BARROWMAN - IN HIS OWN WORDS!
Well, folks, Christmas is almost upon us.
It's a time to show peace and goodwill to all men. Women, too!
And no matter what anyone may have written about me on this site, I send you all my very best wishes for a Happy Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
I kid you not, but such benevolence is wholly within my character.
Contrary to some of the comments about me, I never bear grudges and I don't feel bitter.
Even when my Editor (rightly) tells me to remove a couple of lines posted yesterday.
In JB's words on Loose Women, 'we move on'.
My sole intention was to illustrate how the once mightiest of stars who take a wrong turn can be hit by their own fast-rolling snowball on the other side of the hill.
Some readers were quick to read far more into my words in the very same way I have been criticised for reading too much into a panto.
As for me having a 'dislike of pantomime', I wouldn't go year after year if I didn't want to enjoy it. As I do. Enormously.
As I did with Robin Hood. Four stars, remember!
Paul Zerdin... the star of the future.
Don Maclean... his best performance yet at 64. And on what look more like the (hairy) legs of a 34-year-old... How does he do that?
Since its launch, the purpose of this blog has been to try to inform, educate and entertain.
And to try to help us all to understand more of the world in which we live.
Whether I succeed or not is up to you, the reader.
What has fascinated me about the whole Barrowman saga this week is that it has been interpreted as 'a relentless attack on his sexuality... demeaning to you and to the newspaper you write for'.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
JB is the one who brings sex into the mix at every opportunity.
My job is to ask: 'Why?'
And then: 'Does it affect the show?'
What would have happened, for example, if a rather different type of Scot - let's say Gordon Brown - had unzipped in a BBC studio before an interview on Radio 4's Today programme and then declared in that unique, jaw-dropping way of his: "It's just for a laugh, John (Humphrys), so nobody will mind.
"Especially as you had the webcam off."
GB might need to lighten his image, in the eyes of some, but there are ways and means.
And he's generally respected for knowing where to draw the line (even if some might argue he's thrown the economy over a cliff).
If Robin Hood has beaten the Hipp's 'record for ticket sales' that must be, in part, due to inflation, not the actual number of punters given that a certain Ken Dodd didn't pack his bags at the start of February like the stars of today always do.
Lots of great work by my colleagues on the Mail and our sister titles must help with sales, too, because we are the first to realise how wonderful it is to have theatres like the Hipp and we fill pages promoting their work accordingly.
The USA has 'no positive gay influence in the entertainment industry', says Rick.
I can see how JB can be a good role model for people who need to feel more positive about themselves. He has enough self-confidence to send an army into battle.
But does his super-human level of self-belief then make some others feel more inadequate than they might otherwise, I wonder?
Like the colour of one's skin, I don't think anyone's personal sexuality is relevant to anything in showbusiness as long as you can act, sing, dance or whatever and play the character.
But I do wish the BBFC would tighten up on its film certification policy so that children are less likely to be sexualised before they are ready - watch Yes Man (12A) as an example of a film you wouldn't want your eight-year-old to see.
Barack Obama won his election because he did NOT bang on about his colour every five minutes, so the electorate was then able to judge him at face value.
Prior to his radio station antics so near to a panto show, which then made me question his decision-making, this was exactly how I've always treated John Barrowman.
Almost a year ago, I willingly gave up a Saturday to listen to JB talking to a group of children at the Hippodrome.
I then went home and wrote about it in my own time.
I was interested to see how children would respond to JB.
And I was even more keen to learn a few of the secrets of showbusiness success so that I could share them with our readers who then might want to follow in his footsteps.
JB was great value that day.
And my willingness to go the extra mile to cover this story earned him a two-page spread in the Mail which could only have enhanced his reputation.
Click on the link below and you can read it.
But first, one final thought.
If anyone takes any more offence at any of the above then I'll just have to take it on the chin.
From now on, when it comes to JB, I think I'll keep it zipped.
Happy Christmas.
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PS. Seen the review from today's Metro?
It says: 'Barrowman's showmanship just about keeps the proceedings afloat'.
Three stars.
How Scrooge-like! And doesn't it make my four stars seem positively overflowing with praise?
BIRMINGHAM MAIL, JANUARY 22, 2008.
THE SCENE: outside the doors to the stalls, JB takes questions from about 50 children...
JOHN Barrowman told his audience that his first theatrical wage packet more than 20 years ago was just £75 a week.
"I was 18 and felt on top of the world - but the real secret of success is hard work, discipline and keeping your fitness" he said.
Now rich and famous and having to turn down more than 20 requests per day to do talks just like this one, he added: "I'd been singing the hits of the day in my parents' record shop since I was about 14 and would do talent shows, community shows and theatre stuff.
"Even today, I'm always nervous on stage and there is never a time when I'm not because that's what makes it exciting and a challenge.
"What you can't do is to let the nerves get a hold of you and to let people see that you are nervous.
"You have to channel it and that's what these workshops here will do for you."
Barrowman added: "I've made a very good life out of this business, but whether you want to be a teacher, doctor, lawyer or street sweeper, whatever job you want to do, just to try to be the best because that's a great feeling."
His credits range from the musical Miss Saigon to TV drama Torchwood, and being a panellist on How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?
But he admitted that his rise to fame had taken him by surprise.
"I never thought I would be famous - just working," said Barrowman, whose family moved from Glasgow to Illinois when he was eight.
"If you working when you are an actor, then you are successful.
"But, all of a sudden, I've become famous worldwide... and I love it. Every night at the Hippodrome I try to sign every autograph because it's for the people who put me there.
"If the worst thing is that someone asks me for an autograph or to take a picture I don't mind. as long as they ask."
Barrowman said his technique for learning lines was to read them before going to bed.
"Telephone numbers always used to have seven numbers because the brain is programmed to learn things in groups of seven," he explained.
"So I always read each line seven times and it sinks in!"
Wearing a check shirt and fashionably-ripped jeans, John said his most difficult role had been to play a drug user in a Donmar Warehouse play called The Fix.
"There were people throwing up in the audience because it was so convincing," he revealed.
"You should always try to play somebody very different to yourself, otherwise it's not much of a challenge. I've got no regrets about anything I've tried because you learn from your mistakes."
And his favourite bit of Aladdin? "When I say Dud-loy with a bad accent."
Laughter all round. Again. Shortly before allowing everyone to take their own picture of him ready for the Mail to capture everyone with John, he said: "Follow your dream - and you can have so much fun."
And with that, he was off to do two more shows of Aladdin.
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PANTO star John Barrowman revealed the secrets of his success to an audience of wide-eyed youngsters hoping to follow in his footsteps.The 40-year-old Scot took a break from his starring role in Aladdin at the Birmingham Hippodrome to take questions from youngsters.
Wolverhampton Girls' High School pupil Charlotte Hill couldn't believe she had got so close to him and had been able to take her own photographs.
The 13-year-old from Bloxwich said: "I saw John in the panto and in Doctor Who, and just really like him.
"He always seems to be so fresh and happy and gave a very inspirational talk.
"This is what I want to do. I hope, when I'm older, I can give talks just like that about my experiences.
"I want to go to performing arts school and he gave us all the right advice."
School friend Millie Wiltshire, 13, from Codsall, wants to be an actress or singer.
"I was a bit shocked that John was there, right in front of us, and I was shaking all the way through," said Millie.
"He talked about how nervous he gets performing and even doing talks like that, but his secret is that he doesn't let you see it."
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Graham Young
Expressing disquiet about the "gay content" of the show is one thing- launching a thinly veiled homophobic attack on its star and then puling out the oldest cliche in the book ("some of my best friends are gay!") in an attempt to placate angry readers is quite another.
You're not the only journalist to express concern about the "gay jokes" and supposed "in your face" nature of some of the scenes which could potentially challenge the comfort zone of some parents taking very young children to see the show. But at least those other journalists discussed the matter in a considered fashion taking into account the history of pantomime in all its cross dressing innuendo heavy lunacy rather than just ranting about their dislike f Barrowman.
I'm a tad bewildered at this focus on the "gay content" which consists of a few tame jokes about Robin needing some more merry men and the one sequence where Robin teaches Will how to treat a girl. This sequence did not result in howls of outrage or mass walk outs in the shows I saw so presumably the adults in the audience weren't quite as delicate in their sensibilities as you appear to be. And I suspect it all went flying over the heads of the hordes of small children present because they're hardly going to be focusing on Robin's cute little asides about his men when there is a ginormous robot farting on stage or a cute puppet insulting random members of teh audience.
If you want to rant invest in a diary for Christmas - this is not the best forum to be discussing your personal likes and dislikes and it smacks of poor journalism.
i think john barrowman is brillant go john there is always one that has to shout there mouth off they want to shut up if they dont like it turn it of or dont go to his shows
"From now on, when it comes to JB, I think I'll keep it zipped."
That's probably the most sensible thing you've written on your blog!
I think people were justifiably annoyed with you for the fact that you were apparently blaming Mr Barrowman for the "gay gags" in the pantomime. Why? He didn't write it.
Add to that your mention of the RADIO "exposure" and thinking he should have been fired because of it...how can "aural" exposure be remotely offensive except in the mind of a repressed prude. It would have been a non-event if the Daily Mail hadn't tried to use it for their anti-BBC campaign.
I am a journalist and was lucky enough to attend the press call for Robin Hood. I found john to be extremely rude, arrogant and constantly refering to his sexuality with smutty jokes and inuendo's. Prior to this I had been excited to meet a man who had been my hero for several years (I even had his face on my pillow!) Now I am saddened at what I learnt about him that day. I am still mouring the loss of the JB I thought existed. He is in desperate need of a SERIOUS reality check.
Blimey, I think the way John is being treated by the media around here I doubt we will ever get him back in Birmingham.
That woudl be a shame as I think he is a fabulous entertainer.