Fun In The Off-Season! - Carl Fogarty and James Whitham

Recently, the legends Carl Fogarty and James Whitham came to town and I just couldn't miss the opportunity to see them on stage in the flesh. It doesn't happen very often, does it? I personally don't remember the Carl Fogarty and James Whitham on track racing days, however, I know the pair are great (or they appear to be!) friends off track and with James Whitham commentating on the British Superbikes, you get a sense of his personality. The pair of legends came to town as the first of their six tour dates across the country and with it being the first I had no idea of what to expect. But I suppose if you've got no expectations you don't get let down if you feel it wasn't up to scratch. But of course, the pair didn't disappoint – the chat show was awesome! Very funny with the pair of hooligans sharing banter in the first part with a chance to get your question to them in the second half. They also held a brilliant auction with the money from each separate event going to a local charity – top blokes! When James was recalling stories from his youth and on track incidents, you could clearly see what an entertainer he is. Very funny, whitty with what he says and able to take the 'mick' out of himself (or, he knows Carl will anyway!) If you've ever seen 'When Superbikes Ruled The World', you'll get a sense of Carl's personality – he was quite the cocky, arrogant racer however when you pair him with James, Carl really comes out of his skin and is cracking jokes too! Like when watching comedians on stage, you have to really think about what they are saying and figure out if the material is made-up or fact. But with these guys, you just know everything you're hearing is very true, and lots of it really makes you laugh. You know it's more than likely that Carl got thrown out several times from an Isle of Man arcade for 'abusing the machines'! And, it's also more than likely that James' father took Uncle Ralph to the funeral directors himself wrapped in a duvet! Overall, it's a cracking night out – I'd not laughed as much in ages! But if you were going to hear them talk just about their racing days you might be leaving a little bit disappointed as they have great banter about a whole host of different things that happened to them along the way whilst on their career path in racing. But to be honest, the show wasn't long enough, I could have been sitting there all night listening to them! A real top night, and worth every penny of the £20 ticket price.