Bobby Ball’s chance meeting that saved his friendship with Tommy Cannon

Fans are reeling from the shock death of comedian Bobby Ball, but for his best friend and comedy partner, Tommy Cannon, the news has been shattering.

“Rock on, my good friend, I can’t believe this, I’m devastated,” the heartbroken funnyman, 82, said in tribute, using the duo’s classic catchphrase.

Bobby died in hospital yesterday evening aged 76 after testing positive for Covid-19.

The actor and comedian had been taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital after experiencing breathing problems before he was confirmed to have coronavirus.

A statement from the duo’s management read: “It is with great personal sadness that on behalf of Yvonne Ball, and the family, and Tommy Cannon, I announce that Bobby Ball passed away at Blackpool Victoria Hospital on the 28th October 2020 approximately 21:30.

“Bobby had been taken to the hospital for tests as he started with breathing problems. At first it was thought to be a chest infection but a test proved positive for Covid-19.

“His wife Yvonne said the hospital and staff could not have been more wonderful, as they were outstanding in their care of duty and they did everything possible for him and she cannot praise them enough.

“She said that the family and Tommy would like to express their sincere thanks to the many, many people who have been fans of Bobby and they know that they will all share in part the great loss and total sadness that Yvonne, the family and Tommy all feel.”

Oldham-born Bobby, real name Robert Harper, first met Tommy while working as welders at a tractor factory in the 1960s. At the weekend, he sang at the local working men’s club and invited Tommy, real name Thomas Derbyshire, to join him, cementing one of British comedy’s most enduring partnerships.

For 18 years they played the club circuit before their big break came with a guest slot on Bruce Forsyth’s Big Night Out and they were given their own TV gig, The Cannon and Ball Show.

During it’s nine-year run through the 1980s, the ITV Saturday night prime time offering attracted 18 million viewers and turned the duo into a household name.

But behind the scenes, their friendship hit a rough patch and from 1983 to 1986 they refused to speak to each other apart from in rehearsals and performances.

“We started on the shop floor as welders, we went through 18 years in the clubs and then we got big,” Bobby once told The Express.

“We had entourages in those days. We didn’t even know how to check into a hotel. We were surrounded by all these people who were gossiping. They wanted to divide and conquer and instead of sitting down and saying, ‘What’s wrong?’ – we stopped speaking.”

Admitting he lost his way, Bobby said he was drinking heavily and getting into fights when a chance meeting changed everything.

Meeting theatre chaplain Max Wrigley at The Alhambra in Bradford in 1986, he realised Max had a calmness about him that he desperately craved for himself.

He explained: “I got talking to him and attacked him verbally about God. But he had a peace about him. I can’t explain exactly what he had but he had something that I didn’t have. One day I asked to speak to him and after a while he said, ‘Let’s pray.’ I’d never prayed in my life but we prayed and it just changed my life – like that [he snaps his fingers].”

His newfound faith proved to be the ice-breaker he needed to reconnect with Tommy, who also became a Christian seven years later.

Together, they published a book called Christianity For Beginners and featured in their own gospel at churches across the country.

“People thought we were crackers,” Tommy previously told the Independent.

Revealing just how strong his bond with Bobby became, he continued: “We’re on equal terms, nobody is stronger than the other. I sometimes feel I need to step in and take care of him, but I don’t really; he can take care of himself,” he said.

“You do feel like you’ve lost one of your arms when you’re separated.

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