Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2011 | Page 121

ENTERTAINMENT

Freddie:

a star reborn
It’s difficult to know exactly what to
expect when Freddie Starr takes to
the stage on the Island next month –
simply because even he doesn’t know
what will be happening!
But if his performance at Shanklin
Theatre is anything like the half-hour
interview he gave me, then it is likely
to be funny, outrageous, completely
over the top and definitely for an adult
audience only.
Freddie started off by telling me he
thought he was coming to the Island
to serve time at Parkhurst, for an
offence I could not possibly mention.
He then went on to say he had close
connections with the Island because
his great great grandfather was a
Viking who used to row here, and
in fact was the first ferry operator.
He then went on to explain how he
enjoyed audience participation, but
best not to say what he threatened if
they did not co-operate.
And so it went on, until finally,

more than halfway into the chat,
Freddie’s mood changed somewhat.
The controversial funny man, who has
had more ups and downs in his career
than the Blackpool Big Dipper, was for
once serious as he explained how he
felt he had let audiences down over the
years, through no fault of his own, but
thankfully that has all changed since a
life-saving operation.
Freddie suffered a heart attack, and
was in intensive care for three months.
He underwent a quadruple heart
by-pass by one of the world’s leading
surgeons in that field, but admits he
still caused chaos and mayhem during
a difficult recovery, brought on by
kidney and lung problems.
He said: “I was very ill, and I had
been ill long before that, but didn’t
realise what it was. During the
previous 10 years I had apparently
had three more heart at