December
2023
Jean
Killman
It is my very sad
duty to record the death of Jean,
wife of Albert Killman, at the
end of November.
Many of us will
remember Albert and Jean from the
days of the former Robert Farnon
Society. Albert was instrumental
in acting as assistant to the
late David Ades and was
particularly concerned with
matters pertaining to membership
of the Society.
Unfortunately,
Jean's health had deteriorated
during the last few years; she
was eventually admitted to
Southend Hospital in October,
with severe heart and breathing
difficulties, from which she was
unable to recover.
Although Jean and
Albert no longer made the journey
from Rochford to attend our LLMMG
meetings, I stayed in contact
with them and they made me very
welcome in their home on a couple
of occasions.
On behalf of the
Group, I extend our sincerest
condolences to Albert.
Tony
Clayden
December 2023
October 2023
Evergreen
on Serenade Radio
A new programme of
Light Music has started on Serenade Radio on Friday
evenings at 9pm. lasting for one
hour, the programme is introduced
by Adrian Jackson.
Adrian’s
career in music and theatre has
spanned over four decades. He
started his career as a musician
and received a predominantly
classical musical training.
Internationally, he has conducted
many renowned orchestras
including: Orchestra of Scottish
Opera, BBC Concert Orchestra,
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and
the Hallé Orchestra; he is also
the musical director and
principal conductor of the
acclaimed City Concert Orchestra.
Listen to Evergreen in our
Streaming Audio section
October 2023
Calling
All Workers - Analysed by Robert
Walton
An analysis by
Robert Walton of Eric Coates' 'Calling all
Workers' march has been
added to our Articles section
October 2023
BBC axes
‘Sunday Night Is Music
Night’
The BBC’s
long-running programme, which has
aired continuously since 1953,
has finally been discontinued.
Originally
broadcast on the former BBC Light
Programme and carried forward to
Radio Two upon the latter's
inception in 1967, it spent most
of its long life as 'Friday Night
Is Music Night' until the
outbreak of the Covid pandemic in
2020. At that point, it
transferred to Sundays, with of
course a necessary change of
title.
Most of the
broadcasts during the last three
years have featured repeats of
previous episodes, although there
have been some new ones from
time-to-time.
The final edition
was on October 15th and this has
now effectively resulted in the
total abandonment by the BBC of
Light Music. Sadly, another
[huge] brick out of the wall !!
Apart from the
loss of a well-loved radio
programme, its demise inevitably
throws in into question the
future of the BBC Concert
Orchestra, which has been
resident throughout the entire
series.
A comprehensive
history of the programme may be
found here
[with due acknowledgement to
Wikipedia]
And an article
about the demise of the
programme, with due
acknoledgement to the i newspaper, can
also be found here
Tony
Clayden
September 2023
Rosemary
Squires (1928-2023)
We have reproduced
an obituary for singer and
entertainer Rosemary Squires from
The Salisbury Journal in our Obituaries section.
September 2023
David
Corbett (1943-2023)
We have reproduced
an obituary for David Corbett
written by his Sister in our Obituaries section.
August 2023
The BBC's
historic Maida Vale studios have
been sold
The BBC's historic
Maida Vale studios, which have
hosted sessions by stars ranging
from the Beatles to Adele, have
been sold to a group led by
Oscar-winning composer Hans
Zimmer.
Zimmer, who wrote
the scores for films like The
Lion King and Dune, has teamed up
with Love Actually and Cats movie
producers Tim Bevan and Eric
Fellner.
The BBC said the
complex would remain a
"centre for pioneering
music-making".
Built in 1909 as
Britain's largest indoor roller
skating rink, the north-west
London building was bought by the
BBC in 1933.
It is home to the
BBC Symphony Orchestra and in the
past has hosted many BBC radio
programmes such as 'Music While
You Work', John Peel's famous
Radio 1 sessions and the BBC's
innovative Radiophonic Workshop,
famed for its realisation of the
Doctor Who theme tune.
The corporation is
planning to move its music
studios to Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park in east London in
2025, where the BBC Symphony
Orchestra will then be based.
To read the full
BBC article, please click here.
August 2023
New
obituaries
New obituaries
have been added to the Obituaries Page:
Tony Bennett
(1926-2023) by Anthony Wills
Vince Hill
(1934-2023) by Anthony Wills
Carl Davis
(1936-2023) by Alex Gleason
Sheldon Hernick
(1924-2023)
Astrud Gilberto (1940-2023)
June 2023
Chris
Money
It is my most sad
duty to record the death of Chris
Money on 24th June 2023, after
having experienced severely
declining health during the past
year.
Chris had been a
loyal and enthusiastic supporter
of the LLMMG since the Group's
inception in 2014, and his
involvement had dated back many
years beforehand, as a member of
the Robert Farnon Society.
It is hoped to
publish a full tribute to Chris
in due course, but in the
meantime sincere condolences, on
behalf of the Group, are extended
to his wife Françoise, their
three daughters and Chris's
sisters.
Tony Clayden
June 2023
Concert - Sunday June 4th 2023
(click picture to
enlarge)
A bright sunny day
– one of the warmest so far
this year – saw the annual
Light Music Concert at the
British Home in Streatham,
London, given by the Mark
Fitz-Gerald Orchestra.
Previously these
have been held in February, but
the decision was taken to
re-schedule this one to June; it
is understood that the revised
date will continue in the future.
It certainly
resulted in a good attendance,
both from visitors and residents
alike, who were entertained by a
most enjoyable afternoon of the
kind of music which –
unfortunately – is all-too
conspicuous by its virtual
absence these days.
Mark Fitz-Gerald
has a great affinity for this
genre, and his orchestra –
consisting of professional
musicians who play
‘pro-bono’ on their day
off, together with a good number
of very accomplished amateur
instrumentalists – seems to
get better and better as the
years go by !
The full programme
was as follows:-
Theatreland
* - Jack Strachey
Sally Tries The Ballet -
Charles Williams
Romeo and Juliet-Pastorale
- Edward German
Amparito Roca - Jaime
Texidor
Invocation and Dance Of A
Whimsical Elf [two movements
from A Day In Fairyland]
- Haydn Wood.
Cabana - Edward White
Little Serenade - Ernest
Tomlinson
In A Persian Market -
Albert Ketèlbey
Serenade To Youth -
Haydn Wood
Teddy Bears’ Picnic
- John Bratton
Lazy Night - Eric Coates
London Calling - Eric
Coates
Westminster Waltz -
Robert Farnon
*This has now
become the regular signature-tune
for these concerts.
Midway through the
session, we were treated to an
additional item – an
impromptu unaccompanied solo
rendition of the famous
Northumberland folk song, Blow
The Wind Southerly, by one
of the residents called Naomi
Hyamson.
Westminster
Waltz was originally
intended as the scheduled encore,
but such was the enthusiasm of
the audience that the orchestra
also obliged with a repeat
performance of Amparito Roca
– so we had two for the
price of one !
Many thanks and
congratulations are due to Mark
Fitz-Gerald and his splendid
orchestra, to oboist Ian Finn for
choosing and organising the
repertoire, and to trombonist
Frances Barrett, who handled all
the administrative arrangements
and introduced each item on the
programme.
All of this was in
aid of a very deserving cause, as
it raised funds for the British
Home, which is a Royal Charter
Charity providing accommodation
and support for people living
with neuro-disability.
I’m sure I
speak for everyone when I say how
much we are looking-forward to
next year’s concert !
© Tony
Clayden
May 2023
Ursula
Kermack
It is with much
sadness that we record the death
of Ursula Kermack, who passed
away at the end of February, just
shy of her 81st birthday, after a
short illness.
Her involvement
with our group goes back to the
latter days of the Robert Farnon
Society. When we set-up the LLMMG
in 2014, she became one of our
earliest attendees and – I
believe – came to most
sessions at the new venue from
then-on until our most recent
gathering in October 2022.
Ursula was very
happy to 'step into the breach',
to assist with the running of the
meetings; in particular she very
capably took-over the task of
registering attendees and taking
their entrance monies at several
of our most recent events.
She was most
enthusiastic and knowledgeable
about Light Music, although this
was not by any means her only
interest; she enjoyed the type of
music exemplified by the likes of
Frank Sinatra and many other
artistes of that era, and she
very much enjoyed dancing.
Ursula – we
will miss your support, your
invaluable contributions to our
group, your good humour and your
ever-present smile. May you rest
in eternal peace.
TC May 2023
April 2023
NDO CD
Collection
The NDO collection
of CDs has some new additions.
Full details can
be found in the 'Links' section under 'The
Northern Dance Orchestra' or by
clicking here
March 2023
BBC
Singers to close in corporation's
'major review of classical music'
The BBC has
announced the closure of the BBC
Singers, one of its six salaried
performing groups and the UK's
only full-time professional
chamber choir.
Simon Webb, the
organisation's head of orchestras
and choirs, also revealed that a
20% reduction in salaried posts
of the three English orchestras
(the London-based BBC Symphony
and Concert Orchestras, and
Manchester's Philharmonic) is
being sought through a voluntary
redundancy scheme. "We are
looking to reset our relationship
between salaried and freelance
musicians" he said.
Read the full
Guardian article
Update:-
The BBC has
U-turned and suspended its
decision to scrap the BBC Singers
chamber choir after pressure from
musicians, the public and
politicians.
The decision to
close the BBC Singers, announced
in March, was expected to result
in the loss of 20 posts but was
met with fierce opposition from
conductors, choirmasters and
senior members of government and
the opposition.
February 2023
Brian
Willey
January
3rd 1928 - January 16th 2023
It is with great
sadness that we record the death
of Brian Willey, who passed away
in January 2023. Brian was a
regular and loyal supporter of
the LLMMG, and his encyclopaedic
knowledge and great sense of
humour certainly enlivened many
of our meetings.
We have received
several contributions which have
evolved into a very comprehensive
tribute to Brian which can be found
in our 'Obituaries' section here.
February 2023
Burt
Bacharach Tribute
(May 12, 1928 – February 8,
2023)
Burt Bacharach was
born in Kansas City in 1928 but
his parents relocated to New York
when he was still a child. He
took piano and 'cello lessons but
his heart was not in classical
music: he listened to jazz
musicians like Dizzy Gillespie
and Charlie Parker and became
hooked. He served in the US Army
in the 1950s and on return to
civilian life began to study
music under the French composer
Darius Milhaud (1892-1974).
From 1957 to 1962
he was Marlene Dietrich's Musical
Director. At the same time he
rented an office in New York's
legendary Brill Building and it
was there that he met lyricist
Hal David (1921-2012). So began a
creative partnership almost
unequalled in American popular
music history, yielding over 20
Top Ten hits in a single decade,
despite their rhythmic and
harmonic complexity. Their first
collaboration produced The
Story Of My Life in 1957, a
hit for Marty Robbins in the US
and Michael Holliday in the UK;
this was closely followed by Magic
Moments, which was in fact
on the B side of Perry Como's Catch
A Falling Star (not one of
their compositions).
In 1961 Bacharach
came across Dionne Warwick, then
working as a backing singer for
various artists. He and Hal David
took her under their wing and
composed a succession of hit
songs for her, starting with Don't
Make Me Over (1962). This
was followed by Anyone Who
Had A Heart (1963), Walk
On By and A House Is Not
A Home (1964), Message
To Michael (1966), I Say
A Little Prayer For You and Alfie
(1967). It's no secret that
Dionne Warwick was upset by Cilla
Black's cover version of the
latter, which performed better in
the UK charts. 1968 saw Do
You Know The Way To San Jose?
become yet another chart success
for the Bacharach/David/Warwick
team.
Many of their
songs were recorded by other
artists: The Walker Brothers (Make
It Easy On Yourself), Gene
Pitney (The Man Who Shot
Liberty Valance), Dusty
Springfield (The Look Of Love),
Jack Jones (Wives And Lovers),
Tom Jones (What’s New
Pussycat?) and B.J. Thomas (Raindrops
Keep Falling On My Head).
Bacharach and David broke new
territory in 1968 with music and
lyrics for a show called Promises,
Promises (book by Neil
Simon). The show's standout song,
written at the eleventh hour just
before it opened on Broadway, was
I’ll Never Fall In Love
Again. Five years later they
moved to Hollywood and began work
on the score for a musical remake
of the classic 1937 Frank Capra
film Lost Horizon,
featuring a cast of non-singers
such as Peter Finch and Liv
Ullman. The composers'
relationship on this project
became strained to such an extent
that Hal David walked away and
Dionne Warwick began legal
proceedings against Bacharach for
failing to produce fresh material
for her to record.
In due course
things were patched up but the
partnership was never the same.
Bacharach however continued to
appear in concert and together
with Carole Bayer Sager, who
became the third of his four
wives, wrote Best That You
Can Do for the 1981 hit
Dudley Moore film Arthur.
One of his final collaborations
was with the British songwriter
Elvis Costello.
Burt Bacharach
died in February 2023 aged 95.
His music will remain in
copyright until 31st December
2093.
© Anthony
Wills, 23.02.23
To say that Burt
Bacharach was arguably the most
significant popular song composer
of his generation is probably to
understate the case. Few –
if any – others can claim to
have produced such a large
catalogue of hits, or worked with
as many top performers as he did.
The winning combination of
Bacharach's music and David's
lyrics was unbeatable – Ed.
February 2023
Geoffrey
Brand has died aged 96
Geoffrey Brand
1926 - 2023
We are saddened to
hear of the passing of Geoffrey
Brand, who died on February 5th
2023 aged 96.
Geoffrey was a
renowned composer and conductor.
Doyen of brass and concert band
music and publishing, he leaves a
terrific musical legacy and will
be remembered as a brilliant
conductor and an imaginative
musical entrepreneur. His live
performances and rehearsals
inspired players and audiences
throughout the world and his
outstanding recordings will
continue to do so.
A full obituary
can be found here
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