Confessions of a Pop Performer

Robin Askwith was one of the most popular actors of the British sex comedy arc of the 70's and 80's, and there were four "Confessions" films. This one is about window cleaners (Robin and Anthony Booth) who stumble upon a band called "Kipper". Anthony's character Sid ends up managing the band, while Robin's character Timothy Lea (no pun intended, I'm sure!) ends up being the drummer. A clean comedy could have been light hearted fun, but this film is full of nudity and general mayhem. The dialouge is generally flat also. The very pretty Carol Hawkins is wasted here. I wouldn't call it an abomination, but there is a lot of sleazy stuff going on (I felt bad for the mom who discovers her daughter in the van with the band-surely the girl could have done better). This is recommended for fans of the genre mostly, and there is a 4 disc box of all of the Confessions films. Casual watchers beware.

This is the slightly disappointing follow-up to the money-making CONFESSIONS OF A WINDOW CLEANER. POP PERFORMER tries to emulate the success and formula of that first film, but something about the set-up just doesn't ring true. These films work when they follow a straight forward, episodic format and this one is a satire of the pop scene, following the misadventures of a band whose music is appalling. There's no real reason for the characters to be involved in this stuff and it doesn't fit together too well, but it's still nice to see British actors working hard amidst all the boobs and bums.

There's less of the sex element here, although a handful of set pieces make sure it's still in your face! Robin Askwith once again beds a string of beautiful women in scenes that are generally played for laughs, but these seem to have been tacked-on rather than making up the central plot. One encounter in a music shop to the strains of Spike Milligan's 'Ning Nang Nong' is classic stuff. Instead of sex, the focus is on the accident-prone Askwith, with the laugher factor turned up so high that this resembles an episode of SOME MOTHERS DO 'AVE 'EM!

Still, there's something about watching the dated hijinks – especially in terms of the music – that make watching this film a lot of fun, and it's so light-hearted as to be completely inoffensive. Along with a string of beautiful, completely naked women (including TV star Jill Gascoine), there are turns from Benny Hill regular Bob Todd as a grumpy old boy; DAD'S ARMY's Bill Pertwee as a javelin-wielding cuckold; his co-star Ian Lavender as a randy copper; plus good turns for the regular Bill Maynard and Doris Hare, playing Askwith's mother and replacing the original actress. Director Norman Cohen takes over from the first film's Val Guest and he proves more than able to deliver a funny, fast-paced and chuckle-inducing romp.

Confessions of a Pop Performer, the second film to star Robin Askwith as randy, accident prone fanny-magnet Timmy Lea, sees our clumsy hero trying to find fame and fortune as the drummer for up and coming band 'Kipper'.

Timmy's equally libidinous brother-in-law Sid (Anthony Booth) acts as manager for the group, successfully exploiting his showbiz contacts—including the sexy wife of a music mogul—and it's not long before Timmy is being mobbed by gorgeous groupies and banging much more than his drum kit!

Offering saucy soft-core sex (including frequent, full-frontal, female nudity) and smutty seaside humour, the Confessions series is aimed squarely at those who enjoy their comedy lewd, crude, and unsophisticated, but in an effort to be more outrageous than the first film, Pop Performer takes the crassness and stupidity a little too far and loses a fair amount of the original's charm in the process.

The basic plot is rather hard to swallow (Timmy's drumming skills are non-existent), the tried and tested 'Timmy meets a nice girl' subplot is used once again but goes nowhere, and whilst the first film did at least attempt to throw in some genuinely well written jokes and inventive innuendo along with the slapstick comedy and jiggery-pokery, Pop Performer doesn't try very hard in this department: the humour in this sequel gives new meaning to the word 'lowbrow' and the result just isn't very funny.

Still, even though the format is already beginning to look tired, and the laughs are few and far between, this chapter does deliver the goods when it comes to nudity, and fans of the female form will have much to enjoy: a sexy fan mistakes Timmy for Mick Jagger and tries to seduce him; a kinky S&M swinger gets nekkid at a party; Timmy has it off with a tasty record shop salesgirl; TV star Jill Gascoine gets the not-so-gentle touch from Anthony Booth; and curvy Carry On girl Diane Langton appears as one half of a singing act called The Climax Sisters.

Other familiar faces also appearing, but keeping their clothes on, include Dads Army stars Ian Lavender and Bill Pertwee, husky redhead Rula Lenska, DJ David 'Diddy' Hamilton, and Hi-De-Hi's Linda Regan.

Why people insist on being so "holier than thou" about this genre escapes me. It's good escapist fun. Askwith and Booth are having a bit of fun with the girls and scoring a lot of laughs in the process. From an age of more innocent sensibilities, these films rank as some of the funniest ever made, alongside Carry On, Benny Hill, Are You Being Served etc., etc. And the girls!!!! WOW!

Stop analysing it and just enjoy! In the meantime, if anyone would like to re- open the series with "Confessions of a film reviewer", I'd love Askwith's role!!

I saw this 1975 British comedy classic the first time in 1982 on cable. I loved it. I've seen all the "Confessions" and this one I think is the best. I see that it is no longer available as well as the others. That is too bad. I searched high and low to get it on VHS and I finally got it. Simple story of Timmy Lea, an accident-proned blunderer and his brother-in law Sid Nogget a get-rich-quick schemer decide to manage a local pop band and try to get them off the ground. Of course Timmy runs in to his share of promiscuous women in the process. Very funny British humor.