Totally agree, I loved Snooker back then.

100%, we’ve had great players after this era, but the 80’s had the best ever personalities !!

everyone was on banger thats why

Whats banger? Copa cabana?

@@pmacc3557 charlie

He was touched for the very first tam

Fond times

His hair's all gone...

@@count7340 I think he ought to chalk it!

This man has been middle aged for 40 years.

Hahahaha

Lol. 😁 Loved the Ray Reardon no 2 won it joke. Vaguely remember watching this routine first time around. Still equally as funny now.

Yeah, it was similar to the way the light entertainment performers learned over years in the tough working men's clubs in the 50s 60s and then when they hit the television in the 70s, they had all the skills and character fully formed and their personalities were unique. It was exactly the same for the snooker players. To survive and hustle in those clubs meant they all had to develop those unique characters. A great time to watch snooker.

Everything is about money these days. Literally everything. The world is obsessed with more, more, more.

@@phillipe124For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil - 1 Timothy 6:10

❤

Is the standard so much higher today? It always seemed pretty high to me in those days. But certainly there was more character in the game. Those players had real personalities. I wonder if it was because they had perhaps done other things in life than play snooker? Or perhaps the professional snooker experience was different in those days? When those players were younger there was only a fraction of the money that eventually came with the spread of colour television and Pot Black, and the moving of the World Championship to the Crucible and it becoming a big television event. For example when Alex Higgins first won the title in 1972 it was played in a club somewhere, over many many more frames, and a prize of something like £200 if my memory serves.

@@martm216 The game has developed a bit but the standard is about the same (if you look back at some old Pot Black's on here) especially considering the improvement in equipment.

Don't think Cliff Thornton or Eddie Charlton were over charismatic.

@Ra HoWa The best thing about now is that White people are getting put into their place these days. Called Karma you racist dog.

Stephen Reeds watching Eddie Charlton play was about as exciting as watching paint dry. We went to see a match at the crucible, he was playing Kirk Stevens. The other table had played all 8 frames of their session whilst Eddie and Kirk were still on the 4th frame

Absolutely gifted with the imitations of the great snooker players

Well said!

Spot on Paddy!

@Christopher Horner So why don't they then? Left wing loony

He was. He spent years playing the part of a snooker player!

They all sold their souls to the corporations hence the advertising boards. All for the money but more for greed.

@Paul Not humanely possible, unless he uses the force to feel his shots.

@@thecultofjohnnydelr.soulsw7010 can't blame them for trying to earn extra cash. Got to remember thar players only started earning decent money in the 80s. Players scraped a living in the 1970s, and it could be argued it was largely due to characters like Alex Higgins thar brought in the TV money. The total prize money for the 1972 world championship was £8000.

Yes true, same as darts.

Even the boring players of the day had more character such as Cliff Thorburn and Eddie Charlton.

@Mickey Finn I gather even a "later great" Ronnie O'Sullivan, has decried the talent in the game today. Ah well, we have our memories.

If someone said now that they didn’t mind being a judge at the contest because of all the beautiful ladies there would be pandemonium over it, sad state of affairs

Tired, tired comment. Nobody is offended except you.

@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 No he's dead right political correctness has confined us miserably.

@@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888 Futhermore it's loonies like you that give us the challenge of waking up in the morning to face the day.

Funny how that’s not done now. Probably offend some snowflake now a days. Or probably not “diverse” enough.

@Moggs . My favourite commentator's ' bloomer' is the classic from Cricket commentator Brian Johnson: "The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey" 🤣

@@Mackeson3 😂🤣😂🤣

Remember that 😂😂

The best one from Ted Lowe whilst commentating was this one: _"For those of you watching in black and white, the brown ball is next to the blue."_ It might sound kind of a dumb comment but it was actually a good comment to make. The brown was almost indistinguishable from the reds on a black and white tv but when Ted made that comment the blue was actually on its spot with the brown ball very close to it.

He has refined the routine over the years. I saw another video on here where he is doing Higgins and he looks at the bottle of water on his table with disgust before unscrewing the cue and pretending to down something alcoholic hidden in the bottom half. Back in the 80's of course players were allowed to drink alcohol so I guess as a joke that made a natural progression for modern rules.

Most of them are boring, that's the problem. To be funny you need personality traits that you can exaggerate - in the modern game players are so ultra-professional and straightforward, there is nothing for John to go at.

Need to impersonate Ebdon and Sullivan

Yes, very decent human-being. Remember his kindness to a wayward Kirk Stevens many years ago.

@@martm216 .......I have always had a 'soft-spot' for John Virgo and love his no-frills and humorous approach. This respect for him started way back in the mid-1970's when the company I worked for sent me to their Manchester office to 'shadow' one of their best managers. [whom I will call 'Ken']. Like me, 'Ken' was an avid snooker fan - and every night after work we would end up at his snooker club having a frame or ten! One night though, he took me to Manchester YMCA as there was this highly touted, up-and-coming young player appearing in a match who 'Ken' wanted to see. His name was Terry Fitzgerald and talk was, that he was going to be the next Alex Higgins! Coaching Fitzgerald and with him that night was none other than John Virgo! So it was a real thrill for me to see them both. Sadly, Fitzgerald lost the match [he missed a relatively simple blue off its spot into the middle pocket] and I clearly remember Virgo patiently consoling his young prodigy. I never knew whatever happened to Terry Fitzgerald - I never heard of him again. But seeing John Virgo was a real pleasure and his voice was greatly missed at this year's snooker World Championships.

Pincho Paxton, I will add, 96 in the Southern Hemisphere and 181 in Metric plus the bonus of Two Can Chew. I had to comment after I read your post, Thumbs up John Australia.

@crissgran although it was about teenage girls

Pincho: Good one!...but I doubt the Beeb would have been too happy.

@@dagnut Who said they were "teenagers"? Is a woman "past-it" being in a beauty contest after 19? Why the bias? Morecambe & Wise made many jokes about much younger girls being desirable....or do they now "offend you" along with the rest of the ultra-sensitive, easily-offended bunch? Lighten up.