Some downthetubes readers may have seen three-times Grammy nominated British singer Joan Armatrading recently enthusing about The Beano in The Guardian, an interview tying in with the launch of her new album, How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean. So we thought we’d take a look at her guest story appearance in “Tom, Dick and Sally”, from The Beano No. 2126, cover dated 16th April 1983.
Today, “celebrity endorsement” is a big thing for BEANO – and appearances by film, music and TV stars are cover featured, major media happenings for the weekly comic. Back in 1983, Joan slipped in under the radar without even a cover mention, even though, at the time, a recently-released single, “Drop the Pilot“, had recently enjoyed a ten-week stay in the UK Singles Chart – considered now to be one of Armatrading’s biggest hits.
For those unfamiliar, “Tom, Dick and Sally“, initially drawn by Dave Jenner, first appeared in The Beano in No. 1735, cover dated 18th October 1975, ending in No. 2305, cover dated 20 September 1986. Keith Reynolds was the regular artist on the strip, but other artists included Robert Nixon. The strip also featured in various Beano annuals and specials.
The premise was simple: brothers Tom and Dick regularly tried to offload their responsibilities onto their younger sister Sally, and enjoy an easy life at her expense. They nearly always failed and ended up worse-off than when they started – which is certainly the case in this oft-mentioned episode featuring Joan Armatrading.
(The strip has more than one musical link: Adam Ant often got a mention, for example, and Madness also appeared in the strip, as did singer Tom Jones. Outside of music, TV presenter Dickie Davies also got a mention, as did sveral sports stars).
Joan’s love of The Beano came up in interviews to promote here new album, How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean, released 22nd November.
Joan regularly mentions her love of The Beano, a comic she’s been reading since she was seven. She cheered on its 80th anniversary on her Facebook page in 2018, and together with many fans, mourned the passing of artist David Sutherland last year. (“For me he gave that [Bash Street] school and those children, along with Dennis the Menace real life,” she said). In 2018, she chose 30th Century Comics as the venue for her interview with the Financial Times about her love of comics.
“I love The Beano,” she’s enthused, many times on her social media. “I’ve been reading it since I was seven and I’m still reading it. I never stopped.”
Her love of comics began after she moved from Antigua to Britain in 1957. Her parents were waiting for her in Birmingham, having emigrated several years earlier.
“I had a paper round so I used to go out delivering The Beano,” she told the Financial Times. “Then I’d take it home and just read it and read it and read it. I absolutely loved the little characters, they felt like proper people.”
Asked to name her favourite Beano character, she told The Guardian‘s Dave Simpson, “They’re all great.”
(She’s previously mentioned her love of radio comedy, too. Aged 13, she listened to BBC radio comedies such as Round The Horne, The Clitheroe Kid, Beyond Our Ken, and Take it From Here. “I was completely into radio comedy,” she told the Daily Express in 2021. “I wasn’t listening to music; I never went to concerts.” She also told the paper the memory of her mum throwing away all of her comic collection when she was 21 still stings… something I’m sure some downthetubes can identify with!).
“When I was a child I used to get The Beano, The Dandy, Whizzer and Chips, Cor!!, Mandy, Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, the Hulk … I love all comics,” she expanded the The Guardian, leading her to mention her appearances in The Beano in 1983.
“I was on the ‘Tom, Dick and Sally’ page, saying to Sally, ‘Come and have a slap-up meal with me’, and we have a meal while the others are peering through the window, looking jealous.”
Joan even posted an image of the strip on her Facebook page, which led us to track down a copy of the comic (thank you, Silver Acre!).
It looked to us that the version Joan’s shared is a print of the original strip, and is clearly proiudly framed somewhere. Indeed, a Beano expert told us “As the balloons and title are in place (added in-house on transparent layers at this time), I think this is a special photographic print created post-production as a gift. They are very high quality prints with extremely white paper and extremely black lines.”
But there’s more to Joan’s love on The Beano. She once appeared on the comic’s letters page – an issue we’ve yet to track down – and was invited up to the DC Thomson offices, “which was just brilliant” (which was possibly when she received the print she’s shared?).
She still buys the Beano and The Dandy annuals “and a couple of others”, every Christmas. You’re never too old – or too young for BEANO!
• BEANO is online at beano.com
• Joan Armatrading Official Website | BandsinTown | Facebook | Instagram | Threads | YouTube
• Read the 2018 Financial Times interview with Joan Armatrading, abiout her love of comics, recorded at 30th Century Comics
• Read 2024 The Guardian interview with Joan Armatrading here
• How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean, released 22nd November, is available here on Vinyl | MP3 | Streaming (AmazonUK Affiliate Links)
This 12-track set is the latest embellishment in a catalogue that opened in 1972 with Whatever’s for Us. That LP launched the distinguished career that has led to MBE and CBE decorations, Ivor Novello and BASCA Gold Badge Awards for songwriting, BRIT and Grammy nominations, countless honorary degrees and far more. As usual in her recent history, the new record is a triumph of self-sufficiency, entirely written, produced, programmed and engineered by Joan herself. ‘How Did This Happen and What Does it Now Mean’ will rapidly be recognised by Armatrading’s legions of devotees and new fans alike as a songwriting and recording masterclass. On a bed of melodies and arrangements that are by turns immediate and subtle, it weaves a lyrical tapestry that touches on both individual and universal themes with her trademark dexterity and easy charm, not to mention two show-stopping instrumentals.
“Tom, Dick and Sally” and The Beano are © Beano Studios | DC Thomson Media
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Audio, British Comics, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds
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Here’s a potted history as far as I can tell..
Dave Jenner drew the first Tom Dick and Sally strips for the 1974 Beano Book, but the strip didn’t reach the weekly until 1975 when Dave had already left DC Thomson (he would continue to work for IPC until the early 1980s on strips such as Willy Worry).
Bob Nixon did the main production run after Dave’s strips were exhausted, but of course Bob was persuaded by IPC to work exclusively for them and that’s when Keith took over, not later than 1977 or 78 I don’t think.
If you look at that strip, the masthead is drawn by Bob. He’d redrawn it in his inimitable style to (thankfully) replace Dave’s very flat masthead in the same layout.
Keith continued to draw the strip until its conclusion in the mid-1980s, and also did at least one or two single panel mastheads of his own.
Thank you very much for this additional background. Much appreciated