Music

78 and All That

Bertie: “Did you have a nice birthday, Bobby?” Bobby: “Bonnet de douche, Bertie.” (Excellent)

Emmylou Harris

Memories of California Emmylou Harris

Making Movies – A Trip Down Memory Lane.

Making Movies. “Tim has given me the task of choosing ten albums that greatly influenced my taste in music. One album per day, for ten consecutive days. No explanation, no reviews, just covers.” More than one Tim, actually. This was the Facebook challenge presented to Bobby one day. Just the one album. Totally naff idea,…

The Strawberry Recording Studios.

Strawberry Studios Back in January, we went to a football match at Meadowbank. The new state of the art stadium for Dorking Wanderers Football Club. It was a cup match, billed as the biggest game in their short history. A game against the relatively mighty Stockport County, from a higher league. This story is not…

Goldilocks.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears. (Plus *STOP PRESS* *STOP PRESS* *STOP PRESS* see foot of blog). “Bobby! When there are shows on down by the seaside, can I always come?” So said young Kyla, who had clearly enjoyed her afternoon at Littlehampton’s friendly Windmill Theatre. The shows are the ones that Bobby’s daughter-in-law, Marie, together…

One Night Last Summer.

One Night Last Summer Bertie: “Wot! Amateur dramatics? You must be bleedin’ joking!” Bobby: “Now look, Bertie. We are a team. Tim and Tracey together with Oakley (Technical Director, Artistic Director and Guide Dog) have kindly invited us to their daughter Debbi’s new musical with the Hinchley Manor Operatic Society. “One Night Last Summer”. They…

A Night for Lonnie Donegan.

A Night for Lonnie Donegan (And Cheers Chas). Ask anyone of a certain age what they remember about Lonnie Donegan and they might well answer… “My Old Man’s a Dustman”.

The Ballet.

The Ballet. I knew when he told me he was going to the ballet it would be a problem. It always is. Not Covent Garden, but a packed Dorking Halls. The Royal Opera House screening live to 1,500 cinemas in 35 countries.

Sir Cliff Richard.

In Praise of Sir Cliff Richard. Diddley did not like Sir Cliff Richard. His squeaky clean image did not suit a sixties art student heavily into Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Neil Young and the rest. Over the years, she introduced Bobby to all her music. He grew to love artists he had never even heard…