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7 October 2006 I DO, DOLL EXCLUSIVE Actor Joe weds.. then sees pals in his show By Craig Mcdonald ACTOR Joe McGann got hitched yesterday - in front of stunned diners at a top Scots restaurant. The star wed gorgeous girlfriend Tamsin Locise, 34, in the Glasgow west end's famous Ubiquitous Chip. The pair dashed from the restaurant just before 7pm to the city's King's Theatre to watch Joe's understudy perform his role of Nathan Detroit in Guys And Dolls. Joe, 48, told the Record: "It's true, we've just got married - we're absolutely delighted." Londoner Tamsin, 34, joked: "We came here earlier in the day, had dinner, got married - and then had pudding. I couldn't be happier." The brunette is director of her own TV production company, Tangent, and now works as a masseuse. Twice-divorced Joe, 48, is the eldest of the McGann acting clan, which includes brothers Paul, Stephen and Mark. Guys And Dolls co-star and fellow Liverpudlian Clare Sweeney was among the dozen or so guests at the intimate ceremony performed by a registrar. Also among the guests was Ben Richards - star of Footballers' Wives and Strictly Dance Fever - who plays alongside McGann in Guys and Dolls. Joe and Tamsin wed in the restaurant's courtyard before going to their reception in the mezzanine area. Sandra Mackenzie, one of the restaurant's managers, said: "They were a lovely party and certainly seemed to know how to enjoy themselves. "They were all very down to earth. We were delighted to play host and everyone seemed to have a great time." One onlooker said: "We did a double take when we realised it was Joe McGann. He seemed blissfully happy." The 6ft 3in stars first became known in the 1980s playing macho O'Dowd in Rockliffe's Babies. He rose to prominence in the hit TV comedy The Upper Hand and has starred in a number of TV and film roles. |
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Mark with the cast of Guys and Dolls. |
 | Guys and Dolls Mark, Joe, that slap, the flu and the infamous article in The Stage! It all started at Leicester Haymarket Theatre on 19th November 1988. Mark took on the role of 'Sky Masterson' in Guys and Dolls for what was intended to be a 10 week run. During the course of the play Joanne Campbell (playing Sarah Brown) was required to give Mark a slap round the face. One particular evening, she hit a little too hard, leaving Mark needing surgery for a perforated eardrum. He would then need a month to convalesce so would be unable to return to the role. It was decided to contact Joe, who agreed to take over the role from Mark on 2nd January. Fate intervened again though, and Mark came down with a serious flu virus and the Boxing Day performance had to be cancelled. With less than 24 hours notice, as Mark showed no signs of improvement, Joe stepped in and took over on the 27th December. I saw Joe's second performance, on the 28th December, and he was excellent (except for maybe a little footwork but who's complaining!) That should have been a happy ending, but no... the press felt the need to intervene. The Daily Mirror, on the 28th December led the field with an article 'Show's fans storm the box office'. The article ran with basically the true story - their mistake was in saying Joe was Mark's understudy and couldn't be contacted. Not true. He was never an understudy and no attempt was made to contact him on that occasion. On the 4th january the Daily Express featured an article entitled 'Good guy Joe shows his brotherly love'. It was very accurate and told the story of what had happened. Then 'The Stage' decided to join in on the 5th January with an article 'No Joe, no show!' - it basically stated that when Mark was ill, Joe (his supposed understudy) couldn't be traced and the show had to be cancelled. They were contacted by the Haymarket Theatre and by Marina Martin Management (Joe's agent at the time) and on the 12th followed with an article entitled 'Brother Joe was no understudy to Mark'. It told the true story, but no apology was made. Joe is a consummate professional and at this time was very upset that he was being made out to be less than that. The Haymarket complained and Marina Martin Management threatened to sue for defamation of character. On 19th January The Stage finally apologised, in full, and ended the article with the line "We understand no attempt was made to contact him to perform on that day.We would like to apologise to Joe for our suggestions to the contrary and are pleased to take this opportunity to put the record straight." And so say all of us!
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McGann Appreciation Society The McGann Appreciation Society was started in the Spring of 1986 by a group of Beatles fans. Inspired by Mark's performance as John Lennon at the Astoria Theatre they decided to start up a fanzine with the knowledge and approval of the family. The first magazine issue appeared and was introduced as "a magazine to give information on the life and career of Mark McGann and what he will be doing in the future, with up-to-date- information on his brothers too!" However, by issue 4, in November 1986, things had changed quite a lot. Paul had appeared in 'The Monocled Mutineer', Stephen had been in 'Help!' and Joe was getting a lot of publicity for 'Rockliffes Babies', which was due to be televised the following January. This issue stated that "The popularity of the boys has taken off to such an extent not envisaged when the magazine was formed back in March." The magazines were issued quarterly and as time progressed took the form of articles, interviews with the boys, reviews of shows on stage and television, Beatles convention news (as both Mark and Paul sang live at the conventions and Mark was interviewed about his experiences playing 'Lennon'), merchandise and a letters page, some of which were answered by the boys Mum, Clare. In 1987, at the Beatles Convention, a 'Meet the McGanns' event was held. This was a chance for fans of the boys to get to meet them (on this occasion not Joe, as he was unavailable - Mum Clare and sister Claire were in attendance though). There was an informal Q and A session, photos of/with the boys and generally a relaxed, fun afternoon. A similar event was held in Birmingham in March 1988. Joe, Paul and Mark were there, but Stephen was filming. However some fans got the chance to see him later that day (see below). The appreciation society ran along similar lines until the summer of 1991 and at its peak had over 300 members. Several members (myself included) wrote reviews for the magazines and got to know each other very well over the years. However, all of us were growing up, moving on, leaving college and getting jobs - the people who ran it no longer had the time to put in that by this stage it required. I believe it was carried on in some form but am awaiting confirmation on that - it may still be running today! An up-date will appear here if I get any new information. |
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