Bernard Wrigley
Bernard Wrigley (born 1948 in Bolton, Lancashire) is a singer, actor and comedian. He is sometimes known by the nickname "The Bolton Bullfrog".
Wrigley's career as a singer and storyteller began in the late '60s, when a love of folk music led him to perform in folk clubs. Since then he has released over sixteen albums of traditional and original songs, stories and monologues. His main instruments are the guitar and concertina.
He began acting around the same time and has made many appearances on stage, most famously in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot alongside Mike Harding at Bolton's Octagon Theatre, and Jim Cartwright's Road at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester.
Wrigley has made many appearances in British TV programmes such as Phoenix Nights (where he was Dodgy Eric, who sold club owner Brian Potter a Das Boot fruit machine, a bucking bronco and an obscene bouncy castle), Emmerdale (as eccentric rocket inventor Barry Clegg), and his sixth character in Coronation Street (as the Rev. Marvin Winstanley, the dodgy internet priest Roy and Hayley approached to arrange their wedding). Further credits include Last of the Summer Wine, Cold Feet, Coogan's Run, Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies, Victoria Wood With All The Trimmings and In With The Flynns. He also appeared as a union official in Brassed Off and as a school teacher in Rita, Sue and Bob Too, and in 1978 he was a night school teacher in Alan Bennett's play Me—I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
On national BBC Radio 4 he has acted in plays from 15 to 90 minutes. BBC Radio Lancashire has seen many of his pre-recorded series such as "Wrigley's Ramblings", "Home Brewed" and readings of many stories written by Tommy Thompson.
As a writer he has released various combinations of his songs and monologues. In 2006 he produced a book of silly one verse poems Shorts For All Occasions, to be followed in 2008 by The Longs and the Shorts of it.
Discography
- The Phenomenal B. Wrigley (1971)
- Rough and Wrigley (1974)
- Songs, Stories & Elephants (1976)
- Ten Ton Special (1976)
- The Bolton Bullfrog (1981)
- Rude Bits! (1985)
- The Instrumental Album (1988)
- Wanted: Live! (1991)
- Buggerlugs (1992)
- Albert, Arthur & the Car Park (1997)
- Magnificent Monologues (2000)
- Fairly Truthful Tales (2002)
- Magnificent Monologues Volume 2 (2002)
- Monologology (2003)
- Amblethwaite 'Appenings (2004)
- God's Own County (2005)
- Every Song Tells a Story (2009)
- Songs of the Seven Seas (2011)