One half of a comedy duo whose humour has stood the test of time

Robin Colvill, one half of the comedy act, is just about to jet off to Australia, where the Grumbleweeds have a big following. He and comedy partner Graham Walker spend much of their time performing overseas, and on long-haul cruises around the world.

“It’s great. We make lots of friends and people come and see us again. They come up and say ‘hello’ like they’re our best friends,” says Robin.

This summer the Grumbleweeds, originally from Calverley and Leeds, are returning to home turf, with the Best Of British Variety Tour. They join a line-up of old-school entertainers – Paul Daniels, the Krankies, singer Dana, Syd Little (minus Eddie Large) and guest host Christopher Biggins.

The show returns to St George’s Hall following a Best Of British sell-out a couple of years ago, with acts including the Krankies, Cannon and Ball and Frank Carson. The reaction from Bradford’s delighted audience showed that variety is far from dead.

“It became unfashionable – but only to the people running TV. They tell viewers what they can watch,” says Robin. “From 1979 to 1988, we had a successful Radio 2 show which won the Sony Award two years running.

“One day a bloke came in wearing corduroys and sandals. I said to Graham, ‘You watch, this will be our last show’. Sure enough, we were dropped, even though we had 11 million listeners on Sunday lunchtimes. “The problem is that people running radio and TV are so young they have no background of variety.

“A few years ago, we filmed a TV documentary in Blackpool. When the director, who looked about 19, saw how popular and funny we were, he wasn’t interested. They wanted to show us as has-beens, all washed-up and bitter, but we weren’t – we were making people laugh. Needless to say, they didn’t use it.

“We still have a wide appeal,” adds Robin. “We do a summer show in Blackpool and teenagers sit there with that look on their face as if there’s no way they’re going to crack a smile. After ten minutes they’re laughing away, and after the show they’re buying our DVDs and asking for autographs. We’re on our fourth generation of fans.”

The Grumbleweeds have a TV variety show to thank for their success. Formed in 1962, they played the club circuit before landing a slot on Opportunity Knocks. “We came last. We were beaten by an Army display team,” says Robin.

“Sometimes it pays not to win though – after 47 years in the business, we’re still going. We’ve never been flavour of the month, but we’ve done okay. ”

The five-piece, blending music with comedy and wacky impressions, landed their radio show, The Grumbleweeds, after being spotted at Batley Variety Club. Television success followed, alongside live concerts, pantos and summer seasons.

Today, the stripped-down Grumbleweeds are a strong unit. After nearly 50 years of working together, Robin and Graham know what makes each other tick. “We’ve had more fun over the last five years than ever before,” says Robin. “When we were a five-piece it was more about the music, but now we work well as a double act. We keep saying, ‘why didn’t we do this 25 years ago?’ We’re a lot more relaxed on stage now; Graham is the clown and I rein him in.”

Robin says the key to their success is moving with the times. “We do 140 impressions – but most of them are dead. You have to keep updating the act, but there are some impressions people expect so we daren’t drop them,” he says, launching into a pitch-perfect Jimmy Savile. “We do old favourites such as Victor Meldrew, Cher and Arkwright from Open All Hours, and current ones like Ozzy Osbourne, Michael McIntyre and Alan Carr.”

Robin and Graham go back a long way with other acts on the Best Of British bill. “Paul Daniels was our support act in 1972,” says Robin. “The Krankies are good mates. They’re so underrated; when you see them live, you see that they’re masters of comic timing. They’re like a classic vaudeville act.

“It’s a good family show, the sort of thing you rarely see on TV now.”

Robin and Graham combine comedy with acting, and have appeared in Emmerdale, Heartbeat and Coronation Street. Robin has played a regular character – a sarcastic police desk sergeant – in Emmerdale.

“It’s a great part, they keep calling me in to do it,” he says. “Comic entertainers tend to make good actors – look at Bradley Walsh and Barbara Windsor. I can do loads of accents, but I’m only ever called to play northerners. I’d love to do a comedy police show, that would suit me.” The Best Of British Variety Tour comes to St George’s Hall on Thursday, September 23. For tickets, ring (01274) 432000.