Superfans gather in Harrogate for Laurel and Hardy convention

BBC News

03-05-2025

If you see hundreds of people wearing fez hats in Harrogate this weekend, don't be alarmed.The town, better known for quaint coffee shops and Turkish baths, is hosting the 43rd Sons of the Desert Laurel and Hardy fan convention.Comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made more than 100 films together between 1921 and 1950, and their slapstick humour remains popular a century on. Super fans have gathered for an international celebration at the Cairn Hotel, running across the bank holiday weekend.
John Burton and John Burton, father and son, are members of Sheffield fan branch The Brats, named after the 1930 short film.They were involved in setting up the weekend, which is jointly hosted by the Sheffield group and Bradford group County Hospital."The idea was to get everybody together once a year from all over the country because all the branches meet regularly, but we had never met together," said Mr Burton Snr."The one thing about these conventions is all about becoming family. "If anyone comes away from a Laurel and Hardy convention and they're unhappy, they've not been to a Laurel and Hardy convention."
Sons of the Desert is a Laurel and Hardy appreciation society with branches across the UK.Each fan group is named after one of the duo's films.The conventions are held in a different location every year and began in Ulverston, Cumbria - the birthplace of Laurel - in 1978.The fans promise "never to talk about football or politics" and spend three days watching their favourite films, discussing the best jokes and holding costume competitions.Fans have flown in from all over the world to be at the event - including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the US.
David Webb, who flew in from San Diego, California, said he had been to the UK for two previous conventions. He said: "I've been a Sons of the Desert member for many, many years."I love Laurel and Hardy and the Sons of the Desert. It's a lot of fun to watch the movies and be among other fans."There is a humanity about them. They cared about each other. They made 106 films together and toured the US and Europe and their legacy lasted 38 years. "I love them because as a child my dad introduced them to me. I laugh now, years after seeing them the first time 50 years ago."
Samantha Bell is "Grand Sheikh" of Liverpool fan group Leave Em Laughing."I was very young when I joined, aged three, my dad took me in and it stuck," she said.Her first international convention was in 1983 when it came to Liverpool. And the family's love for the comedy pair has continued down the generations."My two daughters are 20 and 16 and whenever they were in grandad's house they were watching Laurel and Hardy," she said."It's lovely to be with people who like the same thing."Laurel and Hardy are timeless. Other comedians have come and gone because they're no longer funny, but even if you show a child a silent Laurel and Hardy film they know when to laugh because of the slapstick."
Laurel and Hardy lookalikes Rob Graham and Garry Slade tour the UK entertaining and doing close-up magic tricks. The pair have been performing together for 22 years. They will be entertaining at the conference as well as enjoying meeting other fans.Mr Slade has been a member of Sons of the Desert since 1986.Mr Graham said he loved impersonating Hardy and performing slapstick comedy because they always got a "great response from crowds". "We're also strippers," said Mr Slade. "We can do a full wall in half an hour."
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