Syd Little’s last moments with best pal Eddie Large were spent stroking his hair – and he still wants to call him when Manchester City lose.
Large was a huge fan of the team and grew up living opposite their old Maine Road stadium. Syd said: “I am like: ‘Oh City got beat, I better phone him up’.”
Recalling their final moments together last April a few days before Eddie died aged 78, Syd said: “The last time I saw him, I was stroking his hair. He was really ill and then we were not allowed to see him. I used to phone him up every day and I think he liked that.
“We went down to see him when he was very ill and his second heart was failing. He did get Corona but eventually it was the heart that killed him.”
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The comedy duo worked together for more than 40 years and were household names ever since they won Opportunity Knocks in 1971.
They had stopped performing together on stage in the mid-90s because of Eddie’s health issues. But they did one final gig on stage at the Slapstick Festival in January 2019 in Bristol discussing their careers which included a hit TV series.
Syd, 78, still misses Eddie’s brilliant memory which helped remind him of their heyday when they were playing stage shows to thousands of people.
He said: “People used to say: ‘Oh I saw you at so and so.’ And he used to go: ‘We never played there.’ I miss that."
Speaking on the Distinct Nostalgia podcast Syd also told how it was an emotional funeral for him, which he was pleased he was able to attend.
He added: “I had to do the eulogy and I did the early years about our teenage life. It was not long. It was a nice personal little ceremony. My closing thing was as the coffin was there I said ‘Well old pal. This is our last performance together’.
“They were all in tears and I thought ‘What have I done here?’ It was hard but I got there. We were together for 70 years.”
Syd, left, wore a suit he had bought for their last TV performance on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, matching the one Eddie was buried in.
Now “retired from the business” apart from the odd TV spot Syd said: “I have ended up in a pub [landlord], I have gone full circle cos I started in pubs as a teenager.”
- The full two-part interview with Syd is on the Distinct Nostalgia podcast.
