included other Liverpool comedians like Arthur Askey, Robb Wilton, Tommy Handley and the "cheeky chappy" from Brighton, Max Miller. He interspersed the comedy with occasional songs, both serious and humorous, in an incongruously fine light baritone voice, and with his original speciality, ventriloquism.
Dodd had many recording hits, charting on 19 occasions in the UK Top 40, including his first single "Love Is Like a Violin" (1960), produced on Decca Records by Alex Wharton, which charted at number 8 (UK), and his song "Tears" (Columbia), which topped the UK charts for five weeks in 1965, selling over a million copies. At the time it was the UK's biggest selling single by a solo artist, and remains one of the UK's biggest selling singles of all time. Dodd was selected to perform the song on A Jubilee Of Music on BBC One on 31 December 1976, a celebration of the key pop successes of the Queen's first 25 years as Britain's monarch.
Dodd was renowned for the length of his performances, and during the 1960s he earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for the world's longest ever joke-telling session: 1,500 jokes in three and a half hours (7.14 jokes per minute), undertaken at a Liverpool theatre, where audiences entered the show in shifts.
Dodd appeared on many Royal Variety Performances. The last was in 2006, in front of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, at the London Coliseum. During this performance, he reprised some of his famous jokes, including those about tax accountants as well as singing his famous song - "Happiness".
In October 1987, Dodd officially opened the Arndale shopping centre in Accrington.
He had continued to tour and, despite his age, his shows frequently did not finish until after midnight. In 2012 at the age of 84, he played the Princes Theatre in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex on 7 July. Starting at 7.15 pm he continued until just before 9.00 pm when Sybie Jones took to the stage. Returning at 9.30 pm he continued until 10.00 pm. The second support act performed until Dodd's return just before 11.00 pm when he continued until 00.25 am. As of 2017, Dodd continued to tour the UK extensively, with his comedy, music and variety show.
The shows that Dodd has starred in are: The Ken Dodd Show (1959 - 1966), Doddy's Music Box (1967), Ken Dodd and the Diddymen (1969 - 1973), The Ken Dodd Show (1969), Ken Dodd in Funny You Should Say That (1972), Ken Dodd says Stand By Your Beds, Ken Dodd's World of Laughter (1974), The Ken Dodd New Year's Eve Special (1975), The Ken Dodd Show (1978), The Ken Dodd Laughter Show (1979), Dodd on his Todd (1981), Doddy! (1982), Ken Dodd's Showbiz (1982), Ken Dodd at the London Palladium (1990), An Audience with Ken Dodd (1994), Another Audience with Ken Dodd (2002), Ken Dodd's Happiness (2007), Ken Dodd: In His Own Words (2016).
Honours
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1982 New Year Honours for services to show business and charity and was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity.[14] The award was formally conferred by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 2 March 2017.
Dodd became one of the rare entertainers to be given a second show of An Audience with.... This show was entitled Another Audience with Ken Dodd originally broadcast in 2002.
In December 2004, Dodd was performing his comedy and music show to a sell out audience at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham to celebrate his 50 years in show business. He was presented with a framed playbill of his first professional performance - which was at the Empire Theatre, Nottingham in September 1954.
In a 2005 poll of comedians and comedy insiders to find the 'Comedians' Comedian', Dodd was voted amongst the 'Top 50 Comedy Acts Ever', ranked as number 36. He was made an honorary fellow of Liverpool John Moores University in 1997. A statue depicting Dodd with his trademark "Tickling Stick" was unveiled in Liverpool Lime Street railway station on 11 June 2009.
Dodd was inducted into the exclusive show business fraternity, the Grand Order of Water Rats.
Dodd was made an honorary fellow of the University of Chester on 4 November 2009, having been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters at a graduation ceremony in Chester Cathedral. His doctorate was presented by Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster. He was awarded a Doctorate of Letters at Liverpool Hope University on 25 January 2010 during the university's Foundation Day celebrations.
In 2016 Ken Dodd was awarded the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award, a recognition of his lifetime's contribution to the world of comedy. He received the award at an event hosted by Dr Matthew Sweet.
A stalker, Ruth Tagg, harassed Dodd and his partner, Anne Jones, in October 2001, by sending them threatening letters, a dead rat, and also attempted to burn down their house by pushing burning rags through the letterbox. Tagg pleaded guilty to harassment and arson at Preston Crown Court.
Dodd married his partner of 40 years, Anne Jones, on Friday 9 March 2018 at their home in Knotty Ash, Liverpool two days before his death. prior to his death he was recently released from hospital after 6 weeks of treatment for a chest infection.
In 1989 Dodd was charged with tax evasion. The subsequent trial, with the prosecution case led by Brian Leveson QC, produced several revelations. The Diddy Men, who had appeared in his stage act, were often played by local children from stage schools, and were revealed never to have been paid. Dodd was also revealed to have very little money in his bank account, having £336,000 in cash stashed in suitcases in his attic. When asked by the judge, "What does a hundred thousand pounds in a suitcase feel like?", Dodd made his now famous reply, "The notes are very light, M'Lord."
Dodd was represented by George Carman QC, who in court famously quipped, "Some accountants are comedians, but comedians are never accountants". The trial lasted three weeks: Dodd was acquitted.
Despite the strain of the trial, Dodd immediately capitalised on his new-found notoriety with a successful season running from Easter to Christmas 1990 at the London Palladium. It was there he had previously broken the house record for the longest comedy season at the theatre, in 1965, with a residency lasting 42 weeks. Some of his subsequent material mocked the trial and tax in general. For a while he introduced his act with the words, "Good evening, my name is Kenneth Arthur Dodd; singer, photographic playboy and failed accountant!"
Discography
UK chart singles
Title Release date Chart position
UK Singles Notes
"Love Is Like A Violin" 7 July 1960 8
"Once In Every Lifetime" 15 June 1961 28
"Pianissimo" 1 February 1962 21
"Still" 29 August 1963 35
"Eight By Ten" 6 February 1964 22
"Happiness" 23 July 1964 31
"So Deep Is The Night" 26 November 1964 31
"Tears" 2 September 1965 1 Sold over 1.5 million copies;
33rd best-selling single of all time in the UK
"The River (Le Colline Sono In Fiore)" 18 November 1965 3 (Angiolini, Shuman) with Geoff Love and his Orchestra
"Promises" 12 May 1966 6
"More Than Love" 4 August 1966 14
"It's Love" 27 October 1966 36
"Let Me Cry On Your Shoulder" 19 January 1967 11
"Tears Won't Wash Away These Heartaches" 30 July 1969 22
"Brokenhearted" 5 December 1970 15
"When Love Comes Round Again (L'arca di Noe)" 10 July 1971 19
"Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Empty Arms)" 18 November 1972 29
"Think Of Me (Wherever You Are)" 29 November 1975 21
"Hold My Hand" 26 December 1981 44
Other singles
"Where's Me Shirt?" (1965)
"The Same Mistakes"/"Call Me Mister Sunshine" (1967)
"You're My Best Friend" (1980)
"Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" (1980)
"It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)" (1980)
Think Of Me
Ken Dodd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
it's a lonely old town
you're thousand miles away
here i sit all alone
picturing your smile
til the day you come home
darling once in a while
think of me, wherever you are
and my love will shine
like the bright evening star
that is shining on you
wherever you are
now the moon's in the sky
and i'm missing you so
time slowly goes by
as the days come and go
til your home once again
this is all i can say
darling just now and then
at the end of each day
think of me, wherever you are
wherever you are, i'm longing to be
every night i know
now matter how far
that wherever you are
your thinking of me
so goodnight, and god bless
wherever you may be
the moon that you see is shining on me
we may be worlds apart
but the love we knew then
will be safe in my heart, til you need it again
think of me, wherever you are
wherever you are, i'm thinking of you
and my love will shine
like the bright evening star
that is shining on you
wherever you are
think of me
think of me
end
Ken Dodd's "Think of Me" is a song about long-distance love, where the singer longs for his partner who is thousands of miles away. The song begins with a description of a lonely town and the sun setting at the end of the day. It sets a melancholic tone for the song. The singer then sings about how he sits alone, picturing his partner's smile until the day she comes back home. He asks her to think of him wherever she is, and he promises his love will shine bright like the evening star.
The lyrics showcase the pain of being away from someone you love. The singer misses his partner terribly, but the love they share shines through the darkness. The verse about the moon in the sky and time slowly going by is particularly poignant. Even though they are worlds apart, the love they felt will always be safe in his heart until they meet again. The song ends with the singer pleading his partner to think of him wherever she is.
Overall, "Think of Me" is a beautiful love song that captures the essence of long-distance love. The lyrics may be simple, but the emotions they convey are deep and heartfelt.
Line by Line Meaning
now the sun's going down at the end of the day
As the sun sets at the end of the day, I am reminded of how lonely this town feels without you here.
it's a lonely old town
This town is filled with people, but without you it feels empty and lonely.
you're thousand miles away
You are so far away from me, and it feels like you might as well be on the other side of the world.
here i sit all alone
I spend my days here by myself, missing you and wishing you were here with me.
picturing your smile
In my mind's eye, I can see your beautiful smile, and it brings me comfort.
til the day you come home
I will continue waiting for you to return, eagerly anticipating the moment I get to be with you again.
darling once in a while
Even though we're apart, I hope you think of me every now and then.
think of me, wherever you are
Please remember me, no matter where you are or what you're doing.
wherever you are, i'm thinking of you
I may not be there with you physically, but you are always on my mind and in my heart.
and my love will shine
My love for you will continue to radiate outwards, even across long distances.
like the bright evening star
My love will be a guiding light for you, shining brightly no matter where you go.
that is shining on you
I hope that my love brings you comfort and warmth, like a glowing star in the night sky.
now the moon's in the sky
As the moon rises into the sky, I am reminded of how much I miss you.
and i'm missing you so
My heart is full of longing and sadness, as I yearn for your presence beside me.
time slowly goes by
Each hour and each day feels like an eternity without you here with me.
as the days come and go
The passing of the days feels almost unbearable, as I try to fill the emptiness of your absence.
til your home once again
I eagerly await the day when you will return and fill my life with joy and happiness once more.
this is all i can say
These words are all I have to offer you, but they come from the depths of my heart and soul.
darling just now and then
Even if it's just once in a while, I hope you remember me and the love we share.
at the end of each day
As each day draws to a close, I find myself thinking of you more and more.
wherever you are, i'm longing to be
No matter where you are, I wish I could be there with you, holding your hand and sharing your life.
every night i know
Each night, as I lay in my bed alone, I know that my heart is filled with love for you.
now matter how far
No matter how many miles separate us, my love for you remains strong and true.
that wherever you are
No matter where you go, know that I am always here, loving you from afar.
your thinking of me
Just as I am always thinking of you, I know that you also carry me in your heart and mind.
so goodnight, and god bless
As I bid you goodnight, I pray that God watches over you and keeps you safe.
the moon that you see is shining on me
Even though we are far apart, we share the same moon shining down on us, connecting us in some small way.
we may be worlds apart
We may be physically separated by oceans and continents, but our love transcends all distance and boundaries.
but the love we knew then
Our love is based on the memories and experiences we have shared together, and those will always be a part of us no matter where we go.
will be safe in my heart, til you need it again
I will continue to treasure and protect our love, holding onto it until the day you return and we can be together once more.
think of me
Above all else, I hope that you remember me and the love that we share, no matter where life takes us.
Contributed by Hannah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.