Interview with Jacky Fellows
- Reference Number: DW-252/2/8
- Date: 3 Sep 2019
- Level: Item
- Extent: 1 file (496571 KB)
- Format: WAV Audio file
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Description: Interview Summary.
Interviewer: Elin Lloyd
Interviewee: Jacky Fellows
Born: 1962
Date: 3/09/19
Questions.
What was your upbringing like? (00:00:10)
Born in Newcross hospital. Lived in Bilston, Dudley Street,Shop called Dudleys. 2 up 2 down. moved when the slums were being knocked down. Moved to Moxley, brand new house with an immersion heater. In 1966. Good community. Parents split up. Moved to Cambridge with Mom ages 12-14. Missed the black country and moved back in with dad.
Can you tell me a bit about Fizzog? (00:01:48)
Left school in 1979. Went straight to work in factory, did this for 10 years. In a depression, could not afford to go to college. Walked the streets looking for jobs.
Met husband, got married, found freedom because husband was earning a decent wage. Inspire (to go back to education) by educating Rita. Spoke to her sister who encouraged her to do it. HND in community theatre. Where she met sue and deb, notice how brilliant they are. Nervous to start college, never liked school but excelled in college because it was something I wanted to do.
Teacher Dave Morris wrote play Bilston Kate. He said that you don?t have to go to London to be successful if you are doing good quality work. Started doing theatre in education, work in 500 school. Also prisons community centres and the black country museums. Then the bottom dropped out of the community theatre industry.
Wanted to run the marathon but had to buy spot, over £1000. Fizzog put all their material together for a show to raise money. Charged a fiver and people said would have paid a tenner. Beginning of the touring career.
What influence your comedy performances? (00:06:22)
Observational humour, Deb parent cringe atv shows because humour is often about them. Use their children, what kids come out with. Black country has loads of idiosyncrasies. Use dialect a lot.
8 years at the black country museum. Used complicated characters, swapping husbands. Fell into canal once. Cooking in the back to backs. Improvised with the crowds.
What stands out about Black Country history? (00:10:20)
Industry of the area, self-deprecating. Tend to live in the past. Proud of the industry. Can?t imagine how hard it was to raise a family in the Victorian era. [Fizzog] has tackled the nail makers and chain makers strikes. Thank god for Mary McArthur. The first women's union. People should be proud of where we are now. Multi-cultural society.
What?s it like to work in male dominated industry? (00:12:17)
People are definitely intimidated by us. Sue and Deb have been brilliant. While I brought up 3 kids. Tripod of 3 very strong women. Not notice comedy is male dominated, even though
there?s no doubt it is. Money held us back, funding was lost[ due to industry not gender]. People think we?re rolling in it.
Focus now on more academic subjects. Arts are important. Especially in mental health. Degree in fine art. Black country urban sketchers, completely takes my mind off everything else. Same when writing a show.
Describe the work in schools? How is it different from adults? (00:15:39)
Audience is an audience. Got to be close to the knuckle to get people's attention. Anti- bullying, based on Cinderella. Replay scenes at the end. Ask audience to interject, tell Cinderella what to do. Solving the problems themselves. Bullies would not comply. Kids come up and play the role of Cinderella, bullies would then react. Done with adults as well. Refugees at one show. No English but still enjoyed the show because of how visual it was.
What comedians have inspired you? (00:19:00)
For the older generation, Tommy Munden. I was the TV era, Laurel and Hardy , Morcombe and Wise. used to love benny Hill. now I like Michael McIntyre, simple observation humour.
Has anything changed about comedy that you?ve noticed? Do you miss more controversial topics? (00:20:09)
As long as it?s not at the expense of someone else. Loves Micky Flanagan but sometimes he uses he wife too much. He rips into himself also. Moved on from offensive humour. Simple humour. Fizzog pantomime made them so bad that hopefully funny.
Going back to what you siad about your upbringing. Why did you move back to balck country rom Cambridge as a child? (00:22:39)
Cambridge was a beautiful place, didn?t belong, had a strong accent. Felt like an outsider. Missed fiend and black country people.
Used to drive for securicore [ Delivery Driver]. No one in Birmingham had time to talk. Depo in Bilston, there was always time for a cup of tea [ in Black Country dialect]. I can talk to anyone, say hello to people in the street that you don?t know. Don?t have to know someone to say hello.
Only other place that people are friendly was Dublin. I looked lost and a woman said to me ?lost are ya? Tell me where you want me go and I?ll show you.? it was enduring and lovely.
Do Black Country respond differently to you humour/identify more with it? (00:24:44)
They absolutely own us. Help fund Fizzog to go to New York and dance in Times Square.
People say that [Fizzog] are good but the accent doesn?t travel. However at the Black Country Museum international visitors would engage. America, Germany. Normal voice not phone voice. The only people that did not understand were the Brummies. Thinks the accent had been represented negatively and not enough. Type of characters. Liverpool and Newcastle are equally as strong but you get used to hearing them.
Things are changing. Fizzog have travelled all over the world. Dancing grannies have got 350,00000 Facebook views. Not all doom and gloom, people just want a laugh.
What did you do in New York? (00:27:47)
Danced in Times square. Took a chance, got on good morning America. Danced in the park also. Dancing grannies were also commission to do the Bahrain grand prix. 40 degrees.
However artist George Shaw, relatable paintings. He said ?if you?re not happy in you?re own backyard then you?re not going to be happy in the Serengeti.?
You have to feel content with where you are before you try and obtain something else. Why it is important for people in the Black Country to live in the present.
What made you want to go to America? (00:29:44)
Always wanted to go to the states and travel. Worried about getting through security with fat suits. How the people were going to react. They were great. Did not get to do the touristy stuff. Travel broadens the mind, helped with the issue based stuff. Job has helped [broaden the mind]. Not as bigoted as I was when I was younger. Goen from working in prisons, women's groups, mental health groups.
When you were at college studying Community Theatre what made you go into comedy? (00:31:29)
Community theatre was based on theatre in Education. Did serious stuff too. Shakespeare to year 6, year of 200. Had to condense it, Macbeth 20 minutes. Picked kids who out their hands up. Lad out his hand up was given prompt cards. Health and safety, cardboard Swords. Teacher says after, ?we would have never have picked the lad that put his hand up. Can?t read, autistic spectrum. We went in without a preconceived idea, not judging people.
Comedy is what I?m good at, hard but most effective. People have said to me ?first time I?ve laughed in age?. E.g son who lost his job, had suffered with depression. Do something you enjoy, you?ll be working for so long.comedy is good for mental health, laughter is a best medicine.
How does comedy help with stress? (00:37:00)
Release endorphins when you laugh. Stress and mental health are a massive topics.
Online community not a physical one. No longer looked after by the group that you are in.just going to the pub, people don?t do that anymore. Social media is fake. People trying to look better than they are.
Football is the last thing that brings everyone together.
Why is community is important? (00:39:35)
Mary Macarthur said ? a bundle of sticks are hard to break but one stick is easy to break. Also true in terms of mental health. Pack mentality, protection. In the 1960s knew you?re name of your neighbour. People don?t play out with ids from the estate. People are more sectional.
How did you know your comedy was catching on? (00:41:17)
Teachers laughing at innuendos, stopped their marking. If you can entertain 100 14 year olds the you are on to a winner. Observational humour. Use the [black country] dialect. What people know. E.g Tipton, brunt of everyone's jokes. It?s like a family, you can slag off your own family but no one else can. People can see we are one of them. First time you do a joke you look for that laugh.
Any thing else you would like to add? (00:43:11)
Be proud of our heritage. Proud of where you come from. Make sure you follow your dream, take life by both hands. Have faith in yourself. Black country people are a breed apart. - Access Status: Open
- Contact: Wolverhampton Archives, Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies