About Bernard Wrigley
Artist Biography
b. 25 February 1948, Bolton, Lancashire, England. Wrigley never quite made the commercial breakthrough to the same degree as other comedian/folk artists, such as Billy Connolly, Richard Digance and Mike Harding. He was a self-taught guitar player who ‘discovered’ folk clubs as a result of the Bob Dylan boom during the 60s. As half of a duo called Dave And Bernard, he gave up being a Customs and Excise Officer and went professional in 1969 to provide a documentary, The Bolton Massacre, at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton. By 1970, the duo had split, so Wrigley joined the original Ken Campbell roadshow, during which time he wrote the live favourites ‘Ballad Of Knocking Nelly’, ‘Old Bill’ and ‘Concrete Mixer’. Actor Bob Hoskins was also a member of the roadshow at the time.
During the 70s, Wrigley recorded several albums for the Topic Records and Transatlantic labels that combined his humour and deep love of folk music. At the start of the following decade he established the Loofy Records label, the outlet for a steady stream of studio, concert and spoken word albums. In 1991, Wrigley appeared as Estragon in Waiting For Godot at the Octagon Theatre, alongside Mike Harding who played Vladimir. He has also done a great deal of television and film work, including appearances in the popular UK series Coronation Street, Last Of The Summer Wine, Emmerdale, Dinnerladies, Cold Feet, Heartbeat, Phoenix Nights and Shameless, and roles in numerous Alan Bennett films. On radio, he has appeared in several plays on Radio 4 and presented shows for BBC Radio Lancashire.
Hometown
Bolton, Lancashire, England
Genre
Pop
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