"£1,000 and a nice curry". Despite its failure to crack the charts, "She Loves You" raised Chippington's profile considerably and led to numerous media appearances, including a turn on the BBC's lunchtime magazine show Pebble Mill at One, the latter fulfilling a lifelong ambition. Chippington also fielded interviews with the New Musical Express, Birmingham's BRMB and the colour supplement of the Mail on Sunday. He also performed at the Glastonbury and Reading festivals. Chippington once again came close to mainstream UK Singles Chart success with a recording of his theme tune "Rockin' with Rita (Head to Toe)" which he performed with his fellow Vindaloo artists the Nightingales and We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It. A further single followed with his reading of Dion's "The Wanderer", in which the boastfulness of the original lyrics was turned on its head: "I'm not the wanderer, I'm not the wanderer...not too keen on roaming around and around and around". At a time when the alternative comedy boom was at its peak, Chippington – who once claimed his favourite comedian was Bernard Manning – struggled to break through to a wider audience. Retirement In 1990, feeling overwhelmed by the media attention, Chippington retired from show business and emigrated to the US. Rumours circulated that he had gone there to work as a truck driver, but he was working in Los Angeles as a chef. He later returned to the UK, getting married and settling in Torquay after a spell in London. Return to performing In 2007 he started performing again. Initially styling himself the "Reverend Ted Chippington", he ditched his old Teddy Boy stage outfit in favour of a vicar's dog-collar. He also changed much of his material. In 2007 a CD boxset of Chippington's earlier work, entitled Walking Down the Road, was released on Robert Lloyd's Big Print label. A tribute to Chippington entitled "Tedstock", featuring Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and numerous other stand-up comedians, was held at London's Bloomsbury Theatre in order to fund this release. This event led to a new flurry of media appearances for Chippington, including articles in national newspapers and television and radio appearances. Since his return, he has toured regularly, invariably with the Nightingales, and visiting France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Ireland. He has also made guest appearances on the Marc Riley and Phill Jupitus radio shows. Discography Albums Man in a Suitcase (1986), Vindaloo