Kylie’s Rosé, Barlow’s Malbec, Norton’s Sauvignon Blanc – it’s like you’re no one nowadays if you don’t have your own range of wines.
But Cornish comic Johnny Cowling can top that. Rock up at one of Johnny’s gigs and you can grab yourself a pint of his Cornish Chuckle.
Yep, after 30 years in the business he’s finally got his own lager, created in his honour by his local pals at Keltek Brewery.
“It’s sort of citrusy,” he tells me. “And it’s bloody handsome!
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“I doubt I’ll retire on it, Mike, but it’s a great little gimmick.”
(Image: Daniel Dayment / SWNS)
Johnny may not be a household name nationwide, but in Cornwall he’s something of a legend. Further afield, audiences at countless TV shows have also come to know him.
“As a warm-up man, he’s in constant demand. Attend a recording of Celebrity Chase, for example, or The Masked Singer, and it’s Johnny who’ll entertain you pre-show.
“We’ve just been doing three episodes per day of Deal Or Deal,” he reveals.
(Image: Daniel Dayment / SWNS)
“That was great, getting the audience up on their feet to sing Sweet Caroline at 10 in the morning!”
But he rarely hangs around once he’s done. He’d rather drive straight back home to Padstow, though it’s hours away. For one thing, he prefers his own bed. For another, he’ll have dates lined up on his home patch.
So, yes, one day he could be playing to 20,000 at Manchester Arena (he recently did the warm-up for the Olympic homecoming), the next it could be a few dozen folk at a working men’s club up the road.
(Image: Daniel Dayment / SWNS)
“It’s how I’ve always done it,” he says. “I don’t care about the size of the crowd. I just love entertaining, and I do it on my own terms.”
Johnny’s golden rule is: never let people down. Hence his Cornish gigs always take priority.
“I did every episode of Dancing On Ice,’ he tells me. “But I couldn’t do the final. I was already booked to do the Buff Club in Penzance.
“Funnily enough, when I got there, there were about 15 people, huddled around the telly watching…the final of Dancing On Ice!
“That was hilarious.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
