Frank Sanazi: Evil dictator/legendary crooner
Dark, unnerving hybrid mix of an evil dictator and suave, stylish, legendary crooner.
I used to run a Bingo comedy cabaret night out of Beckenham near Bromley back in 1991, where I interspersed retro bingo with unusual comedic acts. It proved very popular with locals. I hosted as Pete Perke, a lounge-crooning, loud-suited cheesy bingo caller, and introduced up and coming comedy acts like Paul Foot and Charmian Hughes, during the breaks in the Bingo. We’d end up with a Bingo Champion at the end of the night as I would close with my game ‘Tickety Boo’ for all of the winners of the lines and full houses during the evening. As I’d reworked some favourite tunes for Perke ‘Thank You For The Bingo’ - Abba - I found it easy to twist the lyrics for hit songs and I soon developed other characters of my own like Tom Mones, a send up of the legendary Tom Jones, who now lived in an old people’s home with other aging performing stars like Mick Shaggered.
I am still very much influenced by any original acts, anyone who can take a character, mix it with another, and incongruous certainly floats my boat. Frank Sanazi is one of my most popular acts. I think it’s because it is dark comedy and audiences seem to gravitate to the unnerving hybrid mix of an evil dictator and suave, stylish, legendary crooner.
My heroes of comedy are definitely the ground breaking genius of the Monty Python crew and not forgetting The Young Ones (Rik Mayall) especially.
With the character Frank Sanazi is there anything taboo? Well I hope the audience choose not to boo! There are no boundaries to the content in this act, character comedy in general enables the performer to adopt beliefs and views that don’t reflect their own, there are obviously some topics I would not explore or approach in my performance just for personal reasons.
I have been to the ‘Isle of Whites’ before as I performed at ‘Bestival’ many years ago when it was located there.. I’m hoping to Blitzkrieg my way through this delightful little Isle and annex it from the rest of Britain!!!