A
little bit about Me!
I was born in Merthyr Tydfil, home of the best football team
in the world The Martyrs!
and grew up in the South Wales valleys. I started my career
in show business as a bass guitarist and lead singer with
the pop group 'The Bystanders' who had hits in the 60s on
the Pye label - which was fortunate because if you didn't
like the music you could always eat the record !
In the 70s I formed the comedy band 'Tomfoolery' which rapidly
became one of the UK's most successful comedy show bands,
often topping the bill at Blackpool South Pier. In 1980 I
decided to go it alone and launched my solo career, soon winning
the Club Land 'Comedian of the Year' award, performing alongside
Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones!
1987 saw another big turning point in my career - I made
my debut on Radio
Wales with my weekly programme 'Money
for Nothing'. The programme's popularity steadily increased
and by 1997 I'd won two prestigious Sony Gold Awards, one
for 'Regional Broadcaster of the Year', and the other for
'Best Music Sequence Programme of Year.
To this day I continue to entertain Radio Wales listeners
on my current shows, "Money
For Nothing" broadcast at 9:00am every Saturday
morning, and "Money For Nothing Part II" which goes
out every Sunday afternoon between 2:00 and 4:30pm. When my schedule allows, I can
be found co-hosting the ever popular "Extra
Time" sports phone-in show on Radio Wales on Saturday
evenings with Jason
Mohammad. This is the programme that lets football and
rugby fans let off steam about that days matches and defines
the term 'lively debate' ! Tune in to BBC Radio Wales on 93-96 &104FM / 882 & 657MW.
In 2000, after appearing in many pantomimes at the Grand
Theatre Swansea and the New Theatre Cardiff, I decided to
set up my own pantomime company, and so The Owen Money Theatre
Company was born, with the aim of taking first class, family
friendly pantomimes around the theatres of Wales from November
to February.
The first production was "Aladdin" (which was later
filmed by BBC 1 Wales, achieving an astonishing audience figure
of 45% when it was broadcast on New Years Day 2002), followed
by "Cinderella" and for the 2002/2003 season "Jack
& The Beanstalk" which generated phenomenal business.
Accompanied by my band the Soul Sharks,
I take the "Owen Money Laughter Show" to venues
around Wales and we always play to packed houses. I have always
had a policy of giving talented newcomers a chance to shine,
and so my 'live' tours invariably include up and coming performers
on the bill. So if we ever appear in a theatre near you, be
sure to pop in and say hello!
|
