1 00:00:25,741 --> 00:00:27,701 Good evening, fun hunters. 2 00:00:29,301 --> 00:00:32,821 The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once said, 3 00:00:32,861 --> 00:00:36,261 "Life begins on the other side of despair." 4 00:00:37,581 --> 00:00:40,781 But, for me, it was on the other side of the Pennines. 5 00:00:41,821 --> 00:00:43,741 Hull, 1956. 6 00:00:43,781 --> 00:00:47,221 Surely one of the chilliest sprawls of the northern hemisphere. 7 00:00:47,261 --> 00:00:51,141 It was so cold outside, brass monkeys were lagging one another. 8 00:00:51,181 --> 00:00:54,181 Mind you, the temperature inside wasn't much warmer. 9 00:00:54,221 --> 00:00:57,861 ♪ ..Coming home tonight. ♪ 10 00:01:01,501 --> 00:01:03,021 Thank you. 11 00:01:09,901 --> 00:01:11,541 Thank you very much. 12 00:01:11,581 --> 00:01:14,261 I've loved being here tonight, ladies and gentlemen, 13 00:01:14,301 --> 00:01:17,381 and I sure hope you've enjoyed having me here too. 14 00:01:19,901 --> 00:01:23,381 I'm back tomorrow night, so I hope to see you then. 15 00:01:31,261 --> 00:01:33,701 I think your piano's a bit off-key. 16 00:01:33,741 --> 00:01:35,741 -Oh, aye. -Have you got a tuner? 17 00:01:35,781 --> 00:01:39,261 Yeah, yeah, course we do. We've got tuna, mackerel, cod... 18 00:01:39,301 --> 00:01:41,141 No, I meant a piano tuner. 19 00:01:41,181 --> 00:01:43,821 I know you did. And you know what they say 20 00:01:43,861 --> 00:01:46,981 about a bad workman and his tools. What do you mean? 21 00:01:47,021 --> 00:01:49,581 Listen, son, I've been in this game a long time. 22 00:01:49,621 --> 00:01:53,381 Do you mind if I give you a bit of -constructive criticism? -Course not. 23 00:01:54,381 --> 00:01:55,541 You're crap. 24 00:01:57,621 --> 00:02:01,501 'That night, I lay awake in a cocoon of despair.' 25 00:02:01,541 --> 00:02:03,581 If success breeds success, 26 00:02:03,621 --> 00:02:05,101 I was on the pill. 27 00:02:05,141 --> 00:02:08,781 The following day, I managed to lose myself in drink. 28 00:02:09,981 --> 00:02:13,341 'But as I weaved my weary way back to the dreaded club, 29 00:02:13,381 --> 00:02:15,221 'I paused to reflect on 30 00:02:15,261 --> 00:02:17,941 'how different my life might have turned out...' 31 00:02:17,981 --> 00:02:19,421 Les Dawson! 32 00:02:20,661 --> 00:02:22,781 '..if only I'd stayed in Paris.' 33 00:02:42,341 --> 00:02:44,421 'Paris was the city of light... 34 00:02:45,701 --> 00:02:47,421 '..the city of literature. 35 00:02:53,661 --> 00:02:55,901 'Maybe even the city of love.' 36 00:02:57,301 --> 00:02:58,861 Oui?'Or maybe not.' 37 00:02:58,901 --> 00:03:00,141 Oh, hello. 38 00:03:00,181 --> 00:03:01,741 Leslie Dawson. 39 00:03:01,781 --> 00:03:04,021 I wrote to you about the room. 40 00:03:04,061 --> 00:03:06,981 Leslie...is a man? 41 00:03:09,861 --> 00:03:11,381 Incroyable. 42 00:03:11,421 --> 00:03:12,941 Allez. 43 00:03:15,461 --> 00:03:20,101 Il y a un bain au rez de chaussee, l'eau chaud... 44 00:03:20,141 --> 00:03:22,981 'The landlady went by the name of Madame Gaudin.' 45 00:03:23,021 --> 00:03:24,141 ..et les jeudis. 46 00:03:24,181 --> 00:03:26,461 'It's hard to describe what she looked like, 47 00:03:26,501 --> 00:03:28,781 'but she used to be a model for spanners. 48 00:03:28,821 --> 00:03:32,621 'I wouldn't say she was fat, but when she went for a dress fitting, 49 00:03:32,661 --> 00:03:34,901 'the assistants worked in shifts.' 50 00:03:34,941 --> 00:03:37,221 ..necessaire reserver le bain 51 00:03:37,261 --> 00:03:39,901 deux semaines en avance. 52 00:03:41,861 --> 00:03:44,421 Hot water's available Tuesdays and Thursdays, 53 00:03:44,461 --> 00:03:47,101 but if you want a bath, you have to book in advance, 54 00:03:47,141 --> 00:03:49,261 though, sadly, she won't let people share. 55 00:03:49,301 --> 00:03:51,021 -I'm Brian. -Oh, Leslie. 56 00:03:51,061 --> 00:03:53,381 Ooh, as in Leslie Caron, An American In Paris? 57 00:03:53,421 --> 00:03:55,781 No, Leslie Dawson, from the Co-op in Collyhurst. 58 00:03:55,821 --> 00:03:59,621 I thought I heard a Northern twang. Pleased to meet you. ..Oh. 59 00:04:04,141 --> 00:04:05,781 So, do you have a title? 60 00:04:05,821 --> 00:04:07,941 No, just Mr Dawson. 61 00:04:07,981 --> 00:04:09,461 I meant for your novel. 62 00:04:09,501 --> 00:04:11,621 Oh, no. Not yet. 63 00:04:11,661 --> 00:04:13,981 How did you know I was a writer anyway? 64 00:04:14,021 --> 00:04:16,621 You're renting a Parisian garret on the Left Bank 65 00:04:16,661 --> 00:04:20,421 and you haven't got an easel. What else are you gonna do, knit doilies? 66 00:04:20,461 --> 00:04:24,061 Besides, takes one to know one. Alors, j'ai change les draps, 67 00:04:24,101 --> 00:04:25,461 plies, gratuit. 68 00:04:25,501 --> 00:04:29,461 She says she's changed the sheets -for you, no extra charge. -Oh. 69 00:04:29,501 --> 00:04:32,021 Merci beaucoup! Well, she had to, really. 70 00:04:32,061 --> 00:04:34,621 Her last tenant used them to hang himself. 71 00:04:38,061 --> 00:04:39,421 Bloody hell. 72 00:04:40,621 --> 00:04:44,661 'Yes, I'd come to Paris to be a novelist. Hardly original. 73 00:04:45,941 --> 00:04:49,941 'Even a little foolhardy, as I was greener than an unripe banana. 74 00:04:51,501 --> 00:04:54,101 'But as my hero Sartre said, 75 00:04:54,141 --> 00:04:56,781 '"Man is what he wills himself to be." 76 00:04:59,621 --> 00:05:02,141 'And my will was to write.' 77 00:05:14,861 --> 00:05:16,261 Oh, excuse me. 78 00:05:16,301 --> 00:05:18,341 I'm renting the room upstairs. 79 00:05:18,381 --> 00:05:21,101 The facilities, there's no actual bowl. 80 00:05:21,141 --> 00:05:22,261 Pardon? 81 00:05:22,301 --> 00:05:24,901 The toilet. There's nowhere to sit. 82 00:05:24,941 --> 00:05:26,781 You can shit in the hole. 83 00:05:26,821 --> 00:05:28,981 No, sorry, I meant to sit. 84 00:05:29,021 --> 00:05:30,861 You know, to park yourself. 85 00:05:30,901 --> 00:05:34,141 Ah, in France, you must squat and go. 86 00:05:34,181 --> 00:05:36,101 Oh, right. 87 00:05:36,141 --> 00:05:38,261 I thought someone had nicked your bog. 88 00:05:39,701 --> 00:05:42,901 Well, I didn't know they didn't have proper toilets. 89 00:05:51,781 --> 00:05:54,621 May I? 90 00:06:45,341 --> 00:06:47,981 I admire your playing. 91 00:06:48,021 --> 00:06:50,981 This place could do with some atmosphere. 92 00:06:51,021 --> 00:06:54,581 You are in Paris for some time? Till I've written my great novel 93 00:06:54,621 --> 00:06:56,501 and enjoyed my great romance. 94 00:06:56,541 --> 00:06:59,061 Could be weeks, months, years, who knows? 95 00:06:59,101 --> 00:07:02,021 How would you like a job here, Les? 96 00:07:02,061 --> 00:07:05,461 -A job? -Oui. Playing the piano in the evening. 97 00:07:05,501 --> 00:07:07,341 Shall we say 12 until 3? 98 00:07:07,381 --> 00:07:09,021 Er, I came here to write. 99 00:07:09,061 --> 00:07:12,341 Drinks on the house, tips from the clientele. 100 00:07:12,381 --> 00:07:14,981 What clientele? It's dead. I will make you hot meal. 101 00:07:15,021 --> 00:07:17,781 No, I just can't. 100 francs a night. 102 00:07:17,821 --> 00:07:19,501 Done. 103 00:07:19,541 --> 00:07:21,821 There is one condition. 104 00:07:21,861 --> 00:07:25,381 You will play only this one tune, 105 00:07:25,421 --> 00:07:27,461 nothing else, all evening. 106 00:07:27,501 --> 00:07:29,661 You're kidding! Three hours of Limelight? 107 00:07:29,701 --> 00:07:32,541 You're trying to drive people away? It is what I wish. 108 00:07:32,581 --> 00:07:34,861 You have a problem with that? No, no. 109 00:07:34,901 --> 00:07:37,261 She who pays the piper -calls the tune. -Mm. 110 00:07:37,301 --> 00:07:39,421 Ah. Allez. 111 00:07:57,541 --> 00:08:02,261 'And so I gradually settled into my life in La Vie Lumiere. 112 00:08:05,781 --> 00:08:08,221 'By day, I sat at my typewriter... 113 00:08:12,021 --> 00:08:15,461 '..trying desperately to think of something to write about. 114 00:08:30,461 --> 00:08:32,781 'And by night... 115 00:08:32,821 --> 00:08:35,701 'I played the piano for Madame Gaudin... 116 00:08:35,741 --> 00:08:37,541 'and barely anybody else. 117 00:08:39,861 --> 00:08:42,821 'Customers came and went, but never stuck around. 118 00:08:43,981 --> 00:08:46,341 'It amazed me how she made any money. 119 00:08:52,381 --> 00:08:55,621 'Meanwhile, my literary endeavours were going downhill 120 00:08:55,661 --> 00:08:57,581 'faster than a rabbit on a promise.' 121 00:09:00,101 --> 00:09:02,221 So, how's the novel coming on? 122 00:09:02,261 --> 00:09:03,701 It isn't, really. 123 00:09:03,741 --> 00:09:05,781 I think I've got writer's block. 124 00:09:05,821 --> 00:09:07,701 Rubbish. There's no such thing. 125 00:09:07,741 --> 00:09:09,941 You're either writing or you're not writing. 126 00:09:09,981 --> 00:09:13,261 If you're not, it's because you're too distracted by bloody Paris 127 00:09:13,301 --> 00:09:17,061 when you'd be better off in Manchester writing about real life instead. 128 00:09:17,101 --> 00:09:18,701 I'm not distracted. 129 00:09:18,741 --> 00:09:21,461 -I'm hard at it. -Flirting with the barmaid, you mean. 130 00:09:21,501 --> 00:09:24,901 Well, she is cute. Whatever ras's your berries. 131 00:09:29,181 --> 00:09:31,581 I have done a sort of pithy travelogue. 132 00:09:31,621 --> 00:09:34,861 First impressions of the city, that type of thing. 133 00:09:34,901 --> 00:09:37,821 You mean you've written -some postcards. -Yeah, basically. 134 00:09:37,861 --> 00:09:41,421 I'm serious, Les. Don't you know the existential creed? 135 00:09:41,461 --> 00:09:43,901 No. You hum it and I'll play it. 136 00:09:43,941 --> 00:09:45,981 Man is the sum of his actions. 137 00:09:46,021 --> 00:09:49,781 If you're not picking up a pen or a paintbrush and using it every day, 138 00:09:49,821 --> 00:09:52,141 then you're not an artist, you're a tourist. 139 00:09:53,501 --> 00:09:56,061 My English teacher said I had a way with words, 140 00:09:56,101 --> 00:09:59,421 but...the more I think about it, the more constipated I become. 141 00:10:00,781 --> 00:10:02,541 We all love words, dear. 142 00:10:02,581 --> 00:10:04,421 Words can say anything. 143 00:10:05,661 --> 00:10:07,381 What you need... 144 00:10:07,421 --> 00:10:08,821 is a voice. 145 00:10:09,861 --> 00:10:14,661 And so, to find my voice, my mind turned from Paris to Manchester. 146 00:10:14,701 --> 00:10:16,781 If I was going to be a writer, 147 00:10:16,821 --> 00:10:20,581 I needed to draw inspiration from closer to home. 148 00:10:32,381 --> 00:10:34,141 Another satisfied customer. 149 00:10:36,781 --> 00:10:39,701 I suppose you've heard the story about the young couple 150 00:10:39,741 --> 00:10:42,821 -from Collyhurst. -I don't have time -for this. -No, sit down. 151 00:10:42,861 --> 00:10:47,261 It was the wedding night, see, and they were just going upstairs to bed 152 00:10:47,301 --> 00:10:49,461 and she says, "I love you." 153 00:10:49,501 --> 00:10:51,861 And he said, "I love you too. 154 00:10:53,341 --> 00:10:55,581 "Shall we consummate our marriage?" 155 00:10:55,621 --> 00:10:57,461 "Yeah, if you like." 156 00:10:57,501 --> 00:10:59,701 "Right, blow out the candle." 157 00:10:59,741 --> 00:11:00,821 "Yeah." 158 00:11:04,261 --> 00:11:06,461 "What's up? I can't blow it out." 159 00:11:06,501 --> 00:11:08,421 "Give it to me, stupid." 160 00:11:08,461 --> 00:11:10,901 Look... No, sit down, you'll like this. 161 00:11:10,941 --> 00:11:12,541 "Give it to me, stupid." 162 00:11:14,661 --> 00:11:16,981 "I can't blow it out either." "I can't." 163 00:11:17,021 --> 00:11:18,541 "Well, who's downstairs?" 164 00:11:18,581 --> 00:11:19,941 "Me mother." 165 00:11:19,981 --> 00:11:21,301 I said, "Mother!" 166 00:11:22,461 --> 00:11:25,781 She says, "What's up?" "Can't blow this candle out. 167 00:11:25,821 --> 00:11:27,621 "I've tried, can't blow it out." 168 00:11:27,661 --> 00:11:29,221 "Let me have a go." 169 00:11:29,261 --> 00:11:30,901 Oh! 170 00:11:32,221 --> 00:11:34,181 "I can't blow it out either. 171 00:11:34,221 --> 00:11:36,141 "I'll shout your father. Father!" 172 00:11:37,661 --> 00:11:38,661 "What?" 173 00:11:39,621 --> 00:11:43,621 "Can't blow this candle out. I've tried, they've tried, can't blow it out." 174 00:11:46,541 --> 00:11:48,781 He said, "I can't blow it out either. 175 00:11:48,821 --> 00:11:50,781 "What are we gonna do? 176 00:11:50,821 --> 00:11:53,021 "The vicar's downstairs. Shout the vicar." 177 00:11:53,061 --> 00:11:54,581 "Vicar!" 178 00:11:54,621 --> 00:11:58,261 "Hello. What seems to be amiss?" 179 00:11:58,301 --> 00:12:00,421 "Can't blow this candle out. 180 00:12:00,461 --> 00:12:03,341 "I can't, he can't, she can't. Can't blow it out." 181 00:12:05,301 --> 00:12:06,701 "Allow me." 182 00:12:10,821 --> 00:12:12,421 This is the end? 183 00:12:12,461 --> 00:12:13,821 Yes. 184 00:12:13,861 --> 00:12:16,741 I'm sorry, but I don't understand. 185 00:12:16,781 --> 00:12:20,581 Nor do I. It's just a joke my grandma used to tell. 186 00:12:20,621 --> 00:12:23,381 Hm. How do you make these faeces? 187 00:12:23,421 --> 00:12:24,741 Eh? 188 00:12:24,781 --> 00:12:27,941 -The... Oh, the faces! -Yes. 189 00:12:27,981 --> 00:12:30,421 I used to box when I was a kid. 190 00:12:30,461 --> 00:12:31,621 Ah, oui, la boxe. 191 00:12:31,661 --> 00:12:35,181 I wasn't very good. I was carried out of the ring so often 192 00:12:35,221 --> 00:12:36,941 I had handles sewn in my shorts. 193 00:12:37,981 --> 00:12:41,861 But the good thing about breaking your jaw is, you can do this. 194 00:12:44,021 --> 00:12:45,981 See? Sexy, eh? 195 00:12:47,461 --> 00:12:48,661 Mm. 196 00:12:50,861 --> 00:12:51,861 Emerald. 197 00:12:54,061 --> 00:12:57,861 I had no idea why Madame Gaudin wanted me to play the same tune 198 00:12:57,901 --> 00:13:01,181 for three hours a night on such a defective instrument. 199 00:13:01,221 --> 00:13:04,061 But it wouldn't be long before I found out. 200 00:13:21,621 --> 00:13:23,341 What do you think? 201 00:13:23,381 --> 00:13:25,221 It's good. 202 00:13:25,261 --> 00:13:26,581 -Really? -Yes. 203 00:13:26,621 --> 00:13:29,901 There's a few...purple patches. 204 00:13:29,941 --> 00:13:32,701 What do you mean? Like you've swallowed a thesaurus 205 00:13:32,741 --> 00:13:34,261 and sicked it up on the page. 206 00:13:35,341 --> 00:13:36,821 Here, um... 207 00:13:36,861 --> 00:13:42,221 "grimy, hunched warehouses severing the skyline with dissipated profiles 208 00:13:42,261 --> 00:13:44,581 "that lurch above narrow tenements, 209 00:13:44,621 --> 00:13:47,741 "gazing, eyeless, onto litter-pitted streets." 210 00:13:48,741 --> 00:13:51,701 Yeah. Took me ages, that sentence. 211 00:13:51,741 --> 00:13:55,541 Literature isn't drapery, Les, you don't get paid by the yard. 212 00:13:55,581 --> 00:13:57,301 -It's crap. -No, it's good. 213 00:13:57,341 --> 00:13:59,341 You just...you don't need to write like 214 00:13:59,381 --> 00:14:01,861 you're trying to impress your English teacher. 215 00:14:01,901 --> 00:14:04,701 Some of it's verging on the, dare I say, comic. 216 00:14:04,741 --> 00:14:06,701 Great Oh, come one. 217 00:14:06,741 --> 00:14:09,661 Let me buy you dinner, cheer you up. I'm not hungry. 218 00:14:09,701 --> 00:14:12,261 Ever had the shish kebabs? Ever since I arrived. 219 00:14:15,701 --> 00:14:18,101 Hell... Les, don't. 220 00:14:25,621 --> 00:14:27,181 Emerald? 221 00:14:27,221 --> 00:14:30,421 Les, leave, go back downstairs. -Allez, allez! -What's going on? 222 00:14:30,461 --> 00:14:32,861 Fat man, he tried to make pipi on our rug. 223 00:14:32,901 --> 00:14:35,501 -Degueulasse! -Is this some sort of knocking shop? 224 00:14:35,541 --> 00:14:37,861 What happens here is none of your concern. 225 00:14:40,381 --> 00:14:43,221 Why didn't you tell me? Because I like you. 226 00:14:43,261 --> 00:14:45,941 Because I did not want you to judge me. 227 00:14:45,981 --> 00:14:48,301 Ah, you are the penis. 228 00:14:48,341 --> 00:14:49,661 What? 229 00:14:49,701 --> 00:14:51,301 You are the penis. 230 00:14:51,341 --> 00:14:53,661 You play the bad piano downstairs? 231 00:14:53,701 --> 00:14:55,701 Oh, the pianist. 232 00:14:55,741 --> 00:15:00,141 Your terrible music makes our clients come quickly and go quickly. 233 00:15:00,181 --> 00:15:02,741 More money for Madame means more money for us. 234 00:15:02,781 --> 00:15:04,941 Very clever. Thank you. 235 00:15:08,741 --> 00:15:10,701 You're welcome. 236 00:15:10,741 --> 00:15:12,381 Glad to be of service. 237 00:15:12,421 --> 00:15:15,181 Les... I did try to warn you. 238 00:15:16,301 --> 00:15:17,701 So that was it. 239 00:15:17,741 --> 00:15:19,461 I was a brothel Beethoven. 240 00:15:19,501 --> 00:15:21,661 A prostitute's Prokofiev. 241 00:15:22,701 --> 00:15:24,661 A cathouse Khachaturian. 242 00:15:25,701 --> 00:15:27,941 Not for the first time... 243 00:15:27,981 --> 00:15:29,661 I felt like a failure. 244 00:15:38,181 --> 00:15:42,741 -La vie humaine commence de l'autre cote du desespoir. 245 00:15:42,781 --> 00:15:44,381 Eh? 246 00:15:44,421 --> 00:15:48,421 Life begins on the other side of despair. 247 00:15:50,701 --> 00:15:52,501 May I join you? 248 00:15:58,021 --> 00:16:00,901 You know, this afternoon, I went to a cafe 249 00:16:00,941 --> 00:16:03,221 and ordered a coffee with no cream. 250 00:16:03,261 --> 00:16:05,261 The waitress came back and said, 251 00:16:05,301 --> 00:16:08,461 "I'm sorry, Monsieur Sartre, we don't have any cream. 252 00:16:08,501 --> 00:16:11,301 "Can I bring you a coffee with no milk instead?" 253 00:16:11,341 --> 00:16:12,701 You see? 254 00:16:12,741 --> 00:16:14,621 Not really. 255 00:16:15,661 --> 00:16:18,581 We create ourselves, our essence, 256 00:16:18,621 --> 00:16:21,781 by what we do, the choices we make. Action. 257 00:16:22,821 --> 00:16:25,541 Our dreams and our intentions are futile. 258 00:16:25,581 --> 00:16:27,381 Hm. Tell me about it. 259 00:16:28,581 --> 00:16:30,061 I came here to be a writer. 260 00:16:30,101 --> 00:16:31,741 -Then write. -I can't. 261 00:16:33,621 --> 00:16:35,381 I haven't found my voice. 262 00:16:35,421 --> 00:16:37,261 Then do something else. 263 00:16:37,301 --> 00:16:39,101 Be true to who you are. 264 00:16:39,141 --> 00:16:40,781 But that's the point. 265 00:16:40,821 --> 00:16:42,261 Who am I? 266 00:16:43,781 --> 00:16:46,301 I'm a writer that hasn't written anything. 267 00:16:47,781 --> 00:16:51,621 A fat, boozing Northerner who likes music and literature. 268 00:16:57,181 --> 00:17:01,621 I think you have the ability to make people laugh, to bring them joy. 269 00:17:01,661 --> 00:17:04,861 Your stories, your piano, your funny faces. 270 00:17:04,901 --> 00:17:08,501 -Faces. -I would give my right hand to have this skill, 271 00:17:08,541 --> 00:17:10,701 but you think, what, it is beneath you? 272 00:17:10,741 --> 00:17:12,701 People want to be entertained. 273 00:17:12,741 --> 00:17:17,821 They don't want to see a miserable, fat man playing a wonky piano. 274 00:17:19,461 --> 00:17:21,421 You would be surprised. 275 00:17:23,421 --> 00:17:26,341 Your best work is what you do best. 276 00:17:26,381 --> 00:17:29,821 Find this, and you will find happiness. 277 00:17:29,861 --> 00:17:33,981 We cannot choose to have no cream if the cream does not exist. 278 00:17:34,021 --> 00:17:36,301 But we can choose... 279 00:17:36,341 --> 00:17:38,061 to have no milk. 280 00:17:42,141 --> 00:17:43,661 A bientot. 281 00:18:03,221 --> 00:18:05,981 The great WC Fields one said, 282 00:18:06,021 --> 00:18:09,421 "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. 283 00:18:09,461 --> 00:18:13,701 "Then quit, there's no point being a damn fool about it." 284 00:18:19,501 --> 00:18:21,421 God, I feel terrible. 285 00:18:23,101 --> 00:18:25,661 Me head's banging like a shithouse door in a gale. 286 00:18:31,461 --> 00:18:34,221 I asked the doctor if he could recommend anything 287 00:18:34,261 --> 00:18:36,741 for persistent wind. You know what he said? 288 00:18:36,781 --> 00:18:39,381 A kite. 289 00:18:40,581 --> 00:18:44,621 I'm sorry, but...the sadder you are, the funnier you are. 290 00:18:44,661 --> 00:18:46,381 That's a fat lot of good, innit? 291 00:18:47,741 --> 00:18:52,981 Dr Bernard tells me the police raided La Maison Chabanel last week 292 00:18:53,021 --> 00:18:54,741 and the Sphinx the week before. 293 00:18:54,781 --> 00:18:58,221 It is the new Conseiller. He wants to clean up this area. 294 00:18:58,261 --> 00:19:00,621 That's a shame. He was your best customer. 295 00:19:00,661 --> 00:19:02,381 We will have to move elsewhere. 296 00:19:02,421 --> 00:19:05,861 Maybe it is time you started looking for another job. 297 00:19:05,901 --> 00:19:07,261 No, no need. 298 00:19:07,301 --> 00:19:09,461 I'm going back to Manchester. 299 00:19:09,501 --> 00:19:11,101 Ferry leaves tonight. 300 00:19:11,141 --> 00:19:13,141 I've failed at being a writer. 301 00:19:13,181 --> 00:19:16,461 -I never said that. -I'm sure they'll let me back at the Co-op. 302 00:19:16,501 --> 00:19:18,141 Don't worry. 303 00:19:18,181 --> 00:19:20,581 Lady Luck will smile on you soon. 304 00:19:20,621 --> 00:19:24,461 Hm. By the time she smiles on me, she won't have any teeth left. 305 00:19:25,781 --> 00:19:27,221 Quel dommage. 306 00:19:28,381 --> 00:19:31,501 Do you still have a few hours left? 307 00:19:31,541 --> 00:19:32,621 Hm? 308 00:19:42,981 --> 00:19:49,101 ♪ I'll be loving you eternally... ♪ 309 00:19:52,901 --> 00:19:54,461 Ruby? 310 00:19:54,501 --> 00:19:56,261 Tu me laisses la place? 311 00:20:01,741 --> 00:20:04,341 ♪ ..From the start, within my heart 312 00:20:04,381 --> 00:20:09,461 ♪ It seems I've always known... ♪ 313 00:20:09,501 --> 00:20:11,701 How do you do it? 314 00:20:15,261 --> 00:20:17,221 Now... 315 00:20:18,381 --> 00:20:19,741 Voila. 316 00:20:21,661 --> 00:20:24,061 ♪ ..Forever true 317 00:20:25,221 --> 00:20:28,981 ♪ And loving you 318 00:20:30,541 --> 00:20:37,261 ♪ Eternally. ♪ 319 00:20:42,941 --> 00:20:44,661 'So that was it. 320 00:20:44,701 --> 00:20:47,741 'My Parisian sojourn was over.' 321 00:20:47,781 --> 00:20:51,661 I went back to Manchester and started as an apprentice electrician 322 00:20:51,701 --> 00:20:53,301 but that was a disaster. 323 00:20:53,341 --> 00:20:56,981 I was to that employ what the Pope is to brothel management. 324 00:20:58,261 --> 00:21:00,181 I played piano with a jazz band. 325 00:21:00,221 --> 00:21:03,261 We were that bad, we got paid off at a charity gig. 326 00:21:03,301 --> 00:21:05,221 But it did get me an agent... 327 00:21:05,261 --> 00:21:10,061 who got me a booking at the Emperor's Club, Hull, 1956, 328 00:21:10,101 --> 00:21:13,181 where it seemed like things couldn't get any worse. 329 00:21:13,221 --> 00:21:16,741 Right, bit of hush, please. 330 00:21:16,781 --> 00:21:19,941 Come on, hey, look, we've paid good money for these turns. 331 00:21:19,981 --> 00:21:22,261 And I, for one, -want to bloody hear 'em. -Ssh! 332 00:21:22,301 --> 00:21:25,861 Thank you. Right, this next young lad has complained 333 00:21:25,901 --> 00:21:29,381 that some of his jokes have been going over the audience's heads. 334 00:21:29,421 --> 00:21:31,461 But that's partly my fault 335 00:21:31,501 --> 00:21:34,261 because I fitted these speakers too bloody high. 336 00:21:36,661 --> 00:21:40,141 Ladies and gentlemen, will you please give a warm welcome 337 00:21:40,181 --> 00:21:42,421 to Mr Les Dawson! 338 00:22:05,461 --> 00:22:08,861 Jesus Christ, he's pie-eyed. 339 00:22:13,301 --> 00:22:17,741 'We cannot choose to have no cream if the cream does not exist. 340 00:22:17,781 --> 00:22:19,821 'But we can choose... 341 00:22:19,861 --> 00:22:22,021 'to have no milk.' 342 00:22:38,301 --> 00:22:41,461 Well, thank you for that brief spatter of applause. 343 00:22:42,941 --> 00:22:46,461 It's nice to be here in this renovated fish crate. 344 00:22:47,741 --> 00:22:49,981 Hm, what an audience. 345 00:22:50,021 --> 00:22:52,101 I've seen more life in a tramp's vest. 346 00:23:12,941 --> 00:23:14,941 Now, you may be thinking... 347 00:23:14,981 --> 00:23:17,981 why's he standing up there, half drunk? 348 00:23:18,021 --> 00:23:20,261 Well, I thought it was obvious. 349 00:23:20,301 --> 00:23:22,061 I ran out of money. 350 00:23:22,101 --> 00:23:24,901 I wasn't always an entertainer. 351 00:23:24,941 --> 00:23:28,021 No, there was a time when I had regular meals. 352 00:23:29,981 --> 00:23:33,301 For a time, I was a pianist in Parisian brothel. 353 00:23:33,341 --> 00:23:35,581 Pay was lousy, but I saw plenty of tips. 354 00:23:35,621 --> 00:23:37,221 I said tips. 355 00:23:40,941 --> 00:23:43,141 Oof! 356 00:23:47,261 --> 00:23:49,741 In awe, I saw the waxing moon 357 00:23:49,781 --> 00:23:53,061 ride across the zenith of the heavens like an amber chariot... 358 00:23:53,101 --> 00:23:55,861 towards the ebony void of infinite space... 359 00:23:57,341 --> 00:24:00,901 ..wherein the tethered belts of Jupiter and Mars hang... 360 00:24:02,261 --> 00:24:04,141 ..forever festooned... 361 00:24:05,501 --> 00:24:07,421 ..in their orbital majesty. 362 00:24:17,261 --> 00:24:20,181 And as I looked at all this, I thought to myself... 363 00:24:22,461 --> 00:24:25,141 ..I must put a roof on this toilet. 364 00:24:42,341 --> 00:24:43,861 Come on. 365 00:24:46,901 --> 00:24:50,181 'For the first time, I was hearing genuine laughter 366 00:24:50,221 --> 00:24:53,781 'from one of the toughest audiences a comedian can face.' 367 00:24:56,181 --> 00:24:59,981 And although it took me another ten years playing the clubs 368 00:25:00,021 --> 00:25:02,141 to become an overnight success, 369 00:25:02,181 --> 00:25:04,421 I'd finally found my voice. 370 00:25:05,661 --> 00:25:08,661 And that's all a true artist can ever ask for. 371 00:25:11,741 --> 00:25:13,261 Have you heard enough? 372 00:25:13,301 --> 00:25:16,541 Absolutely, that's brilliant. -Thanks, Les. -No worries. 373 00:25:16,581 --> 00:25:18,821 See you in a couple of weeks, then. 374 00:25:32,781 --> 00:25:35,501 ♪ Bye-Bye Blackbird 375 00:26:03,981 --> 00:26:06,541 subtitles by Deluxe