NOSTALGIA FEATURE
Blackpool based entertainment agent, promotor and all-round entertainer Mal Ford has a CV which, with great respect to his seniority, goes back many years. The affable Mal has driven the fortunes and the careers of so many acts and in the twilight years of his own performing career he made many friends as a resident entertainer in Blackpool seafront hotels. Mark Ritchie writes;

There is much more to Mal Ford than first meets the eye. There simply are not too many entertainers still standing who have featured in the great days of dance hall and rock and roll bands of yesteryear, retaining a fascinating career, which has encompassed so many delights up and downs and life-changing experiences.
In a nutshell, Mal has starred in his own TV series whilst living and working in the former Soviet Union and even appeared to be making a comeback, during a fun episode of the Simon Cowell TV talent vehicle Britain’s Got Talent. Famously Mal’s appearance alongside the grinning Geordie boys Ant and Dec on BGT in 2017 ended with all the judges trying to get rid of him. Mal’s response was to carry on regardless and continue his keyboard singalong ditty, which was joined in with heartily and vocally by the live theatre audience.
Originally from the West Midlands, Mal is happily married to the lovely Jean, who has herself enjoyed a long career in show business, before being forced into retirement due to illness.
The Mal Ford artiste management company is Personality Artistes and he enjoyed long and happy associations with some of the leading cabaret names in the industry. His drive and determination to succeed led him all over the globe, from Russia to Las Vegas, but life is a little quieter these days for this great raconteur and show business renaissance man.
Demonstrably, in Mr Ford’s case, you simply cannot keep an old musician down and thanks to social networking Mal has accumulated more online fans due to his live performances, which seem to pop up here there and everywhere. Mal his singing voice and his trusty keyboards provide the music, as this consummate performer gives his own take on classic songs and more modern material, some with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Never one to take himself too seriously, Mal describes his show business life thus; ‘It’s All A Laugh Ain’t It’?
A living showbiz legend, Mal Ford was once managed by the late and great London based entertainment agent Phyllis Rounce. His career has been steeped in the creed of the great days in UK holiday camps, the rock and roll touring band scene and so much more.
I remember working in cabaret with Mal one night in Blackpool. This resort and its gigs are guarded by a whole brigade of local acts, which makes visits from out-of-town entertainers quite rare. For that reason and the existence of one or two other factors, I have not done a huge amount of work on-stage within the Fylde coast circuit. That made my evening with Mal all-the-more enjoyable. We all had such a lovely show many years ago at a great gig in one of Mal’s hotel venues and following the great Mal Ford was no small feat. After all, how can mere mortals like me follow a real-life living legend?