... US star pulls out of Sellers tour PROMOTER HENRY Sellers is licking his wounds, hiding his embarrassment and showing his annoyance at the last-minute cancellation of a tour he had lined up last week by U.S. soul star Billy Griffin, who charted strongly recently with Hold Me Tighter in the Rain. For just as Sellers was expecting GrifTin to arrive primed and ready for his opening date at ...

... Newcastle Royal asks for grants for panto NEWCASTLE THEATRE Royal is to ask for up to £65,000 in grants to stage this year's Aladdin pantomime. The request for financial assistance comes despite record box office takings from the winter's panto and more than £80,000 being made from the hire of scenery and sets. A report, to be considered by Tyne and Wear's leisure committee, says the council ...

... JESTER COCKS A SNOOK AT THE TAXMAN By BRIAN ATTWOOD JESTER Dave Fowkes has accused government bureaucrats of causing potential ruin to self employed entertainers by making inaccurate and exorbitant tax demands on them. The Lancashire puppeteer, who set up in business under the enterprise allowance scheme in 1983, has refused to pay a penny more to the Inland Revenue and has warned colleagues ...

... Festival Vic VIC DAMONE, who began his latest British tour at Canterbury on April 9, plays two concerts at the Royal Festiv al Hall on April 25. On the following night he will be a star guest on Live from the London Palladium. ...

... Overkill dampens Disco Aid fever DESPITE THE disappointment of their first fund-raising effort, disco industry charity chiefs were due to set up a permanent aid organisation this week. The founders of Disco Aid were hoping that their special charity night, which took place last November, would raise millions for the five good causes they have chosen. But now that all the proceeds from the 300 ...

... Brum's club Godfather attacks 'greedy' stars The Mayor doesn't know what he's talking about' By NATASHA FIELDING OVER RECENT weeks there has been mounting controversy regarding the Lord Mayor of Birmingham's attack on the city's 'drab' nightlife. Accusing fingers have been pointed at nightclub owners for not providing live entertainment in their establishments and blame them for the city's ...

... School needs £4,000 to stay in tune BRITAIN'S only independent harmonica school, which teaches children to play totally free of charge, is seriously under threat, with just one month to find £4,000 if it is to stay alive. The Harp Start school in Yarmouth is the brain child of harmonica teacher David Michelson, who two months ago sent out a plea for donations to keep the school up and ...

... Stan and Ollie MANCHESTER IT'S A LONG journey to London's West End from Tameside Theatre, Greater Manchester, but Stan and Ollie have just taken the brave first step. Billed as a world premiere of a brand new musical by Ron Day and Nicky Paule (who produced the Tameside opener) and directed by John E. Perry, this story of the stage career of Laurel and Hardy has something that can be ...

... The Merry Wives of Windsor STRATFORD-UPON-AVON LIKE SEVERAL comedy productions in recent seasons at the Royal Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, the opening production of the new season, The Merry Wives of Windsor, is like a great, glowing party, and much fun there is in it. Bill Alexander s direction whisks the Ford-Page-Quickly-Falstaff deceptions along with sharpness and wit, and William ...

... Enemies SIR RICHARD STEELE MAXIM GORKY'S EuariaT. *e lat est production by the Sir Rkfcad Steele Theatre at the Belsize hfk pb of that name, is welcome on twocMBM. It lets us see a seldom play by tm Wkntial Russian writer whose uiMw were wrought both in Imperial tad Soviet Russia, and it shows us a typical piece by an artist and political animal obses sed by the class struggle. A well-off ...

... The Worker knows 300 words, the Boss 1,000, that's why he's the Boss LATCHMERE SITTING comfortably at home reading a book, at first seemed infinitely preferable to watching Dario Fo's new play at the Latchmere, despite the opening line that the written word is only for people who've got nothing else to do. The play is set in a library in Italy where eight workers are clearing out the books to ...

... La Traviata ROYAL OPERA TAKING OVER as Vinleita in Michael Rennison's re-staging of Visconti's 1967 production of La Traviata, Ileana Cotrubas moved her audience first to tears and finally to cheers. Earlier performances of the revival had been disastrously dull, but Cotru- bas knows that you got la have heart as well as a glorious voice in this, above all other, operas and she really showed ...