Yesterday, Bobby Ball died. You can read his obituary in The Times (paywall) here, Sky News here and the Guardian here.

Now, you might wonder why I bother writing about Bobby Ball on here. Well, there are two reasons it is relevant to this blog. First, Bobby Ball is a son of Oldham. He went to school in the borough and became a local welder, where he met his comedy partner Tommy Cannon.

But second, Bobby Ball was a Christian. The Times report:

Both [Cannon and Ball] found coping with sudden fame and wealth difficult and their off-screen relationship deteriorated to the point where they hardly spoke to each other. Ball turned his life round after converting to Christianity, Cannon eventually followed suit and they added a gospel show, which they took to churches, to their repertoire.

He was unashamedly a believer and with his comedy partner, Tommy Cannon, he toured with gospel shows. They combined comedy with their testimony of how they came to faith. He has been quoted as saying:

God’s love and forgiveness is for real and available to everyone who reaches out and opens their heart to Him. I want to show people that being a Christian is not boring. In fact it’s the opposite, It’s great! God wants us to have fun, laugh and enjoy this wonderful life he has given us, because he has given us eternal life through his son Jesus. I want people to see that God does care and he can fill any gaps in our lives through his son Jesus Christ.

Larne Times