Remembering Uncle Albert

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog July 2014, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Uncle Albert wasn't Ken, or Deirdre's uncle. He was the uncle of Ken's first wife - Valerie Barlow.  Read all about grumpy Uncle Albert on corrie.net

There's an homage to Uncle Albert from The Skids on youtube. He's also commemorated in a song by the Damned - read all about that here.

Played by Jack Howarth.

Interestingly, there's a comment here from Coronation Street Blog reader chartreuse who says this about Albert's medal on the episode shown on Monday 21 July.

"This is so funny - or odd, not sure which. I have been watching Vintage Corrie and Albert has just sold his medal for the train fare down to London for Remembrance day. He did not get much - I think 40 pounds at the most! Then Ken bought it back because he could not bear him being without it!"



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Corrie connections to The Damned 'Love Song'

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog June 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Captain Sensible from The Damned was interviewed this weekend on BBC Radio 6 by Steve Lamacq.  Steve told The Captain that he'd always, always, wondered who gave the introduction at the start of the album Machine Gun Etiquette before it runs into their hit Love Song.

Well, blow me down with a feather if The Captain didn't only go and reply that it was Jack Howarth, who played Coronation Street's Albert Tatlock.  The Captain said that he'd never told anyone that before because The Damned basically nicked Jack Howarth's vocals from an LP that he recorded.  And this means, dear me, that no royalties were ever paid.  But as it's now been revealed on national radio, we feel we can blog it here now.

And so, for your listening delectation, have a listen to this below via the wonders of YouTube and see if you can catch Uncle Albert at the very start of the song.  He says: "Ladies and gentlemen, how do!".

For more Albert Tatlock-related pop pickings, have a listen to the chorus on The Skids track TV Stars.

Too young to remember Albert Tatlock? Have a look here.

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