FURTHER WSM TRIBUTE TO BILL SHIPTON
It was a huge shock to the WAM community when Bill Shipton of Splosh fame suddenly passed away on 5th July 2013 at the age of 57.

Tony Murray was a work colleague of Bill at Mayfair magazine and his eloquent obituary did appear on UMD on July 12, 2013.
Here are some edited comments of his about Bill to show the wider aspect of his writing skills.
"Very sad news that my old friend Clive Harris has died.
Known to the world as "Bill Shipton" a nom de plume (or nob de plume as he would almost inevitably have termed it), he adopted partly to spare his parents' blushes and partly just because he enjoyed assuming other identities.

It was at Mayfair magazine that he first hit on the idea of launching Splosh! (variously Splush and Splash before he settled on the final title.)
It was the Splosh magazine and its various video/event/photoset spin-offs that dominated the last quarter century of his life. Although he claimed never to be an enthusiast for all things messy in the way that his many readers were, most of us had our doubts, but never pushed him too far on the subject. Despite his very public showman persona, he could be quite a private man.

Despite his long association with Splosh, it was comedy writing that was his true love. I suspect that it was this element of sploshing surely the most comedic of fetishes that actually appealed to him.
He was extremely proud of the sketches sold to 'The Two Ronnies' and the two (I think) humour books he had published in the 80's".

Editor now one thing missed to date in our annual WSM Bill Shipton tributes has been the publication of Bill's sketch that appeared in The Two Ronnies TV series 1971-1987.
Under the writing credits we have Clive Harris (1 episode 1986) which appears to be 3.7.
Within the short write-up it states "there is a problem at the pub", which gives little indication of the silliness and far-fetched notion he came up with (yet it could just happen!)
So sit back and enjoy almost 4 minutes of classic Bill Shipton humour as we visit You Tube.
We are visiting the work of a comedy scriptwriter, so listen in and ignore the shocking picture quality.
>>>>> SEE CLIP

Continuing with Tony Murray's tribute:
"Clive (Bill) made an impression on everyone who knew him.
His unconventional looks, on/off showman personality and his genuine wit and humour made him impossible to ignore.
He had a very competitive wit, hating to be out-ad-libbed by anyone and, in truth, he seldom was.

As we talked of his health scares, we even little knowing its imminence joked about his epitaph and immediately agreed on one.
It's cheeky, a bit corny, but memorable never the less the perfect farewell for Mr. Harris/Shipton."

"Clive Harris
1957-2013
Messed in Peace"

Thank you Tony Murray for your heartfelt comments about your good friend Clive/Bill.
A wonderful, impromptu piece of writing posted 12th July 2013.

WSM have fully appreciated Bill Shipton's talents both as a writer and his participation in our Vintage Films (1987 to 2000).
We now add a double tribute taken from our Vintage Films to showcase what a talent Bill Shipton was!
Firstly, WSM put together a FREE 9 minute Download Tribute so you can see the real Bill Shipton.
So, watch genius at work:

>>>>> See Movie


Secondly, Bill's writing and comic skills were well apparent, so WSM signed him up as our script-writer and Bill produced the scripts for the WSM Vintage Films numbers 3 to 9.
In fact, it was better than that, as Bill was only too happy to show his versatility by taking a number of roles in the videos. So Bill had real 'hands-on' experience in the 90's.
Now we will surprise you! Ever wondered about the quality and content of the WSM Vintage Films?
WSM now add a <u>FREE DOWNLOAD</u> of our VINTAGE FILM 7 with the full Download of STREAM 7 featuring Bill hosting Plastermind with 5 girls (and questions and title dreamt up by Bill).
This runs 5 mins 37 secs

>>>>> See Movie


So a legend departed!
Few people had such a legacy to have been loved by all.

But the greatest sadness is that his work does not live on due to parental suppression.
This is a great warning for all WAM producers.
I have duly taken heed and ensured that the movies and images of WSM will live on.

What a wonderful tribute to an incredible man. My first thought on reading this post was "it can't be 11 years since we lost Bill" but it is. One of the true pioneers (or should that be pie in ears)of sploshing. Thank you for keeping his memory alive.

What a lovely post, and thank you for keeping the spirit of Bill alive and Sploshing.

I did my own tribute, as I believe this truly great man and founding father of Splosh should not be forgotten.

Mike,

Thank you for helping to keep alive the memory of an irreplaceable Splosh icon.

Mike.

Well done Mike for taking the time to recount another amusing anecdote about Bill/Clive.
Taken from us far too soon yet the amount of respect shown for him is still immense.

That Water Pub sketch is absolutely hilarious!

And Bill's contribution to Plastermind is great. I'm glad I got to meet him in Birmingham.

Thanks Mike for keeping the memories of what really was the formative age of WAM alive. To those of us who lived through it, seems like yesterday, but in fact it's significant history now.