GANDEY'S CIRCUS a Brief History.
GANDEY’S CIRCUS HISTORY (Brief History)
The founder of Gandey’s Circus, (Robert) Bob Gandey was born in 1894. But our story goes back to his parents who were also in the entertainment industry.
The Gandey family started out in show business as variety artists with the “Bostock and Womwell Circus” (Frank Bostock .b. 1866 .D. 1912) in the late 1800’s where they performed as “The Montana’s” with their “Western games and pastimes” act. They were also known as the Colorado Troupe and performed again with
a western style act dressing up as cowboys and performing rope spinning, whips and they had an educated pony that could count as well as a stubborn mule. Another touring show they worked in was the (William F Cody) “Buffalo Bill Wild West Show”, which at one point in 1904 had 800 people in the cast with 500 horses when it visited Bedford Street, Crewe for the week of the 30 September (1904).
In 1903, Bob Gandey now at the age of nine started training ponies with “Lord George Sanger’s Circus” (Lord George Sanger .b. 23 Dec 1825 Newbury, Berkshire / .D. 28 Nov 1911 – Murdered in East Finchley) for the wage of one shilling a week.
In 1909 now 15, Bob joined the American Touring Show “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show” and “Colonel Cummings Golden West Show” with one of his performances at the Earl’s Court Exhibition in 1909.
Between 1910 and 1920 Bob performed as Arthur Jack and Robert Gandey (The Colorado Kid) in “Gandey’s Comedy Circus”, with mules and ponies.
In 1911, Bob met Rose from Brighton who was performing at the Marina, Lowestoff and they started to date.
A year later in 1912 the couple married in Manchester with the bride and groom arriving at the registry office on horseback. This was also the time that Rose joined the families “Montana Troupe” which toured the Moss Empire Circuit of theatres with Bob Gandey and his horse “Snowball”.
In 1916 not only was the war on but it was an eventful time for the family as Rose and Bob had a son called Phillip Gandey known as Joe and as soon as he was old enough, he was brought into the act. Joe would later become a clown (Jo-Jo) and run the Circus.
During the First World War the “Gandey’s Circus” was performing in a number of Variety shows around the country and by 1917-18, Bob Gandey had a small tent of his own which he toured with his growing family.
Sometime in the 1920’s the family were appearing in Pantomime and were travelling down the A50 through Arclid and Brereton when they broke down. Unfortunately, their vehicle needed parts before it could continue on its journey and so the Gandey family looked for a place to stay until they arrived. They found a building up for sale and on enquiry with the farmer who owned it they were allowed to rent it. They liked the area so much that they decided to put down roots in Brereton and have remained as a family there from that time to date.
One of their first performances after they had settled in Cheshire was at Congleton Park.
In 1922, Robert Gandey (Bob) was part of the “North Western Troupe of Cowboys of Colorado” and again toured the theatres of the UK.
The performers started to appear in outdoor events at various fairgrounds as a sideshow with the posters proclaiming that the “Gandey’s Comedy Circus” was in town with an un-rideable mule and acts were featured on a turntable stage which was about six feet in diameter.
In 1925 the shows name changed briefly to the “Western Comedy Show” with Bob Gandey and it still had the same cowboy theme to its acts.
At the Palace Theatre in Hartlepool, George Morgan staged the pantomime “Cinderella” with nine scenes and the Gandey’s Circus for the week starting on Monday the 18 January 1926. This no doubt would have been part of a tour which would have started in December and possibly continued into March or April as before the 1960’s a lot of theatres hired in a production rather than staging their own pantomimes at a large cost to themselves.
In 1928, the Circus was appearing on stage at the Empire Theatre with Mr A.C. Astor (Ventriloquist), George Hurd (Australian 1925 Royal Command Juggler), Pierce and Roslyn (Instrumentalists), The Leo Sax Trio, Jack Short and May Dalziel.
A year later and the Circus appeared at a local theatre which was advertised as “Staffordshire’s Wonder House”, the Regent, Hanley. This was a variety and playhouse from 1929 to 1950 when it then became the Gaumont Cinema or Picture House, closing in 1974 until 1976 when it was taken over by the Odeon group until 1989 when it again reverted back to a theatre as the renamed “Regent Theatre” (Opened 21 Sept 1999). Topping the bill at the Regent was the play “Sorrell and Son” by Warwick Deeping and H B Warner with the Regent Symphony Orchestra, E Felton Rapley at the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ and “Our Circus” with Gandey’s Comedy Circus and Spencer’s Juvenile Wonders. Shows at this time usually has a one act play alongside a variety programme to give the public a whole night out of entertainment.
By 1930, some of the posters were proclaiming “Bob Gandey’s Famous Circus”, but when the act was taken back into the theatres it was still being billed as Gandey’s Comedy Circus as this line-up from the (Lyceum) New Theatre in Crewe dated the 4th to the 9th of January 1932 shows.
Vivian Foster Presents “This is Variety” with Vivian Foster (The Vicar of Mirth), The 7 De Guise Seymours, Gandey's Comedy Circus, Cooke, Wells and Harvey (Cyclists), Farolas (Vocal), Dixon and Lee (Comedians and Dancers), Paul Thompson and Sadie (Dancers) and Henry Hilton (Conjurer from Maskelynes in London).
In December 1930, Gandey’s Circus was at the Birmingham Hippodrome alongside one of Scotland’s greatest comedians, Will Fyffe (.b. 16 Feb 1885 .D. 14 Dec 1947). Others in the variety show included Coram, Terry and Yorke, Valencia Trio, Torrani, Charteris and Dickson and Los Costrillos.
By now Bob was training Shetland Ponies, Mules, Geese and Sheep not only for his own act but also for the Blackpool Tower Circus (Opened on the 14 May 1894) and Tom Arnold’s Circus in the Harringay Arena as well as for pantomimes including the New Theatre in Crewe. In December 1938 Bob and his animals were at Crewe in “Robinson Crusoe” a pantomime which was presented by Frank H Fortesque and starred Jimmy Malborn as Billy Crusoe, Geraldine Hurley as Robinson Crusoe, Kitty Iris as Principle Girl, Neil Durham as Mrs Crusoe (Dame) with Wally Thomas as the Old Man of the Sea and the Cannibal King. Bob brought his “Gandey's Comedy Circus” to the show with Ponies, Dogs, Monkey's and that famous Kicking Mule. The show then went on tour to various venues including the Preston Hippodrome in January 1939.
In September 1939 Gandey’s Circus appeared at the Alexandra Theatre in Hull with 15 minutes of horse sense and a comic kicking mule alongside other variety acts Scott and Foster (Wit and funny Burlesque), Rita, Jane and Hooley (Fan Dance Sketch), Harry Carlton (Ventriloquist), Mark Rivers and Jean (Comedy), Bert Allison (Comedian) and Temple and Holes (Accordion Duettists). This period at the start of the war (Declared on the 3 September 1939) was a time that changed the nature of performances for the next 30 years. When the war started all the theatres and places of entertainment were closed down as they were thought to be targets for the Germans and the death toll would be too great if they were hit by a bomb. However, the Government soon changed its mind and theatres were reopened as the moral of the people was considered to be a greater need than the threat of mass deaths. The nature of the variety acts showed a change from family variety to a more adult content with nude dancers on the theatre stage. This meant that due to the change of direction in the theatre programmes there was a move for the Circus to go back into the community rather than the indoor theatre circuit.
Christmas shows were still a time for family entertainment and so the following Christmas the circus was at the Coliseum in Edinburgh Road, Portsmouth for the week starting on the 26 December 1939.
Gandey’s Circus by now had its own tent made of canvas with a single mast, made out of a tree trunk for the King Pole. This was essential for the Circus to survive the war years and by 1940, the local authorities were hiring Gandey’s Circus for a twelve week run as part of the countries “Holidays at Home” initiative where they would set up a tent in a local park for people to enjoy entertainment in their own town’s rather than having to pay for transport to the coast as well as keeping the rail network available for troop movement rather than the annual trip to the seaside. These engagements included the Oldham Hyde Park in Manchester in 1942.
It was at this time that Joe Gandey met Mary Kennerley a local estate agent’s daughter from Cheshire and they married. With Mary becoming part of the act they, both appeared in “On the Gaff” with the following cast of performers. Mary Gandey, Tickey’s the Clown and his dog act, The Mighty Apollo, Sonya Allen, Anita in the Air, Tommy Allen and Mr Chipperfield who all appeared in various Fairground side shows and Circus tents.
Mary would go on to team up with Michael Gerbola in an Aerialist act under the name, “The Kusicks”. Michael Gerbola was also the strongman act in the ring and his family in Ireland still own a circus.
In December 1942 and January 1943, the Circus was back with Frank H Fortesque’s Company and the pantomime “Bo Peep and her Sheep” which again stopped off at Crewe for the week of the 11th to the 16th January 1943, this time with headliner Charlie Regan as Simple Simon, Nita Dene as Boy Blue and Phil May as Bo Peep.
In August 1943, Robert Gandey’s Jungle Express Zoo Circus appeared at Victoria Street, Nottingham Road, Greenwich and continued with performances in Heysham in September 1944 and Grantham in May 1945.
Gandey’s Super Circus appeared in Heysham Head in September 1945. It was an important venue for the company as the open-air shows at Heysham Head were to become an annual event for Bob Gandey. When Bob died his son, Joe continued to stage shows at the cliff edge for many years.
The 1945, pantomime at the Preston Palace was “Little Bo Peep” with Percy Johnson as Simple Simon, Pamela Paine as Bo Peep, Bec Thorburn as Little Boy Blue with Al Dixon as Dame and both Bob and Joe Gandey played their parts in the show with a bright little circus episode.
In the late 1940’s Joe and Mary had a son called Michael who later started as a Ringmaster with the Circus but soon decided to move away from the life in the big tent.
In 1948, Alan McPherson (.b. 1935) joined Bob Gandey’s Circus when it came to his home town of Southampton and fell in love with the glamour of the shows and so he decided to “Run away to the Circus” at the age of 13 and became a Clown as well as joining a Hungarian acrobatic springboard act. After leaving Gandey’s Circus Alan began working in Cabaret and it was while doing these shows that he met his future wife Babs who was a dancer in the show. In 1960, the two married and formed their own dancing and Acrobatic act. Unfortunately, in 1966 the couple were involved in a car crash that stopped them performing as a circus act as Alan was left in a coma and Babs was badly burned in the accident. Sometime in 1970 Alan worked in a Sutton Coldfield factory but the circus was still in his blood. While walking home from work Alan saw a poster advertising Joe Gandey’s Circus and so after 20 years from his first job with Gandey’s, Alan along with Babs approached the Circus Manager about a job to do the advanced publicity manager’s job for the Circus in 1970. By 1972, Alan and Babs along with their two children had moved to Brereton (in Cheshire) and wanted to combine his work as publicity manager with running their own small circus based at the three-acre Foxtail farm which was their home at the time. Their first show was to be at Litchfield in 1973.
In December 1948 and January 1949, it was again their regular booking with Frank H Fortesque for pantomime which this year was “Cinderella” and again at Crewe and also the Manchester Repertory Theatre in Hulme (24 Jan) and Queen’s Park Hippodrome, Manchester (29 Jan) with southern comedian Billy Burton, Frank Mitchell, Kira Hillaud, Kim Mervyn and Vi Gilmour.
In 1952, Bob Gandey presented the “Big Top Circus”. Things were looking up that year but were about to change dramatically as a year later in 1953 Bob Gandey died, leaving the Circus in the hands of his son Joe and his wife Mary. The show soon became a small intimate family circus with the reputation for good value and high quality. Uncle Joe’s Circus became the highlight of many a child’s year in communities from Preston to Birmingham.
One of the acts in the 1950’s that was looked after by Joe Gandey was a set of Geese. Three of the geese were called Arthur, Jane and Mary and appeared regularly in the ring.
In 1956 the show included musical clowns Toni, Tina and Tini, “The strong man act of the Appolos” and a Trapeze artist.
In 1957, Joe (Philip) and Mary’s youngest son Philip Gandey was born. He would become “Starri” The clown and would later take on the job of running Gandey’s Circus with his future wife Carol Gandey (.b. 29 Apr).
It was probably at this time that the show became a regular feature of the Sandbach calendar with the Big Top being erected on Scotch Common for its Summer Show.
With Television becoming popular after the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 it seemed a good idea for the Circus to be a part of it. Joe had a pony called Tommy which could seemingly answer questions and was billed as “Tommy the Clairvoyant Pony”. This attracted the TV producers and soon he was a television star with a set of postcards depicting this amazing animal released in 1963 (August).
In August 1966, Joe Gandy heard that Tom Sandow (The Sandow Family) and Sheila were out of work and offered them a short contract until the end of October. General Manager at the time was Peter Featherstone who was leaving at the end of the season so Tom applied for the job and was hired to take his place until 1969 as well as providing his roller skating and stilt walking act. As a clown Tom Sandow was not required to do this during the season as Joe would take on that role himself as Jo-Jo the Clown. The publicity for the shows was simple and Peter had done a great job of arranging it in advance of him leaving. Sanger’s Circus by this time was working within a 50-mile radius of London’s Piccadilly so Gandey’s worked the North with a 50-mile radius of Manchester’s Piccadilly. Hiring fees for venues were usually £5 a day but on one occasion a fee of £12 was charged to which Joe said “We are taking a chance with that cost”. Joe’s opening speech in the show started “We do not claim to be a large circus” as he was known as someone that wanted to keep the cost down as much as he could. He was also not keen on the inclusion of Wild Animals in the Circus which probably explains why Elephants and Lions did not appear in the Gandey Ring until after his death.
Aug 1967 Show = Clown Jock McPherson
By 1967, the company had moved to P.A. Fir Farm, Brereton, Sandbach, Cheshire with Joe Gandey presenting “Royalls Miniature Circus” with included Ponies, Dogs and Geese in a show until the 28th January at the Empire Theatre, Sunderland.
After working for a few more seasons, Sheila became pregnant and after a short season at the Little Theatre Rhyl Tom agreed to settle down in a caravan near Sandbach where his mother had settled in 1970 after working for Joe Gandey in 1969.
1-6 September 1969 Show at Twickenham
“Joe Gandey’s Circus Presentations Circus International”
(England’s largest single mast Circus)
Incl; Abdulla Troupe (Whirlwind Moroccan Acrobats)
Europa Brothers (from Budapest)
Caprice (Alpine Goat)
From BBC Television Gandey’s Royal Shetland Ponies
featuring the Pony with the Master Mind.
Saida and Partner (Hungarian Foot Juggler)
Royall’s Dogs
The Sandows (Balancing Cocktail)
Gunga-Din and Sapphire (Sensational 20t Century Hercules /
Thrilling Eastern Yoga / Breath-taking Lift of 10 Men)
Jo-Jo the Clown with Queenie the dog (Joe Gandey)
PRICES 3/- 5/- 7/6 Adults
2/6 3/- 5/- Children
7- 11 Oct 1969 New Victoria Theatre Halifax
(Don Ellis Presents Gandey’s Circus International)
Incl; Scott’s Amazing Sea Lions
Abdulla Troupe (Whirlwind Moroccan Acrobats)
Scarri and Dot (Trick and Comedy Cyclists)
Miss June’s Pigeon Fantasy (June’s Pigeons)
From BBC and Granada TV “Tommy” Pony with the Human Brain.
Saida and Partner (Hungarian Foot Juggler)
Starri and Co (5 Clowns) (Starri was Philip Gandy)
Royall’s Dogs
The Sandows (Balancing Cocktail)
Gunga-Din and Sapphire (Sensational 20t Century Hercules /
Thrilling Eastern Yoga / Breath-taking Lift of 10 Men)
ADDITIONAL ACTS at Sunderland October 1969
Dash’s Chimpanzees (Circus Television direct from Circus Bonar)
Horses and Ponies presented by Emily Thompson
Ringmaster Chris Christian
Running Fox and Juanita (Apache Fire Eaters)
The December 1970 pantomime for the circus was “Cinderella” at the Queen’s Theatre, Burslem. However, things didn’t go quite to plan as half the cast went down with seasonal sickness. It was supposed to have starred Danny Ross (The Clitheroe Kid) in the Philip Bernard production as Buttons but he became ill, with his place being taken by Dave Peters who was one of the Ugly Sisters and so Roy Rolland (Dame) starred as the Ugly Sister on his own with Fred Gandey playing Baron Hardup along with his speciality animals.
CINDERELLA by Aubrey Phillips with songs by Alan Martin
Choreography by Johnny Worthy.
Costumes and Scenery by Philip Bernard.
Musical Director Howard Jennings
Stage Manager David Kelly
With
Danny Ross (Off Ill) as Buttons
Dave Peters as Buttons (Was Ugly Sister)
Elspeth Pirrie as Cinderella
Roy Roland (Old Mother Riley Stand in) as Ugly Sister
Fred Gandey as Baron Hardup
Heather Easton
David Kelly
May Sims
David Leonard
Roger Graham
The Bernard Dancers
Gandey’s Miniature Circus
In July 1970, the Circus returned to Pantomime with the production of “Cinderella” at Bolton’s Studio One (Lido Theatre)
WITH Don Ellis as Buttons,
Billy Wells and Bobbie Kent as Ugly Sisters,
Gladys Ambrode as Cinderella,
John Emms as Dandini,
Chris Fox as Prince Charling,
Roy Minting (Dame),
Dumarte and Denza as the Brokers Men (Also presenting 60 Skeletons Alive),
Bob Danzar,
Mary Fitz,
Chris Ellis
Joe Gandey as Baron Hardup (with his Mini Circus).
Speciality acts included the Royals Dog, and Tommy’s TV Pony Express
(Named after the 1960’s Tommy the TV Pony)
with the Russell Leit Dancers (Gaiety Dancers), and the Jack Rodney Orchestra.
In 1973, Joe Gandey died suddenly while in Scotland leaving his son Philip to become the youngest director of a Circus in Britain at the age of 17.
In the 1980’s, Gandey’s Circus teamed up with Tycross Zoo and PG Tips to present the TV Chimps live on stage. One of the venues was the New Brighton Pavilion during the week of the 26 May 1980 (Easter Week)
In November 1983 ‘Smithy’ Bernard Blackmore had a trunk call with a difference as he was asked if he could help out the Circus while it was in Garston as the Elephant, Ranne needed its toenails filing down. Used to shoeing smaller ponies the three-and-a-half-ton elephant presented a larger problem but he was able to help out. The elephant was part of Billy Smart’s Circus who had loaned them to Gandey’s for three seasons until 1988 including the elephant Buffy who enjoyed playing football in the morning.
Ever keen for publicity and putting something back into the communities a special visit was arranged for the Clowns from the Circus to visit the Children’s Ward of Leighton Hospital in Crewe in January when the show “Gandey’s Circus Comes to Town” was at the Crewe Theatre (Lyceum) (12-17 Jan 1981).
In 1983 at Crewe Theatre, Gandey’s small bears trained by Graham Tottle were used in a production of their Christmas show, “The Wizard of Oz” between the 12 December 1983 and the 14 January 1984 with YANA as Glenda Good Fairy, Gale Ashley as Dorothy.
Bored waiting for the next show the two Canadian Honey Bears called Rita and Daley escaped from their cage outside the Lyceum Theatre when it was unlocked by a stranger on Boxing day (1983). The two bears from Gandey's Circus were playing Hickory and Dickory in the production and the six-foot high bears Rita and Daley decided to go for a walk round the market next to the theatre. They were found by their keeper soon after their escape with Rita being discovered in their van outside the theatre. Daley was found on one of the Market stalls eating his favourite sweets, Polo Mints.
The whole Circus returned to the Crewe Theatre in February 1984 with Philip Gandey's Circus along with Martin Lacey’s Lions and Mary Chipperfield’s Exotic Animals.
17 – 19 Oct 1985 Malvern Link Common, Malvern
(Davies and Gandey Presents)
Incl; Tommy
Duo Hellas
Brett and Rosa Montana
Johnny Brown and Samantha
Elizabet (From Prague)
Davis and Gandey’s Troupe of Liberty Ponies and Mules
Alun Davies 10 Poodles
Alec Halls
Running Fox and Juanita (Apache Fire Eaters)
+ Others
TICKERS 80p 60p 40p
In 1985, the Circus was run by both Philip and Carol Gandey and included the two bears called Rita and Daley (Named after Daley Thompson the swimmer) and owned by Graham Tottle. Other acts at the Circus were Martin Lacey who brought his six tigers and maned lions. Mary Chipperfield’s four impressive black Friesian stallions, pony and exotic dromedary, reindeer, llama, zeboid (Zebra / Palomino cross) and April, a pigmy hippopotamus that were looked after by David Sherwood. Clowns Tottie (Graham Tottle), Pepper and Peanuts performed with their Space Rocket. Fire eater Geronimo (Trevor Jones), Clara Kevan (Solo Aerian rope act), Three Girl Cossack Riders, The Anglo-South African Troupe, The Cherokees, Pete Hansen’s high-flying trapeze act were also part of the entertainment with music provided by Frank Crawford’s trio of trumpet, organ and drums.
By 1988 Philip and Carol Gandey had based their centre of operations in Chapel House, Chapel Street, Congleton.
In 1988, Binky Beaumont joined Gandey’s as a clown. Binky was born Ian Welsby and lived in Sandbach for many years. He is the grandson of Bessie and Cliff Welsby who for many years owned the chemist’s shop in Sandbach and the son of Tony Welsby. It was Cliff Welsby who knew Circus proprietor Joe Gandey as they played cards together and through the chemists, they got to know quite a few of the performers. It was Cliff’s connection that gave Binky (Ian Welsby) the chance to join the Circus after he had met some of the clowns while Gandey’s was in the area and Ian showed an interest in joining them in an act.
In July 1988, Billy Smart’s elephants continued to appear with Gandey’s Circus on tour including a visit to Tranmere.
Having started with horses and ponies in a Wild West Show at the start of the 1900’s Gandey’s Circus had recently brought in more exotic animals like elephants and tigers to appear in the ring during the 1980’s but things were about to change as by 1988 Animal Rights protesters were calling into question if animals should be kept in cages and transported round the country, considering it to be demeaning for the animals as they performed tricks in what the protesters considered to be an unnatural act. Things have changed in the circus since the days that lions were controlled with a wooden chair and a whip, but by this time more consideration was taken about the welfare of the animals and regular checks by the RSPCA made sure they were not being harmed. Ringmaster Graham Tottle told the Liverpool Echo that “the animals were let out into an exercise yard for at least an hour every day, playing for 30 minutes before falling asleep”. Coming from Safari Parks these captive bred animals have not enjoyed the life in the wild so they couldn’t survive if they were put back into their native lands. The animals have built up a trust with their trainers and will do what they are asked to do but as they are wild animals, they will not do what they do not enjoy and often did their own thing. Little bears Rita and Daley are trained by Graham Tottle, who takes them for walks every day and he finds they do exactly what they want to do in the ring much to the delight of the audience.
Unfortunately, by the end of the 1990’s the growing number of protesters increased with some picketing various circus’s including Gandey’s in May 1989 when they appeared at the LRT Sports Ground in Old Kenton Lane, Kingsbury. Some of the more reckless protesters were responsible for letting out some of the animals at venues around the world, making it impossible for Circus’s to continue to have anything except horses and dogs in the Circus Ring and in the case of Gandey’s even these are mainly kept out of the ring.
The Circus appeared at the Aintree racecourse between the 8th and 20th May 1990
1990 Hippodrome, Great Yarmouth (Presented by Peter Jay)
Incl = Billy Wilson Smart’s Indian Elephants and 6 African Lions
Black Bears / Camels / Horses / Ponies /
Medieval Jousts / Aerial Acts / Flying Trapeze / High Wire
Cloud Swings / Solo Trapeze /
The Didgets (Britain’s Smallest Clowns)
Ian Stevens Circus Band
In January 1992, the Circus was still using animals and Ringmaster Binky Beaumont was seen at New Brighton in Lancashire (Merseyside) with two Camels trying to get a taxi back home after they had been for a walk along the sea front. The show also had Polar Bears in the show and a baboon that was seen on the back of a bicycle with its trainer Mark Austin when the tent moved to Aintree.
8 July to 6 Sept 1992 Hippodrome, Great Yarmouth (Presented by Peter Jay)
Incl; John Roberts and his Mighty Indian Elephants
The Flying Neves (From Brazil)
5 Aerial Acts under one roof
Giant Space Wheel
17- 20 June 1993 Newry Beach, Holyhead / 21 -23 June Caernarfon
Incl; Amedeo Folgo’s Mighty African Elephants (Presented by Mark Austin)
Paslea Troupe (Springboard from Russian State Circus) (New)
The Garcia Family (Aerial Superstars from Spain) (New)
Camels
Eva Garcia (Foot Juggling)
The Digits (Clowns)
6 Friesian Stallions and 3 African Zebra (New)
Maria Garcia (Trapeze)
Shire Horse and Shetland Pony
Ian Stevens Circus Band
The Gandey Showgirls
After the 1993 season in Blackpool, Binky Beaumont retired as a clown with the Circus. In 1992 he had filled in as Ringmaster when Philip and Carol Gandey were unavailable and would remain with the circus as the Ringmaster until about 1997 when he went to work for a Jaguar car dealership in Manchester. The dealership allowed him time off to do seasons with Gandey’s and when he gave up selling cars, he would become part of the management team of the Circus based in their Congleton offices.
In 1996, Gandey’s Circus took on the “Chinese State Circus” with 46 performers as they made their UK tour between May 1996 and February 1997.
In 1999 Philip Gandey made history when he was able to take the first ever Circus to Saudi Arabia.
Another change for Gandey’s happened in 2005 when after the loss of exotic animals, the company acquired the “Spirit of the Horse Show”, which went back to the early days of the family and a more modern version of the wild west show, showing skills on horseback.
In May 2018 Acrobat Navas Hauigui (.b. 1995 known as Howie) was minutes into his act on the Giant Double Giant Spinning Wheel in Guernsey when he fell from the 30ft spinning wheel as he ran from one end to another. He was rushed to the local Hospital but after scans he was found to only have suffered slight bruising.
Another act that had a problem during a show was the Gerling Family who presented “The Thunderdome”, a large metal ball inside which motorcyclists ride round in a fast-moving display of skill. It is made more dangerous as one rider is joined by a second and then a third person in the confined space. On the 20 February 2019 at Liverpool someone stole their bikes and they had to find replacements at short notice from Hunts Motorcycles in Manchester. However, the bikes they use for the act are specially built and despite rehearsing for most of the day for the performance on the 21 February 2019 things didn’t go to plan as when they were joined by number three, their female rider they seemed to slip in the dome and she fell to the bottom of the cage causing her to be taken to hospital with a broken ankle.
Today the circus is run by Philip and Carol Gandey with their daughter Hayley involved in producing the shows and has acted as Ringmistress for the Great Circus of Europe (Tours included Hong Kong in 2019). Chico’s other daughter is Mariska.
It takes about 50 people with 15 lorries, 30 performers, technical staff, about 40 office workers, internet designers, photographers, publicity, drivers and many locations to put on a show in one town for one week. It has certainly changed from the days when one man organised the location with the cast and crew all pitching in to make the show work, but this is the 21st century and “nothing is what it seems”.
CIRCUS
Circus has always appealed as family entertainment with patrons from babes in arms to the eldest visitor in 2018 coming to see the show at the age of 102.
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SHOWS RUN BY GANDEY’S
Bolshoi Circus (Represent)
Bolshoi on Ice (Represent)
Chinese State Circus
Cirque Surreal
Edinburgh International Circus Festival (Event)
Fist of the Dragon
Gandey’s Thrill Circus
Kremlin Ballet (Represent)
Krystal Dinner Show (Events)
Lady Boys of Bangkok
Los Vivancos (Represent)
Monster Truck Show (Represent)
Planet Puppet (Represent)
Royalles British Thrill Circus
Russian International Ballet Company (Represent)
Spirit of the Horse
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CURRENT SHOW (May 2019)
Ryan Brown (Ringmaster)
Opening Dancers
Havana Troupe (Pole Balancing / Springboard) from Cuba
Chico Rico (Clown) from Mexico (Born Adan Morales in 1969. Married to Catherine born in 1995.
Daughters (Rosie) Rosalia Morales .b. 2007 / (Jacqueline) Jacqui Morales .b. 1994
(Georgina) Gina Morales .b. 1993
Amiri the Bendy Prince (Contortionist) from Tanzania
Gerlings (High Wire)
Duo Nava (Aerial Silks) Jacqui Morales and fiancé Brandon Carrisosa-Nava (Became engaged in 2017)
(with Rosalia Morales singing “This is Me”)
Chico Rico (Clown) – Remote Control sketch
Duo Siffolini from Bulgaria (Giant Wheel of Death)
INTERVAL
Las Chacas Morales (Rolling Globes) from Central America / Mexico = Jacqui and Gina Morales
Chico Rico (Clown) – Boxing Ring
Havana Troupe (Pole Balancing / Springboard) from Cuba
Join the Circus = Dancers with Balloons
Gerlings (Thunder Dome)
END You Can Stop the Beat
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The founder of Gandey’s Circus, (Robert) Bob Gandey was born in 1894. But our story goes back to his parents who were also in the entertainment industry.
The Gandey family started out in show business as variety artists with the “Bostock and Womwell Circus” (Frank Bostock .b. 1866 .D. 1912) in the late 1800’s where they performed as “The Montana’s” with their “Western games and pastimes” act. They were also known as the Colorado Troupe and performed again with
a western style act dressing up as cowboys and performing rope spinning, whips and they had an educated pony that could count as well as a stubborn mule. Another touring show they worked in was the (William F Cody) “Buffalo Bill Wild West Show”, which at one point in 1904 had 800 people in the cast with 500 horses when it visited Bedford Street, Crewe for the week of the 30 September (1904).
In 1903, Bob Gandey now at the age of nine started training ponies with “Lord George Sanger’s Circus” (Lord George Sanger .b. 23 Dec 1825 Newbury, Berkshire / .D. 28 Nov 1911 – Murdered in East Finchley) for the wage of one shilling a week.
In 1909 now 15, Bob joined the American Touring Show “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show” and “Colonel Cummings Golden West Show” with one of his performances at the Earl’s Court Exhibition in 1909.
Between 1910 and 1920 Bob performed as Arthur Jack and Robert Gandey (The Colorado Kid) in “Gandey’s Comedy Circus”, with mules and ponies.
In 1911, Bob met Rose from Brighton who was performing at the Marina, Lowestoff and they started to date.
A year later in 1912 the couple married in Manchester with the bride and groom arriving at the registry office on horseback. This was also the time that Rose joined the families “Montana Troupe” which toured the Moss Empire Circuit of theatres with Bob Gandey and his horse “Snowball”.
In 1916 not only was the war on but it was an eventful time for the family as Rose and Bob had a son called Phillip Gandey known as Joe and as soon as he was old enough, he was brought into the act. Joe would later become a clown (Jo-Jo) and run the Circus.
During the First World War the “Gandey’s Circus” was performing in a number of Variety shows around the country and by 1917-18, Bob Gandey had a small tent of his own which he toured with his growing family.
Sometime in the 1920’s the family were appearing in Pantomime and were travelling down the A50 through Arclid and Brereton when they broke down. Unfortunately, their vehicle needed parts before it could continue on its journey and so the Gandey family looked for a place to stay until they arrived. They found a building up for sale and on enquiry with the farmer who owned it they were allowed to rent it. They liked the area so much that they decided to put down roots in Brereton and have remained as a family there from that time to date.
One of their first performances after they had settled in Cheshire was at Congleton Park.
In 1922, Robert Gandey (Bob) was part of the “North Western Troupe of Cowboys of Colorado” and again toured the theatres of the UK.
The performers started to appear in outdoor events at various fairgrounds as a sideshow with the posters proclaiming that the “Gandey’s Comedy Circus” was in town with an un-rideable mule and acts were featured on a turntable stage which was about six feet in diameter.
In 1925 the shows name changed briefly to the “Western Comedy Show” with Bob Gandey and it still had the same cowboy theme to its acts.
At the Palace Theatre in Hartlepool, George Morgan staged the pantomime “Cinderella” with nine scenes and the Gandey’s Circus for the week starting on Monday the 18 January 1926. This no doubt would have been part of a tour which would have started in December and possibly continued into March or April as before the 1960’s a lot of theatres hired in a production rather than staging their own pantomimes at a large cost to themselves.
In 1928, the Circus was appearing on stage at the Empire Theatre with Mr A.C. Astor (Ventriloquist), George Hurd (Australian 1925 Royal Command Juggler), Pierce and Roslyn (Instrumentalists), The Leo Sax Trio, Jack Short and May Dalziel.
A year later and the Circus appeared at a local theatre which was advertised as “Staffordshire’s Wonder House”, the Regent, Hanley. This was a variety and playhouse from 1929 to 1950 when it then became the Gaumont Cinema or Picture House, closing in 1974 until 1976 when it was taken over by the Odeon group until 1989 when it again reverted back to a theatre as the renamed “Regent Theatre” (Opened 21 Sept 1999). Topping the bill at the Regent was the play “Sorrell and Son” by Warwick Deeping and H B Warner with the Regent Symphony Orchestra, E Felton Rapley at the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ and “Our Circus” with Gandey’s Comedy Circus and Spencer’s Juvenile Wonders. Shows at this time usually has a one act play alongside a variety programme to give the public a whole night out of entertainment.
By 1930, some of the posters were proclaiming “Bob Gandey’s Famous Circus”, but when the act was taken back into the theatres it was still being billed as Gandey’s Comedy Circus as this line-up from the (Lyceum) New Theatre in Crewe dated the 4th to the 9th of January 1932 shows.
Vivian Foster Presents “This is Variety” with Vivian Foster (The Vicar of Mirth), The 7 De Guise Seymours, Gandey's Comedy Circus, Cooke, Wells and Harvey (Cyclists), Farolas (Vocal), Dixon and Lee (Comedians and Dancers), Paul Thompson and Sadie (Dancers) and Henry Hilton (Conjurer from Maskelynes in London).
In December 1930, Gandey’s Circus was at the Birmingham Hippodrome alongside one of Scotland’s greatest comedians, Will Fyffe (.b. 16 Feb 1885 .D. 14 Dec 1947). Others in the variety show included Coram, Terry and Yorke, Valencia Trio, Torrani, Charteris and Dickson and Los Costrillos.
By now Bob was training Shetland Ponies, Mules, Geese and Sheep not only for his own act but also for the Blackpool Tower Circus (Opened on the 14 May 1894) and Tom Arnold’s Circus in the Harringay Arena as well as for pantomimes including the New Theatre in Crewe. In December 1938 Bob and his animals were at Crewe in “Robinson Crusoe” a pantomime which was presented by Frank H Fortesque and starred Jimmy Malborn as Billy Crusoe, Geraldine Hurley as Robinson Crusoe, Kitty Iris as Principle Girl, Neil Durham as Mrs Crusoe (Dame) with Wally Thomas as the Old Man of the Sea and the Cannibal King. Bob brought his “Gandey's Comedy Circus” to the show with Ponies, Dogs, Monkey's and that famous Kicking Mule. The show then went on tour to various venues including the Preston Hippodrome in January 1939.
In September 1939 Gandey’s Circus appeared at the Alexandra Theatre in Hull with 15 minutes of horse sense and a comic kicking mule alongside other variety acts Scott and Foster (Wit and funny Burlesque), Rita, Jane and Hooley (Fan Dance Sketch), Harry Carlton (Ventriloquist), Mark Rivers and Jean (Comedy), Bert Allison (Comedian) and Temple and Holes (Accordion Duettists). This period at the start of the war (Declared on the 3 September 1939) was a time that changed the nature of performances for the next 30 years. When the war started all the theatres and places of entertainment were closed down as they were thought to be targets for the Germans and the death toll would be too great if they were hit by a bomb. However, the Government soon changed its mind and theatres were reopened as the moral of the people was considered to be a greater need than the threat of mass deaths. The nature of the variety acts showed a change from family variety to a more adult content with nude dancers on the theatre stage. This meant that due to the change of direction in the theatre programmes there was a move for the Circus to go back into the community rather than the indoor theatre circuit.
Christmas shows were still a time for family entertainment and so the following Christmas the circus was at the Coliseum in Edinburgh Road, Portsmouth for the week starting on the 26 December 1939.
Gandey’s Circus by now had its own tent made of canvas with a single mast, made out of a tree trunk for the King Pole. This was essential for the Circus to survive the war years and by 1940, the local authorities were hiring Gandey’s Circus for a twelve week run as part of the countries “Holidays at Home” initiative where they would set up a tent in a local park for people to enjoy entertainment in their own town’s rather than having to pay for transport to the coast as well as keeping the rail network available for troop movement rather than the annual trip to the seaside. These engagements included the Oldham Hyde Park in Manchester in 1942.
It was at this time that Joe Gandey met Mary Kennerley a local estate agent’s daughter from Cheshire and they married. With Mary becoming part of the act they, both appeared in “On the Gaff” with the following cast of performers. Mary Gandey, Tickey’s the Clown and his dog act, The Mighty Apollo, Sonya Allen, Anita in the Air, Tommy Allen and Mr Chipperfield who all appeared in various Fairground side shows and Circus tents.
Mary would go on to team up with Michael Gerbola in an Aerialist act under the name, “The Kusicks”. Michael Gerbola was also the strongman act in the ring and his family in Ireland still own a circus.
In December 1942 and January 1943, the Circus was back with Frank H Fortesque’s Company and the pantomime “Bo Peep and her Sheep” which again stopped off at Crewe for the week of the 11th to the 16th January 1943, this time with headliner Charlie Regan as Simple Simon, Nita Dene as Boy Blue and Phil May as Bo Peep.
In August 1943, Robert Gandey’s Jungle Express Zoo Circus appeared at Victoria Street, Nottingham Road, Greenwich and continued with performances in Heysham in September 1944 and Grantham in May 1945.
Gandey’s Super Circus appeared in Heysham Head in September 1945. It was an important venue for the company as the open-air shows at Heysham Head were to become an annual event for Bob Gandey. When Bob died his son, Joe continued to stage shows at the cliff edge for many years.
The 1945, pantomime at the Preston Palace was “Little Bo Peep” with Percy Johnson as Simple Simon, Pamela Paine as Bo Peep, Bec Thorburn as Little Boy Blue with Al Dixon as Dame and both Bob and Joe Gandey played their parts in the show with a bright little circus episode.
In the late 1940’s Joe and Mary had a son called Michael who later started as a Ringmaster with the Circus but soon decided to move away from the life in the big tent.
In 1948, Alan McPherson (.b. 1935) joined Bob Gandey’s Circus when it came to his home town of Southampton and fell in love with the glamour of the shows and so he decided to “Run away to the Circus” at the age of 13 and became a Clown as well as joining a Hungarian acrobatic springboard act. After leaving Gandey’s Circus Alan began working in Cabaret and it was while doing these shows that he met his future wife Babs who was a dancer in the show. In 1960, the two married and formed their own dancing and Acrobatic act. Unfortunately, in 1966 the couple were involved in a car crash that stopped them performing as a circus act as Alan was left in a coma and Babs was badly burned in the accident. Sometime in 1970 Alan worked in a Sutton Coldfield factory but the circus was still in his blood. While walking home from work Alan saw a poster advertising Joe Gandey’s Circus and so after 20 years from his first job with Gandey’s, Alan along with Babs approached the Circus Manager about a job to do the advanced publicity manager’s job for the Circus in 1970. By 1972, Alan and Babs along with their two children had moved to Brereton (in Cheshire) and wanted to combine his work as publicity manager with running their own small circus based at the three-acre Foxtail farm which was their home at the time. Their first show was to be at Litchfield in 1973.
In December 1948 and January 1949, it was again their regular booking with Frank H Fortesque for pantomime which this year was “Cinderella” and again at Crewe and also the Manchester Repertory Theatre in Hulme (24 Jan) and Queen’s Park Hippodrome, Manchester (29 Jan) with southern comedian Billy Burton, Frank Mitchell, Kira Hillaud, Kim Mervyn and Vi Gilmour.
In 1952, Bob Gandey presented the “Big Top Circus”. Things were looking up that year but were about to change dramatically as a year later in 1953 Bob Gandey died, leaving the Circus in the hands of his son Joe and his wife Mary. The show soon became a small intimate family circus with the reputation for good value and high quality. Uncle Joe’s Circus became the highlight of many a child’s year in communities from Preston to Birmingham.
One of the acts in the 1950’s that was looked after by Joe Gandey was a set of Geese. Three of the geese were called Arthur, Jane and Mary and appeared regularly in the ring.
In 1956 the show included musical clowns Toni, Tina and Tini, “The strong man act of the Appolos” and a Trapeze artist.
In 1957, Joe (Philip) and Mary’s youngest son Philip Gandey was born. He would become “Starri” The clown and would later take on the job of running Gandey’s Circus with his future wife Carol Gandey (.b. 29 Apr).
It was probably at this time that the show became a regular feature of the Sandbach calendar with the Big Top being erected on Scotch Common for its Summer Show.
With Television becoming popular after the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 it seemed a good idea for the Circus to be a part of it. Joe had a pony called Tommy which could seemingly answer questions and was billed as “Tommy the Clairvoyant Pony”. This attracted the TV producers and soon he was a television star with a set of postcards depicting this amazing animal released in 1963 (August).
In August 1966, Joe Gandy heard that Tom Sandow (The Sandow Family) and Sheila were out of work and offered them a short contract until the end of October. General Manager at the time was Peter Featherstone who was leaving at the end of the season so Tom applied for the job and was hired to take his place until 1969 as well as providing his roller skating and stilt walking act. As a clown Tom Sandow was not required to do this during the season as Joe would take on that role himself as Jo-Jo the Clown. The publicity for the shows was simple and Peter had done a great job of arranging it in advance of him leaving. Sanger’s Circus by this time was working within a 50-mile radius of London’s Piccadilly so Gandey’s worked the North with a 50-mile radius of Manchester’s Piccadilly. Hiring fees for venues were usually £5 a day but on one occasion a fee of £12 was charged to which Joe said “We are taking a chance with that cost”. Joe’s opening speech in the show started “We do not claim to be a large circus” as he was known as someone that wanted to keep the cost down as much as he could. He was also not keen on the inclusion of Wild Animals in the Circus which probably explains why Elephants and Lions did not appear in the Gandey Ring until after his death.
Aug 1967 Show = Clown Jock McPherson
By 1967, the company had moved to P.A. Fir Farm, Brereton, Sandbach, Cheshire with Joe Gandey presenting “Royalls Miniature Circus” with included Ponies, Dogs and Geese in a show until the 28th January at the Empire Theatre, Sunderland.
After working for a few more seasons, Sheila became pregnant and after a short season at the Little Theatre Rhyl Tom agreed to settle down in a caravan near Sandbach where his mother had settled in 1970 after working for Joe Gandey in 1969.
1-6 September 1969 Show at Twickenham
“Joe Gandey’s Circus Presentations Circus International”
(England’s largest single mast Circus)
Incl; Abdulla Troupe (Whirlwind Moroccan Acrobats)
Europa Brothers (from Budapest)
Caprice (Alpine Goat)
From BBC Television Gandey’s Royal Shetland Ponies
featuring the Pony with the Master Mind.
Saida and Partner (Hungarian Foot Juggler)
Royall’s Dogs
The Sandows (Balancing Cocktail)
Gunga-Din and Sapphire (Sensational 20t Century Hercules /
Thrilling Eastern Yoga / Breath-taking Lift of 10 Men)
Jo-Jo the Clown with Queenie the dog (Joe Gandey)
PRICES 3/- 5/- 7/6 Adults
2/6 3/- 5/- Children
7- 11 Oct 1969 New Victoria Theatre Halifax
(Don Ellis Presents Gandey’s Circus International)
Incl; Scott’s Amazing Sea Lions
Abdulla Troupe (Whirlwind Moroccan Acrobats)
Scarri and Dot (Trick and Comedy Cyclists)
Miss June’s Pigeon Fantasy (June’s Pigeons)
From BBC and Granada TV “Tommy” Pony with the Human Brain.
Saida and Partner (Hungarian Foot Juggler)
Starri and Co (5 Clowns) (Starri was Philip Gandy)
Royall’s Dogs
The Sandows (Balancing Cocktail)
Gunga-Din and Sapphire (Sensational 20t Century Hercules /
Thrilling Eastern Yoga / Breath-taking Lift of 10 Men)
ADDITIONAL ACTS at Sunderland October 1969
Dash’s Chimpanzees (Circus Television direct from Circus Bonar)
Horses and Ponies presented by Emily Thompson
Ringmaster Chris Christian
Running Fox and Juanita (Apache Fire Eaters)
The December 1970 pantomime for the circus was “Cinderella” at the Queen’s Theatre, Burslem. However, things didn’t go quite to plan as half the cast went down with seasonal sickness. It was supposed to have starred Danny Ross (The Clitheroe Kid) in the Philip Bernard production as Buttons but he became ill, with his place being taken by Dave Peters who was one of the Ugly Sisters and so Roy Rolland (Dame) starred as the Ugly Sister on his own with Fred Gandey playing Baron Hardup along with his speciality animals.
CINDERELLA by Aubrey Phillips with songs by Alan Martin
Choreography by Johnny Worthy.
Costumes and Scenery by Philip Bernard.
Musical Director Howard Jennings
Stage Manager David Kelly
With
Danny Ross (Off Ill) as Buttons
Dave Peters as Buttons (Was Ugly Sister)
Elspeth Pirrie as Cinderella
Roy Roland (Old Mother Riley Stand in) as Ugly Sister
Fred Gandey as Baron Hardup
Heather Easton
David Kelly
May Sims
David Leonard
Roger Graham
The Bernard Dancers
Gandey’s Miniature Circus
In July 1970, the Circus returned to Pantomime with the production of “Cinderella” at Bolton’s Studio One (Lido Theatre)
WITH Don Ellis as Buttons,
Billy Wells and Bobbie Kent as Ugly Sisters,
Gladys Ambrode as Cinderella,
John Emms as Dandini,
Chris Fox as Prince Charling,
Roy Minting (Dame),
Dumarte and Denza as the Brokers Men (Also presenting 60 Skeletons Alive),
Bob Danzar,
Mary Fitz,
Chris Ellis
Joe Gandey as Baron Hardup (with his Mini Circus).
Speciality acts included the Royals Dog, and Tommy’s TV Pony Express
(Named after the 1960’s Tommy the TV Pony)
with the Russell Leit Dancers (Gaiety Dancers), and the Jack Rodney Orchestra.
In 1973, Joe Gandey died suddenly while in Scotland leaving his son Philip to become the youngest director of a Circus in Britain at the age of 17.
In the 1980’s, Gandey’s Circus teamed up with Tycross Zoo and PG Tips to present the TV Chimps live on stage. One of the venues was the New Brighton Pavilion during the week of the 26 May 1980 (Easter Week)
In November 1983 ‘Smithy’ Bernard Blackmore had a trunk call with a difference as he was asked if he could help out the Circus while it was in Garston as the Elephant, Ranne needed its toenails filing down. Used to shoeing smaller ponies the three-and-a-half-ton elephant presented a larger problem but he was able to help out. The elephant was part of Billy Smart’s Circus who had loaned them to Gandey’s for three seasons until 1988 including the elephant Buffy who enjoyed playing football in the morning.
Ever keen for publicity and putting something back into the communities a special visit was arranged for the Clowns from the Circus to visit the Children’s Ward of Leighton Hospital in Crewe in January when the show “Gandey’s Circus Comes to Town” was at the Crewe Theatre (Lyceum) (12-17 Jan 1981).
In 1983 at Crewe Theatre, Gandey’s small bears trained by Graham Tottle were used in a production of their Christmas show, “The Wizard of Oz” between the 12 December 1983 and the 14 January 1984 with YANA as Glenda Good Fairy, Gale Ashley as Dorothy.
Bored waiting for the next show the two Canadian Honey Bears called Rita and Daley escaped from their cage outside the Lyceum Theatre when it was unlocked by a stranger on Boxing day (1983). The two bears from Gandey's Circus were playing Hickory and Dickory in the production and the six-foot high bears Rita and Daley decided to go for a walk round the market next to the theatre. They were found by their keeper soon after their escape with Rita being discovered in their van outside the theatre. Daley was found on one of the Market stalls eating his favourite sweets, Polo Mints.
The whole Circus returned to the Crewe Theatre in February 1984 with Philip Gandey's Circus along with Martin Lacey’s Lions and Mary Chipperfield’s Exotic Animals.
17 – 19 Oct 1985 Malvern Link Common, Malvern
(Davies and Gandey Presents)
Incl; Tommy
Duo Hellas
Brett and Rosa Montana
Johnny Brown and Samantha
Elizabet (From Prague)
Davis and Gandey’s Troupe of Liberty Ponies and Mules
Alun Davies 10 Poodles
Alec Halls
Running Fox and Juanita (Apache Fire Eaters)
+ Others
TICKERS 80p 60p 40p
In 1985, the Circus was run by both Philip and Carol Gandey and included the two bears called Rita and Daley (Named after Daley Thompson the swimmer) and owned by Graham Tottle. Other acts at the Circus were Martin Lacey who brought his six tigers and maned lions. Mary Chipperfield’s four impressive black Friesian stallions, pony and exotic dromedary, reindeer, llama, zeboid (Zebra / Palomino cross) and April, a pigmy hippopotamus that were looked after by David Sherwood. Clowns Tottie (Graham Tottle), Pepper and Peanuts performed with their Space Rocket. Fire eater Geronimo (Trevor Jones), Clara Kevan (Solo Aerian rope act), Three Girl Cossack Riders, The Anglo-South African Troupe, The Cherokees, Pete Hansen’s high-flying trapeze act were also part of the entertainment with music provided by Frank Crawford’s trio of trumpet, organ and drums.
By 1988 Philip and Carol Gandey had based their centre of operations in Chapel House, Chapel Street, Congleton.
In 1988, Binky Beaumont joined Gandey’s as a clown. Binky was born Ian Welsby and lived in Sandbach for many years. He is the grandson of Bessie and Cliff Welsby who for many years owned the chemist’s shop in Sandbach and the son of Tony Welsby. It was Cliff Welsby who knew Circus proprietor Joe Gandey as they played cards together and through the chemists, they got to know quite a few of the performers. It was Cliff’s connection that gave Binky (Ian Welsby) the chance to join the Circus after he had met some of the clowns while Gandey’s was in the area and Ian showed an interest in joining them in an act.
In July 1988, Billy Smart’s elephants continued to appear with Gandey’s Circus on tour including a visit to Tranmere.
Having started with horses and ponies in a Wild West Show at the start of the 1900’s Gandey’s Circus had recently brought in more exotic animals like elephants and tigers to appear in the ring during the 1980’s but things were about to change as by 1988 Animal Rights protesters were calling into question if animals should be kept in cages and transported round the country, considering it to be demeaning for the animals as they performed tricks in what the protesters considered to be an unnatural act. Things have changed in the circus since the days that lions were controlled with a wooden chair and a whip, but by this time more consideration was taken about the welfare of the animals and regular checks by the RSPCA made sure they were not being harmed. Ringmaster Graham Tottle told the Liverpool Echo that “the animals were let out into an exercise yard for at least an hour every day, playing for 30 minutes before falling asleep”. Coming from Safari Parks these captive bred animals have not enjoyed the life in the wild so they couldn’t survive if they were put back into their native lands. The animals have built up a trust with their trainers and will do what they are asked to do but as they are wild animals, they will not do what they do not enjoy and often did their own thing. Little bears Rita and Daley are trained by Graham Tottle, who takes them for walks every day and he finds they do exactly what they want to do in the ring much to the delight of the audience.
Unfortunately, by the end of the 1990’s the growing number of protesters increased with some picketing various circus’s including Gandey’s in May 1989 when they appeared at the LRT Sports Ground in Old Kenton Lane, Kingsbury. Some of the more reckless protesters were responsible for letting out some of the animals at venues around the world, making it impossible for Circus’s to continue to have anything except horses and dogs in the Circus Ring and in the case of Gandey’s even these are mainly kept out of the ring.
The Circus appeared at the Aintree racecourse between the 8th and 20th May 1990
1990 Hippodrome, Great Yarmouth (Presented by Peter Jay)
Incl = Billy Wilson Smart’s Indian Elephants and 6 African Lions
Black Bears / Camels / Horses / Ponies /
Medieval Jousts / Aerial Acts / Flying Trapeze / High Wire
Cloud Swings / Solo Trapeze /
The Didgets (Britain’s Smallest Clowns)
Ian Stevens Circus Band
In January 1992, the Circus was still using animals and Ringmaster Binky Beaumont was seen at New Brighton in Lancashire (Merseyside) with two Camels trying to get a taxi back home after they had been for a walk along the sea front. The show also had Polar Bears in the show and a baboon that was seen on the back of a bicycle with its trainer Mark Austin when the tent moved to Aintree.
8 July to 6 Sept 1992 Hippodrome, Great Yarmouth (Presented by Peter Jay)
Incl; John Roberts and his Mighty Indian Elephants
The Flying Neves (From Brazil)
5 Aerial Acts under one roof
Giant Space Wheel
17- 20 June 1993 Newry Beach, Holyhead / 21 -23 June Caernarfon
Incl; Amedeo Folgo’s Mighty African Elephants (Presented by Mark Austin)
Paslea Troupe (Springboard from Russian State Circus) (New)
The Garcia Family (Aerial Superstars from Spain) (New)
Camels
Eva Garcia (Foot Juggling)
The Digits (Clowns)
6 Friesian Stallions and 3 African Zebra (New)
Maria Garcia (Trapeze)
Shire Horse and Shetland Pony
Ian Stevens Circus Band
The Gandey Showgirls
After the 1993 season in Blackpool, Binky Beaumont retired as a clown with the Circus. In 1992 he had filled in as Ringmaster when Philip and Carol Gandey were unavailable and would remain with the circus as the Ringmaster until about 1997 when he went to work for a Jaguar car dealership in Manchester. The dealership allowed him time off to do seasons with Gandey’s and when he gave up selling cars, he would become part of the management team of the Circus based in their Congleton offices.
In 1996, Gandey’s Circus took on the “Chinese State Circus” with 46 performers as they made their UK tour between May 1996 and February 1997.
In 1999 Philip Gandey made history when he was able to take the first ever Circus to Saudi Arabia.
Another change for Gandey’s happened in 2005 when after the loss of exotic animals, the company acquired the “Spirit of the Horse Show”, which went back to the early days of the family and a more modern version of the wild west show, showing skills on horseback.
In May 2018 Acrobat Navas Hauigui (.b. 1995 known as Howie) was minutes into his act on the Giant Double Giant Spinning Wheel in Guernsey when he fell from the 30ft spinning wheel as he ran from one end to another. He was rushed to the local Hospital but after scans he was found to only have suffered slight bruising.
Another act that had a problem during a show was the Gerling Family who presented “The Thunderdome”, a large metal ball inside which motorcyclists ride round in a fast-moving display of skill. It is made more dangerous as one rider is joined by a second and then a third person in the confined space. On the 20 February 2019 at Liverpool someone stole their bikes and they had to find replacements at short notice from Hunts Motorcycles in Manchester. However, the bikes they use for the act are specially built and despite rehearsing for most of the day for the performance on the 21 February 2019 things didn’t go to plan as when they were joined by number three, their female rider they seemed to slip in the dome and she fell to the bottom of the cage causing her to be taken to hospital with a broken ankle.
Today the circus is run by Philip and Carol Gandey with their daughter Hayley involved in producing the shows and has acted as Ringmistress for the Great Circus of Europe (Tours included Hong Kong in 2019). Chico’s other daughter is Mariska.
It takes about 50 people with 15 lorries, 30 performers, technical staff, about 40 office workers, internet designers, photographers, publicity, drivers and many locations to put on a show in one town for one week. It has certainly changed from the days when one man organised the location with the cast and crew all pitching in to make the show work, but this is the 21st century and “nothing is what it seems”.
CIRCUS
Circus has always appealed as family entertainment with patrons from babes in arms to the eldest visitor in 2018 coming to see the show at the age of 102.
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SHOWS RUN BY GANDEY’S
Bolshoi Circus (Represent)
Bolshoi on Ice (Represent)
Chinese State Circus
Cirque Surreal
Edinburgh International Circus Festival (Event)
Fist of the Dragon
Gandey’s Thrill Circus
Kremlin Ballet (Represent)
Krystal Dinner Show (Events)
Lady Boys of Bangkok
Los Vivancos (Represent)
Monster Truck Show (Represent)
Planet Puppet (Represent)
Royalles British Thrill Circus
Russian International Ballet Company (Represent)
Spirit of the Horse
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CURRENT SHOW (May 2019)
Ryan Brown (Ringmaster)
Opening Dancers
Havana Troupe (Pole Balancing / Springboard) from Cuba
Chico Rico (Clown) from Mexico (Born Adan Morales in 1969. Married to Catherine born in 1995.
Daughters (Rosie) Rosalia Morales .b. 2007 / (Jacqueline) Jacqui Morales .b. 1994
(Georgina) Gina Morales .b. 1993
Amiri the Bendy Prince (Contortionist) from Tanzania
Gerlings (High Wire)
Duo Nava (Aerial Silks) Jacqui Morales and fiancé Brandon Carrisosa-Nava (Became engaged in 2017)
(with Rosalia Morales singing “This is Me”)
Chico Rico (Clown) – Remote Control sketch
Duo Siffolini from Bulgaria (Giant Wheel of Death)
INTERVAL
Las Chacas Morales (Rolling Globes) from Central America / Mexico = Jacqui and Gina Morales
Chico Rico (Clown) – Boxing Ring
Havana Troupe (Pole Balancing / Springboard) from Cuba
Join the Circus = Dancers with Balloons
Gerlings (Thunder Dome)
END You Can Stop the Beat
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