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Entertainer whose singing and mimicry drew television audiences of up to 10 million
The singer and impressionist Joe Longthorne, who has died aged 64 of cancer, may have been categorised as a middle-of the-road cabaret entertainer, but nobody would deny his talent. In his hugely popular live shows and on television, he would brilliantly mimic idiosyncratic crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey, and be funny at the same time. The impressionist Rory Bremner once said: “I wish I could sing like Joe Longthorne as I’d love to do Sinatra.”
Although he had been a performer since childhood, Longthorne got his big break with an appearance on the LWT series Search for a Star in 1981. It led to his own variety specials and, getting away from the working men’s clubs, a month-long engagement at the London night spot The Talk of the Town. This won him a Club Mirror award as specialist act of the year in 1983, and the Variety Club’s most promising artist award the following year. Continue reading...