A Tapestry of Music

I was born with music in my DNA, of that I am certain. It fills my head, my heart and my life and brings me so much pleasure. A bird singing in the garden, a word, or even a Ring-tone can set me off humming and happy all day, my one regret being that I never learnt to play an instrument.

I know that I learnt all of the usual baby’s rhyming songs, Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake Baker's Man, There’s a Worm At The Bottom of the Garden, Jack and Jill Went Up The Hill and such like, but the song I remember most from childhood is Patti Page singing ‘How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?’ I was word perfect and sang it day and night in the vain hope that somebody would take pity on me and buy me a dog, any dog. Nobody did, but it was all I ever wanted. My grandparents had a dog, and so did everyone just about everywhere I went.

School was a wonderful experience in musical terms. We had lessons where we sang! What joy. We were asked to choose from a range of small instruments such as the Triangle, Jingle Bells, Maracas and a Tambourine, then the teacher would play the piano, or a record and we would tap out to the beat learning about Rhythm and Tempo. At one point we were offered the opportunity to learn the Violin, which my friend Kathy took up, but I liked the singing best, especially as we learnt new, more grown up songs. One of my favourites was The Raggle Taggle Gypsies and I can still remember the words after all these years, but then I sang it often enough ‘Three gypsies stood at the castle gate. They sang so high, they sang so low. The lady sat in her chamber late. Her heart it melted away as snow.…...’ At some point we learnt about Richard the Lionheart being held captive in Europe and a troubadour coming to find him by singing outside the castle where he was held. It’s all a load of tosh of course, but it stuck in my head and the song and the story entwined themselves so that now if I think of one, I automatically think of the other. School assemblies are low on most peoples’ radar, but I loved them. It was a period of calm each day when the Infants and Juniors came together, listened to the Head intoning some message or other, sang a couple of hymns and said a prayer before shuffling off to our lessons. My favourites to this day are ‘Morning Has Broken’, ‘I Vow To Thee My Country’ and the very simple ‘Daisies Are Our Silver, Buttercups Our Gold’ ‘Glad That I Live Am I’ and ‘For The Beauty of The Earth. I suppose you could say that they are motivational songs. Every Friday we were marched into the hall to the sound of Classical Music, which I think was meant to educate our musical tastes; well it worked on me, I loved it.

Moving up to the Junior school was even better; we learnt Sea Shanties and Folk Songs belting out how our hearts were made of oak; and and the Greensleeves ballad, but they always made me happy. Of course, all these songs are the stuff of social history. What shall we do with a Drunken Sailor would have been sung as the deck hands on the old sailing ships heaved on the ropes to raise a sail or lower an anchor, pulling as a team the song would help them keep time.

The Open Air Theatre in Scarborough has been refurbished and is now home to Pop Festivals, featuring guests such as Kaiser Chiefs, Olly Murs and Jess Glynne which is a far cry from when I was little. We would have tickets every summer and go to see musicals like Oklahoma and The Desert Song. The stage was set across the small lake and I’m sure it was great entertainment, but all I can recall is a fascination with the covered raft where Leslie Sturdy played the Organ, sitting on cold benches and being frozen even though it was summer, and then having to walk two miles home late at night, and being so tired.

The Fifties saw the rise of the Teddy Boys with their neo-dandified clothing and love of American Rock and Roll. I vaguely remember seeing one or two as we went out and about, but I was too young to pay much attention to them and Scarborough was a fashion backwater anyway. They were to the Fifties what the Flappers had been to the Twenties, breakaways from the austerity of the war years and leaders of social change. Unfortunately, they received a very bad press, accused of being louts or gangsters, but it probably had more to do with the fact that they dared to be different. David Jacobs brought us Juke Box Jury on the TV in 1959 and we were able to hear more of the American singers. By that time Elvis and Rock and Roll was creating a stir and the older girls at Park Lodge moved the tables and chairs back and jived and bopped round the kitchen to Ain’t Nothin But A Hound Dog, and Jailhouse Rock. I liked the sound of Little Miss Dynamite, Brenda Lee and the Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson, but the one who made me sit up was Ray Charles.

Ena was working and old enough to leave the home, but she and Maureen stayed for a while as lodgers, occupying the room that had belonged to the Assistant Matron at the top of the house. It was a big sunny room too. Ena’s pride and joy was one of the latest Bush portable radios which she had saved hard for. We often used to go into the room to listen to the radio and that was where I first heard Ray Charles singing ‘Georgia On My Mind’. I was about 10 years old, but I can pinpoint that moment as my real awakening to grown up music. His voice was so velvety and smooth, and full of emotion that it really got to me.

Of course, America did not have the monopoly on music and the Teddy Boys had opened the door to change. Suddenly there were records by Joe Brown and Adam Faith and Britain’s own answer to Elvis, Cliff Richard. Along with his backing group The Shadows he quickly made an impression on the younger generation. His good looks and clean cut also made him popular with the mums, which certainly gave his career a boost. A new group seemed to spring up every week and girls made their presence felt as Petula Clark came on the scene. Sandie Shaw was the first Brit to win the Eurovision Song Contest with Puppet on a String, followed by Lulu a couple of years later with Boom Bang a Bang. My favourite was Dusty Springfield with her dramatic songs and rich, husky voice.

Youth clubs emerged in Church and Village halls where we were able to go and play Table Tennis and listen to the latest hits. It was good fun and once a week parents were glad to see us out enjoying ourselves in a semi-organised way. I was proud of my Peddle-pushers and would change into them after school. Then I would leap on my bike and ride to Pam’s house after tea so that we could go to the club together. We played table-tennis and eyed the boys, who were playing table tennis and eyeing the girls and going out back for a crafty smoke.

The Beatles burst into our lives in 1962 with ‘Love Me Do’ and the world was never the same again. It heralded an escalation of the teenage revolution that began with the Teddy Boys. This was ours; this was British, and it brought a whole new culture into being from Beatle haircuts and collarless jackets for the boys and short hair and even shorter skirts for the girls. Received English got a shock as the Liverpudlian accent was repeated and mimicked. Gerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black joined the scene, and we all sang ‘Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey’ at the top of our voices even though we had never been to Liverpool. Life was good, life had colour and the climb into the Swinging Sixties had begun. Sea Shanties and Folk Songs were filed in the music library in my head as I got the bug. I wouldn’t be singing those tunes for a while.

Although Helen Shapiro got star billing, it was the Beatles that everyone wanted to see when they went on tour, early in 1963. All my friends were going, and I was desperate to join them, but I didn’t think Mum would let me stay out late and I couldn’t afford it, so I talked myself down. What an idiot! All I had to do was ask. When I think about it now I realise that not only would she have agreed, but she probably would have asked the Home’s Committee for the money. Moreover, the Committee Chairwoman was married to the owner of the Scarborough Evening Press and I probably could have got a backstage pass! Hindsight is just a cruel reminder of missed opportunities.

In the 1950s and early '60s, Radio was limited to the Light Service (Radio 2) and the Home Service (Radio Four) and any nod to popular culture was restrained to say the least. But gradually things began to change; some of it due to the record requests on various programmes like Junior Choice on a Saturday morning and Family Favourites on a Sunday lunchtime. But there were so many factors at play, not least the first pirate radio, Radio Luxembourg which we all tuned into to hear the latest hits. This was helped along by the emergence of Transistor Radios, which were even smaller than Ena’s beautiful Bush portable. They could be carried in your pocket, and you could turn on and tune in anywhere. The song I remember the most from Radio Luxembourg was Heinz singing Just Like Eddie. More Pirate Radio stations followed; the first of which was Radio Caroline in 1964. Broadcasting from a ship off the coast of Essex, whilst another, Radio 207 was anchored offshore at Scarborough. They were what everyone wanted to listen to and their audiences soared. But they were unlicensed, and the Government even tried jamming them which was very unpopular. Their choice of music was more diverse than the BBC and people soon began to get a name for themselves as Disc Jockeys (DJs).

In the meantime, Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman began presenting Pick of the Pops on the BBC Light Service in 1961. It was such a shift from the usual stuffy programmes, and gave a rundown of the Hit Parade, starting at number 40 and working down to Number 1 and we PopPickers listened to it religiously every Sunday afternoon.

Television began developing its own answer to this new surge in youth culture, and just like Radio, its attempts were really fuddy-duddy to start with. First on the scene was The Six-Five Special in 1957 which was hosted by Pete Murray and Joe Douglas. It broke the mould in studio presentation as the set was cleared completely for the audience and guests to mingle and dance. Whilst popular with the public, the management didn’t like it and the show was pulled after only one year. ITV followed with Oh Boy! Which again only ran for one year from 1958 to 1959. Then it was back to the Beeb in 1959 for Juke Box Jury which was ok, but there were no live bands and a panel of people listened to records, then discussed the music, and voted on what they thought its popularity was likely to be. David Jacobs was more like a father figure presenting the show and it was all very dry, however, it managed to keep going for 8 years and was finally axed in 1967.

Thank Your Lucky Stars aired for ITV from 1961 to 1967 and was so much better because it featured live artists, both British and American, and played new records. There was a teenage audience and panel who judged the latest recordings and one of the highlights was a young girl called Janice Nicholls who appeared regularly on the line-up. She had a very strong Brummie accent and her score of “Oi’ll give it foive” was what we all wanted to hear. Bryan Matthew was the presenter most remembered on the show, and his vast knowledge of the whole genre of pop music earned him great respect over the years. The next offering, Ready Steady Go was even more adventurous. The audience were allowed to dance, and the groups played and sang from various gantries around the studio. Running from 1963 to 1966, the presenters were Keith Fordyce and Kathy McGowan, the latter becoming a household name.

Then we come to Top Of The Pops, and as usual, when the BBC does a programme well, it’s a great success. The show had a similar style to Ready Steady Go, but the presenters were Disc Jockeys, and whilst audience participation was encouraged, there was also a troupe of Session Dancers called Pan’s People performing and doing the latest dances (who were replaced by Legs & Co in 1976). It was only supposed to air for a limited number of episodes but ended up running from 1964 to 2006.

New groups seemed to pop up every week. The Rolling Stones were hot on the heels of the Beatles, and Mick Jagger caused quite a sensation with his big lips, floppy shirts and wild dancing. The music was a bit more gritty than the Beatles, and veered more to hard rock, but it was all great and so different. The Everley Brothers were popular with their harmonised singing, and Susan B and Sheila C must have spent a lot of time rehearsing because they were word and tune perfect. They didn’t like me singing out loud in the Art room as I helped prepare for lessons and told me so. Like an idiot I took it to heart and as a result I hardly sing anymore. But I still love to whistle.

Bob Dylan’s Blowing In The Wind was covered by quite a few artistes including Peter, Paul and Mary, but it is still his mesmerizing voice that I hear in my head. His popularity has never waned.

By the time I got to Art School in 1965 my attitude to music and life had changed completely. We were a mixed bunch, but it was nice to make new friends and get a different view of the world. The school took up a whole floor of Scarborough Technical College, plus a 3D studio in the Technology block. It was a strange day starting at 8.30 until 4.30, then back at 6.30 for another two hours which the other students in the rest of the College didn’t quite comprehend. They did business hours and I think because of this, we felt different somehow. But everyone came together at lunchtime, either in the Refectory or in the Students’ Common Room.

The Students’ Common Room boasted a record player, and everyday somebody brought something along to play. Here we heard the Beatles, The Stones and a great deal of the Beach Boys. We also listened to, and fell in love with Tamla Motown and Soul Music. Sam Cooke, BB King, The Righteous Brothers, Ike and Tina Turner, Gladys Knight and the Pips and The Supremes and of course, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. I could go on forever. Whilst others wanted the Kinks and The Who singing ‘Talking ‘bout My Generation’ Tamla Motown was what we wanted to hear. As a group we mourned the loss of Otis Reading, killed in an air accident. I loved Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound; it was very different and gave us groups like The Ronettes. As I write this, their songs are going round in my head, and the names of so many other singers and groups that if I included all of them, I would just be producing a very large catalogue.

As Art School took over, I found new friends and new places to go, one of which was a Church Hall down at the bottom of town. It was a different kind of Youth Club run by the priest from St Peter’s Catholic Church and became a very popular venue on a Sunday night because it was all about music and dancing. It cost something like 2s/6d to get in, there was no alcohol allowed and our parents all thought it was a nice safe place to go. Which actually it was. I can’t remember there ever being any serious trouble. The music was all the latest as was the dancing. Some of the lads occasionally went to Manchester to the Northern Soul clubs and showed us the moves they had learnt. I must admit, I couldn’t do some of the leaping about, but I was pretty good on the dance floor despite that.

Scarborough really opened its doors to entertainment. There was the Penthouse on St Nicholas Street, the Candlelight on Huntriss Row, and Scene One and Two on Aberdeen Walk. Different groups came to Scarborough, and we flocked to the clubs to watch the likes of Amen Corner, The Temptations, Manfred Man, Herman’s Hermits and a host of others.

By now the barriers were completely down, and Jimmy Hendrix became the idol of every air guitarist with his unique style of guitar playing. Rock bands emerged with bands such as Pink Floyd and Cream. Whatever your style there was somebody out there for you. I may not have been into Jazz but contemporary sounds like Dave Brubeck’s Take Five still evokes wonderful memories, and where did the Bosa Nova go? On sunny days walking across the beach with sand between my toes and my hair ruffled by the breeze I wanted to be The Girl From Ipanema. The Hippie culture took off in America as an alternative way of life, with their long hair, baggy clothing, beads and love-ins and it wasn’t long before it came to the UK. The music was psychedelic and much of it induced by marijuana. The Beatles went off to India to experience Transcendental Meditation and Yoga suddenly became the thing to do. George Harrison learned to play the Sitar which heavily influenced a lot of their music. Stevie Winwood sang about The Hole In My Shoe and the Beatles produced Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band. Eventually everyone drifted off to Woodstock and the Hippie scene settled into everyday life.

We had an hour and a half for lunch and as Gaz lived relatively near to College, we would go to his house. By that time there was only Gaz, Jane and I left in our set at Art School, so we were very close. Gaz also had a friend called Cliff in the year below who joined us. He was a Mod and rode a scooter and whilst Jane and I walked to the house, Gaz and Cliff would disappear on his scooter and get lunch ready. We ate toast, smoked and played Beatles records before returning to afternoon classes. One afternoon there had been a power cut in Scarborough town centre and Gaz’s mum had returned home early from work. There was no bread left and the ashtray was full of tab ends and when Gaz got home he got it in the neck. What had he and Cliff been up to? Were they trying to smoke themselves to death? It didn’t stop us though, we were just very careful after that and it became a ritual to tidy up, waft the smoke out and throw the tab ends in the bin.

Gaz rushed in one morning with an announcement that Ike and Tina Turner were coming to the Spa. That was it, we were definitely going to see them, but there was a problem. It was Bridlington Spa and not Scarborough. We often went out as a group but the only person who had suitable transport was Gaz’s friend Norm, and on this occasion places in his van were oversubscribed. Jane and I were in a quandary as to what we should do. We had told two of our friends who lived in Hunmanby about the event and they suggested that we caught the bus to their house and from there we would go by car. But getting there wasn’t the problem, it was getting home again. The last bus left at 10.00pm and the gig didn’t finish until 11.00pm. Then Norm found that he couldn’t make it, so Gaz was stuck too. We were getting a bit desperate when he had a brainwave, he asked one of our lecturers, Mr Walters if he could help out if we paid for the petrol. To our amazement he said yes, so it was agreed that we should get ourselves there and he would come for us at 11.00pm.

It was a great night, just marginally spoilt by the fact the stars were late and did not start their set until about 10.30. By then some of the dads started to appear at the back ready to collect their offspring, and to our dismay we spotted old Walters at the back amongst the gathering crowd. We couldn’t leave, it had all just got going, but he wandered over with a huge grin on his face and told us not to worry, the doorman had let him in for free and he was thoroughly enjoying himself. It was well after midnight before we got back home, but it was well worth it; what a night!

Dave and his brother Richard were planning to go to the first Glastonbury Festival in 1970 but they dithered about details, they weren’t sure if their old banger would get us there, where would we stay so that in the end, I told them to forget it. It was all about Flower Power and Hippies, I knew I’d be expected to smoke weed which I wasn’t keen on, and the smell of joss sticks turned my stomach. It’s amazing that it has lasted so long, but it still has no appeal for me.

We have had holidays where music has played a surprising part and I will always remember going to the Opera with Liz whilst we were on a skiing trip in Austria. There were six of us, and needless to say the boys were not keen, but when Liz saw the leaflet for the Tiroler Landstheatre, I jumped at the opportunity to go with her. I don’t think I have ever been in such a splendid building, either before or since and everyone was in their finery whilst Liz and I wearing our ski gear, crept quietly, awe struck, up to the gods. It was a double bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci and even though we were very high up, we could hear every word perfectly, the acoustics were so good.....and it was so moving that I did shed a tear for the clown.

We were spoilt for choice in Prague as there seemed to be a concert on somewhere every night, and some nights the choice was overwhelming. We heard some wonderful Classical Guitar playing there and one night we thought we would not get into the venue, a small church, it was so crowded. But once the musicians took up their instruments, you could have heard the pin drop. There was a lot of Vivaldi, both guitar and Mandolin, and enough to make your spine tingle. It was much the same in Seville. I know it could be expected there, but if we were in the city at lunch time then we knew where to head to listen to good guitar playing.

I could say that over the years my taste in music changed, but actually what happened was that it grew wider and deeper. I never lost the love of classical music that the headmaster in Primary school so skilfully introduced us to and I still loved to hear Classical music, often listening to Friday Night is Music Night or Melodies For You on a Sunday if I was at home doing homework. It was mainly gentle background stuff and Chopin probably came out as favourite, with Rachmaninov, Samuel Barber and Mozart coming very close. But I could also listen to an aria without hearing the whole opera, which in time made me want to and as I have grown older, I have found more pieces and composers that I admire. I’ve also re-discovered my love of singing but largely by other people. The simple beauty of Gregorian Chants sends shivers down my spine, and if you gave me tickets for Madame Butterfly or Carmen I’d be there like a shot.

It’s great that concerts are not restricted to the young, but then we were brought up with them. My brother bought us tickets to see Jools Holland at the Leeds Stadium as a Christmas present a couple of years ago, an added bonus being a guest appearance by José Feliciano. This time there was no problem about how to get there or where to stay. We used our bus passes and had a very pleasant ride on the Coastliner bus to Leeds, then booked into the Premier Inn which was directly opposite the Stadium. We intended to make a night of it, and it was fantastic. Everyone was on their feet clapping and dancing, the music was just so good and Ruby Turner’s powerful voice just hits you. Louise Marshall and Jool’s daughter Mabel Ray also joined the line-up. After a couple of hours of singing and swinging, José joined the Jools and the band on stage and rounded off a wonderful evening. Then we crossed the road to the Premier Inn, made a cup of tea and went happily to bed! Judging by the ages of other people coming up in the lift, we weren’t the only ones.

Another memorable gig was to see Andy Fairweather Lowe. I knew he was touring and had been looking for a while to catch him in York, and twice we had been away when he had been in the area so when I finally saw that he was coming to The Crescent, I decided to go for it. It’s only a small venue and I was glad to get tickets. Once again we were able to go on the Coastliner as it was just off Blossom Street. The place was packed with people of our own age group who probably, like us had seen Andy when in his youth at some gig as Lead Singer with Amen Corner. He may be older, but he’s still as smart and there was no mistaking him and he’s remarkably fit for his age. He’s only two years older than me but I know I couldn’t have belted out all those familiar hits, one after the other for two hours and still give two encores of Gin House Blues.

I think that (in the unlikely event) if the BBC were to approach me and ask me to do Desert Island Discs, sadly I would have to turn them down as I would need to have a contract for a year long series at least! There would be Motown music including Smokey Robinson, The Righteous Brothers, Percy Sledge, Diana Ross, plus, plus. Opera and Oratorios such as The Marriage of Figaro and Handel’s Messiah. Classical guitar with Segovia, John Williams, Julian Breen and Ana Vidovic. So many Classical pieces from Mendelssohn, Mozart, Beethoven, Barber, the list is endless. Besides The Carpenters and Ella Fitzgerald I would include Adele, Amy Winehouse, Bread, The Eurythmics, Ed Sheeran, John Denver and Duffy, all of whom are on my i-Pod with hundreds of others. And no Mamma Cass, I shall never forget you or Paloma Faith singing your songs so brilliantly.

But if I had to chose one, no two, they would be Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tellis * and Chopin’s Romance Larghetto *. The latter being the music Phil and Ellie chose to play at their wedding, the memories of which will always bring a lump to my throat and tears of happiness to my eyes.

(* click the link to listen to these two pieces)