The Stumpy Sanderson stories are all about a journey: a journey back to that defining decade of the 1970s in which the main characters start out as 7 year olds in short trousers, spend the middle years swishing about in flares, and finish up in drainpipes as post-punk rockers at the ages of 16.
It’s a journey taken by mischievous comic-reading working class boys living in the truck making town of Dunstable, bobbing and weaving through the Stalag camps of the English Comprehensive system, and taking what prankish arts they pick up there out onto the suburban streets; participating in, getting into and witnessing numerous hair-raising japes, scrapes and capers; drawn like moths to a flame to any event, occurrence, place or people with ‘mischievous potential’, and encountering various almost cartoon-like characters along the way as they crash, bang, wallop, hurtle and skid their way through the decade.
Hopefully, this journey will bring you some cheer, chuckles and chortles, and you will be able to feel some of the wild spirit of what it was like to be a boy growing up during the 1970s.
“No one is doing what Andrew is doing.”
So, let’s then switch off that episode of Magpie, dim the lava lamps, put away the plates on which we’ve just eaten our Vesta Curries, go outside and saddle up on our Raleigh Choppers and Tomahawks, and take a ride back to the age of glam rock and punk rock, Watney’s Party Seven and Double Diamond, the Corona man and the Tupperware party plan, Hai Karate and the Great Smell Of Brut, Marathon bars and Puffa Puffa Rice, British Rail Awaydays and Freddie Laker holidays, monkey boots and One Eyed Jacks jumpers, Green Shield Stamps and the Green Cross Code, How and Hong Kong Phooey, Catweazle and Cannon.
Enjoy the ride, and please remember – Beano, Whizzer & Chips, and Cor!! reading boys never grow up…
“Thank you for a wonderful evening of entertainment. Our friends enjoyed their first live
experience of storytelling enormously, and so did we!”
About Andrew
From a young age I have been a storyteller, writing and telling my own stories. I first started performing my stories on stage to audiences in 1997, and the first story from which the ‘Stumpy Sanderson Scrapbook’ series ultimately developed was performed way back in 2000.
Some of the Stumpy stories were then told and performed by me between 2009 to 2011 in numerous sold-out performance storytelling shows and events around the UK and Ireland. There was also a book of these performed stories, Stumpy Sanderson’s Scrapbook (note to audience again – these earlier versions and performances were based upon texts that were found in 1999 stashed inside one of Stumpy’s old school bags that he had stored in his parents’ loft).
The original Stumpy Sanderson shows were: ‘Friends and Foes’, ‘More Friends and Foes’, Stumpy Sanderson’s Scrapbook’, ‘Stumpy Sanderson’s Tales of the Very Unexpected’, and ‘Stumpy Sanderson’s Scrapbook – The New Wave Years’. I also performed stories from the Stumpy collection at many other events.
Between 2012 and 2014 I then performed ‘What Happened When We Met the Extraordinary Mr Algernon Huff’ and ‘The Astonishing Tale of Shanghai Kate’ at various theatres and venues. These stories were set in later times and again featured Stumpy, me and other friends (and foes).
As well as my shows and performances, I have given a great many storytelling workshops and talks, including at national conferences, have written numerous articles on storytelling, and I have appeared on BBC Radio and Independent Radio many times, performing my stories live and also talking about storytelling. Since 2022, I have also had my own weekly radio show on Poppyland Radio called Stumpy Sanderson’s ‘70s Stories. The show goes out every Tuesday at 7pm.
In 2021, over seven years since last performing the Stumpy stories (and of course with the discovery of the first Time Capsule), I thought it would be good fun to bring my old friend back and hopefully add a bit of cheer and some chuckles for people. I therefore released the podcasts. In 2023, I then again started performing Stumpy’s stories (and other Stumpy material) live in theatres and venues. These new shows include(d): ‘Stumpy Sanderson’s 1970s Stories’, ‘We Followed The Stranglers’, ‘The Songs And Scribblings Of Stumpy Sanderson’, and ‘Stumpy Sanderson’s 1970s Jamboree Bag’.
Having also been a songwriter for many years, I play and perform Stumpy’s songs in my shows and via other outlets.
I hope you enjoy the stories and the songs.
All the very best
Andrew
“Thank you for the most entertaining, evocative and exceptional evening! The stories, anecdotes and social history was beautifully delivered with humour, music and a wonderful personal insight. The balance of pure storytelling and musical accompaniment made for a wonderful evening. I strongly recommend this show to anyone, and if you happen to be a child of the 70s you will experience some unbelievable nostalgia served up by a master of his craft!”
