'This man's own celebrity is at the heart of his existence' ... Wonderland: The Secret Life of Norman Wisdom Aged Aged 92¾.
My name is Chris Marr; I am originally from London, England from a place called twickenham, Middlesex
We still have the band to date right now but my brother left it a few years back. The band now consists of myself as the lead singer, guitarist, and pianist, as well as my oldest son on the bass guitar, my brother in law on lead and backup guitar, and a very long time friend of mine on the drums. We now play 50’s and 60’s British and American classic rock and roll. We also have our own album out which is called Days Are Gone, which all the songs are written and produced by myself in the 60’s style.
Growing up in England gave me a lot of great memories. Norman Wisdom was a good part of those memories. He plays all kinds of instruments, which is one of his amazing talents. He is also an amazing actor ,singer songwriter, and slapstick comedian which is what he is well known for as he is greatly appreciated all over England.
I have been following the story on Norman’s life on the BBC documentary on the internet and found out that he had alzheimers. I was sad to hear this news. He now lives in a care home on the Isle of Mann, but I think to myself, “why did this have to happen to a great legend talent like Norman Wisdom?” One of the similarities between Norman and I are my dad also had the same disease in which he had to be cared for in a care home. I used to visit him all the time, but being such a close family it was strange for him to be there. It is such a terrible disease and the effects on him and our family were very upsetting and frustrating. I know how it must feel for Norman himself, his family, his friends, and his fans.
Thanks to Chris for the video.
Playing piano myself, I used to go to the home and play for him and the fellow residents. He loved it, as well as all the other family and residents as it made everyone’s day that much better. It became a great event and they were requesting me to perform more and more often as it brightened up more smiles on everyone. My dad passed on a few years back which was devastating. This just helps me relate to Norman as I went through somewhat of the same experience. I thought, why not write a tribute song for Norman and at the same time make it sound Nostalgic. I recorded it in a ragtime, jazz, and up-tempo style. I called the song Norman Wisdom is the one. I was inspired and honoured to do this song for him as I think this would be a great tribute to him as he has done and given so much to people over the years. This song is a story is about his life, his movies, and his music.
Not too long ago I contacted a radio station on the Isle of Mann called Manx radio. They decided to play the song on the radio along with an interview they with me over the phone. I would love for this song to have a bit more exposure though. I have contacted Norman Wisdom’s agent and he is reviewing the song right now. I would love to get the song played on radio, especially in Britain. I think this would be a great standard tribute song for him and people could remember him more by that. What I would really love is some sort of help to be able to get the song played directly for him. I would love to have the privilege to be able to go into the home and play the song live for him and his fellow residents. I think he would love this and would make him so happy to know that there are still people out there for him.