|
The lads hit our screens 36 years ago this month!
November 11th will always be a special day for fans - the day Auf Wiedersehen, Pet first hit our screens. To celebrate this milestone, we bring you a special Birthday edition including
- A Word from ‘Wor Gaffer’, Tim Healy
- Sunday For Sammy 2020
- BECO Building Site - Trivia Tour - Where It All Began
- Ian La Frenais & Dick Clement - More Than Likely
- And the winner is… ‘Stanley, A Man of Variety’
- The Magnificent 7 – Available now
- From the Archive
|
|
36 YEARS OF AUF WIEDERSEHEN, PET!
|
|
|
11th November 1983 saw Auf Wiedersehen, Pet hit British TV screens. It would become one of the 1980's most popular programmes. Who would believe that a TV series about a group of builders living on a building site in Dusseldorf would become so popular, with viewing figures hitting almost 20 million!
36 years on and it's still as popular as ever!
|
|
A FEW WORDS FROM 'THE GAFFER'...!
|
|
|
Last month brought another hilarious ‘Sketches for Sammy’ afternoon at ‘The Exchange’, North Shields where we caught up with ‘The Gaffer’ for a few words. We asked Tim Healy to reflect on his career and what Auf Wiedersehen, Pet means to him;
“In 1982 I was a jobbing actor having been a founder member of the Live theatre in Newcastle in 1973, taking plays to the working classes all over the North East and having roles in Crown Court, Coronation Street, Emmerdale Farm, and in 1980 I played Charlie Hogg in 'The World Cup a Captains Tale'.
A script arrived called Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. At first, I thought it would be a German language program, but I read it and thought it was outstanding. Dick and Ian came to see me in CP Taylor's last play at The Playhouse, Newcastle and watched 'The World Cup: A Captains Tale’ (1982) and after a meeting they offered me the part of Dennis.
I then read with a few actors up for the role of Oz, none were right until Jimmy came in and he was wonderful! He had no experience but was 'the' Oz they were looking for. My role as the sensible leader catapulted me into all sorts of other work after we had finished, and I’ve done hundreds of roles since then, but still known to many TV viewers as Dennis.
It was the best job ever to happen to me, and we have all remained very close friends something I will always be proud of. A beautiful comic look at Thatcher’s Britain”
Tim Healy xxx
The team at the Official Auf Wiedersehen, Pet fansite would like to sincerely thank Tim for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with us.
|
|
HODS OF FUN AS GEORDIE BRICKIE’S REUNITED FOR ‘SUNDAY FOR SAMMY’ 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOWS
|
|
|
Three stars from Auf Wiedersehen, Pet are reuniting to entertain the Geordie public at next February’s ‘Sunday for Sammy’ spectacular 20th Anniversary shows. The concerts, locally dubbed The Geordie Command Performance, will be held at the Newcastle Utilita Arena on Sunday 23rd February 2020.
Tim Healy, Kevin Whately and Jimmy Nail will once again perform together in a sketch featuring the lads from Auf Wiedersehen Pet which, together with its usual mix of music and comedy will make the show one of the 'must-see' events in the regional entertainment calendar.
Jimmy said: “It’s hard to believe that it was 20 years ago when we decided to do a concert in memory of our good friend – and even more surprising that what was going to be a one-off gig has turned into something so big.
I’m greatly looking forward to getting back on stage with Tim and Kevin again and inhabiting those characters – playing them is like putting on a comfortable pair of slippers and it’s always a joy.”
Kevin Whately is also looking forward to the show: “You make it as professional as you can of course, but inevitably because you don’t get any rehearsal to speak of, things do go wrong, and the audience seems to love that as much as anything.”
Chairman of the Sunday for Sammy Trust Tim Healy explained how the show will help young performers get a leg up in the business:
“Obviously the show is a great night for us and we love putting on a good show for everyone, but when you’re giving the grants out and be able to really help people – it’s a fantastic feeling.
We can help in lots of ways – even if it’s just train fares to get to and from auditions; we’ve helped ballet dancers get ballet shoes and equipment; we bought a saxophonist a sax and a cellist a cello; we’ve bought a band a van… all sorts.”
For further details, up to date information and to purchase your tickets, follow the link below.
Image copyright of Michael Bailey and is not to be used or reproduced without permission.
|
|
|
So, you thought our magnificent seven were off to Düsseldorf, Germany in search of a better, brighter future on the 11th November 1983, right? Wrong!
Many a fan will know the German BECO building site was a specially designed film set constructed on British soil on a small 2-acre backlot at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, England, currently home of the EastEnders film set. To convince our mind the boys were far from British soil, producers interwove a hand full of scenes in addition to long distance and incidental scenes filmed in Germany with extensive scenes filmed right here in the UK.
|
|
|
To mark this year’s anniversary, the team behind the Official Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Fansite have added a brand-new in-depth content to take you on a trivia packed fact-finding tour of the BECO Building Site we've known and loved for 36 years.
Discover which former television series was filmed on the very same location prior to Auf Wiedersehen Pet. Discover what Dennis, Oz, Neville, Bomber, Wayne, Barry and Moxey were building and exactly where they were building it. Discover which scenes were filmed in England and which were filmed on real building sites in Norderstedt, Germany. Discover brand new, never before revealed filming locations and specially commissioned artists impressions and visuals produced by north east Architect and team member, Andy Patrick illustrating how the film set would have looked back in 1983 before its demolition to make way for a new drama series that would continue to this day. And, find out exactly where Hut B was located as we compare its former position with the current EastEnders Albert Square film set.
Be warned, all is not what it seems at BECO building site! Take the tour now where we leave no stone unturned.
Image copyright of awpet.com and is not to be used or reproduced without permission.
|
|
MORE THAN LIKELY - IAN LA FRENAIS & DICK CLEMENT – A MEMOIR
|
|
|
Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais are the creators of some (some may say most!) of British television's most beloved comedies. Essex-born Clement teamed up with Geordie insurance salesman La Frenais in the early 1960s and scripted a series about two young pals from Newcastle, The Likely Lads, which went on to become one of BBC Two's first monster hits. The duo went on to create the classic sitcoms ‘Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?’ and Porridge starring Ronnie Barker before penning the number one award winning comedy drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, over 36 years ago.
They have worked as writers and script editors for some of the most famous TV programmes ever made, and with stellar performers that include Billy Connolly and Tracey Ullman. Clement and La Frenais have been partners for more than five decades: longer than Rodgers and Hammerstein, Gilbert and Sullivan, Laurel and Hardy, and Morecambe and Wise. Their career has covered writing, directing and producing for movies and the theatre as well as for television. They have written comedy set in factories, prisons and building sites; drama set in shabby London streets and the corridors of power; musicals about bands coming together and bands breaking apart. Along the way they have had some memorable encounters with movie stars like Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Marlon Brando; and with poets, prima donnas, politicians and rock stars.
In this - their first book - find out how they met, what are their main influences, why they moved to America and how they launched their career using a ball point pen on a legal pad… in a pub… together!
It’s been a long time coming… and finally it’s here. This is their story.
|
|
AND THE WINNER IS… STANLEY – A MAN OF VARIETY
|
|
|
We teamed up with Tribal Films earlier in the year to offer you the chance to win one of five DVD’s, ‘Stanley – A Man of Variety’, boasting a tour-de-force performance from British screen legend Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner, The King’s Speech, Harry Potter franchise and of course Auf Wiedersehen, Pet!).
In this darkly funny tale, Stanley (Spall) finds himself in prison for a crime he believes he didn’t commit. Now a lonely, forgotten man approaching his fifteenth year in the old psychiatric facility, he maintains his role as a trustee by cleaning the grim prison interior, which earns him the privilege of watching and re-watching classic videos from his prized collection of memorabilia.
When this privilege is withdrawn, Stanley becomes so distressed that he suffers a physical and mental seizure. Soon enough, his beloved heroes - Max Wall, George Formby, Max Miller, Margaret Rutherford, Alastair Sim and more - visit him in hallucinations (all played by Spall) showing their sinister, unsettling side and take him on a bizarre journey through the unbearable truth of his life and incarceration.
Directed by Stephen Cookson (My Angel, Steven Berkoff’s Tell Tale Heart) who co-wrote the film with Spall, Stanley, A Man of Variety won an impressive 16 awards at film festivals worldwide and stands as one of the most original, unmissable British films of recent times.
Winners of this fantastic prize chosen at random curtesy of Tribal Films are:
- John Rudge
- Laura Corrall
- Maureen Findley
- Amanda Wilson
- Deborah Munn
If you haven’t already done so, contact us at winner@awpet.com and let us know which keyring from our exclusive range here, you’d like bundled with your prize!
Stanley, A Man of Variety is out now on DVD, Digital Download and Prime Video from Tribal Films
Available directly from Tribal Films: http://www.tribal.film/stanley
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2NtmIPl
|
|
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN - AVAILABLE NOW!
|
|
|
Simple. Bold. Striking. Our brand-new tee needs little introduction and is fast becoming one of our most popular. Featuring the names of our Magnificent Seven to the front in classic stencil typeface.
The crisp digital screen print to the front in black is manufactured to the highest standards with traditional classic logo to the sleeve in black and red for that extra touch of class.
Available for immediate same day dispatch, sizes small – 4XL.
|
|
|
"The ticket inspector aboard the 9.40 London to Harwich express was not happy. Sometime between 9.20 and 9.30 a revolution seemed to have taken place in a first-class carriage....."
And so it began, the team was off! This TV Times issue not only featured the first ever TV Listing for Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Episode 1, 'If I Were A Carpenter', but three fantastic pages of behind the scenes pictures and interviews with the cast and crew.
This was the public's first taste of 'The Magnificent Seven' and boy were they in for a ride! 13 weeks of unadulterated brilliance that’s stood the test of time - even if it was set on a building site in Düsseldorf.....
View the articles here!
So, what you waiting for, grab your DVD’s (or video tapes?) and join the lads on their epic journey to Germany with Series 1, Episode 1, ‘If I Were a Carpenter’!
Buy the DVD's here!
The Official Auf Wiedersehen, Pet Fansite is the largest ever collection of behind the scenes pictures, articles, videos, cast and crew interviews and more. Got something you'd like to add? Why not get in touch? We'd love to hear from you. Simply drop us a line at info@awpet.com
Yours ‘til the next point of interest,
Lee, Andy and The Team
|
|
|
|
